cult
- a definition I'm exploring, for "cult":
- a group of people with a shared sense of reality that dismisses as invalid or irrelevant other senses of reality
- (this is obviously missing something, and doesn't easily allow describing the difference between "a sports team" and "scientology", so more dimensions needed, but it captures something important about how cultness is actual entirely endemic to how cultures work currently, although it doesn't have to be! that it doesn't have to be is essentially the whole premise of Game B)
- this dismissing happens on 3 scales:
- dismissing outsiders to the group
- dismissing such senses of reality when shared by members of the group
- group members internalizing that dismissing, towards their own parts
- this dismissing is usually either unconscious, or justified as necessary
4 linked references
July 19th, 2021
- quoted in its entirety:
- > An ethical teacher is simply someone who gives you THE OPTION to not be in a cult dynamic with them.
- > But you still have to exercise it.
- > Related, if you’re in a cult dynamic with a teacher it’s ultimately because you lack a developed centre, end of story.
- > And if you’re afraid of being in a cult dynamic with someone that’s always your shit to deal with by growing some maturity as a student - not the teacher’s.
- I partially agree with this and also think it's profoundly misguided as well. I would steer away from having a teacher-student relationship with a teacher who thinks they can fully assess whether they're doing anything culty, which is what this implies.
- In practice, many wise teachers give you the option to not be in a cult dynamic with them on one level, as long as you don't point out any of their blindspots on another level... at which point you're in a cult dynamic with them in precisely the ways they can't see or acknowledge.
- From the teacher's perspective—which is subject to the frame maintaining the blindspot—you absolutely have the option of not being in a cult dynamic. From a perspective outside the blindspot frame, that option doesn't exist. The teacher may go to great lengths to show you how to enter their frame so that you can experience this non-culty dynamic with them! Much of what they're saying will probably even be wisdom and generally-applicable.
March 8th, 2021
- I broadly think that the first few paragraphs of Reggie Ray's assessment here are remarkably accurate and clear, about the basic dynamics that happen.
- Someone develops in power
- People are attracted to that power
- The person with the power doesn't actually realize how much power they have
- I would add something like all of you, including your shadow, has access to your power which means that to the extent the person with power has drives they're not aware of and are keeping themselves from becoming aware of, those drives will use all the power the person has