International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 9, 2018 55
The Gentle Wind Project: Quasi-Religion and Alternative Health
Kayla Swanson
Alberta, Canada
Abstract
The quasi-religious space is important for
examining groups and organizations that exhibit
qualities of both the sacred and the secular,
particularly when groups have a vested interest
in being perceived as either secular or sacred.
The purpose of this article is to examine the
Gentle Wind Project (GWP), a quasi-religious,
New Age alternative healing movement, and to
demonstrate how the group fit the category of
quasi-religious. Furthermore, through an
examination of the small and relatively unknown
group, this article demonstrates the value of the
quasi-religious label for examining new
religious movements (NRMs) or other
ambiguous movements and for drawing
attention to the group itself.
Keywords: alternative health, Gentle Wind
Project, GWP, New Age, quasi-religion,
unorthodox medicine
Like so many binaries, the terms religious and
secular divide the world into either/or terms.
These seemingly oppositional forces interact
with and interpenetrate each other, and the
category of quasi-religions presents the
opportunity to study groups that exist at the
intersection between religion and secular. The
advantage of the quasi-religious perspective is
not that it narrows the categories, but rather that
it presents a continuum by which to analyze
certain groups. At the most fundamental level,
Arthur L. Greil and Thomas Robbins described
quasi-religions as groups that “either do not see
themselves, or are not seen by others, as
unambiguously religious” (1994, p. 8).
John E. Smith elaborated, claiming that quasi-
religion “is ...as close to the purely descriptive
as one may hope to get” (Smith, 1996, p. 17).
This sentiment not only highlights the use of
quasi-religion as a descriptor, but also hints at
the difficulty of examining groups that fit into
these categories. That is, quasi-religion as a
category allows one to better examine groups at
the intersection between secular and religious
while remaining aware of how fluid these
seemingly opposite aspects can be within a
singular entity. Quasi-religion is a category that
has been used to examine many groups, such as
Humanism (Smith, 1996), The Sullivan Institute
(Suskind, 1994), and Scientology (Bromley &
Bracey, 1998). Therapy and alternative health
groups are particularly ideal examples for
examining these groups. In fact, Bromley and
Bracey highlighted the growth of quasi-religious
alternative therapy groups since the 1960s
(1998, p. 154). The Gentle Wind Project,
hereafter GWP,
436F
437 continued this trend of
alternative-health quasi-religions.
GWP, a small New Age alternative-healing
organization, began in Maine in the 1970s and
continued its growth through the 1980s,
437F
438
1990s, and early 2000s. GWP dissolved in 2006
following a series of legal disputes in which it
was both defendant (against the State of Maine)
and plaintiff (against former members and
critics).
438F
439 The group self-identified as a “world
healing organization” with the purpose of
“restor[ing] the human consciousness to a state
of balance and peace” (Carreiro, 1987, p. vii). It
offered unorthodox healing instruments that
reportedly involved nonphysical spiritual
healing.
437 The Gentle Wind Project (GWP) has also been known by other
names, including (but not limited to): Gentle Wind/Turning Point,
the Gentle Wind School, Gentle Wind Retreat, Gentle Wind
Hawaii, Gentle Wind Iran, Gentle Wind World Wide, Global
Information Network, Family Systems Research Group (FSRG),
and Eye of the Sky (WoC, 2004).
438 In 1984, GWP “formally incorporated as a federally approved
non-profit” (GWP, n.d.-e, p. 1).
439 For more on information on the court cases involving GWP, see
Kent &Swanson, 2017.
The Gentle Wind Project: Quasi-Religion and Alternative Health
Kayla Swanson
Alberta, Canada
Abstract
The quasi-religious space is important for
examining groups and organizations that exhibit
qualities of both the sacred and the secular,
particularly when groups have a vested interest
in being perceived as either secular or sacred.
The purpose of this article is to examine the
Gentle Wind Project (GWP), a quasi-religious,
New Age alternative healing movement, and to
demonstrate how the group fit the category of
quasi-religious. Furthermore, through an
examination of the small and relatively unknown
group, this article demonstrates the value of the
quasi-religious label for examining new
religious movements (NRMs) or other
ambiguous movements and for drawing
attention to the group itself.
Keywords: alternative health, Gentle Wind
Project, GWP, New Age, quasi-religion,
unorthodox medicine
Like so many binaries, the terms religious and
secular divide the world into either/or terms.
These seemingly oppositional forces interact
with and interpenetrate each other, and the
category of quasi-religions presents the
opportunity to study groups that exist at the
intersection between religion and secular. The
advantage of the quasi-religious perspective is
not that it narrows the categories, but rather that
it presents a continuum by which to analyze
certain groups. At the most fundamental level,
Arthur L. Greil and Thomas Robbins described
quasi-religions as groups that “either do not see
themselves, or are not seen by others, as
unambiguously religious” (1994, p. 8).
John E. Smith elaborated, claiming that quasi-
religion “is ...as close to the purely descriptive
as one may hope to get” (Smith, 1996, p. 17).
This sentiment not only highlights the use of
quasi-religion as a descriptor, but also hints at
the difficulty of examining groups that fit into
these categories. That is, quasi-religion as a
category allows one to better examine groups at
the intersection between secular and religious
while remaining aware of how fluid these
seemingly opposite aspects can be within a
singular entity. Quasi-religion is a category that
has been used to examine many groups, such as
Humanism (Smith, 1996), The Sullivan Institute
(Suskind, 1994), and Scientology (Bromley &
Bracey, 1998). Therapy and alternative health
groups are particularly ideal examples for
examining these groups. In fact, Bromley and
Bracey highlighted the growth of quasi-religious
alternative therapy groups since the 1960s
(1998, p. 154). The Gentle Wind Project,
hereafter GWP,
436F
437 continued this trend of
alternative-health quasi-religions.
GWP, a small New Age alternative-healing
organization, began in Maine in the 1970s and
continued its growth through the 1980s,
437F
438
1990s, and early 2000s. GWP dissolved in 2006
following a series of legal disputes in which it
was both defendant (against the State of Maine)
and plaintiff (against former members and
critics).
438F
439 The group self-identified as a “world
healing organization” with the purpose of
“restor[ing] the human consciousness to a state
of balance and peace” (Carreiro, 1987, p. vii). It
offered unorthodox healing instruments that
reportedly involved nonphysical spiritual
healing.
437 The Gentle Wind Project (GWP) has also been known by other
names, including (but not limited to): Gentle Wind/Turning Point,
the Gentle Wind School, Gentle Wind Retreat, Gentle Wind
Hawaii, Gentle Wind Iran, Gentle Wind World Wide, Global
Information Network, Family Systems Research Group (FSRG),
and Eye of the Sky (WoC, 2004).
438 In 1984, GWP “formally incorporated as a federally approved
non-profit” (GWP, n.d.-e, p. 1).
439 For more on information on the court cases involving GWP, see
Kent &Swanson, 2017.
