Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2010, Page 127
The year before I went to my first CUT conference, Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman
published Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change in 1978. The book
was a groundbreaking study regarding cults and brainwashing. I looked to Snapping for help
late in 1980 after I broke with CUT. It was helpful—it was a comfort to know that my
problem had a name. Despite its inadequate sampling, the mistaken notion that this was a
―new phenomenon‖ and a less than rigorous scientific method, Snapping tackled a very real
problem. The authors offered rare insight for ex-members into the current cult member‘s
experience. The social science community and mainstream psychology had practically
ignored the common plight of ex-cult members. Snapping‘s authors surmised that under
certain conditions of group pressure and altered states of mind a recruit or seeker will
―snap‖ and rapidly adapt to a new way of being. I am not about to argue here about the
validity of brainwashing theory neither am I arguing that sudden change is good or bad.
Traditional military training at boot camps, revival meetings during which folks are born
again supply enough evidence that the snapping phenomenon is real enough. Whatever the
case, I believe I experienced what I. M. Lewis reports as a ―mystical experience, [that] like
any other experience, is grounded in the environment in which it is achieved. It thus
inevitably bears the stamp of the culture and society in which it arises.‖ (Lewis, 1989, p. 5)
My interest here is to examine the psycho-sensual catalysts or environment of intense
personality changes.
CUT viewed colors as aspects of cosmic ―rays‖ of energy, some of which elevated
consciousness while others trapped awareness in lower states. The color aided in one‘s
ascension or hindered it. For example, ascension-aiding rays were white/purity,
yellow/intelligence, blue/god power, green/supply and health, pink/love, rose/deeper love,
and violet/purification. The cult avoided black, brown, silver, gray, checkered or patterned
colors, red, and muddy shades. The latter colors polluted the energy of the ―lower bodies‖
or physical self composed of earth, air, fire and water. Classical music, certain hymns, Hindu
bhajans, and chanted CUT decrees were good sounds but rock music, jazz, rap, and country
music were deleterious. Gold jewelry could touch the skin but not silver. Silver as gray
energy was too intellectual and lacked love. An organic, raw food diet was best when I was
involved but basic vegetarianism was required. Sex was for procreation only and performed
only after certain decrees or mantras. Celibacy was better. Sleeping was better
metaphysically if on the back with right leg crossed over left and hands over the solar
plexus.
In CUT teaching, certain environments like taverns and rock concerts contained dark forces
called entities that could attach to one‘s ―aura‖ (a kind of personal force field). Newspapers,
movies and television shows bombarded the devotee with psychic pollution. Nicotine,
alcoholic drinks, sugar, chocolate, and all drugs could cause an entity or demon to lodge in
one‘s aura. CUT teachings chided devotees to avoid all negative thoughts, argument, anger,
fear, jealousy, lust, doubt, and thoughts of feeling sick or crazy. Men‘s hair length should
not touch the collar and almost all the CUT men were clean-shaven. Modern or abstract art
was not good, but realistic religious art enhanced one‘s consciousness—Picasso, Camille
Pisarro and Jackson Pollock were out while Raphael, Gustav Doré and Roerich were in. Cult
teaching invaded all of my senses and appetites.
Imagine my household. My wife was a smoker and drank wine occasionally. She liked to
listen to rock and folk music, ate meat, enjoyed sex normally and appreciated art that was
modern as I had up till then. We had friends that drank alcohol and smoked marijuana. I
began to imagine entities everywhere. I removed certain pictures from the walls, changed
my diet to vegetarian, avoided our old friends, refused alcohol, and would not go to some
movies my wife wanted to see. I asked that we not feed meat to our daughter or expose
her to certain cartoons but when my wife insisted I let it go. I played ―I AM‖ instrumental
compositions on pink, blue, or green vinyl records when I was home to ―clear‖ the bad
The year before I went to my first CUT conference, Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman
published Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change in 1978. The book
was a groundbreaking study regarding cults and brainwashing. I looked to Snapping for help
late in 1980 after I broke with CUT. It was helpful—it was a comfort to know that my
problem had a name. Despite its inadequate sampling, the mistaken notion that this was a
―new phenomenon‖ and a less than rigorous scientific method, Snapping tackled a very real
problem. The authors offered rare insight for ex-members into the current cult member‘s
experience. The social science community and mainstream psychology had practically
ignored the common plight of ex-cult members. Snapping‘s authors surmised that under
certain conditions of group pressure and altered states of mind a recruit or seeker will
―snap‖ and rapidly adapt to a new way of being. I am not about to argue here about the
validity of brainwashing theory neither am I arguing that sudden change is good or bad.
Traditional military training at boot camps, revival meetings during which folks are born
again supply enough evidence that the snapping phenomenon is real enough. Whatever the
case, I believe I experienced what I. M. Lewis reports as a ―mystical experience, [that] like
any other experience, is grounded in the environment in which it is achieved. It thus
inevitably bears the stamp of the culture and society in which it arises.‖ (Lewis, 1989, p. 5)
My interest here is to examine the psycho-sensual catalysts or environment of intense
personality changes.
CUT viewed colors as aspects of cosmic ―rays‖ of energy, some of which elevated
consciousness while others trapped awareness in lower states. The color aided in one‘s
ascension or hindered it. For example, ascension-aiding rays were white/purity,
yellow/intelligence, blue/god power, green/supply and health, pink/love, rose/deeper love,
and violet/purification. The cult avoided black, brown, silver, gray, checkered or patterned
colors, red, and muddy shades. The latter colors polluted the energy of the ―lower bodies‖
or physical self composed of earth, air, fire and water. Classical music, certain hymns, Hindu
bhajans, and chanted CUT decrees were good sounds but rock music, jazz, rap, and country
music were deleterious. Gold jewelry could touch the skin but not silver. Silver as gray
energy was too intellectual and lacked love. An organic, raw food diet was best when I was
involved but basic vegetarianism was required. Sex was for procreation only and performed
only after certain decrees or mantras. Celibacy was better. Sleeping was better
metaphysically if on the back with right leg crossed over left and hands over the solar
plexus.
In CUT teaching, certain environments like taverns and rock concerts contained dark forces
called entities that could attach to one‘s ―aura‖ (a kind of personal force field). Newspapers,
movies and television shows bombarded the devotee with psychic pollution. Nicotine,
alcoholic drinks, sugar, chocolate, and all drugs could cause an entity or demon to lodge in
one‘s aura. CUT teachings chided devotees to avoid all negative thoughts, argument, anger,
fear, jealousy, lust, doubt, and thoughts of feeling sick or crazy. Men‘s hair length should
not touch the collar and almost all the CUT men were clean-shaven. Modern or abstract art
was not good, but realistic religious art enhanced one‘s consciousness—Picasso, Camille
Pisarro and Jackson Pollock were out while Raphael, Gustav Doré and Roerich were in. Cult
teaching invaded all of my senses and appetites.
Imagine my household. My wife was a smoker and drank wine occasionally. She liked to
listen to rock and folk music, ate meat, enjoyed sex normally and appreciated art that was
modern as I had up till then. We had friends that drank alcohol and smoked marijuana. I
began to imagine entities everywhere. I removed certain pictures from the walls, changed
my diet to vegetarian, avoided our old friends, refused alcohol, and would not go to some
movies my wife wanted to see. I asked that we not feed meat to our daughter or expose
her to certain cartoons but when my wife insisted I let it go. I played ―I AM‖ instrumental
compositions on pink, blue, or green vinyl records when I was home to ―clear‖ the bad
