Resources

Useful resources for getting help.

Meditation is powerful

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Recently a woman successfully sued a yoga retreat for triggering her childhood PTSD. It is not clear what actually happened, as there are two different versions of events. The people running the yoga retreat said the activity was optional; she says it was compulsory.

Western uses of mindfulness & meditation

There has been a trend over the last decade or more of importing spiritual techniques like meditation and mindfulness from Eastern religions (usually Buddhism) to the West. There have also been many cases where people have experienced very distressing symptoms as a result of intense meditation, often in the context of vipassana meditation.

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Deprogramming with Gillian Jenkinson

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Just got an update from Gillian Jenkinson:

Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army BBC2 27 July and 3 August 9pm 

I had the privilege of being filmed delivering Post-Cult Counselling in a Recovery Workshop for a documentary “Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army” with four amazing survivors. This was filmed at my house in the Hope Valley by a wonderful team who have been very professional and supportive in every way throughout this process. 

The two-part documentary includes a history of JA and archive material, interviews and the Recovery Workshop and is being screened on Sunday 27th July and 3rd August at 9pm on BBC 2. It will be on BBC iPlayer from 27th July.  

There will also be a podcast (which I am not involved with) which will be very interesting as it will address legal issues around cults/coercive control amongst many other things. 

Watch the trailer

Gillian Jenkinson’s website

Debunking clobber verses

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Websites that unpack and de-fang religious beliefs about same-sex love and gender nonconformity come and go. I occasionally still meet people who think that all churches are homophobic, or that Christianity and homosexuality just aren’t compatible. And there are always new exvangelicals emerging blinking into the light of day and deconstructing the toxic beliefs that were foisted upon them.

So it is great to see a new series of essays from Father Nathan Monk on Facebook:

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Pagan Roots — available now

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“Pagan Roots: Reclaiming Concepts of the Sacred,” by Yvonne Aburrow.

Available now from 1000Volt Press via books2read.com/paganroots

Cover art by Lydia Knox.

“Pagan Roots: Reclaiming concepts of the sacred” will be published on 22 April 2025 and available from all online stores.

Contemporary Paganism has sought to recover some concepts that were lost or rejected in past centuries, but has ignored or rejected others that were absorbed into Christian discourse. Can we reclaim some of these terms and recover their original meanings?

Buy now

Conversion therapy survivors flag

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I’ve just seen this announcement from the Conversion Therapy Survivors Network on Facebook:

The votes are in! Hunter Moore‘s design will now become the FIRST-ever Conversion Therapy Survivor Flag!

Grey: Represents PTSD and memory loss.
Pink: Symbolizes sexual abuse and marginalization.
Blue: Stands for domestic violence.
Triangle: Inspired by the progress pride flag, it represents survivors overcoming these struggles.
Lavender/Purple: Highlights identity, pride, and community.
Gold/Yellow: Signifies hope.
Green: Reflects the truth of who we naturally are.

The conversion therapy survivors flag designed by Hunter Moore

I wrote about the effects of conversion therapy in Changing Paths. It is an extremely damaging practice that does extensive harm, including psychological, physical, emotional, financial damage. It even harms people’s career prospects by diverting them away from their studies toward trying to do the impossible. Conversion therapy is a form of spiritual abuse.

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Dealing with door knockers

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My best ever riposte to some doorstep evangelists was when they asked me “who do you believe is the ruler of this Earth?” And I replied “I don’t believe the Earth can be ruled, I believe that she’s a goddess in her own right”. The doorstep evangelists practically ran away down the front path. The reason I had this riposte ready was because a colleague had asked me the same question two weeks earlier.

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