Coming of Age in American Communes

When I was a girl, my mother left me in my father's care to join Synanon, an organization she had known before my birth. In 1960s Santa Monica, Synanon had evolved from its origins as a drug rehabilitation program into a comprehensive lifestyle cult, recruiting members through its nightclub at the Hotel Del-Mar. The organization attracted people like my mother - a single parent struggling with depression and isolation - through disco parties and "game clubs" that featured their signature attack therapy sessions. After joining the Oakland branch, my mother, fully indoctrinated with Synanon ideology, would later kidnap me into the cult where I would spend five years of my childhood.

When my mother first encountered Synanon in 1960s Santa Monica, the organization was undergoing a dramatic transformation. What began as a revolutionary drug rehabilitation program had evolved into a comprehensive lifestyle movement that would eventually capture the imagination of thousands of Americans. The Hotel Del-Mar, Synanon's iconic headquarters, stood as a beacon of countercultural possibility on the Southern California coast. Its nightclub became legendary, drawing celebrities, intellectuals, and university students alike to its weekend parties where jazz musicians played until dawn, and the curious could get their first taste of the organization's infamous "Game,” a form of confrontational group therapy that would become both Synanon's signature practice and, ultimately, one of its most controversial elements.

Synanon's transformation from addiction treatment center to utopian movement occurred gradually but deliberately under Charles "Chuck" Dederich's calculated leadership. A recovering alcoholic himself, Dederich combined elements of Alcoholics Anonymousy and his own charismatic philosophy to create what he termed "The Living School." The organization's evolution reflected broader societal shifts - from the optimistic experimentation of the 1960s through the increasingly authoritarian control of the 1970s.

Daily life within Synanon operated on multiple levels of complexity. New members surrendered their possessions and often their children to communal care, participating in a rigid schedule of work assignments, educational programs, and mandatory Game sessions. The organization developed its own economic system, educational philosophy, and child-rearing practices. Children like myself lived separately from our parents in the Synanon School, where traditional education mixed with indoctrination and experimental learning methods. We wore uniform clothing, adhered to strict behavioral codes, and learned to navigate the complex social hierarchy that defined commune life.

The community's approach to education proved particularly influential, despite its controversial nature. Children were taught not only academic subjects but also participated in junior versions of the Game, learned trades through apprenticeships, and were encouraged to develop entrepreneurial skills through various community businesses. While often traumatic for those involved, this holistic approach to education would later influence alternative education movements and experiential learning programs.

Syanon’s enduring mark on modern culture is most prominently visible in addiction treatment methods and corporate culture, though its legacy serves as both inspiration and warning. The organization pioneered confrontational therapy techniques and peer-support models that fundamentally shaped modern rehabilitation approaches. Many contemporary treatment centers and programs, including well-known entities like Phoenix House, drew from Synanon's innovative "community-as-method" approach and its emphasis on behavioral modification through group interaction. In corporate settings, elements of Synanon's confrontational techniques and communication exercises found their way into executive training programs and management styles, particularly in the form of intensive group feedback sessions and corporate retreats.

Interestingly, when I look back at Kerista, I see that it bears a similar ideological framework to the significant shift in relationship dynamics that has emerged among younger generations. The rise of polyamory among Gen Z and Millennials marks a fundamental shift in perspectives on love, commitment, and relationships, driven by cultural changes, economic pressures, and digital connectivity. This movement transcends simple relationship preferences, representing a deeper philosophical transformation in how younger generations approach connection. While increased LGBTQ+ visibility, housing affordability challenges, and delayed marriage have created fertile ground for alternative relationship structures, digital platforms have accelerated acceptance by providing supportive communities and exposure to diverse relationship styles. This generation increasingly questions whether romantic love must be exclusive, choosing instead to pursue multiple meaningful connections simultaneously.

The Kerista Commune, active from 1971 to 1991, was equal parts social experiment, tech business incubator, and sexual revolution laboratory.

Founded by Jud Presmont (born John Peltz Presmont), Kerista began as a spiritual movement in New York during the 1950s before finding its true form in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. The commune practiced what they called "polyfidelity" – a form of group marriage where members maintained multiple romantic relationships exclusively within the community. They organized themselves into groups called "Best Friend Identity Clusters" (B-FICs), with each cluster containing 4-15 adults who shared sleeping arrangements on a rotating schedule.

What set Kerista apart from other communes was its embrace of technology and capitalism. In 1977, they established a computer business called Abacus, Inc., which became an authorized Apple Computer dealer. The business was wildly successful, generating millions in annual revenue and allowing the commune to purchase multiple properties in San Francisco.

The Kerista lifestyle was highly structured. Members followed strict rules:

• No smoking or hard drugs
• Mandatory group therapy sessions
• Required participation in community businesses
• Adherence to sleep rotation schedules
• Commitment to non-violent communication

The commune published its own literature, including a newspaper called "The Kerista Scene" and numerous pamphlets about their philosophy. They coined terms for their lifestyle: ”Gestalt-o-rama" and their form of group therapy "World Change Now.” Their mission statement was “Utopian Capitalism, their economic model.

The commune, which helped distribute some of the first Apple computers through their business venture ComputerCraft, demonstrated an early understanding of how technology could facilitate alternative relationship structures and community building. This tech-savvy approach foreshadowed today's digital polyamory landscape, where dating apps, online communities, and social media platforms enable complex relationship networks and knowledge sharing.

However, by the late 1980s, cracks began to appear. Members began questioning Presmont's leadership style and the rigid social structure. The final blow came when several key members, including some of the most successful business operators, decided to leave. In 1991, the commune officially dissolved, though many former members remained in the Bay Area.

Modern polyamorous communities, like their Kerista predecessors, often attract individuals from tech-centered backgrounds and urban hubs reminiscent of San Francisco's counter-cultural scene. The same innovative mindset that drove Kerista's systematic approach to group relationships—including their carefully planned "sleeping schedules" and relationship frameworks—mirrors today's polyamory communities' use of apps, calendaring systems, and digital tools to manage multiple relationships. Both movements share core values of challenging traditional relationship structures while embracing systematic, almost technological approaches to human connection. The key difference lies in modern polyamory's more fluid, individualistic approach compared to Kerista's more structured commune model—though both demonstrate how alternative relationship styles often flourish in tech-forward, progressive environments where innovation in both personal and professional life is valued.

Kerista's experiment in communal living may have ended, but it demonstrated that alternative lifestyles could coexist with business success and technological innovation. In today's San Francisco, where tech culture and alternative lifestyles continue to intersect, the Kerista Commune seems less like a relic of the past and more like a preview of things to come.

Elizabeth Clare Prophet is one of the most compelling and controversial spiritual leaders of the late 20th century, whose influence continues to ripple through modern New Age spirituality and alternative religious movements. After marrying Mark Prophet in 1963 and co-leading The Summit Lighthouse, she assumed sole leadership following his death in 1973, expanding the organization into the Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT). Known as "Mother" or "Guru Ma" to her followers, she claimed to be a messenger for Ascended Masters and developed a unique spiritual practice combining Eastern and Western traditions, particularly through her "decree" technique of rapid prayer.

Her leadership was marked by dramatic periods of growth and controversy, especially during the 1980s and early 1990s when she relocated the organization to Montana and initiated extensive nuclear shelter preparations based on apocalyptic prophecies. Prophet's legacy is complex: while she contributed significantly to modern esoteric teachings and demonstrated powerful female spiritual leadership, her tenure was also marked by controversial financial demands on followers, strict control over their personal lives, and environmental disputes in Montana. As her influence waned following her diagnosis with Alzheimer's in 1998, she left behind an extensive body of published works and a lasting impact on alternative spirituality, serving both as an inspiration for New Age practitioners and a cautionary tale about the nature of prophetic leadership and organizational power structures.

The Summit Lighthouse's legacy on modern culture manifests within contemporary spirituality and self-help movements. Its influence can be seen in the mainstreaming of concepts like energy work, spiritual protection, and the integration of Eastern and Western spiritual practices. The organization's teachings about personal transformation and spiritual empowerment, while rooted in older esoteric traditions, helped popularize practices now common in modern wellness culture, such as meditation, visualization, and energy healing.

The movement's approach in combining Christianity, Buddhism, ancient wisdom traditions, and New Age philosophy—foreshadowed today's increasingly personalized and eclectic spiritual landscape. Its emphasis on individual spiritual authority and direct connection to divine guidance resonates with current "spiritual but not religious" trends. The Summit Lighthouse's teachings about personal responsibility, karmic law, and spiritual self-development have influenced modern self-help methodologies and personal growth movements.

The University of the Trees, established by Christopher Hills in Boulder Creek, California, during the 1970s, emerged as a pioneering institution that bridged spiritual consciousness with practical environmental and scientific research.

The founder, Christopher Hills (1926-1997), was a visionary researcher, entrepreneur, and spiritual teacher whose work bridged scientific investigation with consciousness studies. Known as the "Father of Spirulina" for his pioneering research into algae as a sustainable food source, Hills combined practical scientific work with deep spiritual inquiry, establishing himself as a significant figure in both natural health and consciousness research. After a successful business career in Jamaica, he founded the University of the Trees in Boulder Creek, California, where he conducted groundbreaking studies in light therapy, meditation, and biodynamic farming while authoring numerous books on consciousness, color therapy, and spiritual development.

His research into nuclear magnetic resonance and its relationship to human consciousness, along with his development of Supersensonics (the study of light and sound in relation to consciousness), demonstrated his unique ability to merge scientific methodology with spiritual exploration. Hills' legacy extends beyond his scientific contributions, as his integrative approach to knowledge and emphasis on practical applications of spiritual principles influenced subsequent generations of researchers and practitioners in alternative health, sustainable agriculture, and consciousness studies.

The Farm began in 1971 when Stephen Gaskin and about 300 hippies in a caravan of converted school buses left San Francisco to establish a new life in rural Tennessee. They pooled their money to purchase 1,750 acres at $70 per acre, living first in tents and buses while building their own homes. The community embraced a strict vegan diet, shared all resources, and developed successful businesses, including a publishing company and soy dairy that pioneered commercial vegetarian foods in America.

The community's social structure centered around their spiritual beliefs, which combined Christianity with Eastern philosophy and psychedelic insights. Marriages were monogamous, unlike some other communes of the era, and the community placed strong emphasis on family values and child-rearing.

What distinguished The Farm from other communes was its practical focus on sustainable living combined with spiritual practice, and most notably, its groundbreaking midwifery center led by Ina May Gaskin. At its peak in the early 1980s, the community housed over 1,500 members before transitioning to a cooperative structure in 1983. Today, The Farm continues with about 200 residents, maintaining its commitment to environmental sustainability and its famous midwifery center, which has trained thousands of midwives and influenced natural childbirth practices worldwide.

The Farm, revolutionized American childbirth through the work of Ina May Gaskin and her midwifery center. Trained initially through the necessity to serve their own community, Gaskin and her fellow midwives developed practices that challenged the increasingly medicalized approach to childbirth in American hospitals. Their success rate was remarkable, with over 2,000 births and extraordinarily low intervention rates; they demonstrated the viability of natural childbirth methods for low-risk pregnancies.

The Gaskin Maneuver, a technique Ina May developed to resolve shoulder dystocia, became the first obstetrical procedure named after a midwife. Today, as Americans debate healthcare access and costs, The Farm's legacy offers crucial insights. Their model of community-based, woman-centered care speaks to current concerns about maternal mortality rates, particularly among women of color, and the over-medicalization of birth. Home birth and birthing center options, once considered fringe choices championed by The Farm, are now increasingly mainstream alternatives, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Their emphasis on informed choice, emotional support, and minimal intervention has influenced modern doula programs, hospital birthing centers, and the natural childbirth movement. The Farm's approach demonstrates how traditional wisdom combined with modern knowledge can create healthcare solutions that are both cost-effective and deeply humane.

While rooted in the counterculture of their time, these intentional communities uncannily foreshadowed many of today's most contested political and social debates. Their experiments with collective living, shared resources, and alternative economic models mirror current discussions about wealth inequality, cooperative housing, and universal basic income. Synanon's emphasis on community-based rehabilitation resonates with contemporary calls for alternatives to incarceration and traditional addiction treatment. Kerista's technological utopianism and structured polyamory anticipated both the digital revolution and modern discussions about relationship autonomy and gender equality. The Summit Lighthouse's spiritual syncretism prefigured today's personalized, non-traditional approaches to spirituality and mindfulness.

Meanwhile, The University of the Trees' integration of environmentalism with scientific research parallels current movements combining climate activism with technological innovation. These communities' struggles with leadership, power dynamics, and individual autonomy versus collective needs continue to play out in modern political movements, from progressive organizing to local governance experiments. Their legacy reminds us that today's political polarization often masks shared human desires for community, purpose, and social transformation, which persist regardless of political affiliation or ideological beliefs.