Sneak Peek: Book update, teaser & #IGotOut

Hi Folks,

A few things:

1) Some people have asked about my book, The Gentle Souls Revolution. Thanks for the nudge! Here's the update: Editing, done. Cover design, in process. When that's done, I'm self-publishing--I'll keep you posted!

2) In the meantime, I want to tell you about ....

The #IGOTOUT collaboration, inspired by #MeToo, is a platform for those harmed by destructive cults to speak out & push back. Societal shame silences victims of exploitation. Victim blame perpetuates stigma, re-traumatizes people who are trying to recover and protects perpetrators. It's time to call that out. Recovery requires reclaiming authentic voice. When victims of exploitation tell the truth, whether publicly or privately, they become victors. They choose themselves, instead of carrying cancerous secrets to the grave. It takes courage. That is the reclamation and healing. Truth is the revolution. You take back your birthright by replacing cult propaganda with your authentic voice telling your story from your perspective. You claim self-trust, build self confidence and take back your time, energy, focus, thoughts, feelings, beliefs, relationships and life.

When you do this the healing ripples out. Everyone who shares their story online with the #IGotOut hashtag raises awareness and educates the greater public. Click HERE to visit the #IGOTOUT website.

3) The #IGOTOUT campaign fortifies and echoes my recovery philosophy built from my accidental healing process. I rejected "school's" secrecy out of anger after realizing that the leaders had lied from start to finish. I told my story and that restored my voice, freeing my psyche from a prison of false belief. Calm and clarity replaced constant cognitive dissonance and confusion. I build more self-confidence every time I expose cultic exploitation. The book details my cautionary tale and outlines a recovery template for Gentle Souls to customize for themselves.

Here is a sneak peak into the introduction to Chapter 10, Our Revolution: Your Vulnerabilities are Gems:

The Gentle Souls Recovery Template

Reclaim voice—no more secrets, no more silence

Secrets equal silence. Silence equals entrapment. After I rebelled, I expressed my allegedly “negative emotions” to everyone: friends, family, colleagues and other ex-students. I scratched them out, pen to paper, raging into my notebook. The more I wrote and talked about my experience, the more I felt myself returning to my skin. I grounded and centered myself by clearing and calming my mind.

My blog, Cult Confessions, announced my defiance, with School’s teachers as my intended audience. I wanted the “invisible world” to know I was refusing to safeguard their secrets and lies. School had cluttered my mind with falsehoods for five years. Those lies were no longer my burden. I was not willing to protect the cult at my expense. They no longer controlled me. Every time I demonstrated my defiance, my psyche reintegrated more. Exercising my authentic voice ejected cult propaganda from my mind. As I spoke and wrote my truth, I owned the narrative and took my agency back. My recovery relied on me contradicting and exposing School’s fiction.

So, tell your story to someone. I needed to become the ex-School poster child because when my transparency contradicted School’s secret fallacy, the truth set my mind free. But you don’t have to go public. In fact, you are the only person who can determine the specifications of your recovery. After all, you are taking the personal back through your voice. The process must feel right to you.

But know that freeing your voice frees your mind. It is critical to own the narrative by telling it through your personal experience, in some form, to someone else—a therapist, a trusted family member, or a friend. Give yourself that gift. You will recover your authentic self through it. #IGOTOUT.