In this episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, host Rachel White sits down to chat with real deal, actual hero and cult whistleblower Susan Dones, MA LMT.

Susan was featured in the HBO's The Vow, a docuseries detailing the rise and fall of  NXIVM: an American-based "personal development" program that was, actually, a highly abusive cult. NXIVM's leader, Keith Raniere, is currently serving a 120-year sentence for his crimes, and survivors and whistleblowers like Susan are spreading the word to help mitigate future fallout from similar "high control groups", as well as help survivors heal.

Susan is a fascinating individual who's bonafides totally upend the flattened-- and horribly misinformed-- stereotype of a "cult member".  Before entering NXIVM and becoming a coach, Susan was a decorated aircraft mechanic in the U.S. military, a licensed massage therapist, and a therapist-therapist with a Masters degree in psychology who had been working to help clients heal through the mind + body connection.

In other words: she wasn't a slouch before entering NXIVM, but that didn't protect her from dealing with a multi-decade back-and-forth with a multi-million dollar juggernaut that launched more than 200 fake legal claims her. Susan was capable and intelligent enough to beat NXIVM's powerful lawyers across all of this "vexatious litigation", and yes: she represented herself.

I know, right? Super. F*cking. Impressive.

Now, Susan is focused on helping others heal after being in coercive control, high-demand groups or just abusive and traumatic dynamics more generally. She joined The Skeptical Shaman podcast to talk red flags when exploring personal and spiritual development, as well as why she likes to stay away from big groups and stick to a small, decentralized "pod" of good friends.

Stick to the small pod, my friends. Decentralization is the key.

Her lessons learned translate across the woo world, giving all of us line of sight into how to navigate an often nebulous, tricky landscape riddled with spiritual narcissists, abusers and con artists. And, because Susan is super f*cking cool, she indulged our very demanding and temperamental sponsor-- The TOTEM Tarot Deck-- as we pulled a tarot card to summarize our discussion and provide a bit of spiritual insight to the listeners.

LINKS:
Rachel White Website (TOTEM Readings): https://www.totemreadings.com
Rachel's Links: https://linktr.ee/totemrach
The TOTEM Tarot Deck: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578980126?ref=myi_title_dp
Susan Dones Website: https://susandones.com
Sustan Dones IG: @susandones456
The Vow Docuseries Website: https://www.hbo.com/the-vow/season-1