Cults I Have Lived In & Cults I Have Visited

In October 1981, I left the Synanon cult with my family—my mother, stepfather, and stepsister. We departed with few resources: my stepfather had a handful of silver dollars, and my stepsister had a hundred dollars. Seeing our situation, my mother’s father gave us a car he had purchased at auction and a thousand dollars. While we were uncertain where we would live, we knew it would be another commune. Our first month outside Synanon was spent in Santa Clara, California, in an apartment belonging to my stepfather’s ex-wife’s sister and her family. The ex-wife, still a member of Synanon, had remained close friends with both my parents. Her sister’s family was out of town, so the apartment gave us a temporary place to land and time for my parents to begin what my mother called “commune shopping.” My sister and I did not favor the idea of living in another commune, but we had little say. While our input on which commune we liked best was considered, the decision to live in one was not up for debate.

The three communes under consideration were Kerista, a polygamous community in San Francisco; The Summit Lighthouse, a New Age community in Calabasas, California, led by a guru who channeled ascended masters; and The University of The Trees, an accredited college in Santa Cruz, California, with an academic focus on human consciousness, meditation, alternative education, Radionics, dowsing, social networking, and a growing spirulina-based nutritional business. There was also another commune, The Farm, in Tennessee, focused on the modern midwifery movement, but we did not visit it. In my second book, Synanon Kid Grows Up: Learning to Live Outside The Synanon Cult, I devote a chapter to each of these communities, reflecting on them from the perspective of my eleven-year-old self.

Both my mother and stepfather were heavily involved in the New Age movement. They attended workshops and seminars hosted by various gurus and leaders, maintained a daily practice of chanting and meditation, and were avid believers in reincarnation. They read extensively on the subject, and now, interestingly, my son has become fascinated by reincarnation and is pursuing a Ph.D. to study and research the phenomenon.

If you are familiar with my fiction, you may notice recurring themes of characters and families living on the fringe of society and exploring the darker side of communes. These themes are drawn directly from my experiences and exposure to alternative movements. However, as a thriller and horror writer, I do not always delve into the deeper complexities of cults and communes in my stories. My focus is on suspense, mystery, and keeping readers turning the pages.

In this post, I share insights into Synanon, the foundation of my formative years; The University of The Trees, the commune my family joined after Synanon; and our visits to Kerista and The Summit Lighthouse. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into my past and invite you to share your thoughts or experiences with communes.

Synanon was founded in 1958 by Charles Dederich, a man who struggled with alcoholism and initially sought help through Alcoholics Anonymous. His experiences with AA turned him into an enthusiastic advocate for the program. However, his participation in a 1957 LSD study funded by the National Institute of Health at UCLA caused a significant shift in his thinking. The study, led by physician Sidney Cohen and psychiatrist Keith Dittman, aimed to explore the potential of LSD as a treatment for alcoholism. Though the experiment failed to produce the intended results, Dederich had a profound experience during his LSD high, describing it as a melding into cosmic consciousness, which he later called “dissipation.” This experience led him to study sociology, religious studies, and Eastern philosophy, laying the foundation for what would become Synanon.

Dederich began hosting group sessions in his home, inspired by AA meetings but with a distinct difference. These sessions were loud and boisterous, evolving into a form of attack therapy that became central to the Synanon lifestyle. Synanon’s history is divided into three distinct eras. Synanon I originated from Dederich’s passion for helping individuals with alcohol and drug addiction. What began as small gatherings in his apartment, where participants addressed their issues through frank and direct confrontation, grew into a challenging style of therapy known as attack therapy. Initially called “The Tender Loving Club,” the group later changed its name to Synanon. As word spread about Dederich’s innovative methods, Synanon gained attention and financial support from organizations such as The Lions Club, American Legion, churches, and schools. The group outgrew Dederich’s apartment, moved into a storefront, and eventually purchased the old National Guard Armory in Santa Monica with funds donated by The Friars Club.

At the Armory, Synanon established what is considered the first drug rehabilitation center, though its presence soon drew complaints from neighbors. In 1959, Dederich was ordered by the county to shut down the facility but refused, leading to his arrest for operating a hospital without a license. This incident garnered significant media attention, with coverage in the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, and Time Magazine. Synanon’s unconventional approach to addiction treatment began to attract the interest of criminologists, sociologists, and psychiatrists. In 1961, Oakland assemblyman Nicholas Petris introduced the Save Synanon Bill, which excluded Synanon from the legal definition of a hospital, allowing it to house and treat addicts without needing a medical license. The bill, signed by Governor Edmund Brown Sr., laid the groundwork for unregulated treatment centers and troubled youth programs, many of which later became rife with abuse.

As Synanon gained credibility, government agencies and researchers began to take note. Sociologist and criminologist Lewis Yablonski, known for his work with gang members, was impressed by Synanon’s methods and became its research director. In 1962, Yablonski and Dederich’s soon-to-be wife, Betty, gave presentations at the White House on narcotics addiction. Around the same time, Senator Thomas Dodd of Connecticut informed Congress about Synanon’s social experiment, suggesting it could be a model for treating not only addiction but also criminal behavior and juvenile delinquency. Synanon began offering free counseling services to federal prisons and expanded into Reno, Nevada, with financial support from the state legislature. By the end of 1962, California’s Assembly Committee on Criminal Procedure recommended that the state take a supportive interest in Synanon, citing its ability to keep addicts off the streets, save taxpayer money, provide educational opportunities, and offer rehabilitation.

By 1963, Synanon had evolved into Synanon Industries, diversifying into ventures such as selling Indian art rugs, publishing a magazine called The Synanon Scene, and launching businesses like Synanon Supply, Synanon Auto Repair, and ADGAP (Advertising Gift and Promotions). Within five years, Synanon had become the largest landowner in Santa Monica and expanded to locations in Venice, San Diego, Oakland, Connecticut, New York, and San Francisco. In 1965, Synanon members began promoting their methods on college campuses, establishing game clubs where students participated in Synanon’s signature attack therapy, known as “The Game.” These clubs appeared at institutions like USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and San Diego State. However, a psychological evaluation of Synanon members conducted in 1963 revealed troubling results. While members outwardly embraced doctrines of non-violence, many still exhibited underlying personality disorders, raising concerns about what might happen if the group’s philosophy shifted.

By 1967, Synanon entered its second phase, Synanon II. Dederich had grown disenchanted with rehabilitating addicts and envisioned Synanon as a broader social movement. He purchased large plots of land in Northern California to establish a self-sustaining Synanon city, where residents would practice environmentalism, radical communication through “The Game,” and self-improvement. Synanon transitioned into a “cradle-to-grave” society, aiming to maximize human potential. Members relived childhood traumas, experienced dissipation, and began to see Dederich as a father figure or savior. Ouija board sessions reinforced the belief that Synanon was the ultimate way of life, with alleged communications from famous deceased figures guiding the community.

In 1974, Synanon entered its most destructive phase, Synanon III. The organization adopted religious rhetoric and sought church status from the IRS. Members were required to follow strict lifestyle rules, including daily physical fitness regimens, sugar-free diets, and shaved heads. Family life was heavily regulated; women were forced to have abortions, and men were required to undergo vasectomies. Synanon’s non-violent stance turned increasingly hostile, and Dederich was declared the group’s highest spiritual authority, with absolute power over its laws and decisions. By 1977, Synanon had become a full-fledged cult. Over the next 14 years, it collapsed under the weight of lawsuits, scandals, and internal corruption. Dederich, once celebrated as a visionary, descended into alcoholism and disgrace.

By the time Synanon dissolved, its legacy had left a lasting impact on the treatment industry, inspiring numerous programs that adopted its methods but often perpetuated abuse. The story of Synanon is a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked power and the dark side of utopian ideals.

The Text Below Is Taken From The Kerista Website

The second and most influential phase of Kerista was the twenty years in which the “New Tribe” existed as a stable communal house in San Francisco’s bohemian Haight-Ashbury district. In February 1971, Jud, aged forty-eight, met Eve (born Susan) Furchgott in 1953, the artist daughter of pharmacologist Robert Furchgott (1916-2009), [Image at right] who won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1998 (Martin 2009). With Eva (Bluejay) Way, they established a commune in the Haight, then a run-down district with Victorian and Edwardian houses available for very cheap rents. The original “Living School Residence Group” was later called a “superfamily, then … a PCG (polyfidelitous closed group), then … a B-FIC (Best Friend Identity Cluster)” (Kerista 2002-2015). Over the next twenty years approximately forty people joined Kerista, though the group rarely had more than twenty-five living together at any one time. Jud’s ideal of thirty-six people, balanced between men and women, was never realized. B-FICs (“beefics”) of between four and fifteen people were formed, and had names like the Purple Submarine and Sanity Mix (Kerista 2002-2015). The group ran a successful Apple computer resale business, distributed the free newspaper Utopian Classroom, and ran “rap groups” and various community outreaches. In 1975, Eve initiated publication of Far Out West, which was introduced as “The First Utopian Comic Strip” and was created to spread the group’s message.

DOCTRINES/BELIEFS

Kerista had very few metaphysical beliefs, but was possessed of a strong set of principles, a kind of code of conduct that governed relationships between members. The early concept of Buddho, developed by Dau in New York, remained a vital part of Keristan belief and practice throughout. Buddho was termed “the art of no-defense” and was cultivated chiefly through self-observation (Wilson 1965). As members observed their own conversations and actions, they became aware of the ways in which they habitually “defended” themselves against others. Wilson characterized Buddho as “escape from other-directedness” and explained that “more advanced Buddho includes the conquest of greed, sexual jealousy, and other ‘hang-ups'” (Cottrell 2015:241). During the “New Tribe” era, Dau and Jud had parted ways, but the “gestalt” sessions that were integral to the commune in the most idealistic sense carried on that tradition of self-observation and verbal defusing of defense mechanisms, to create harmony in the group. That the gestalt sessions had a dark, more negative impact was unfortunate, but the goal of a unified community with shared standards was crucial to the “New Tribe.”

Unsurprisingly, many of the principles developed within Kerista were concerned with sex. When Robert Anton Wilson interviewed Jud, he was informed that in place of the “10 Commandments” Kerista would have “69 Positions,” a witty reference to the slang term for a sexual position in which partners give mutual oral gratification. Jud had, to date, only fixed upon twenty-five positions, which he argued were simply common sense. These were: To read more about Kerista, you can go here https://wrldrels.org/2017/01/19/kerista-commune/

Recently a documentary has been made about Kerista. You can watch it here https://www.amazon.com/Far-Out-West-Californias-Kerista/dp/B099CGC3CF

This Information is copy and pasted from Britannica.com

The precursor of The Summit Lighthouse is the parent church of Universal Church Triumphant, inspired by the I AM Movement, which is the original movement for the ascended masters and an offshoot of theosophy. 

The church’s theology is a syncretistic belief system, including elements of Buddhism, Christianity, esoteric mysticism and alchemy, with a belief in angels and elementals (or spirits of nature). It centers on communications received from Ascended Masters through the Holy Spirit. Many of the Ascended Masters, such as Sanat Kumara, Maitreya, Djwal Khul, El Morya, Kuthumi, Paul the Venetian, Serapis Bey, the Master Hilarion, the Master Jesus and Saint Germain, have their roots in Theosophy and the writings of Madame Blavatsky, C.W. Leadbeater, and Alice A. Bailey. Others, such as Buddha, Confucius, Lanto and Lady Master Nada, were identified as Ascended Masters in the “I AM” Activity or the Bridge to Freedom. Some, such as Lady Master Lotus and Lanello, are Ascended Masters who were first identified as such by Elizabeth Clare Prophet. All in all, she identified more than 200 Ascended Masters that were not identified as Masters of the Ancient Wisdom in the original teachings of Theosophy.

For more information you can go here: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Church-Universal-and-Triumphant

The Text Below Is Copy And Pasted From Wikipedia

Christopher Hills (April 9, 1926 – January 31, 1997) was an English-born author, described as the “Father of Spirulina”[1] for popularizing spirulina cyanobacteria as a food supplement. He also wrote 30 books on consciousness, meditation, yoga and spiritual evolution, divining, world government, aquaculture, and personal health.

Hills was variously headlined by the press as a “Western Guru Scientist”,[2] “Natural Foods Pioneer”,[3] “Evolutionary Revolutionary”[4] and a “Modern Merlin”.[5]

As a commodities trader and art patron in Jamaica, he retired from business at an early age to follow a spiritual quest that took him around the world as a speaker, author, entrepreneur and pioneer of algae as an efficient source of food and fuel for humanity.

 University of the Trees, an accredited college and an alternative education and research center for the social sciences to study the laws of nature and their relation to human consciousness.[90] Students lived on campus and studied subjects as diverse as Radionics and dowsing (Hills was a well-known diviner[91]), meditation, hatha yoga, the Vedas, and early forms of social networking he called “Group Consciousness”.

The campus housed University of the Trees Press which published Christopher Hills’ writings and the research of a number of resident students who obtained degrees at the university and wrote books on light & color frequencies and the science of Radionics. Hills coauthored “Conduct Your Own Awareness Sessions” with new-age author Robert B. Stone to whom the University later bestowed an honorary PhD. A small workshop produced pendulums for dowsing and a line of negative ion generators. With the buildup of the vitamin business surrounding discoveries that spirulina had significant weight loss benefits University of the Trees became one of the largest employers in the San Lorenzo Valley[92] and leased more than 10 buildings in Boulder Creek for housing students and warehousing for Light Force,[93] a burgeoning nutritional products brand based on spirulina.

From this base in California, Hills extended his hospitality to a pantheon of visiting scientists, writers, philosophers and scholars such as Alan Watts, Edgar Mitchell, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Allen Ginsberg, Thelma Moss, Hiroshi Motoyama, Haridas Chaudhuri, Sri Lanka president Ranasinghe Premadasa, Menninger Foundation‘s Swami Rama, Dr. Evarts G. Loomis, Viktoras Kulvinskas, Max Lüscher, Marcia Moore, Bernard Jensen and countless others in the fields of human potential, holistic health, aquaculture, religion, quantum physics and alternative medicine.