I recently came across an excerpt written by Janja Lalich and Michael D. Langone. It was from their book Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships (Bay Tree Publishing, 2006).
It is very helpful in listing characteristics associated with cults. What great research. A lot of people who are in cults, don’t even realize it, so it is difficult for them to get themselves free. Even if they do identify with some of the traits on the list, what do they do with that information? The mechanisms of a cult are so entrenched and know how to bypass all the cues of normal responses.
People are very susceptible to a subtle cult mentality right now. They are outgrowing their old belief system and are desperate to find something to believe in. Unfortunately, humans have muscle memory that is so entrenched in giving up their power to an outside source, that they can’t recognize this behavior in themselves. It is going to take some extra nurturing and understanding to help individuals stop looking for an outer crutch and start finally believing in themselves.
For a full list of the characteristics of cults and other reference materials in relation to cult dynamics and behavior, please click on this link.
In this article, I provide a comprehensive list of SFT taps that you can do to help free yourself, someone you love, or the wider collective, from a specific cult, its leader, or a group that exhibits cult-like behavior.
You would do the following taps by saying each statement three times while tapping on the top of your head, a fourth time while tapping on your chest and a fifth time while tapping on your abdomen. Either do the taps for yourself or use one of these statements as a declaration to do them for someone else or others.
Doing these taps as a surrogate for someone you love could be very effective in assisting them. Doing them as a surrogate for humanity is another way to assist. Doing them as a surrogate for all those caught in a certain group can be helpful to weakening the psychic or hypnotic hold the group has on its members. Doing them for yourself can be a great way to do them as a surrogate for humanity as well.
These taps are done as a surrogate for ____________ ; in all moments [Insert a particular person’s name in the blank, or say all members of a particular cult, or as a surrogate for all those who engage in a cult, or as a surrogate for all of humanity] [Insert the name of the cult or its leader in the blank of the following taps]
All zealous commitment to ______________ is released; in all moments
All decreeing of _______________’s truth as law is released; in all moments
Paying homage to ______________’s ideology is released; in all moments
Adopting __________’s belief system as an absolute truth is released; in all moments
All unquestioning commitment to _______________ is released; in all moments
All fear of questioning ________________ is released; in all moments
All blockages to displaying healthy skepticism of _____________ are released; in all moments
All fear of being punished for doubting _____________ is released; in all moments
All mind-altering practices of _____________ are thwarted; in all moments
All mandates on _____________’s personal life choices and decisions are released; in all moments
All belief that _______________ is the messiah is released; in all moments
We release forfeiting our family and friend to appease ____________; in all moments
We release interjecting _____________ as a replacement for family and friends; in all moments
We release being consumed with telling others about __________; in all moments
We release being deduced to a drone for ____________; in all moments
We release needing to generate money for __________ ; in all moments
We release devoting our time and lifeblood to ___________; in all moments
We take back all that we have invested in ________________; in all moments
We take back all that we have given to indoctrinate others into ______________; in all moments
We release segregating ourselves with only those who ascribe to ______________; in all moments
We release the bottle necking of our life experience and activities to the narrow trajectory of _____________’s vantage point; in all moments
We release staying in _____________ out of fear of consequences for leaving; in all moments
We release the demonization and ostracization of all those who have left __________________; in all moments
We release subjugating non-members of _______________ as inconsequential; in all moments
We release the dehumanization of all non-members of _______________; in all moments
We thwart all tangible and subtle forms of manipulation, exploitation and abuse of members of __________; in all moments
We methodically untangle and release the leader’s psyche from the mind and heart of ____________; in all moments
We dissipate all means of psychic, hypnotic and mind control that __________has over ____________; in all moments
We extract the heightened sense of self and responsibility to ________________; in all moments
Free will and the ability to discern is returned to ____________________; in all moments
All individual’s innate sense of purpose is unlinked from the maniacal distorted sense of __________’s importance; in all moments
The synergy of a collective agreement is deactivated from fueling ____________; in all moments
All inflated sense of importance is released from __________________; in all moments
All fear of repercussions for leaving ________________ are released; in all moments
All threats and demonization of those who leave _____________is released; in all moments
All secrets surrounding participants, practices and the operations of _____________ are exposed; in all moments
All alienation between members and all non-members of __________________is released; in all moments
All damaged psyches due to the involvement with __________________ are released; in all moments
All masks, walls and armor regarding nefarious practices of ____________ are removed; in all moments
All psychic forms of protection, control and mind-altering practices of _________________ are rendered inoperable; in all moments
All those who have suffered abuse within _______________ regain their voice; in all moments
All those who have lost their sovereignty within____________ regain their individual identity; in all moments
All former members of ____________ are safe and emboldened to share their truth; in all moments
All covert funneling of energy into ___________________ is released; in all moments
All layers meant to prevent accountability within _______________ are exposed; in all moments
All dirty laundry of _____________ is exposed; in all moments
All hierarchy reward systems within _____________are collapsed and dissolved; in all moments
Worshiping of _____________ is released; in all moments
The belief that _____________can do no wrong is released; in all moments
All illusion and protection of ___________’s nefarious side is stripped away; in all moments
_______________is knocked off his celestial throne; in all moments
The mandate of abiding by ________________’s every whim is released; in all moments
Space is made for all points of view and vantage points within ____________; in all moments
All vows and agreements to ______________ regarding money, service, commitment or loyalty is released; in all moments
All secrecy regarding the operations and practices of _____________ are released; in all moments
Needing to keep secrets regarding ____________is released; in all moments
All the damage that _______________ has done is repaired; in all moments
All the fear, shame and negativity that _____________ has implanted is removed; in all moments
All that has been taken by ____________ is returned; in all moments
