Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2010, Page 77
and didactic training of a variety of approaches to and dynamics of healthy group life. I
discovered the power of groups to promote healing and change through corrective
emotional experience, including factors such as instilling hope, interpersonal learning,
educating, acquisition of insight, sense of belonging, mutual support, and universality. I
learned about the interrelated and interconnected aspects of systems—group, family,
political. And finally, I became educated about the role of the ethical group leader,
knowledge that has been invaluable in my private practice.
The corrective emotional experiences in therapy, at the Loft Studio, and in other situations
were necessary for undoing the damaging influences of a high-demand organization in
which the charismatic leader is idealized and viewed as the only living person capable of
guiding and protecting each member on the spiritual path. The overly simplistic world view
such a leader espouses is ―right‖ whatever members believed prior to recruitment is
―wrong.‖ As a member, one‘s entire existence is structured around skewed perceptions of
reality that largely disregard and devalue one‘s personal history.
Summation
Participation as a serious acting student at the Loft was transformative. It guided me down
a path that ultimately helped me reconnect with myself and heal from trauma. It
encouraged critical thinking and facilitated genuine, intimate connection with others. I found
meaning, a sense of belonging, discovery from within, and encouragement from a
community that valued my uniqueness. My awakening did not come through the impositions
of an authoritarian leader. I found more ―truth‖ in the acting process than in my role as ―Co-
Worker with God,‖ and I built upon this with subsequent therapy experience and a healthy
new marriage. Like Karin, I continue to create a life of my own.
In The Touch, Bergman leaves us with a final symbol of Karin‘s emergence as an individual
in pursuit of an independent goal. After she leaves David, ―Awkwardly, she picks up the
Italian textbooks she has dropped.‖ (p. 56)
Endnotes
1 Eckankar, Religion of the Light and Sound of God, Website: www.eckankar.org (Retrieved July 28, 2007.)
2 According to Eckankar‘s ideology, its leader acts as the ―inner master‖ and ―outer master.‖ ―If living, he is a
manifestation of the spiritual power… Outwardly he is limited by his own embodiment of flesh, but inwardly he is
free to do anything or be anywhere, even in many places at the same time.‖ Twitchell (1971), The Spiritual
Notebook, from 9th printing, 1982, p. 80.
3 Paul Twitchell, self-proclaimed as The Mahanta, the Living ECK© Master from a long line of ECK masters, is also
regarded as ―one of the greatest plagiarists of the 20th century‖ by David C. Lane, professor of philosophy and
sociology, and author of The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar,
Appendix One, 1978.
4 Curiously, ECK©, meaning the ―divine essence‖ (Twitchell, 1971), was copyrighted by Eckankar. I believe that
Twitchell referred to ―Eck‖ in ways related to what George Orwell termed ―doublespeak/doublethink,‖ wherein a
person is able to believe contrary ideas or facts at the same time and to forget that he or she is consciously doing
it. In addition to the above meaning, on the same page he states, ―What we are is a part of the cosmic force called
the ECK… It is the essence of God… It is that part of Him that we know as Light and Sound.‖ On the next page he
defines ECK as ―The science of Total Awareness that grows out of the experiences of Soul Travel.‖
5 ―Chela‖ means ―student of spiritual teaching.‖
References
Alexander, F., &French, T. M. (1946). Psychoanalytic Therapy: Principles and Applications. New York:
Ronald Press.
Bergman, I. (1977). Four Stories by Ingmar Bergman. New York: Anchor Press.
Black, Claudia. (1981). It Will Never Happen To Me, Children of Alcoholics, Ballentine Books: New
York, New York.
Conway, F., &Siegelman, J. (1978). Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change.
New York: Stillpoint Press.
and didactic training of a variety of approaches to and dynamics of healthy group life. I
discovered the power of groups to promote healing and change through corrective
emotional experience, including factors such as instilling hope, interpersonal learning,
educating, acquisition of insight, sense of belonging, mutual support, and universality. I
learned about the interrelated and interconnected aspects of systems—group, family,
political. And finally, I became educated about the role of the ethical group leader,
knowledge that has been invaluable in my private practice.
The corrective emotional experiences in therapy, at the Loft Studio, and in other situations
were necessary for undoing the damaging influences of a high-demand organization in
which the charismatic leader is idealized and viewed as the only living person capable of
guiding and protecting each member on the spiritual path. The overly simplistic world view
such a leader espouses is ―right‖ whatever members believed prior to recruitment is
―wrong.‖ As a member, one‘s entire existence is structured around skewed perceptions of
reality that largely disregard and devalue one‘s personal history.
Summation
Participation as a serious acting student at the Loft was transformative. It guided me down
a path that ultimately helped me reconnect with myself and heal from trauma. It
encouraged critical thinking and facilitated genuine, intimate connection with others. I found
meaning, a sense of belonging, discovery from within, and encouragement from a
community that valued my uniqueness. My awakening did not come through the impositions
of an authoritarian leader. I found more ―truth‖ in the acting process than in my role as ―Co-
Worker with God,‖ and I built upon this with subsequent therapy experience and a healthy
new marriage. Like Karin, I continue to create a life of my own.
In The Touch, Bergman leaves us with a final symbol of Karin‘s emergence as an individual
in pursuit of an independent goal. After she leaves David, ―Awkwardly, she picks up the
Italian textbooks she has dropped.‖ (p. 56)
Endnotes
1 Eckankar, Religion of the Light and Sound of God, Website: www.eckankar.org (Retrieved July 28, 2007.)
2 According to Eckankar‘s ideology, its leader acts as the ―inner master‖ and ―outer master.‖ ―If living, he is a
manifestation of the spiritual power… Outwardly he is limited by his own embodiment of flesh, but inwardly he is
free to do anything or be anywhere, even in many places at the same time.‖ Twitchell (1971), The Spiritual
Notebook, from 9th printing, 1982, p. 80.
3 Paul Twitchell, self-proclaimed as The Mahanta, the Living ECK© Master from a long line of ECK masters, is also
regarded as ―one of the greatest plagiarists of the 20th century‖ by David C. Lane, professor of philosophy and
sociology, and author of The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar,
Appendix One, 1978.
4 Curiously, ECK©, meaning the ―divine essence‖ (Twitchell, 1971), was copyrighted by Eckankar. I believe that
Twitchell referred to ―Eck‖ in ways related to what George Orwell termed ―doublespeak/doublethink,‖ wherein a
person is able to believe contrary ideas or facts at the same time and to forget that he or she is consciously doing
it. In addition to the above meaning, on the same page he states, ―What we are is a part of the cosmic force called
the ECK… It is the essence of God… It is that part of Him that we know as Light and Sound.‖ On the next page he
defines ECK as ―The science of Total Awareness that grows out of the experiences of Soul Travel.‖
5 ―Chela‖ means ―student of spiritual teaching.‖
References
Alexander, F., &French, T. M. (1946). Psychoanalytic Therapy: Principles and Applications. New York:
Ronald Press.
Bergman, I. (1977). Four Stories by Ingmar Bergman. New York: Anchor Press.
Black, Claudia. (1981). It Will Never Happen To Me, Children of Alcoholics, Ballentine Books: New
York, New York.
Conway, F., &Siegelman, J. (1978). Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change.
New York: Stillpoint Press.
