Candice & Tracy reunite nearly six months after recording their previous convo. They discuss what it’s been like sharing their stories & unpack major takeaways on the other side of a transformative few weeks. Tracy shares new perspective on the tools-turned-weapons of self-help, along with a vision of how she'd like to do group culture differently in the future. Candice speaks about two nervous system adaptations commonly overlooked in group training environments - fawning & freezing. She describes the distress signals she often witnessed at the Org, calls herself out for staying silent, and cites the work of Robert Jay Lifton regarding the ’sacred science’ of culty culture and the limitations of new age spirituality jargon. Tracy examines why, after four-plus years, she’s still unable to teach or attend movement classes, and the two adamantly agree that spiritual authority is an inside job. Tracy shares why she thinks the idea of ’spiritual hustle’ is a total misnomer, and Candice speaks critically about the conflicts inherent in a culture where personal development is codified and commodified. She gets pretty fired up as she speaks to a great many who’ve invested so much of themselves in the Org’s training, challenging the idea that they need to stick around in order to make use of the best parts of what they've learned. The episode wraps with a peek into what listeners are writing & sharing about the ‘cult’ure series. 

Referenced in this episode:

• We Can Do Hard Things Podcast - Ep. 124 w/ Nedra Glover Tawwab
• Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, by Robert Jay Lifton
• The Deep End (docu-series) - Hulu

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The stories and opinions shared in this episode are based on personal experience and are not intended to malign any individual, group, or organization.

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