Was I In A Cult? - Hollyweird: “Thief of Dreams"

Episode Date: December 2, 2021

Los Angeles, CA is full of dreamers. After all, dreams are what people move to the City of Lost Angels to chase. But did anyone know that an acting teacher can turn into a cult leader? Is that even possible? Apparently stranger things have happened, because the answer is... Oh hell yes she can. Two former students studying under an acting coach turned self-help cult leader are here to share their harrowing stories of showing up with their dreams in their hands... but unfortunately, giving them over to the wrong "guide". _ Podsauce ft. Liz Iacuzzi & Tyler Measom If you would like to be considered as a guest on the show, please contact us at [e-mail] Please support Was I In A Cult? Through PatreonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You showing up with your dream in your hand and someone deciding that they'd like to take advantage of that. Until their dream is just totally squashed, then you just find another person with a dream. And in LA there are a lot of those people, there should be. Dreams are good and healthy and beautiful. And the people who suck on them, like batteries, are vampires. It's disgusting. Nobody joins a cult.

It's just not a thing. Welcome to Was I in a Cult. I'm Tyler Mesame. And I'm Liz Ayakusy. Okay, so on this show, thus far we have covered a few very interesting cults and many of them are your more typical cults embedded in religion or worship on a commune with the right, weird garb, whatever it may be. But there's a reason that the right weird garb, whatever it may be. But there's a reason that this show is called, was I in a cult rather than I was in a cult?

Because on this show we explore lesser-known cults, cults that don't sometimes appear on face value to be anywhere near a cult, like today's episode, which was an acting class. Oh what? Yeah, a seemingly innocent acting class in the San Fernando Valley, which turned into a cult. I gotta be honest, Liz, when I first heard about this, I didn't believe that an acting class could be a cult. I know. Nobody believes that. I know, but you convinced me of it. Because? Because I was in it. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Finally we get a little peek behind the mysterious dark curtain. That is I thi. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. I. I. the. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the behind the mysterious dark curtain, that is Liz Ayakousy. But this story isn't really about me. We'll do a show about us later, especially Tyler's mustache cult that he's embarrassed about.

I was 15 Liz. I that I was in, including my dear friend, Aaron Carrera. I'm a Pisces, I collect four-leaf clovers, I love dogs. Aaron was born in the small town of Sock Rapids, Minnesota. Oh yeah, Sock Rapids. The Copper Pony store is one of my favorites. They've got the best sandwiches. A lot of funny accents. She had a pleasant childhood.

My family was very nuclear. It was a mom, a dad, and three kids, and generally speaking one to two dogs. And we lived in a house with a huge yard and a huge garden on the edge of the forest. Church was a big part of Aaron's upbringing. Yeah my parents co-founded a church. Living Waters Lutheran in Sock Rapids. It's ELCA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. This is the progressive version of Lutherans. You know, lady ministers, gay ministers. Hoorah! Sounds nice. But even with Aaron's weekly church-going ritual.

I myself was way more interested in the new age bookstore about astrology and to row cards. I was very smart, very talented, and chubby fat. And people are mean. They were very mean. If you were chubby, you got bullied. Yeah, I had an eating disorder at anorexia in high school. Perhaps not surprisingly, Tyler, but 90% of teens with anorexia are female. I went from being fat to skinny, suddenly guys were interested,

it's a whole other toxic situation. After high school, Aaron went to college. Six different colleges, to be exact. It's not that I have seven million degrees. It's that my academic career kept getting interrupted by my eating disorder and or other psychological problems and I would have to drop out. I started a band and I ended up touring all over the US and Europe. I was having a lot of creative life and I was still super fucked up. Only now we were adding really bad relationships, alcohol, drugs, eating disorders still on and off. Then I met Frank. A very famous opera singer. Beautiful, alcohol, drugs, eating disorders still on and off. Then I met Frank, a very famous opera singer, beautiful, beautiful voice.

He's got all the brilliant, wonderful parts of narcissism and kind of swept me off my feet and then all of a sudden I was like, oh my god, I'm in love with him. And then I was living this international life, traveling all over the world. He was promising me the sun and the moon, you don't have to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to work to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the then I was living this international life traveling all over the world. He was promising me the sun and the moon. You don't have to work your stupid day job you hate anymore. You can just write music and be your artistic self. He was really great in the beginning. And then he started separating me from family and friends.

He started separating me from family and friends. He started taking me on extended trips, started manipulating me, started gaslighting me. I learned after the fact, all of this is textbook abusive relationship. They woo you, they sweep you off your feet. It's amazing. Then they start isolating you from your friends and family. And then slowly over time, the abuse becomes gaslighting. You start thinking you're the crazy one because they're very good at manipulation... thiiiii. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi started manipulating me started manipulating me thi started manipulating me started manipulating me started manipulating me started thi started started started manipulating me started started thi started started they started they started they started they started they started they started they started they started they started they started they started they started they started they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're thi. thi. I thi. I started thi. I started manipulating me started manipulating me. thi. to start manipulating me started. thi. they're started. thi thi started. they're started. they're they're they're they're they're slowly over time, the abuse becomes gaslighting. You start thinking you're the crazy one because they're very good at manipulation. So then there were more dramas and on and on and on and on until finally we broke up. Honestly, this sounds like the first cult you were in. It was absolutely the first cult I was in.

So one day while still living in Minnesota, Aaron announces, That I was moving to Los Angeles. I have to pursue my dreams. I want to sing, I want to act. And she drove out to Los Angeles. Is anyone actually from LA? No, Tyler, and you're one of the people who are not from LA. True, I moved here four months ago. And the ones that are from LA, they're not stupid enough to be in the entertainment business. Valid. Now, not everyone's moving to LA story is so easy breezy, but for Aaron. Within two months I had my SAG card. I had a bunch of jobs, a bunch of clients, but I was

in a place where I was very lonely, I didn't have friends. I didn't come to LA having friends. So the only people I knew were people I was meeting around town. It was an environment that was unstable and it was hard to find contentment. This is another one of my good friends, Josh Barron. I'm from Tucson, Arizona originally. Had a wonderful childhood, and then I moved to California for college and came down to LA after college to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. I was a kid. I was a th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thi thi th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was th th th th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi to I moved to California for college and came down to LA after college to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. I mean I was a kid who moved to LA I knew no one and was looking to find a community of people of artists and get an education in the craft of acting. So he

signed up for an acting class and he did learn a bit about the craft of acting, as well as met a woman who became his girlfriend. But that class had its own toxicity to it. It was recruiting women for dates and sex, essentially. Oh, gross. It was unbelievably toxic and disgusting. But Hollywood's changing, Tyler, Now you don't have to suck a dick to get a roll anymore. Naive outsider here, Liz. Is it really that

bad? I mean, once upon a time, yeah, I think it was really that bad. I don't know. I'm just in the documentary world. We kind of sit at the kids table. We're a bunch of nerds making movies about climate change and penguins. so I guess I've avoided that world. Well, Hollywood does have its dark side, but it's changing slowly. And so we got out of there. And then we went on the search like a lot of people do, so okay, that was a shit experience. Let's find a better class. You get a job at a bar or a restaurant. You're working with a lot of other actors, and you ask them, do you know any good acting teachers, acting classes? Josh's girlfriend was working at a restaurant and met someone there who said, hey, I have a great

class. So she went to the class, came home, and said there's this class with this woman who's pretty eccentric, but the people who were in the class were really talented. So she signed up. I was a little, honestly, a little burnt on acting classes for a second. So she started this class without me. And then after a couple months of her being there, there started to be a lot of pressure from her to like, you got to come check

out the class. Don't you want your career to work out? Don't you want to get your life, to get, to get, to get, to get, to get, to get, to get, to get, to get your life, to get your life, to get your life, to get your life, to get your life, to get your life, to get your life, to get your life, to get your life, to work out. Don't you want to get your life?" Was this phrase that came up a lot? And I was like, yeah, okay, I'll go audit your acting class. The recruitment process had already begun from his closest confidant, no less. So Josh went to audit the class. I mean, it's free, what's the harm in that? Yeah, lots of great things are free, like coupons. Smels. Taking a bath. Picking up dog shit. Not. the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thiia. thia, thia, thia, thiole. th. th. the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the. the. the. the. the. th. th. th. th. th. th. the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their the. the. the. the. thra. threate. toea. I's toea. toea. toeauuoooooooooooooooooooooe. Iaa. Ia. coupons. Smells. Taking a bath. Picking up dog shit. Not going to the gym. Eating dirt. Crying yourself to sleep.

Oh, the tester bottles of beauty stores. I don't think those are free, Liz. Not the whole bottle. My bathroom vanity would disagree with you, Tyler. I went and I sat in the back, and I had much the same reaction. This is a really eccentric woman, but there were talented people there. She was talking about being an artist from the inside out and being fulfilled. That's what I bought into immediately, was that idea. So Josh signs up for class 2. Okay, so tell me a little bit about acting classes.

I'm imagining it's a bit like Barry. The HBO HBO show, which listeners, if you haven't watched, you should. It's actually not too far off. Henry Winkler is obviously a bit more sardonic, but I did read somewhere that he was taking cues from his own acting teacher, the famous Stella Adler. Okay, so acting classes, I mean that sounds like something that thoult that. And Josh seemed like he wanted that. All actors want that. And meanwhile Aaron is in LA doing massage. I'm guessing she didn't move to LA to give back rubs. No but she is a damned good masseuse and she needed to make a living. But one day she gave a massage to a woman and she was like well what do you want to do and I was like well, well, I'm an actor, and I'm a singer, and I'm a writer. And she said, I know the woman who can make you the star that you are.

And she said, her name. And the name. Did it feel familiar? It just felt like, yes. I felt the same way when I had fallen the love, I felt this kick in the one. Keep in mind we are not going to reveal her name, but she'll refer to her as teacher. Okay, back it up a bit to about two years prior. While Aaron was still in Minneapolis, she had been consulting with psychics. Oh, psychics. The long con, still alive. Regardless, one psychic told Aaron. Why do you live here you're supposed to be living in California?

And when you get there, look for the great mother. She's probably 50, she will help you with your career. So, Aaron called the studio, and without knowing anything about the class or the teacher, she signed up for an upcoming three-day intensive, also known as the foundation class. It was $450. And Aaron shows up on the day of the class, which at the time was in a cozy living room in someone's home in Van Nuys, California.

You know, Tyler, I was there too. Oh really? And who else was there, Liz? Do tell anyone famous? Well, I'm not going to say that a Marvel superhero was in the class with us, but I'm also not going to say he wasn't. Intriguing. I'm not going to say who? You're such a non-name-dropper, name-dropper.

I know. Everybody was super lovey-dovey and hugging each other, but nobody knew. Nobody knew me. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. tho, nobody tho, nobody tho, nobody thi. thi. tho, nobody tho, tho, tho, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. But, thi. But, thi. But, thi. But, thi. But, thi. But, thi. But, thi. But, thi. But, thi. But, thi. But, thi. But, thi. But thi. But thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I'm to me. I just sat down on the couch, which there are people who have places in these courses, you don't take their spot. But I did, I didn't know. And then everybody was like hush, hush, hush. And then she came out and she sat on her little throne chair and she looked at everyone. She said, look at all of you. You're all like my little children and I'm your mother. I'm your mother. I'm the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I th. And I th. And I th. And I th. And I th. And I th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm th. And I'm your mother." And I went, and I went, Oh, it's her. She's the great mother. She will help me. And there she was, in front of her. This life-changing acting coach led to her by the psychic stars.

I remember I was feeling so elated at having found the woman that I thought was going to help me get my life on track. I mean, I had gone from being valedictory of to my to my high to my high to my high to my high to my to my high to my to my high to my to my to my to my to my to my to my the woman that I thought was going to help me get my life on track. I mean, I had gone from being valedictory of my high school class with full-ride scholarships everywhere I applied to, in my mind, a total loser and wasn't pursuing my dreams. I just thought this was the woman who's going to finally help me. I was really happy. And of course, she was like, who the fuck are you? Who's that angry bitch sitting on the couch?

And I was like, how are you my mother? But it didn't drive her away. It felt like a challenge. And Aaron was up for it. My experience with people loving me had been very bad at that point, right? It was kind of like, I will become what you need so that you love me. Okay, who is this lady? She grew grew up th. She grew up th. She grew up th. She grew up th. She grew up th. She grew up th. She grew up the th. She was th. She was the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to, to, to, th. to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to. to. to. to. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. th th th th th th th th the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th th that you love me. Okay, who is this lady? She grew up in Hollywood. She was the child of a very successful person

and wanted to be an actress herself. And so she studied at an acting class of a very famous acting teacher. An instructor by the name of Roy London. Once he passed away, there was no one teaching what he had taught, and her acting career didn't end up coming to fruition. So she opened up a little acting class in the valley. And became an acting teacher. It's actually a pretty intimate and powerful position because everybody's instrument is

themselves. So to go in and talk to someone about growing their craft is to talk to them in some ways about growing themselves. She liked the power of that. Well, that's an understatement. You see, what's tricky about this environment is it's very easy to take advantage and manipulate actors. If you think about it, it's an actor's actual job to show up and be vulnerable, right? To expose their insides to the outside world attended these classes simply wanted to be better at the very difficult craft of acting.

They were people who had a dream. They wanted something that they didn't have. They want to be better at something than they are and looking for help doing it. The magic of so many people showing up with their dream in their hand and put it out there for everyone to see in a vulnerable way. Which can sometimes create a beautiful magical space. And to be fair, there was a lot of that happening in this class at times. And Josh was enjoying the early stages of learning from this teacher. But Aaron, well, she felt a different vibe from this woman. She was actively mean to me.

She always called me the angry bitch, okay angry bitch. And then the angry bitch in the corner, you th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it th, it thi, it thi, it thi, it thi, it thi, it thi, it thi, the, thi, thi, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the-a there's there's there's there's there was there was there was angry bitch, okay angry bitch, and then the angry bitch in the corner, you know, became a nickname for me. But it wasn't just Erin. This woman got off on making people feel trite and small, and you were a superhero if you were able to not take it personally, but instead use it for your self-growth. She would criticize my parents often and I have a long history with eating disorders and when she found out she told everyone. But being just an acting teacher wasn't enough. She also fancied herself a guide, i.e. a life coach. So in addition to the acting classes, she also offered something called

life classes. Her classes at times felt more like a therapy session. But this teacher wasn't even close to being a real therapist. No, she had no real credentials. Other than studying with other people like Roy London or going to a few yoga classes or AA meetings. I think she even went to landmark forum once. Yet another cultic organization. And so to justify her lack of credentials, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, she, the, the, the, the, the, the, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, to landmark forum once. Yet another cultic organization. And so to justify her lack of credentials, she would say, she had a gift. No, they're all so gifted, aren't they? And what was her gift? Well, it has evolved,

of course, but in the beginning she gave herself the fancy title of human behavior expert. Right, I don't know what the fuck that means. And despite her lack of qualifications, she guided these pseudo-therapy sessions. But unlike healthy one-on-one therapy, this was group therapy, in front of everyone. It was pretty evident why that was not healthy. Anything that you would mention was something that would get attacked almost immediately. She encouraged others to dislike me. She told stories about me that people then assumed were trueueueueueueue true true true true true true. Like thuuu. Like thu. Like thu. Like thu. Like thu. Like thu. Like thu. Like thu. Like the. Like the. the. the. the. the. the, the, the. the. the. the. But, the. But, the. But, the. But, the. But, the. But, the. But, the. But, th. But, th. But, th. But, th. But, th. But, th. But, th. But, th. But, th. Right, th. Right, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the. Right, theateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateate. Right, theateateate. Right, the. Right, the me. She told stories about me that people then assumed were true like that I was a stripper. Her justification for this type of emotional abuse was that she was breaking down your ego,

which Tyler you could use some of. You have broken that long ago Liz. In her school of thought it's our ego that gets in the way of our greatness. Which to some extent is true. Yes, of course. That's what's so tricky about her classes and cults in general. They often take existing philosophies and, quote, reinvent them, claim them as their own special work and then use those philosophies against the person in abusive and harmful ways. I remember my first scene in acting class. She was like,

look at her! Look at her! Do you see what she's doing? She was pointing and saying, do you see what she's doing? Laughing at me and then everybody in the class would laugh. If there is a hell, I think this is what it might be. But think about it. It fit perfectly within the context of wanting to become a better actor. The way she taught it was that in th, I th, I to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be a to be a the the to be a to be a the the to be a the to be a their, to be a their, their, their, their, the their, their, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look, look. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi. I. the the the the the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, look, their, look, their, their, look.a, the thi.to become a better actor. The way she taught it was that in order to be a better actor, you need to be able to put yourself out there, face the ridicule, face the critique, drum up old trauma and use it for your craft. And there is some truth to that, but it was her tactics that were abusive. The solutions that so many of my peers were looking for in their work work, th work, It was simple stuff, you know, like try this, see if this feels better, see if this helps, and then realizing that then the next day or next class she would be back

and telling that person that they're terrible and that they were going nowhere. I mean, that was the game she played with everybody. And the tear-down process was really ugly and public and shameful. Once she, in the middle of an acting class, hopped on top of me, licked my face, and then did like a stripper move on me. And she said, see, see how rigid she is. And then after that, she said, so who abused you, your mother? Which was so weird, also inaccurate.

But at the time I just thought, what's wrong with me? Why am I so rigid? There were probably about 12 of us in class, including some very well-known people. No one commented on that. Not even the unnamed superhero came to her rescue. All right, so Josh and Aaron are both in this acting class, hoping that the teacher can improve their craft. But like many cults, the teacher or cult leader gets greedier and wants more people's time and money.

Hence the life classes. And soon, she was leading weekend retreats, women's retreats, couples retreats, and the price tag kept going up. And at one time she decided to have a women's retreats, men's retreats, couples retreats, and the price tag kept going up. And at one time she decided to have a woman's retreat in Ohio, California, where the women would go off together, do a deep dive into what's holding them back. And Josh's girlfriend would often come back from these trips, really questioning their relationship. Which is normal in cults to sabotage romantic relationships. What would end up happening next is she would have me do some scene and make out with

some other girl in class because that was what the scene was about. And then knowing that my girlfriend was in the audience watching, going through her own specific bout of insecurity, and then talking about how much it looked like I really loved the girl I was kissing, which was totally inappropriate and shitty. Despite all this, Josh stayed, as did Aaron. It was part of their self-growth after all. I almost feel like she was doing everything in her power to get me to not come back.

But that was all part of this teacher's malignant manipulation. She loved to challenge people. You won't last a week with me the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the, which the, which the, which tho-a the, which thia' tho-s tho-s, which tho-s, which tho-s, which tho-s, which was tho-s, which was tho-s, which was tho-s, which was th, which was th, which was th, which was th, which was th, which was the, which was the, which the, which the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, theateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateate, which was tho-s was tho, th was all part of this teacher's malignant manipulation. She loved to challenge people. You won't last a week with me or you could really benefit from this work but your ego won't be able to hack it. Or sometimes she would have very established working actors come to class and she would say things like, well you've made it this far sucking, congratulations. Not sure I can deprogram all your shitty habits and get you from working actor to great actor, but stick around long enough and we'll see. Remember Aaron's first day when the teacher said to Aaron, who's this bitch? That was all part of the plan from the beginning. This is why I do think she's a brilliant woman because she was able to speak to my desire for greatness.

And she was able to make fun of me, demoralize me in an acting scene, and then say, but we'll get you where you need to go. This teacher convinced her that the abuse was part of the process of becoming a better artist. Aaron says brilliant, I say highly manipulative. Typical cult tactic, break them down, build them back up again. But I was so convinced that she was the teacher I was supposed to be working with. She was self-proclaimed the best, why would I think otherwise? After all, she's driving a Range Rover, and I don't want to be mean about like plastic surgery, but she has all the markers of wealth that is

required in Beverly Hills. There were some celebrities in class. There were people who were working. Maybe I'll just stay a little longer and see. It's a lot like sitting at the gambling table. You're down five large, but a few more bets. You're back to even. Speaking of the self-proclaimed-oze. thine, thine, thine, thine, thine, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th of the self-proclaimed best, that is exactly what she was. It was all narcissistic, self-aggrandizing. She would say, it's her work, her channel, when in fact, in hindsight, she was just borrowing from others. Or stealing it, actually.

Exactly. She borrowed... Or stole. Right, from Roy London. But in her other classes, she was pulling from great thought leaders and philosophers, and, and, and, and, and, and, toeee....... toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, the the, toe, toe, to, to, to, to, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the, the, the.. the. the. thean, thean, thean, toean, toe. toe. toe. toe. the 60s and 70s, the Baga Vita, which is considered one of the most holy scriptures of Hinduism, Vedic sages. When you steal from the great, the things you say can also be great. Exactly, there were gems you learn in class, tools that did help you in your work and in your life. She tools that did that did that did that did that did that did that did that did that did that did that did th th th th the th th th th the the the the the the the the the theateateateateateathea-a-a the the the theathea' tho-a' their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their gita their their their their their gita their their their their their their their giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. their their. theateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateatr-auuiiiiiiiiiii. thaeateateateateateateatheaa. their their of being present, right? She talked about depression being stuck in the past, anxiety being stuck in the future. Yeah, all stuff that I've heard therapists say.

Yeah, and I saw many people break down and face a lot of fears, insecurities, and let go of bad habits and patterns. And Josh, well he was learning new tools and in fact, he started booking acting gigs. And then one day... A big opportunity comes up last minute that was very common in Hollywood. So he calls his teacher to discuss the audition. I was like, yeah, I'm standing outside of Warner Brothers. She's like, you're not ready. You're not ready. You need more classes, you need more time. Here he has a huge opportunity, and instead of supporting him like a true guide or teacher would, she broke him down.

And it was amazing to see her sabotage those opportunities for all of her students. She was afraid that that would cause that person to leave to no longer be there in her class. So she would sabotage them all the time. There's no plan for you to graduate. You're not being taught anything. Because to learn something is that eventually I have this skill, and I can go do this skill on my own. My third-grade teacher is nowhere near me, but I'm writing, I'm doing addition. Her goal was to create an environment where you needed her in order to succeed. Thereby taking more classes and paying more money.

But she always wanted more. She was slightly manic and never content. She had been this acting teacher and life coach for years and was paying the bills doing it. But then one day she went on a yoga retreat. What took it from one level to the next with this little acting class in the valley was this teacher had taken a trip to India. And while on this spiritual adventure, she met people who were making a living being spiritual guides. I'm sure she thought to herself,

I could do that. So she came back from this trip and her classes completely changed. She actually wanted to become a guru. Yes, a guru. And she actually called herself that. Guru does have a much nicer ring to it than human behavior expert. But now that she's a fully-fledged, self-appointed guru, the life classes were no longer an option for the actors. Suddenly actors in her acting class had to

also take and pay for a whole new class. What she did was make it mandatory. You have to do both because she doesn't want to teach you the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to to to to to to to the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to thi-s thi-s thi-s toeckieriering toeckiering toe. toe. G. Guiou- tooom- tooome tooome tooome toe toe toe toe. Guue toe toe to be toe to be to be to be to be thuuuuiii. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. G. Grew, to be the. Grew, the. Grew, th. Grew, th. Grew, thu. Grew, thu. Grew, thu. Grew, thrc. Grew, thr class. What she did was make it mandatory. You have to do both, because she doesn't want to teach you these skills in acting and then have you have a fucked up life. She justified it by saying she can only take you so deep in the acting class. But you won't get very far unless you're also deepening your life. So if you're not in both classes, well you are a waste of my time." Her life classes were located when I first started in her living room and then they moved outside to the backyard where she had built sort of a little like gazebo kind of, and she sits on a chair a throne.

With a shawl wrapped around herself like she's been studying at the foot of the Buddha for forever when she just like ordered this shawl on Amazon, right? Like it's absurdity. And her little dogs on her lap or circling around her and then the rest of us sit on the floor before her. There's incense burning, there's flowers all laid around. She is creating the visual and sensory experience of being in front of some enlightened person. And the monitors of the class were answering to her every OCD Beckencall. And monitors were who? Recruiters, essentially. They did everything. Organized the classes, collected the payments, got people enrolled

in the class, set everything up. They were her bitches, basically. And she was very high maintenance. She had a lot of rules and demands. She needed a specific lip balm in her drawer, flowers in front of her and specific arrangements. And she she was so abusive to these monitors. In front of everyone she would always say like, oh look at her, she's an idiot. Why do I only have idiots working for me? Sounds lovely. So in addition to berating young unpaid assistance, she would also dole out knowledge.

Life advice akin to therapy. She claimed she was a channel, Tyler, okay? So please give her the untrained respect she does not deserve. Thank you. And the life class was essentially all of the unlicensed therapy that she was attempting to practice in the acting class, just unmasked. And soon, she started to care more about being a guru

than being an acting coach. There was a lot more money there, because there were a lot more people looking for life coaching and gurus than people who want to be actors, even in LA. And her classes were full. Obviously there were artists, there were actors and writers. There are a lot of professional people.

High-powered attorneys and business people. Entrepreneurs, people who were day-trading stocks. Somaliers, salespeople, school teachers, yoga teachers. It was a lot of really smart people. Looking for growth, looking for a change. Who wanted to make the world a better place through their endeavors. Which, of course, made it an appealing place to be. So I just kept coming, and she just kept getting meaner and meaner and I kept shrinking and shrinking and becoming what she was saying.

So after four months of this errand, booked a private session with the teacher. Privates as they were called were basically 50-minute one-on-one coaching sessions with a self-proclaimed transformational guide. At the very low cost of just $300. Lucky you. And it was the 4th of July. I left a party. I left a yacht and I drove all the way from Newport Beach to Van Nuys. And she was like, well, why are you here?

And I said, because you're an angry bitch, nobody likes you. And I didn't have it in me to say, well, that's not true, actually. A lot of people kind of adore me. I didn't know how to say that. I was like, well, what do I do? She said, you have to come to India. She talked all the time about India, India, India, India. That was where real healing an transformation was possible. Soon it wasn't enough for her to bring the Indian spirituality to the group. She wanted to bring the group to India. For a two-week deep dive into self, meeting with yogis, monks, gurus,

in the birthplace of yoga, no less, Rishakeh, India. The same place, the Beatles found enlightenment. That's true. The Beatles actually went to Rishakeh in 1968 for some spiritual enlightenment, but they departed early because they discovered that their guru, named the Maharashi, was having sex with numerous women despite telling everyone to remain celibate. Why is that such a fucking theme? It's cliched, but John Lennon actually wrote a song about it. Go dig out your white album and listen to sexy Sadie, but replace the word sexy Sadie with Maharishi. Brings on a whole new level to that song.

Maharishi, what have you done? You made a fool of everyone. Oh, you made a fool of everyone. And of course, said to Sadie, oh, what have you done? You'd be traveling with your peers, guided by her, and of course she was charging an absurd amount of money. At this point, the trips were about five grand.

Which was a bit more money than Aaron could afford. And I was like, well I couldn't possibly go. I have no money. I mean it takes everything to pay for this. She was like, I don't know what to tell you. But if you want your career, you want a man, you want a life, you want friends, you want somebody to like you. You better be on that, that, that, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. And thi. And the. And th. And, thi. And thi. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I th. And, I the. And, I the. And, I the. And, I was thea. And, I was thea. And, I was the. And, I was the. And, I was th. And, I was th. And, Ito India. Tyler, everyone was invited to India. I mean, we were broke, my ex and I. A lot of our money were going to these classes. Other than my rent and health insurance or whatever, it was the most expensive thing I was spending money on. And then this idea of like, we should go on this India trip.

The sales pitches were hard and heavy, and decisions about not spending the toeckckckckckckckckckckckckckckckckck. to, to, to, to to to toea to to be to to to be to to to be to be to to be to to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to bea, to be to be to be to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thiii. thi. thi. thi. thii. thii. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thiauo thi. thi. the money you had or made akin to you not wanting to take a risk not being willing to take a leap of faith for your life for your career and didn't matter what that person's circumstances were. If you can't afford to go on a trip, she will insist that you rise up, make a commitment and let the money come. She would promise things like, I guarantee you, you will make twice the money after the trip, and you will have all your dreams come true. That's her financial advice in life class. Once she told one of her students, well I don't care how you find the money, if you have to, you would sell your car.

And then he did sell his car to pay for the trips. I sold a guitar to go on a trip. I sold so much of my stuff. And the teacher would use more than terrible financial advice to coerce. She would enlist others. And I'm pretty sure sure sssssss she ss she ss ss ss ss she ss she ss she ss she ss she ss she ss she ss she thee seded she theaaaa thea thea thea told told told told told told told told told told the told told told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. told. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. the the the the. the the. tolde. their. their. toe. their. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toea. toeaaa She would enlist others. I'm pretty sure she sicked a couple of her, what's the word, henchman? She sicked a few of the recruiters on me. One day another woman from the class approached her and said, So I heard you're coming to India. And I said, oh what? No, I can't afford it. She's like, really? Because I see you there. I see you in India. And you th, what what what what what what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what the the the the the the the the the the the the word, what, what, what, what, what, what the word, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what the the the the the the the the the the the the the word, what the the word, what the the the word, what the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the word, the the the word, the we- the word, what the word, what the word,. She's like, really? Because I see you there. I see you in India.

And you know what happened is the very next day I actually got a check. I had gotten a song placed in a movie. I got a check for $1,500, which was how much the plane ticket was. So she bought the plane ticket, and when the teacher found out, she told her. I respect that hustle and I'll tell you what, pay as much as you can ahead of time and then pay the rest when you come back. And I was like, ah, shit loves me. I thought I mistook her desire for my money is, she's accepting me, she was actually not horrible to me. Oh, Aaron. So Aaron borrowed the money from a friend and took every job she could in order to pay for the trip. And Josh, well, the peer pressure also got to him. So he and his girlfriend ended up going on the India trip.

Two of them, actually. They were amazing trips with amazing people who were actually really trying to grow themselves. We're really on missions of like self-exploration in a way that was very honorable as artists. Here we are in India and I really am actually having some transformational experiences. Were they because of her? I actually don't think so. Because my transformational experiences happened in meditations. The only reason they're related to her is because she was the reason I was there. But while in India, Aaron gave teacher a massage.

And she realized I was very good at it, and then offered to trade massage for the remainder of the price of the trip, she offered for me to stay an extra week. Aaron's value just tripled. She now moved up in the teacher's eyes. There's the inner circle, her and her pets. There's another circle of people trying to become a pet. And then there's this sort of third tier of people who are maybe committed, but not trying to be close close close close close close close close close to to to to to the cool to to to the cool to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to to to to to the to there's this sort of third tier of people who are maybe committed but not trying to be close.

She was now hanging out with the cool kids. I mean, I was really close to her. And there's a rush you get out of being really close to someone, even if the price is high. Because you are convinced that she's special. And the price was definitely high, more than just money. My evenings became about massaging her or my regular clients to pay for the trips and to pay her back. I was working so hard all the time that I stopped

having time for dating. I stopped having time for friends. I would show up at her house to do a massage. And sometimes, yeah, it would be like, oh, let's go shopping first, or let's go have sushi first, you know, and only ever at this extremely expensive restaurant, oh, let's go see a movie first. Don't you want to get my wisdom during this movie and buy me popcorn? And you know, I'm literally negative 200 of my bank account. And then at 1 a.m. I'd start the massage. Yeah, that happened many times. If you came to her for advice, she could give you whatever shit advice she had.

I have a solution for you. Why don't you drive my kids at school and see if that helps you solve this problem? Why don't you do stuff for me as a form of getting out of yourself? I also did a lot of volunteer stuff for her for free. I transcribed class after class after class for no money to help her, to write her book. And then she would read what she had said and she was like, well, this is gibberish, this isn't a book. But supposedly it wasn't coming from her. No, it was coming through her. She will say things about herself. I'm a channel. You all think I'm psychic and I'm a guru,

but it's just you. I'm just reading your being. I'd rather just be going shopping and then come home and watch a movie. You know, I don't want to have to do this, but I'm here. I'm here for you. I remember her once actually channeling Jesus. Do you remember this? Do you remember this? No.

She sat back in her chair. And then she tucked her chin in and she raised her eyes up. And her voice gone very... Sorry. I know, I can't do it. I'll do it again. She She lifted her eyes up and then she started speaking in this low strange voice. I'm not doing it well because it sounded more like a croak that a deep voice was. She was channeling Jesus from when Jesus was alive. I mean, and we all just sat there and listened. I mean, why am I laughing? It's like so ridiculous. We're laughing because who the fuck says that? Who says that shit? Right? Exactly. In your living room in fucking Van Nuys, California.

I mean? So this teacher had to this point been teaching acting classes for years. And eventually, she started to realize that teaching acting well, it's hard. Yeah, much harder than doing a horrifying impression of Jesus. You just couldn't let it lie, could you, Liz? Yeah, to ice the cake. So she deprioritized acting class and she shifted her focus to the life classes. And Josh felt this shift personally. Because I was the one who started teaching her acting classes for her when she started deprioritizing them and one of the hooks

with me was that if I taught for her then I got my classes for free. Heaven forbid you actually fucking pay someone for doing a job. What a novel concept. The teaching helped me talk about the tools and the craft of acting in a way that I actually think really grummy. He was teaching the intermediate acting class. So people would come to me first and they would get a lot out of that environment and then they would eventually graduate. And move on to the master's class, which guru lady taught. And then people would get in her class and be like. their. their thi. thi. thi. th. thi. th. th. thi. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the, the, thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. theee. theeeeeeeee. theee. the. the. the. the. the. the, which guru lady taught. And then people would get in her class and be like, what the fuck is happening in here? She's not teaching acting and this lady's nuts. You know it's funny, actors that went to her years ago would come back to class here or there and be like, what the fuck is going on in these classes now?

Why is she dressed in flowing yogi clothes with shawls talking about Vedic scriptures? Being a teacher isn't just having a room where you talk about stuff. It's not good enough just to understand exactly how the body works to be a surgeon. You have to understand this is a person. And if you make a mistake in here, that that's their fucking life. She told me, you know Aaron, you're just only ever going to do massage the rest of your life. Which, first of all, it's a horrible thing for someone who's supposedly your life teacher that's helping you rise up and live the life you want to live to say to you, it's all about her and her needs. It had nothing to do with my dreams. You showing up with your dream in your hand and someone deciding that they'd like to to to to to the....... th. th. to to to to to to to to to to to their. to to to their. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the. the. the. the. tell. tell me tell me. me. tell me mea. tell me the tell me. tho. the. toldld me to tho. to to to they'd like to take advantage of that. Okay, Liz, how many people were in these classes?

I would say at any given time, I'd hovered right around 40 students. In her mind, she desperately wanted to be the next Mirian Williamson with book deals and large speaking events, but she could never get there. And you were there with Josh and Aaron at the time? I was. Did you ever go on the India trip? I did, more than once. Because it was never quite good enough just to go on one trip. All my friends were going to the trip.

There was a lot of peer pressure. Her classes basically turned into one big promotion for the India. Well. the India trip. Well it's probably a big money maker I'm guessing. Exactly right. And that's all she would talk about. Are you going to India? Oh no, well you don't really want your life do you? And how did she get people to go again and again? Because there's always more work to do on yourself. And always more money for sushi and designer purses. Well she was a very materialistic guru because that makes total fucking sense. Buddha just loves Gucci. On Aaron's second trip to India, she realized that the teacher, the middle-aged teacher, was...

Dating a 24-year-old. Right. Well, dating is... She was sleeping with, I don't know, a guru with benefits? I don't know. She was sleeping with the Indian guru that we were there to work with. Hypo, seems like the Maharishi is not the only guru

having a bit of a shag. All of the trip really was a pretext for her to get a free trip to go see this man she was in love with. Love can make you do crazy things. The interesting part of their relationship was that he was the one with power over her. He would yell at her and say mean things about her, mean things about her age, talk about how she was a minor guru who didn't have wisdom in front of all of us. I was sick on that trip and I had a fever. At one point we were going

down to have a class by the river and he offered to give me a ride on the back of his motorcycle and the minute she saw me on the back of his motorcycle she walked right up to me and she said get off the bike bitch. I was so shocked she would say that to me because she was my tea shot. I loved her. And then in that instant, I got it. They were not gods. They were just people. That's when I knew I had to leave. But unlike John Paul, George, and Ringo, Aaron stayed. Unfortunately, for me I wasn't strong enough to leave. Meanwhile, Josh was dealing with a more serious life issue.

His girlfriend had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. She was so sick she couldn't work. We were putting her health insurance on credit cards until we lost that. We didn't know what was going to happen. But the acting coach, come Guru, had an idea. She was going to take people to Bali and heal them. Now as you may know from Eat Pray Love, which I never read, Bali is home to a plethora of spiritual healers.

Including one man she would visit named Mancou, whom the New York Times did an expose about. These healers are beloved and revered for their service and ability, and it is to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to their their to their their their to to their their to to their to to their to to to to their to to to to to to to to to to to to bolly. Bolly. Bolly. Bolly. to bolly. to bolly. to bolly. to bolly. to bolly. to boli. B. to boli. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. to b. to b. to b. to b. their. their. their. their. their their their their their their their their their their their toole. toole. toole. toole. toole. toole. toole. toole. to bolly. to Mancou, whom the New York Times did an expose about. These healers are beloved and revered for their service and ability, and it is quite incredible to be exposed to. Yeah, well let's not forget that. Many of these healers are frauds, using trickery and sleight of hand to appear to heal. I actually made a movie. toeler. Nope, Tyler, not going to plug that movie either.

Fine. But teacher believed in magical healers and Bali is beautiful. But it's not a cheap trip. And for Josh, he didn't know what to do. I mean, the girl I loved, had a brain tumor was saying I want to go to Bali and see if someone can fix me. And I didn't think it was a great plan, but I also knew what it would be like to tell her no.

How do you tell someone who thinks that they could be dying, that they want to do one last then she came back and still had a brain tumor. What this woman was hoping was that she would go to Bali and get cured and then tell everyone that she cured her. And when it didn't happen, she decided to shame this sick girl. She just decided that if she had wanted her life, she could have just got better. But she clearly wants to be sick and shamed her.

This was the thing that led Josh's girlfriend to finally leave. She eventually got better, by the way, using mythical healers called doctors. But Josh had new responsibilities within the studio, so he stayed. I now felt like I was teaching this acting class and doing some good and wanting to try and make something good out of this. I was afraid of being unsuccessful, both personally and professionally. It was a fear of not getting what I wanted and I think that's what kept me there for sure. Part of this cult leader's dirty manipulation is she gets her students to

believe that they need her. Yeah, who would I be without her? How would I live? Most of my clients were tied to her. Aaron stayed for years and continued going on trips. Two India trips, one oh-high trip, one Joshua trip. More classes? More money. More problems. Sometimes it was like pay kkits or buy groceries. I'm not thia I I thia I thia I thia I thia I still. I still. I still. I still. I still. I still. I still. I still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still still. I still still still still still still still still still still still th. th. th. th. th was like, pay k-k's or buy groceries. I'm not kidding when I say that.

I still stayed with her. I was trying to leave her for years. Which is very common in cults. Many people get to the point where they want out, but they don't know how. Because the fear tactics the cult leader is used to the point that you have lost toucest with your true self. And then I met my partner and we started seeing each other. He was God-bless like a healthy person who like just saw me and loved me. Her superhero finally arrived. And he started gently asking questions.

If she's able to really be this channel, then why does she have these problems? Or why, if it's about rising up and you've been there this many years, why are you actually more in debt now than before you started with her? Basic logic questions. And these basic logic questions were actually quite difficult for Aaron to answer. And Josh at this point had been with this woman for three or four years, but he wasn't doing as well professionally as he would have liked, and he wasn't the only one.

He started looking at the people in class that had been there for a long time and realized this program was not producing the successful artist that it was claiming to and then I was also watching some people leave and become more successful upon leaving. She was actually destroying her own clientele and had to constantly go find new people to destroy. She's just been a thief of dreams. So that's when I left. After years of taking classes, teaching classes, going on trips, and generally subjugating himself to this woman, Josh finally got the courage to leave.

And just like that, he was free. But for Aaron, she stuck around a bit. She still believed that this woman was the key to her achieving her dreams and then one day. I gave a concert and I invited one of my fellows to sing with me who is a great singer. The next day in class the teacher talked about the show. She said yeah Aaron was fine but how about and then she named the teacher talked about the show. She said, yeah, Aaron was fine, but how about? And then she named the other student. Wow, a star is born.

She blew everyone in the audience away. And then she looked at me, and I didn't react. Because any reaction meant you were triggered, and then it would become the subject for class. After class, Aaron called her boyfriend and told him what happened. And he goes, honey, honey, I was at the concert, and yeah, she's a good singer. But you were amazing, and I was like, that's not what I needed to hear. He's like, yeah, you do. Let me ask you this. How does, and then he named the student, how does she make a living? And I said I I I her life. He goes, oh I see and how

many classes a week does she take with the teacher? Usually both life classes and an acting class and he said and does she go on all the trips? I'm just pointing out that she makes a lot of money off of that student, she makes a lot less money off of you. her actual end game is to continue to keep you needing her for financial sustenance. And massages. That's when I got it. And I went, uh-huh. And that was it, her final blow.

So she wrote a letter to the teacher saying she is no longer going to be her student. And she said, I'm very sad to hear this, but I hope I can still get massages from you. So I said, sure, my rate is $130 an hour. Well played, Erin. Well played. So I was with her for, I don't remember how many years, but, and I don't really want to think about it, five, five years, oh God. They were both finally free and better for it. But it never really occurred to them that what they experienced might have been, well, a cult. I knew what cults were, but of course this was not Heaven's Gate, right. We were not wearing track suits, shaving our heads. I think I felt like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like th, like th, like th, like th, like th, thi thi thi tho thi their their tho tho tho tho tho tho tho. tho. th. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their thi the the the the. the. the. theat the. theat thooooooooooooo. the. the. the. their track suits, shaving our heads. I think I felt like this was a very unhealthy woman who was doing very personal, intimate

work and she was doing it fucking terribly. Therefore I would have said it was a toxic environment. But then Josh started watching documentaries about cults. That's when I really started realizing that this term applies. This was a cult. She's a cult leader. realizing that this term applies. This was a cult. She's a cult leader. I fell for this. My dream was bigger than my self-awareness, and that was really hard to swallow.

Because I always thought my dream was a positive thing. I mean, even me sitting here now in front of this microphone with you is because I feel honorbound to do it. Because I know that other people showed up and stayed longer than they would have because of me. And they got sick from being around her. And I got sick from being around her. Both Josh and Aaron now recognized

that they were, in fact, in a cult, and they used that term to describe it. But not everyone does. A lot of people who have left that environment see it as a shitty acting class instead of seeing it as a cult. That's understandable. It's difficult to admit that you joined a cult. The social stigma can be scary. And that's part of why we do this show, to show how easily someone can be manipulated

into a cult-like situation. And if they are in one, how they can extricate themselves from it. My experience of leaving was profound, and it was a journey of realizing where my boundaries were and weren't healthy and strong. And I slowly rebuilt my life partially by surrounding myself with people who were not culty. I actually kind of ran away from self-help for a while, and then I was able to start making a few new friendships or renewing other friendships with people who I had lost a little bit while I was in the cult.

For my eating disorder, I continue to work with a therapist, an actual therapist. I don't have to live the way I used to live with my eating issues, with my emotional issues. I also don't have to sacrifice myself for my dreams to get help. I've made a commitment to my partner to be as healthy as I can. So we've made commitments like savings, investments, paying off debt, getting healthy about food, body image, pursuing my dreams and my career, opposite of what I learned from this teacher.

The only person who can change your life is yourself, and the real teachers are trying to get you to understand that as fast as possible. Who are you taking your precious dream, your precious thing too? Josh is now writing and acting and he's running a non-profit. And Aaron, she's singing, writing, acting and producing. And the teacher? Well, she recognized her cult-like leader ways and she stopped teaching. She is now living a quiet, repentful life in northern Maine.

She continues to perform by occasionally acting in the local towns dinner theater, where her recent performance of Steel Magnolias was, quote, raw and inspiring. No, Tyler. She also likes to give puppies. She gives money to the home the home the home, the home, the home, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the cletletletletletletletletletletletlete, the c, the c, the c, like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like, like thea, like like like like like like like like like like like like lea, like lea, like like lea, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like like, like like, like like, like like like like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, also likes to give puppies. No Tyler. She gives money to the homeless. No she doesn't. She sadly is still up to her old ways. She's got new students acting class as a thing of the past. I heard now that she's a Bologna and charges $4,000 for you too to become a healer Tyler. I like my story better000 for you too to become a healer, Tyler.

I like my story better. I do, too. Thank you for listening everyone. And thank you, Josh, and thank you, Aaron, for your openness and bravery. And this unbelievable story doesn't stop here. In fact, in a couple of weeks we'll hear from two other survivors of this group. But next week we'll hear from a remarkable woman who left the children of God. There's a verse in the Bible that says, I will make you fishers of men. And they took that to mean that to mean to mean that that that that that that that that th th th the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their the children of God. There's a verse in the Bible that says, I will make you fishers of men. And they took that to mean that all the women were bait and hookers for Jesus.

And so you would go out and try and find fish and hook them, and then bring them back into the fold. Really, he focused on women using their sexuality to win the world for Jesus. There were references in this episode to eating disorders. So if you or someone you love is struggling with disordered eating and needs help, please visit A&A.D.org for more information. Or if you or anyone you know was an occult, reach out to us. Your story could be told right here. Email us at info at was I an occult, reach out to us. Your story could be told right here.

Email us at info at wasa ina cult.com. Also Liz and I were guests on a great show called Podsauce. It's hosted by Alicia Renee and Dax Holt. And it's not just a podcast, guys. It's a videotape show, by the way. So you can get on and see that we have faces and limbs. And you can see Tyler's aura, which is a light shade of fuchsia. And if you look close enough, you can see Liz's prison tats. And Tyler's Dad Bod.

And Liz's bare man feet. Man are they sexy. The link is in the show notes, guys. Visit us at Wazan occult. the story produced and written by the very talented Liz Ayacousy? And the casually attired Tyler Mason. Executive producer is Maya Cole Howard. Supervising producer Ari Beseal and audio engineer is the great Chandler Mays. And our LA engineer, Dannel, Danel, for all that you do. And our fan of the week is Dylan Garrett Smith.

Insta Handle is at Dylan XVX. Shout out to Dylan. Thanks for the Love. And don't forget to rate and review everyone. Tyler needs the Eagle Boost. It does help.