Holy Hell TV - Huffington Post online -
My name is Will. I always wanted to know, Why am I here? … I was raised Catholic … It was the middle of the ’80s and the Yuppie generation and we were all searching for something different … ‘Your soul was being fed with love and inspiration’ … I fell into a group of the most amazing people I had ever met … the Buddhafield. Holy Hell, CNN 2016
His name is Michel … ‘Soft and his energy was just still you know and I thought what a beautiful man.’ ibid.
He told us he had a master that had led him to a great spiritual awakening. ibid.
Weekly hypnotherapy sessions called Cleansing. ibid.
‘To finally have God revealed to you in its purest form.’ ibid. Michel
He danced and worked out continually. ibid.
We looked funny following a man in a Speedo. ibid.
The demands of the Buddhafield became greater and greater. ibid.
‘He wore make-up like every day of his life’ … ‘I didn’t know about his plastic surgery but it was starting to look evident’ … ‘He started to look very deformed and scary-looking.’ ibid.
‘There was a lot of people who didn’t stick around; of course they were demonised.’ ibid.
Attracted to Michel’s messages of healing and self-fulfilment, newcomers often gave themselves over to Buddhafield readily. Calling him The Teacher, they ditched functioning society and moved into one of Buddhafield’s several houses together. Rape survivors, for example, felt cleansed, and lost souls found salvation through Michel’s tutelage and their newfound family. In joining Buddhafield, some sought to escape society’s authoritative decrees or replace drug habits with spiritual highs. Others were tossed out of their homes or contending with trauma or battling disillusionment with their respective religions. Most maintained low-end jobs to pay rent, but they rarely communicated with people who were not part of the roughly 100-member organization. Life as they knew it ended. And for more than two decades, they loved it …
Everyone lived, cooked, did yoga, meditated and attended seminars (including acting and ballet lessons) together. Some worked together too … Members paid Michel $50 for weekly hypnotherapy sessions called cleansings …
For his finest act, Michel performed what he called the knowing. Promising the most intimate connection to God possible, only privileged disciples were granted the knowing. Huffington Post online article 27 May 2016, ‘Life Inside the Cult Was Beautiful, Until It Wasn’t’