Journeys

Journeys BUSINESS JOURNEYS: JOURNEYS: My concepts of God and spirituality were in fact confused at best, in some cases downright fallacious.

Radhia Gleis talks about her journey from cult member to Wellness Director…

Igrew up in Los Angeles CA, (Brentwood). My parents were part of what I would call the entrepreneur class. Although we were not super-rich, we hung out with lots of the super-rich. My brother Nick and I went to private schools. I was presented as a debutante. We were members of several country clubs, attended polo matches and parties. I went to Catholic school. One day, in our comparative religions class, I came across a word in italics: Nirvana! I asked what this word meant. My teacher explained, “Some yogis in India, through a certain practice of meditation, experience God directly. From that day on I went searching for Nirvana. After many years, I finally found someone who could teach me those meditation techniques. Unfortunately, it also took me into the orbit of a narcissistic sociopath cult leader. It’s tempting to judge cult followers as weak-minded and gullible. It has nothing to do with how smart or educated you are; it’s about human nature. The more empathetic and sincere a person you are, the more likely you are to be conned by a narcissist. Why? Honest, trusting people find it hard to believe anyone else can be so deceitful—so self-centred.

Narcissistic sociopaths have one goal, and that is to serve themselves and their insatiable appetite for

Radhia self-aggrandisement, by whatever means possible. They are chameleons, they figure out what you want or fear; then they become whatever you need them to Gleis be—until they have you firmly in their web. The leader makes you feel safe and insulated from the dangerous world, which is usually an illusion he creates through lies and propaganda. Cult members truly feel righteous in their convictions and belief. They often look upon the “others” as ignorant of the “real truth” and perhaps even dangerous to them, the country, or to the world as a whole, thus the followers feel special, exceptional, creating an “us and them” scenario. Everyone else is painted as a threat. Besides my work as the Wellness Director for a compounding pharmacy and as a Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist and biochemical analyst, I’m working on another book entitled Harder to Fall, about the addiction to power and money. If there’s one thing that life has taught me and I’d want to pass on, it’s To thine own self be true. From my personal experience, living a lie is a frightening prospect. We want to feel safe, so we go along to belong. In time we must bury our doubts, our questions, our imagination, and our individuality. We let the status quo dictate what is real, what is right—who is right and who is wrong. And to shore up our righteousness and avoid being exposed, those whom our tribe teaches us are wrong can become the enemy—the target to avoid or even eliminate. My concepts of God and spirituality were in fact confused at best, in some cases downright fallacious. The last vestiges of an immature society that needs a paternal intermediary between you and your God-self is false. The notion that we must strive to be someone greater than ourselves, more holy, more illumined, more perfect is erroneous thinking. n

iFor more information, please visit www.radhiagleis.com. The Followers: “Holy Hell” and the Disciples of Narcissistic Leaders: How My Years in a Notorious Cult Parallel Today’s Cultural Mania is available from book sellers or online retailers.