I guess it won’t come as too much of a surprise that, along with its newfound respectability, the widespread use of psychedelic drugs in therapy and for spiritual growth has attracted some pretty unscrupulous individuals. I hadn’t realized, however, that a major scandal had already occurred, only a few years back. It involved yet another self- styled “spiritual leader” and the movement he founded– Inner Mastery.
The hallucinogen they chose: ayahuasca.
Here’s an account of the cult’s rise and eventual fall. It first appeared in The Guardian:
‘People pay to be told lies’: the rise and fall of the world’s first ayahuasca multinational
Inner Mastery bragged about running one thousand retreats serving some 30,000 customers annually. The organization appears to have been more commercial than religious in orientation — in line with the founder’s own history as a kind of “serial entrepreneur” (read: hustler). These folks were into money — going so far as to market their own cryptocurrency.
Eventually, its chain of ‘retreat centers’ evolved into communes where devotees were allowed to live, for a fee. Their labor, however, was unpaid, as is characteristic of cults. Inner Mastery was certainly media savvy, with heavy online marketing, and streaming its classes, workshops, and services all around the world.
At the center of it all: ayahuasca. Not the sort of jungle rituals found in indigenous cultures, although the guru did claim a connection. The operation itself was a mishmash of spirituality and commerce — where everything came at a price.
One of the guru’s favored practices was to urge followers to break up with their current unenlightened partners ( a classic cult tactic to cement someone’s primary loyalty to the cult). That helped to discourage them from returning to a former life in the outside world.
I suppose that was the point.
“He must have preyed on the ignorant and uneducated,” noted one online comment. But as it turns out, research has found that cult members do not conform to that stereotype.
Instead, those who are attracted to cults tend to have a “…higher level of education, a weaker spiritual background, higher financial success, younger age, and fewer time constraints” than their peers. They are interested in the world around them, and in exploring new and different ways of looking at things.
In other words, they’re the opposite of ignorant. But they’re vulnerable nonetheless. And I suppose hallucinogen use simply helps to lower their defenses, and enhances their vulnerability.
