Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 84
Two who claimed to be ―Representatives‖ of the Next Level. Initially, this demonstration was
to be imminent, then soon, then when? Days, months, years, even decades passed as Ti,
Do, and their followers waited for the spaceship to retrieve them, all that time living within
their specially constructed social system.
Meanwhile, their immediate goal was to evolve via individual transformation into the
genderless ideal, the ―Next Level creature.‖ Such a transformation was required in order to
get on the spaceship. The specific methodology for generating this change, which was
conceived of as a physical metamorphosis, was known to them as ―The Process.‖ The idea
was to overcome all human tendencies and habits, especially human emotions. The change
would occur by each member meeting the tests given by the Next Level and striving at all
times to be connected to ―Next Level Mind‖ via their leaders, also called ―Older Members.‖
In her written exit statement one devotee, who joined in 1976, described this relationship
as follows:
The only REAL ―family‖ relationship that can be maintained is that between an
Older Member and a younger member. As long as the younger member keeps
his eyes on his Older Member, and wants with all his heart, mind and soul to
please his Older Member, that relationship is forever.
Walking out of the door of one‘s life was the first step toward transformation, while other
detailed daily routines and more complicated practices evolved over time as the group went
into seclusion. Being engaged in The Process bound members to each other and to their
leaders, just as it solidified their belief in the message. Over time, the group-defined reality
became the only reality by which to live.
Systems of Control
In relation to the systems of control I examined and analyzed the group‘s hierarchy and
command structure, organizational structures and processes, and the rules and regulations
that guided everyday life in the group. The systems of control in Heaven‘s Gate can be
characterized by discipline and subjugation. As one devotee said, in discussing the
requirements for this group, ―It will not be easy for you, or anyone.‖ In self-sealing systems
such as this one was, typically, the operating philosophy is ―the ends justify the means.‖
The context for the transformation described in the previous section was ―the Class,‖
established in April 1976. The Two called their followers together in a campground in the
national forest in Laramie, Wyoming. Quickly, the group‘s size reduced by half or more as
stringent rules and regulations were established to guide the members‘ daily lives. Before
the formation of the Class, the group had been erratic in its behavior and its own internal
discipline. But the Class changed everything, giving structure and a great deal of order to
what was until then a rather diffuse movement with little direct leadership. The followers
were now ―students‖ of the Next Level, and Ti and Do were their ―Teachers,‖ to be emulated
as Older Members of the Next Level. Students were subjected to extensive and extreme
regimentation, such as each student reporting every twelve minutes to a central post to see
if Ti or Do needed something. If they were away from the group‘s central location, students
were to ―report‖ in their minds, stopping everything to ―tune in‖ to their leaders. Also Ti and
Do conjured up bizarre diets and exercise regimens, and instituted other routines and
disciplines, such as expanses of time without speaking and prolonged periods of students
covering their heads and faces with hoods. Exercises such as those and more were used to
encourage a type of extreme conformity. All of this was explained as their recipe for change,
the necessary personal transformation. As Do described it, speaking of his followers:
They will attempt to rid themselves of their old minds, their identities, in
exchange for the mind that flows through me, as they attempt to be accepted
Two who claimed to be ―Representatives‖ of the Next Level. Initially, this demonstration was
to be imminent, then soon, then when? Days, months, years, even decades passed as Ti,
Do, and their followers waited for the spaceship to retrieve them, all that time living within
their specially constructed social system.
Meanwhile, their immediate goal was to evolve via individual transformation into the
genderless ideal, the ―Next Level creature.‖ Such a transformation was required in order to
get on the spaceship. The specific methodology for generating this change, which was
conceived of as a physical metamorphosis, was known to them as ―The Process.‖ The idea
was to overcome all human tendencies and habits, especially human emotions. The change
would occur by each member meeting the tests given by the Next Level and striving at all
times to be connected to ―Next Level Mind‖ via their leaders, also called ―Older Members.‖
In her written exit statement one devotee, who joined in 1976, described this relationship
as follows:
The only REAL ―family‖ relationship that can be maintained is that between an
Older Member and a younger member. As long as the younger member keeps
his eyes on his Older Member, and wants with all his heart, mind and soul to
please his Older Member, that relationship is forever.
Walking out of the door of one‘s life was the first step toward transformation, while other
detailed daily routines and more complicated practices evolved over time as the group went
into seclusion. Being engaged in The Process bound members to each other and to their
leaders, just as it solidified their belief in the message. Over time, the group-defined reality
became the only reality by which to live.
Systems of Control
In relation to the systems of control I examined and analyzed the group‘s hierarchy and
command structure, organizational structures and processes, and the rules and regulations
that guided everyday life in the group. The systems of control in Heaven‘s Gate can be
characterized by discipline and subjugation. As one devotee said, in discussing the
requirements for this group, ―It will not be easy for you, or anyone.‖ In self-sealing systems
such as this one was, typically, the operating philosophy is ―the ends justify the means.‖
The context for the transformation described in the previous section was ―the Class,‖
established in April 1976. The Two called their followers together in a campground in the
national forest in Laramie, Wyoming. Quickly, the group‘s size reduced by half or more as
stringent rules and regulations were established to guide the members‘ daily lives. Before
the formation of the Class, the group had been erratic in its behavior and its own internal
discipline. But the Class changed everything, giving structure and a great deal of order to
what was until then a rather diffuse movement with little direct leadership. The followers
were now ―students‖ of the Next Level, and Ti and Do were their ―Teachers,‖ to be emulated
as Older Members of the Next Level. Students were subjected to extensive and extreme
regimentation, such as each student reporting every twelve minutes to a central post to see
if Ti or Do needed something. If they were away from the group‘s central location, students
were to ―report‖ in their minds, stopping everything to ―tune in‖ to their leaders. Also Ti and
Do conjured up bizarre diets and exercise regimens, and instituted other routines and
disciplines, such as expanses of time without speaking and prolonged periods of students
covering their heads and faces with hoods. Exercises such as those and more were used to
encourage a type of extreme conformity. All of this was explained as their recipe for change,
the necessary personal transformation. As Do described it, speaking of his followers:
They will attempt to rid themselves of their old minds, their identities, in
exchange for the mind that flows through me, as they attempt to be accepted
