While most people think of a cult as a group ruled by a charismatic leader \u2013 where members dress alike, live together, and follow strict rules that control how they think and behave \u2013 there are modern movements that don\u2019t fit this traditional description yet include the same dynamics, as Chantal discovered.<\/p>\n
The indoctrination was slow and subtle for Chantal. Photo \/ Tim Cuff<\/p>\n
She says, \u201cThe New Age cult holds beliefs from the most benign, such as the natural world being where we can experience God, to outright harmful, like cancer being treated with detoxes instead of proper medical care.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see how people start down this path \u2013 the medical system isn\u2019t perfect and holistic wellness can be incredibly transformative, but it becomes dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
The indoctrination was slow and subtle for Chantal. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis ideology slowly moulded me into someone who didn\u2019t question the \u2018truths\u2019 I was absorbing,\u201d she tells. \u201cVaccines were the cause of chronic illness. Anything unnatural was harmful. Pharmaceutical companies are corrupt, therefore all medications are bio-weapons to control our minds and keep us unwell.\u201d <\/p>\n
As with all conspiracy theories, Chantal says there are grains of truth, which is what makes them so compelling and insidious.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasted years experiencing depression and chronic anxiety when I should have been on medication, but because of the New Age cult, I believed that medication was a cop-out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chantal also fell victim to rabbit holes and conspiracy thinking. Photo \/ Tim Cuff<\/p>\n
When Chantal first entered the wellness industry in 2005, she expected to meet like-minded people. What she didn\u2019t anticipate was the power play and elitism.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the many trainings I attended, there was an obvious hierarchy,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThere was an unspoken expectation that some people were the purest and the most spiritually enlightened \u2013 from the way they dressed and spoke, to what they ate.\u201d<\/p>\n