this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2025
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I had a ram dass period myself after my first acid trip but at least he was most wanted number 1 in the US and dealt LSD with the hells angels.
But otherwise the only people i know who actually went were either for business or part of a tantric sexcult.
Was Ram Dass a cult leader or not? My online searches are not clear.
Cult as in "fringe religious movement", maybe, but I never heard of full on abuse or manipulative technique. They do sponsorship and stuff but its not worse than any youtuber these days. He was hardly charle manson, did work with prisoners and cancerous people.
I mean i found myself in a tantric "retreat center" in portugal one time, when some "angel of loves" offers you to "work through your issue" and "stay as much as you want", you know it's time to bug out ahah
Ram Dass sounds like an okay guy.
About the other actual cult you're mentioning: The part that bugs me is "the angel of loves" part. They're just people, and to me it's weird to regard people as angels on any official level, especially in a structure. This sounds like the fetishizing of sex workers that may be brainwashed into being there.
The cult experience had nothing to do with ram dass, if I haven't made that clear.
But yes, it was exactly what it was. The whole thing felt gross. I just wanted to do yoga for a weekend, not get manipulated into living there. Don't get me wrong, I had retreat where it was just a bunch of middle age lady doing meditation and silent walks without any expectations.
I'll keep in mind that "Stay as much as you want" could be a cult thing.
Religious messaging saying that that's a follower's job is a total breach of individual autonomy. That's just pimping using fake religious rules.
It's always good to be aware of manipulation / brainwashing technique. It was very secluded, huuuge land plot with tipis and domes. Paradisiac, really. But then it became apparent they wouldnt let me alone lmao
interesting experience tho
The "work through your issue" part seems creepy to me because why aren't they being direct and ending that phrase with "sex/sexually"? If they really were experts wouldn't they make sure communication is direct to help ensure only fully consensual things happen?
What creeps you out about them saying "work through your issue"?
It wasn't even the only mechanism to try to make me stay. After the thing, they "got covid" so the group attempted me to "stay isolated in the community". And then the guy offered me a flat for the night. It really felt like they were creep who wouldn't see me alone.
Southern portugal is very beautiful though. Too bad there's no portugese people left there
Did they check in on you too much? Seems like they would've gotten covid forever until you chose to stay forever on your own.
That's sad to hear. Did the Portuguese people mostly get driven out? I tried looking up if they're still there, and the internet says they are.
They tried but I bugged out real quick.
It is sad. Mass tourism and "expats" / retiree are taking a huge drain on the country overall. I only heard portuguese when talking to workers, nobody on the street spoke it.