Show notes
How and why has QAnon, the domestic terrorist cult, infected the spiritual and wellness communities? Ash Riley and Brian Smith return for a panel discussion on the topic, as well as hitting on things like prosperity gospel, law of attraction, mental illness, racism, narcissism, grieving, empathy, and apophenia. Plus holding influencers accountable, pulling people back, and lots of resources! Visit BigSeance.com/184 for more info. Other Listening Options Direct Download Link In this episode: Episode Teaser :00 Intro 1:01 Context and Background (USA Today) 1:42 Why QAnon Infected the Spiritual and Wellness Communities (InMySacredSpace.com) 3:52 A new “Triangle Table” discussion with Ash Riley of InMySacredSpace.com and Brian Smith, author of Grief 2 Growth and host and producer of the Grief 2 Growth Podcast at Grief2Growth.com. Ash and Brian appeared together recently in episode 172, where the topic was Spiritual Bypassing. 7:53 “How can you go out and say that you’re this love and light person and then be involved with this group of people who are clamoring for public executions?” Ash gives an introduction to the discussion. 9:35 Vulnerability and the Authority Figure 13:20 “It’s a very interesting look at psychology, sociology, and something that we all need to understand as we start to open ourselves up to certain things, to learn to still be discerning, and to know where to draw the lines and how to think for ourselves.” Brian Smith reflects on Ash’s article. 15:14 Individualism, Prosperity Gospel, The Secret, Law of Attraction, The Power of Positive Thinking, Narcissism and how they’re linked to spirituality. 16:35 Authority, vulnerability, and being new to spirituality. 23:47 Spiritual abuse and holding people accountable. 26:20 How to reach the people sucked in by QAnon. 29:34 Denial, delusion, and unhealed trauma. 32:02 Racism, Proud Boys, and Nazis in the QAnon community. 34:55 “Evangelicals will deny the racism aspect of it. They’ll say, ‘Of course I’m not racist. I have nothing to do with that. This can’t have anything to do with race.’ And the racists like it because, it’s a way of taking back our country. It’s the whole blood and soil thing.” - Brian Smith 36:53 Racism rooted in narcissism. 38:04 Self awareness and the Narcissistic Personality Scale. 39:10 Believing their own lies. 41:55 Mental illness in the spiritual community. 42:50 “We are so quick to give up our power to someone else, whether it be a medium in the spiritual community or a pastor in a church, and we think that they have a special connection that we don’t have. And we need to learn to be more discerning that that person is just a human being, and they’ve got the same filters and biases and problems and things that we do.” - Brian Smith 46:42 Helping those who are grieving to open up spiritually, while also using discernment. 47:40 The 12 Step Program and why it works so well. 50:10 The need for critical thinking skills and the conspiracies that don’t make any sense. 53:45 Conspiracy theories as a subcategory of the paranormal community. 57:11 Magical thinking, Schizotypy, and Apophenia. 58:20 How to stop the bleeding. Holding influencers accountable. 1:02:39 How do we pull people back? You can’t fight them with facts. Build trust, create a personal connection, and share empathy. 1:06:35 Former QAnon support groups 1:12:55 What’s coming up for Ash Riley and where to find her. 1:15:22 More on Brian Smith and where to find him. 1:17:34 Paranerd Sarah Moon recommends we check out the Conspirituality Podcast. 1:18:41 A special THANK YOU to Patreon supporters at the Super Paranerd and Parlor Guest level! 1:19:50 Outro 1:21:41 Articles/Resources The Conspirituality Podcast. Have You Been the Victim of Spiritual Abuse? Spirituality’s Relationship With Mental Illness “So many great, educated, functional people were brainwashed”: Can Trump's Cult of Followers be Deprogrammed? Nazi Hippies: When the New Age and Far Right Overlap The Science of Spiritual Narcissism @NarcissismRecoveryCenter (Instagram) RSA ANIMATE: The Divided Brain A Game Designer’s Analysis Of QAnon Recognizing And Understanding Synchronicity Materialistic Spirituality How Separation Consciousness Masks Itself In Spiritual Unity @TheWellnessTherapist (Instagram) Facts don't convince people in political arguments. Here's what does. For more on Ash Riley Recent appearances on the Big Seance: Episode 132, Episode 172 InMySacredSpace.com Facebook: In My Sacred Space Twitter: @InMySacredSpace Instagram: @ashrising For more on Brian Smith Previous appearances on the Big Seance: Episode 169, Episode 172 Grief2Growth.com Grief 2 Growth on Amazon Grief 2 Growth Podcast Grief 2 Growth on Facebook Twitter: @Grief2Growth1 Instagram @Grief2Growth The Big Seance Podcast can be found right here, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio. 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