Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 34
In a doctrinal publication Brooks and Foss state that, ―We must begin to stop eating poisons
in order to stop the ageing process and to begin to take control of our own bodies instead of
letting our bodies control us‖ (Brooks and Foss, 1982: 142, emphasis added). Furthermore,
Breatharianism stresses the need for domination of our bodies in order to free ourselves
from the restraints of humanity (Brooks and Foss, 1982: 18).
It is interesting to note that both Wiley Brooks and Ellen Graves (a.k.a. Jasmuheen) have
used the same excuse when they have been caught eating. When followers caught Wiley
Brooks eating in the 1970s he claimed that he was not able to properly gain nutrients from
the air due to air pollution (Lagasse, 2002: 72). Jasmuheen used an identical excuse when
she had to back out of a surveillance challenge issued by Australia‘s 60 Minutes TV show.
Jasmuheen claimed that pollution from a roadway nearby was polluting the air and therefore
she could not garner the nutrients she needed through her breath (Lagasse, 2002: 72).
Notions of food and eating guide and regiment the whole life of a Breatharian, which is
parallel to the anorexic‘s manipulation of her life in the same manner. Breatharianism
teaches that he or she should concentrate on not eating and not feeling hunger, just like the
anorexic that might think obsessively about not eating all day. This desire to fast and not
feel hunger invades all aspects of one‘s life it becomes all-encompassing. Breatharianism
is a comprehensive ideology that, like anorexia, controls its members.
Breatharianism is an audience cult whereby membership primarily involves consumer
activities (Stark and Bainbridge, 1985: 26). Members consume cult doctrine through mass
media, in particular via the Internet. Due to the non-communal nature of Breatharianism,
members most likely do not interact with Jasmuheen on an interpersonal level. Therefore,
followers learn to control themselves via the guise of group doctrine. By extension, the
leader (Jasmuheen in the case of Breatharianism) indirectly gains control over surrogate
bodies, those of her followers.
In her ―bounded choice‖ model of NRM involvement, Janja Lalich discusses internal
mechanisms of control (Lalich, 2004). She refers specifically to Heaven‘s Gate and the
Democratic Workers Party, which were both total institutions:
But the harshest sanction of all was internal— the devoted member‘s inner
capacity to control urges, desires, actions, thoughts, and beliefs that were
contrary to the group‘s teaching. Self-condemnation was everyday fare.
These internalized sanctions were among the most powerful mechanisms of
control. Ultimately, the individual cult member‘s ability to enact freedom of
action was not restricted by lurking external forces or even by the confines of
the system. Rather, at this point of the fusion of personal freedom and self-
renunciation, at this point of personal closure the individual may well become
his own source of constraint (Lalich, 2004: 254 emphasis added).
I extend Lalich‘s internal mechanism of control to apply to Breatharianism, even though
Breatharianism is an audience cult and not a total institution. Within Breatharianism, the
individual becomes his or her own harshest critic, despite the lack of ―. ..lurking external
forces‖ (Lalich, 2004: 254).
Conclusion
I adapt the social psychological control theory of anorexia to relate to what I call imposed
anorexia. Imposed anorexia is a form of dietary restriction that one does not originate with
oneself but with a high demand ideological leader. In some instances, that leader imposes
the heavily restricted diet directly (in the case of Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Rama Behera).
In other instances, mediators enforce the restriction on others (as in the case of Anne
Hamilton-Byrne). In still other instances (as with Breatharians), seekers follow doctrines
and essentially implement the restrictions on (or against) themselves. The evidence from
In a doctrinal publication Brooks and Foss state that, ―We must begin to stop eating poisons
in order to stop the ageing process and to begin to take control of our own bodies instead of
letting our bodies control us‖ (Brooks and Foss, 1982: 142, emphasis added). Furthermore,
Breatharianism stresses the need for domination of our bodies in order to free ourselves
from the restraints of humanity (Brooks and Foss, 1982: 18).
It is interesting to note that both Wiley Brooks and Ellen Graves (a.k.a. Jasmuheen) have
used the same excuse when they have been caught eating. When followers caught Wiley
Brooks eating in the 1970s he claimed that he was not able to properly gain nutrients from
the air due to air pollution (Lagasse, 2002: 72). Jasmuheen used an identical excuse when
she had to back out of a surveillance challenge issued by Australia‘s 60 Minutes TV show.
Jasmuheen claimed that pollution from a roadway nearby was polluting the air and therefore
she could not garner the nutrients she needed through her breath (Lagasse, 2002: 72).
Notions of food and eating guide and regiment the whole life of a Breatharian, which is
parallel to the anorexic‘s manipulation of her life in the same manner. Breatharianism
teaches that he or she should concentrate on not eating and not feeling hunger, just like the
anorexic that might think obsessively about not eating all day. This desire to fast and not
feel hunger invades all aspects of one‘s life it becomes all-encompassing. Breatharianism
is a comprehensive ideology that, like anorexia, controls its members.
Breatharianism is an audience cult whereby membership primarily involves consumer
activities (Stark and Bainbridge, 1985: 26). Members consume cult doctrine through mass
media, in particular via the Internet. Due to the non-communal nature of Breatharianism,
members most likely do not interact with Jasmuheen on an interpersonal level. Therefore,
followers learn to control themselves via the guise of group doctrine. By extension, the
leader (Jasmuheen in the case of Breatharianism) indirectly gains control over surrogate
bodies, those of her followers.
In her ―bounded choice‖ model of NRM involvement, Janja Lalich discusses internal
mechanisms of control (Lalich, 2004). She refers specifically to Heaven‘s Gate and the
Democratic Workers Party, which were both total institutions:
But the harshest sanction of all was internal— the devoted member‘s inner
capacity to control urges, desires, actions, thoughts, and beliefs that were
contrary to the group‘s teaching. Self-condemnation was everyday fare.
These internalized sanctions were among the most powerful mechanisms of
control. Ultimately, the individual cult member‘s ability to enact freedom of
action was not restricted by lurking external forces or even by the confines of
the system. Rather, at this point of the fusion of personal freedom and self-
renunciation, at this point of personal closure the individual may well become
his own source of constraint (Lalich, 2004: 254 emphasis added).
I extend Lalich‘s internal mechanism of control to apply to Breatharianism, even though
Breatharianism is an audience cult and not a total institution. Within Breatharianism, the
individual becomes his or her own harshest critic, despite the lack of ―. ..lurking external
forces‖ (Lalich, 2004: 254).
Conclusion
I adapt the social psychological control theory of anorexia to relate to what I call imposed
anorexia. Imposed anorexia is a form of dietary restriction that one does not originate with
oneself but with a high demand ideological leader. In some instances, that leader imposes
the heavily restricted diet directly (in the case of Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Rama Behera).
In other instances, mediators enforce the restriction on others (as in the case of Anne
Hamilton-Byrne). In still other instances (as with Breatharians), seekers follow doctrines
and essentially implement the restrictions on (or against) themselves. The evidence from
