In this episode of Everyday Cults. Everyday People, we explore what Gerette identified in her book as the fourth stage of cultic involvement: Snapping—as in snapping out of it.
 
 This is the period of dawning recognition; it’s the acknowledgement that you have been indoctrinated. It demands a huge shift in consciousness. For many, it is also an awakening of conscience when you see how you or your loved ones have been harmed by the group. It may also be a realization that you have been complicit with something that is in direct contradiction to your deepest personal values or even morality itself.
 
 We discuss complicity, accountability, and then ask the one question cult survivors hate to be asked.  
 
 Tune in for frank talk about everyday cults and how they can endanger everyday people like you and me. 
 
 Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Gerette Buglion arising from her personal 18-year cultic involvement and from her subsequent work in cult recovery and education. We are deeply grateful to Moon Panda for the use of their song "Slow Drive." Yes, Everyday Cults. Everyday People is a kind of slow cruise around the cult world, taking in the varied landscapes. Let us know what you liked and where you'd like to head for Season Two. And tune in next week for our wrap up of Season One. We will discuss the fifth stage of cultic involvement: Waking Up Again and Again.

Everyday Cults. Everyday People explores the five stages of cultic involvement identified by Gerette Buglion in her new memoir An Everyday Cult. In this episode, we discuss what she calls “Asleep,” the third stage of cultic involvement.

Gerette estimates that she was asleep for five out of the eighteen years she was in the cult. We discuss how the cult leader lulled members into this stage and the impact it had and still has on their lives. We also talk about how to recognize such a sleeper and what you can do when you think a loved one has fallen prey to the dangers of a cult.

A recent New York Times article suggests that 15% of people in the US are involved in QAnon, an organization that many people consider to either be a cult or have cultic qualities. We talk about how to determine whether or not the group or organization we are interested in is a cult and the questions we should be asking ourselves.

Tune in for frank talk about everyday cults and how they can endanger everyday people like you and me. 

Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Gerette Buglion arising from her personal 18-year cultic involvement and from her work in cult recovery and education. We are deeply grateful to Moon Panda for their song "Slow Drive". Yes, Everyday Cults. Everyday People is a kind of slow cruise around the cult world, taking in the varied landscapes. Please be sure to comment about what you liked and where you'd like to head for Season Two. Be sure to tune in next week for the fourth stage of cultic involvement: Snapping. 

In this, our first season of Everyday Cults. Everyday People we explore the five stages of cultic involvement Gerette identifies in her new memoir An Everyday Cult. Last week, our subject was Falling—as in falling for the trickery of a cult. Today, we discuss drifting, the second stage.

Drifting is a period of psychological meandering where part of one’s psyche is lulled into unconscious complicity with a doctrine. During this stage one can be easily influenced but can also hold down a job and raise a family without great negative impact, despite the fact that they are living a split reality. 

We also discuss the cult leader’s lack of accountability, training, or ethical standards for the ‘therapy’ sessions he conducted, and the predatory, non-consensual relationships ‘Doug’ had with members of the ‘Center for Transformational Learning’ cult he founded. (For the protection of those who have been and are subject to cultic abuse, 'Doug' and 'Center for Transformational Learning' are pseudonyms.)

Tune in for frank talk about everyday cults and how they can endanger everyday people like you and me. 

 Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Gerette Buglion arising from her personal 18-year cultic involvement and from her work in cult recovery and education.

Just as no one intentionally falls in love with an abuser, no one intentionally joins a cult—we fall for them. Falling, in this case, refers to both falling in love and falling asleep. Gerette fell. Her fall lasted eighteen years. 

Often - but not always – cultic involvement begins with 'love-bombing' - a starry-eyed stage where someone is magnetically drawn to a group or a leader who promises the moon and it feels really good. Typically, the early stages of cultic involvement can include a lot of longing, learning about one’s self, and a whole lot of idealizing.

In this episode, we discuss the early days of Gerette’s cult life which devolved into the gradual erosion of her psyche. 

Tune in for frank talk about everyday cults and how they can endanger everyday people like you and me. 

Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Gerette Buglion arising from her personal 18-year cultic involvement and from her work in cult recovery and education.

What is a cult? How are they created? Who joins a cult? Why? How can we recognize a cult if we’re in one? In this introductory episode, cult survivor Gerette Buglion, author of An Everyday Cult, delves into her experience living in a cult for eighteen years to answer these compelling questions. 

Cult dynamics exist in all layers of society. They can be political, racist, religious, sexual, satanic, or educational. They can be founded on human potential, mass transformation, or mass marketing… Initially, many Everyday Cults can seem perfectly normal and acceptable until that very convincing façade starts to crack. 

We discuss the techniques cults use—such as ‘love bombing’, polarized thinking, and loading the language which we’ll investigate further in future episodes—to attract and keep members and the unbalanced power dynamics that often result. We talk about the recognition of abuse that caused Gerette to leave the cult and dedicate her life to helping others come to similar realizations. 

Tune in for frank talk about everyday cults and how they can endanger everyday people like you and me. 

Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of Gerette Buglion arising from her personal 18-year cultic involvement and from her work in cult recovery and education.