"Anytime someone offers you a simple solution for a complex problem it's probably a cult." Annie Newhouse.
In episode, 3 of Blinded by the Light, Bayard Lewis and I continue our conversation with Annie Newhouse. We talk about the strange things that were on the menu—sugar was verboten, chocolate was substituted with carob, and a macrobiotic diet was encouraged throughout the community.
Aside from bizarre diet choices, Annie talks about the odd mix of neglect and invasive parenting that formed the structure of her childhood. Kids in the 90's were often left to our own devices; we have been called the latch key generation. The gaps presented by this kind of parenting style, however, was exacerbated, for Annie, by the isolation and the narcissistic tendencies that her mother exhibited.
Aside from Annie's mothers psychological tendencies, she also had a propensity toward magical thinking. Her mom believed herself, like CUT leader Elizabeth Clare Prophet, to be able to communicate with and channel other worldly beings.
Part of the doctrine of Church Universal and Triumphant held for the need to engage in spiritual warfare against dark forces and what was known as "fallen ones" or more colloquially, demons. Annie's mother, like many other members, believed herself to be on the frontline battle against evil.
A little laughter adds some levity to a weighty topic of conversation as we also delve into some of correlations between new age spiritualism and the modern conspiracist movement Q Anon, as well as some of the more radically leaning political stances active in our current social climate.