One of our community members in the After The Org FB group posted about Don Miguel Ruiz's follow-up book - The Fifth Agreement (published in 2011) - where he doubles down on his message that "the greatest gift we can give ourselves the freedom to be who we really are."Let's take quick peek at The Fifth Agreement >>It's highlighted above from the book jacket, but here's the exact text in case you're having trouble zooming in on it:"BE...
According to Hare Krishna tradition, a ‘devadasi’ is a female who devotes herself to a lifetime of service. Upon her birth, this week’s guest was given the name Yamuna Jivana Devi Dasi by the founder of ISKCON, Swami Prabhupada. Yamuna’s parents ran the Berkeley Hare Krishna Temple when she was a child, and she grew up believing that her purpose in life was “to be a servant to the servant to the servant.” She carried this...
>> There was a tiny tech snafu... so here's the reboot with new links! >>Here it is... (finally)... part 3 in a three-part series where Tracy & I deconstruct The '4 Allies' as they were presented at 'the Org'.In Part 3, we cover a lot! Tracy offers an important reminder, then chimes in on the second ally/agreement: "Don't Take Anything Personally" and then we unpack the final two agreements: "Don't make assumptions" and "Always...
You may recognize Sarah Edmondson and Anthony ‘Nippy’ Ames from the critically-acclaimed HBO docu-series, The Vow. Sarah & Nippy left a self-development organization known as NXIVM in 2017, and they were immediately thrust into the spotlight, working alongside a handful of other whistleblowers to bring NXIVM’s leader, Keith Raniere, to justice. In this episode, Sarah and Nippy speak candidly about the NXIVM curriculum, where it came...
CW: This episode contains reference to physical and sexual abuse, mental illness, and mention of suicide. Please listen with care. It takes a tremendous amount of self-inquiry to get to a place in recovery where you can finally use the four-letter word - cult - and Trina Studebaker has done the work. In this episode, Trina bravely shares her life story with us. It's a story of cultic influence that starts early-in-life with sexual abuse and an...
I woke up at 5am to the sound of rain against my window, and as I write these words to you I'm surrounded by darkness... feeling right at home in it. I used to need ALL the lights to be on - at.all.times. I was afraid of the dark for good reason; it used to be unsafe for me to be there. And now here I am... doing this work, hanging out in the shadowy, milky depths... feeling lighter than ever. This isn't a humble brag. It's a testament to...
Here's part 2 in a three-part series where Tracy & I deconstruct The '4 Allies' as they were presented at 'the Org'.In Part 2, we take a peek at the second ally/agreement: "Don't Take Anything Personally."This topic is pretty juicy & we left this conversation unfinished... because life. You should know, this agreement is the most triggering for yours truly, so I did most of the talking (b/c talking what I do when I'm fired up...
Candice welcomes friend and activist Jamie Smith to the podcast for an illuminating discussion on the ‘cult’ure of MLM. Jamie spent four years as a sales rep with dōTERRA, a multi-level marketing company known for its high-end essential oils. She shares when she became involved in the company - while battling postpartum depression and shortly after the death of her father - as well as what drew her into work as a distributor. As a health...
I'm pretty darn excited to share this conversation with you, because it's one that I found truly transformative. 🙌🏽Here's part 1 in a three-part series where Tracy & I deconstruct 'The 4 Allies' as they were presented at 'the Org.' We compare *how they were applied* with Don Miguel Ruiz's presentation in his 1997 book The Four Agreements, and come to some pretty startling ah-has along the way. This conversation helped both Tracy &...
Here are 8 arguments commonly used to deflect responsibility and/or diminish the experience of folks who've have experienced abuse. Personally speaking, I encountered every one of these lines of defense in new age 'wellness' communities where I worked and studied for two decades... AND I was also, at times, very much guilty of perpetuating them. Mental health awareness isn't just about how to respond in a moment of crisis... it's also about...
