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knupaddler t1_jbxh20d wrote

there's a cult you can join there

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halfbakedblake t1_jby38wz wrote

I feel that it is way too easy to join a legitimate cult now.

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Definitelynotcal1gul t1_jc2ejod wrote

The internet made it way too easy. The internet gave us lots of great things, but connecting people to cults was NOT one of them.

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AdministrativeGas123 t1_jbywi94 wrote

My friends and I used to visit with the "Ponders" in high school. They were nice enough, but I suppose most cults are at first!

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knupaddler t1_jbzlvmp wrote

yeah, they were nice enough to let me live/work there for a time when i was a teen, but when i decided i'd had enough and wanted to leave the tone changed

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papalemingway OP t1_jc1kqt9 wrote

I saw their shop in town but it was closed. Maybe you’ll share more story !

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knupaddler t1_jc1qi5d wrote

i was bumming around new england in the 90s and found myself in need of a place to go. i had met members at some phish concerts where they were known for recruiting pretty heavily among the lost or disillusioned heads. "don't get on the bus" was good advice. they would offer people food and try to get them to leave with them. they handed out neat little magazines about the 3 eternal destinies of man and asking questions like why aren't i satisfied by drugs and rock music? they were kind of fascinating to me, and it was my only exposure at that age to any kind of communal living situation. at one point i called them up on the phone and spoke at length about how they lived and what they believed, and was warmly invited to come check it out for myself. so it was both opportunistic and anthropological, but i was much more of a seeker than a believer, and when the novelty wore off, i was ready for something different.

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