Renee Linnell is the author of The Burn Zone, and a serial entrepreneur. At age 33 she woke up one morning and realized that she had very unintentionally joined a Buddhist cult. What had started as a quest for spiritual learning, and finding a place that felt like home to her turned out to be an intense group well versed in brainwashing, and converting others to bring in money to help support the larger cause.

In this episode Renee Linnell and I talk about:

• Her early love of solitude, dancing, being near the ocean, and reading
• Recognizing she is and was a HSP (highly sensitive person) and an introvert from an early age
• That all the people closest to her died by the time she was 15, leaving her with just her brother and alcoholic mother
• How she found herself drawn to a Buddhist teacher, after being a spiritual seeker for many years
• The moment of walking in to a meditation retreat and feeling like she was home
• The fine line of being deeply inspired, and aligned with a spiritual group AND being involved with a cult
• What’s brainwashing?
• How to get out of a “bad” situation like a cult and learn to trust yourself again
• The reincarnation of animals
• Getting in touch with your inner three year old (and what your inner child can teach you about self love)
• That we all have unique, beautiful gifts to share: be that an accountant or an artist
• Jumpstarting your joy by turning up the volume on what makes you weird or different, taking time to do the things you love, and giving back based on what you’re really good at

Resources Renee Linnell’s website The Burn Zone by Renee Linnell on Amazon