Have you ever lost a loved one to a controlling group? Whether around religion, self-improvement or politics, such losses can be devastating. Today we have a conversation with author and cult-recovery educator Gerette Buglion about why it is so important to keep open communication with the loved one and to offer our support for them even if we don’t understand what they are getting from that group.  Gerette speaks about indoctrination and provides a check list we can use when questioning whether that group (or person) we have been so excited about might be a cult. We take a call from Veronica from Santa Cruz who asks how we can help loved ones get out of cults. She shares her story of taking the drastic step of leaving the US for a year to disentangle herself from a cult.

Gerette offers a three week class starting October 18 called Writing to Reckon for Loved Ones in addition to her ongoing Writing to Reckon classes for people who are looking to process time spent in a high control group or relationship (check the image below or Gerette’s IG feed). Gerette closes with a dream about reconciliation and forgiveness around her own cult experience.

BIO: Gerette Buglion is author of An Everyday Cult, a memoir which shows how her innocent quest for meaning left her open to manipulation by a controlling dream teacher. Gerette’s current work is in Cult Recovery and Education. Her signature writing course called, ‘Writing to Reckon’ offers a safe space for cult survivors to share their stories. She is a founding collaborator of the #iGotOut movement, whose mission is to encourage people who have experienced cultic abuse to tell their stories. She also has a podcast called Everyday Cults, Everyday People.

IG: @Gerette.Buglion

Intro music is Water over Stones and outro music is Everything both by Mood Science. Today’s ambient music is created by Rick Kleffel. The audio can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show, to Tony Russomano for answering the phones and to Ewa Malady for audio editing.

Show aired on October 15, 2022.

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM, streaming live at KSQD.org 10-11am Saturday mornings Pacific time.  Catch it live and call in with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or at [email protected].

If you want to contact Katherine Bell with feedback, suggestions for future shows or to inquire about exploring your own dreams with her, contact [email protected], or find out more about her at ExperientialDreamwork.com.

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