I gotta be honest… this photo, taken about a year ago, now makes me #cringe a little. There’s no denying that my relationship with Sedona has been complicated by an exploration into cult dynamics and recovery.
In today’s release and the last solo episode before an exciting guest line-up, I share about the supreme ambivalence that I feel living so close to all the new-age action… what I feel (or rather, what I don’t feel) while visiting the ‘vortexes’… as well as what research reveals about the troubling history behind these popular tourist destinations.
Ep.40 is all about asking deeper questions regarding what puts the ‘cult’ in culture. It’s a byproduct of trauma-informed therapy + research + my seemingly endless fascination with ‘the cult persona’… and where I think mine might’ve sourced from. I talk about family systems, complacency vs. mindfulness, cultural appropriation, and the difference between healthy and toxic shame.
Then the episode wraps with an examination of anti-fat bias, body shaming at ‘the Org’, and an unflinching look at ‘wellness’ culture. Is it making us well?… or is it just another smokescreen for more of the same?
