So yeah, I'm still alive. Still in Sweden. But in a remarkably bad, creepy, deeply unsettling situation. Unfortunately I can't really post about it directly until I'm out, but if you know Sweden at all, you can guess at least which... Part of the country this may be in (it has a reputation for cults)...
Seen the movie Midsommar..? It's not really anything like that, but there is also an eerie level of crossover, in some aspects...
Internet and phone use are heavily restricted, here, as is free time, as is privacy. Hence my lack of posts and comments since I've been here.
While I don't personally have that much power or influence, when I get out of here, I fully intend to expose this shit as best as I can, and as widely as possible. Because this "program" should not be allowed to continue as it has. Or, at the very least, it should not be able to recruit people, internationally, while being wholly dishonest about what it is and what goes on here.
So yeah, that's me. That's what has happened. I fell into a residential cult. Disguised as an "educational program". Because of course I did.
Were you born during an eclipse, in an ancient burial ground by C-section using broken mirror shards or something? Because you have some cosmically bad luck.
And also maybe an underactive weirdar, maybe look into an assistant to vet things for creepy vibes for you.
Good luck getting away. Maybe you can turn this into the next JoeVsElanschool, but without the years of lost freedom and social trauma though.
It's worth noting that my family has involvement in the wider movement of education/philosophy that this place fits into, and is an extreme outlier within...
So I briefly went to a school organized around the principles behind the "movement" when I was a kid, and did some home schooling based around those principles...
When I was that age, most of my friends (that I was allowed to see) were also involved in that... Educational philosophy...
Without saying directly what it is, it's a well-known esoteric Germanic cult with its headquarters in Sweden (this place is the second-biggest in the world, I believe), and schools all over the place.
Pretty much a hippie cult.
So I was perhaps... An easier potential "victim" than someone else who, say, did not come from that background, or who didn't almost certainly have C-PTSD, or didn't have "alternative" ideals, to some extent...
I am almost the perfect victim. Except that I knew, as soon as I arrived here that things were not right. So obviously some part of me, at least, was aware...
I nearly came here seven years ago when I was much younger, and maybe more naive. Thank god that I didn't, is all I will say...
It's a good thing you still have your wits about you not to get sucked in and have an escape plan in motion.
The most dangerous thing about cults are two different things:
Stockholm syndrome and sunken cost, a lot of them start thinking It's in their best interest to be a part of it and then they've given so much to the cause they might as well 'see it through'. Hopefully you're near the border of either Norway or Finland.
Yeah, I... Did "vet" this a bit, but unfortunately I probably chose/relied on the wrong people to vet it...
It's also extraordinarily obscure (because it's a private training organization, not a University), so remarkably difficult to find bad/external reviews...
If I can change any one thing out of this, it will be that. They need someone to speak up about this.
And if they sue me for libel, or try to? Fuck 'em. Once I'm outside Sweden, I'm more than willing to take that on.
I'm already beginning to see things unravel, here (i.e. even their own community/the wider village and town has started to reject them for being "too radical"), so I'm more than willing to be the straw that broke the camel's back...
This thing, whatever it is, is being sold as an "educational program". I sincerely hope that I'm one of the last people/in one of the last cohorts to be duped by that.
We're also mostly being "taught"/brainwashed by alumni from previous years, so yeah, it is that successful at roping people in. Many are intermarried, and a fair number still live in the village/nearby town...
Time for the whole house of cards to come down, I think. Or at least start to.
It won't help me, but if I can try to prevent others from falling into this trap, in future, then at least something positive comes of it...
I've already convinced two young women (who were considering it) not to come here, so in that, I guess perhaps I have done some good.
But yeah, it's... Frighteningly fucked up. But at least I can see that now.
I'm trying. It's more legally, financially and logistically difficult than you might imagine (as I tried to detail, at least in part)...
But yes, that is the plan, ASAP. Once I am (hopefully) in a position where doing that won't have as much long-lasting consequence in my life as doing so right now would, then yeah, I'm outta here.
I've already spoken to the Aus Embassy, in person, and they were like, "Best of luck, but not our problem", so...
Yeah, I... Did "vet" this a bit, but unfortunately I probably chose/relied on the wrong people to vet it...
Not to criticize you, because I'm pretty sure you already realize this, but the more effect something has on your life, the more thorough your vetting should be.
Re: exposing them. Just record as much damaging information as you can.
I've already convinced two young women (who were considering it) not to come here, so in that, I guess perhaps I have done some good.
TRAITOR. You're helping the ENEMY avoid destroying their lives??? [/imp]
I have no idea what exact situation you're in, but from what you've revealed - that you're in a cult in a Sweden - an option you might want to consider is finding a mainstream church and asking for help.
You need to get extract yourself from the situation first, then you can worry anything else (such as "exposing people" or whatever). To get help, you'll need to find people who are reliable and aren't going to cheat you or harm you, and I suspect the best way to find such people in a country you don't have ties with is by turning to genuine Christians.
I did try going to a church full of Swedes about two weeks ago, in a nearby place...
Unfortunately though, it felt even more... "Culty" than some of this does, and also unfortunately, their "denomination" is vaguely involved in this same... Wider movement.
I did not feel welcome there at all. So you're right, but I'll have to keep looking at the different local churches to see if there are less wacky ones, and which have zero association, even tangential, with the cult...
Maybe try a Catholic church if there are any around? It'll still be full of Swedes, but should not be actually "culty" (bearing in mind I don't know what you mean by this term - a lack of familiarity with how the church operates may make it look "culty" to an outsider). And the parish priest should be able to help you in some way, even if it is simply to speak to him in confidence.
I’ve spent a reasonable amount of time in mainline churches (in Aus, mostly). Both Catholic and Anglican. Believe me when I say that this felt very different.
90% of them were elderly, for one thing. And they seemed deeply suspicious of me, and, to some extent, of each other…
Bad juju. But yes, I’ll try and shop around. It was a Steiner-adjacent rural church, so not surprising it was wack…
I’ve never felt quite so… Weirded out by a church in any other country I’ve been to, except maybe India. And Switzerland, where again, it was Steiner-related…
I have unironically pretty much decided to leave (the cult, not Sweden) within the next fortnight, because things somehow got worse, so…
I’ll definitely look into this more once I am physically out of here…
So yeah, I'm still alive. Still in Sweden. But in a remarkably bad, creepy, deeply unsettling situation. Unfortunately I can't really post about it directly until I'm out, but if you know Sweden at all, you can guess at least which... Part of the country this may be in (it has a reputation for cults)...
Seen the movie Midsommar..? It's not really anything like that, but there is also an eerie level of crossover, in some aspects...
Internet and phone use are heavily restricted, here, as is free time, as is privacy. Hence my lack of posts and comments since I've been here.
While I don't personally have that much power or influence, when I get out of here, I fully intend to expose this shit as best as I can, and as widely as possible. Because this "program" should not be allowed to continue as it has. Or, at the very least, it should not be able to recruit people, internationally, while being wholly dishonest about what it is and what goes on here.
So yeah, that's me. That's what has happened. I fell into a residential cult. Disguised as an "educational program". Because of course I did.
Were you born during an eclipse, in an ancient burial ground by C-section using broken mirror shards or something? Because you have some cosmically bad luck.
And also maybe an underactive weirdar, maybe look into an assistant to vet things for creepy vibes for you.
Good luck getting away. Maybe you can turn this into the next JoeVsElanschool, but without the years of lost freedom and social trauma though.
It's worth noting that my family has involvement in the wider movement of education/philosophy that this place fits into, and is an extreme outlier within...
So I briefly went to a school organized around the principles behind the "movement" when I was a kid, and did some home schooling based around those principles...
When I was that age, most of my friends (that I was allowed to see) were also involved in that... Educational philosophy...
Without saying directly what it is, it's a well-known esoteric Germanic cult with its headquarters in Sweden (this place is the second-biggest in the world, I believe), and schools all over the place.
Pretty much a hippie cult.
So I was perhaps... An easier potential "victim" than someone else who, say, did not come from that background, or who didn't almost certainly have C-PTSD, or didn't have "alternative" ideals, to some extent...
I am almost the perfect victim. Except that I knew, as soon as I arrived here that things were not right. So obviously some part of me, at least, was aware...
I nearly came here seven years ago when I was much younger, and maybe more naive. Thank god that I didn't, is all I will say...
It's a good thing you still have your wits about you not to get sucked in and have an escape plan in motion.
The most dangerous thing about cults are two different things:
Stockholm syndrome and sunken cost, a lot of them start thinking It's in their best interest to be a part of it and then they've given so much to the cause they might as well 'see it through'. Hopefully you're near the border of either Norway or Finland.
Yeah, I... Did "vet" this a bit, but unfortunately I probably chose/relied on the wrong people to vet it...
It's also extraordinarily obscure (because it's a private training organization, not a University), so remarkably difficult to find bad/external reviews...
If I can change any one thing out of this, it will be that. They need someone to speak up about this.
And if they sue me for libel, or try to? Fuck 'em. Once I'm outside Sweden, I'm more than willing to take that on.
I'm already beginning to see things unravel, here (i.e. even their own community/the wider village and town has started to reject them for being "too radical"), so I'm more than willing to be the straw that broke the camel's back...
This thing, whatever it is, is being sold as an "educational program". I sincerely hope that I'm one of the last people/in one of the last cohorts to be duped by that.
We're also mostly being "taught"/brainwashed by alumni from previous years, so yeah, it is that successful at roping people in. Many are intermarried, and a fair number still live in the village/nearby town...
Time for the whole house of cards to come down, I think. Or at least start to.
It won't help me, but if I can try to prevent others from falling into this trap, in future, then at least something positive comes of it...
I've already convinced two young women (who were considering it) not to come here, so in that, I guess perhaps I have done some good.
But yeah, it's... Frighteningly fucked up. But at least I can see that now.
Or you could just hightail it out of there?
I'm trying. It's more legally, financially and logistically difficult than you might imagine (as I tried to detail, at least in part)...
But yes, that is the plan, ASAP. Once I am (hopefully) in a position where doing that won't have as much long-lasting consequence in my life as doing so right now would, then yeah, I'm outta here.
I've already spoken to the Aus Embassy, in person, and they were like, "Best of luck, but not our problem", so...
I'm working on it, to say the least.
Not to criticize you, because I'm pretty sure you already realize this, but the more effect something has on your life, the more thorough your vetting should be.
Re: exposing them. Just record as much damaging information as you can.
TRAITOR. You're helping the ENEMY avoid destroying their lives??? [/imp]
I think the problem is being in a cult (such as Australia) removes the ability of people to realize what cults are and avoid them.
Paying the minimal amount of attention to what he's saying, it's got more red flags than a red flag convention.
Is this you?
I have no idea what exact situation you're in, but from what you've revealed - that you're in a cult in a Sweden - an option you might want to consider is finding a mainstream church and asking for help.
You need to get extract yourself from the situation first, then you can worry anything else (such as "exposing people" or whatever). To get help, you'll need to find people who are reliable and aren't going to cheat you or harm you, and I suspect the best way to find such people in a country you don't have ties with is by turning to genuine Christians.
I did try going to a church full of Swedes about two weeks ago, in a nearby place...
Unfortunately though, it felt even more... "Culty" than some of this does, and also unfortunately, their "denomination" is vaguely involved in this same... Wider movement.
I did not feel welcome there at all. So you're right, but I'll have to keep looking at the different local churches to see if there are less wacky ones, and which have zero association, even tangential, with the cult...
But yeah, working on it!
Maybe try a Catholic church if there are any around? It'll still be full of Swedes, but should not be actually "culty" (bearing in mind I don't know what you mean by this term - a lack of familiarity with how the church operates may make it look "culty" to an outsider). And the parish priest should be able to help you in some way, even if it is simply to speak to him in confidence.
I’ve spent a reasonable amount of time in mainline churches (in Aus, mostly). Both Catholic and Anglican. Believe me when I say that this felt very different.
90% of them were elderly, for one thing. And they seemed deeply suspicious of me, and, to some extent, of each other…
Bad juju. But yes, I’ll try and shop around. It was a Steiner-adjacent rural church, so not surprising it was wack…
I’ve never felt quite so… Weirded out by a church in any other country I’ve been to, except maybe India. And Switzerland, where again, it was Steiner-related…
I have unironically pretty much decided to leave (the cult, not Sweden) within the next fortnight, because things somehow got worse, so…
I’ll definitely look into this more once I am physically out of here…
Two of the church ladies (the only friendly ones) did eventually invite me to their amateur theatre performance, this last weekend…
That somehow then fell through (on their end), but still, they obviously thought I was ok.
So I got through, to at least them, but man, believe me when I say… It was an uncomfortable vibe, in that building…
But if you know the Steiner shit, it’s not exactly mainline Christianity anyway, so… Yeah.
You left Aus to get into that?
I want to hear this story. If you come back home I'll buy you dinner.