gurus – Xenofact.com

I was listening to the Nonsense Bazaar, one of my favorite podcasts on weird stuff, and one of the hosts discussed the connections between weird metaphysics grifters. He christened this The Syndicate, and I realized how absolutely appropriate it was. I’d like to go into something that is very obvious in the world of spiritual scams – so obvious it’s disturbingly easy to miss.

If you find any grifty religious/spiritual group and pursue it’s origins you often find others like them very quickly. Some online guru is just channeling beings dreamed up by another scam artist, while doing affiliate marketing with a fellow grifter. An exceedingly weird religious group directs you at courses taught by an only slightly less disturbing organization. If you pursue this for any amount of time, it starts to seem very connected.

The podcast Conspirituality noted a whole guru ecosystem, where some new internet influencer will suddenly hook up with other more well-heeled ones. Once you’re in the ecosystem you get to start exchanging audiences, expanding together, and so on. Plus you want to connect with new talent so they don’t steal your audience.

Now do I think this is some kind of conspiracy? No, it’s just networking by people of similar interests, its the influence of ideas, and of course it’s driven by people who see dollar signs and power. You don’t need a conspiracy, so though there may be some tiny conspiracies, good old greed explains plenty of it.

However I think there’s an issue here that The Syndicate also helps give the illusion of truth.

We humans decide things are true not in simple linear fashion – though it may look like it – but by a web of associations. People we trust, classes we took, experiences we had, techniques we learned, all come together to help us evaluate truth. Even something that comes as a revelation only seems so as it rests on a substrate of past experiences.

The Syndicate has people linking back to each other, to past teachings, and to various forms of content. It has people recommending and boosting each other. It is a web of associations that can give the appearance of truth. Even if this is not intentional, if it’s just people helping each other rip others off, it’s “close to truth.”

When it is intentional, it’s pretty damn effective. In the world of spiritual grift it’s also easy – a dash of Theosophy, some alternative medicine, and then some conspiracy theories and you’re good. Team up with a few others and you’re good.

I think this is important to remember. The network of people busily selling you fake spirituality for real money can seem true because of the network. Something that should set off someone’s alarms may, under the right conditions, do the opposite.

(Come to think of it, the way I recommend podcasts, some of which refer to each other, should make you suspicions . . .)

-Xenofact

We’re up to our armpits in faux gurus, and a lot of them are selling bullshit.

There are spiritual gurus ready to resell you “religion” from a culture they have no knowledge of combined with internet memes. There are political gurus running for office so they can sell you anger in exchange for ruining your country. Don’t worry if none of the big names are your thing, there’s many opportunists trying to make it big that will sell you what you think you need.

When I hear about the latest guru who turns out to be some twisted a-hole, I wonder what they feel for their followers. They’re hurting them mentally, financially, and physically – what is going on in their heads?

Looking back on religious and political history, I’ve honestly come to the conclusion a lot of gurus hate their followers.

Examining any of these current or past twisted philosophers and leaders, they inflict a lot of pain on people they supposedly care about. It doesn’t take much to discover hideous abuse, high-demand control, financial exploitation, and mental assault. You can’t do this to people you really care about.

A lot of gurus are also transparent as hell. As I follow news on various gurus, so I know who’s trying to destroy the planet this year, it’s obvious they’re bullshitting. Watching them re-spin their cosmologies and politics, completely sure they’ll be listened to is telling. They’re happy just making crap up, and you also don’t do that to people you care about – it shows you know they won’t call you on it.

So why do they hate their followers? I think there are a few reasons for this.

First, some gurus are just hateful awful people in this for the power. People shouldn’t be surprised if a bunch of scumbags get into the guru gig; it’s profitable and gives you control. It attracts nasty people if you’re not very careful – and a lot of people in religion and politics aren’t careful.

Secondly, I think some gurus are very insecure. I mean you’re busy pitching the same thing everyone else is, and at any moment your previous bullcrap is going to be discovered. You get brittle, sensitive, insecure, and this can make you mean and angry. I mean you’re in the spotlight, being watched all the time which probably means you’re going to be just a bit angry all the time.

Finally, I think a lot of gurus look down on their followers or end up looking down on them. Some people develop contempt for people that obey or listen to them. The more people obey them, the more they seem them as weak and contemptible, and the more they pile on. There’s a bully mentality here that will keep pushing until it’s slapped down.

Don’t feel bad about judging the latest political figure who seems culty, or yet another person wit a lot of mystical diagrams explaining 5D Ascention Starseeds. It’s a good defensive maneuver, because too many of these people seem to be evil or turn pretty evil.

Besides, the people you’ll find are truly trying to help you? You probably won’t consider them gurus anyway . . .

. . . unless you’ve fallen into the clutches of some hateful person who has your number.

Something to consider. Just in case.