Cults to Consciousness Shelise Ann Sola

At age six, Katherine Spallino is separated from her parents and sent to train for her future in the Church of Scientology’s clergy—the Sea Organization. She rarely sees her parents and never goes to a normal school. Later, Katherine is sent to live at a secluded ranch with other young prospective Sea Org members, called cadets, where she studies Scientology and does manual labor—weeding fields, digging trenches, and works in the galley. The indoctrination escalates, and her family slips even farther into the background. But as she enters her teenage years, a host of new, more immediate concerns emerge, along with fantasies of what else life has to offer.  Should she commit herself to the church, or reject everything she’s ever known for a chance at a different life?

Click here to watch on YouTube

Find Katherine on Social!
IG @thebadcadet
Her Book: The Bad Cadet:  Growing Up in the Church of Scientology's Sea Organization


**FULLY BOOKED** Our C2C vacation where we can meet you in real life and go on adventures together has sold out! However,  you can add yourself to our waitlist in case of cancellations.   Click here to go to the official booking page


Katherine was born in a Scientrology building with no SSNAt a young age, Katherine saw L Ron Hubbard as a GodConfimation bias when it comes to having super powersDid Katherine know she was growing up differently?Katherine joins a bootcamp for youth who want to become Sea Org membersThe jobs Katherine had to do as a SeaOrg memberIncentivized to write knowledge reports (snitch on each other)The youth ran themselves, which is how they were kept in lineScientology getting around labor lawsKatherine gets shamed for only being able afford 1 pair of underwearDid Katherine have non-scientologist extended family?Racism was so bad, she thought she was a completely different race as a kidSome medical care was provided among neglectWhat made Katherine want to leave the Sea OrgHigh school shock- not like the moviesHow she ended up back in LA with other ex-cadetsWhy Katherine was declared a suppressive personHow she started writing "The Bad Cadet"Katherine tries to reconnect with family after being cut offHow Katherine's family treats her todayHow Katherine is doing nowOur Merch!
Patreon: Patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness
Venmo @sheliseann
Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast
Website CultsToConsciousness.com

Find Shelise on Social media!
Instagram @cultstoconsciousness
Host Instagram @sheliseann
TikTok @cults.to.consciousness
Twitter @cultstocon

Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara

**Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**

Raised by Scientology and forced into the Sea Org and labor intensive youth camps, Mike Brown didn’t have a choice but to be indoctrinated and used by the organization. After he managed to escape, leaving behind his mother and wife, years later he learned of the extreme elder ab*se that was happening. Determined to save his mother who was quickly being worked to death, he devised a plan to break her out and nurse her back to health before it was too late.
 
Click here to watch on YouTube

Find Mike: 
YT @mikebrown101

If you need help escaping Scientology, visit:
https://www.theaftermathfoundation.org/


**FULLY BOOKED** Our C2C vacation where we can meet you in real life and go on adventures together has sold out! However,  you can add yourself to our waitlist in case of cancellations.   Click here to go to the official booking page 
How Mike Brown and his family got involved in ScientologyWhat it was like for Mike in his youth having auditing sessionsE meters, past lives, and powersMike being told at 7 years old that he has super powersMike's mother joined the Sea Org and Mike runs around LAAt 13 Mike gets moved to a ranch to be used as work force How the topic of s*x was treated for teens in ScientologyThe pun*ishments for crossing the lineWhen Mike decides to leave at 15Mike gets married at 18 - the problems he facedMike and his wife were encouraged to get an ab*rtionDavid Miscavige blows up on Mike's wife, Mike ultimately leavesMike is reunited with his father after he leaves ScientologyMike thinks his mother is being well taken care ofHow Mike realized his mother wasn't safeHow Mike's mother is doing now (and what happened to her)Scientology vs. MormonismHow Mike is doing now


Our Merch!
Patreon: Patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness
Venmo @sheliseann
Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast
Website CultsToConsciousness.com

Find Shelise on Social media!
Instagram @cultstoconsciousness
Host Instagram @sheliseann
TikTok @cults.to.consciousness
Twitter @cultstocon

Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara

**Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**

The troubled teen industry has been in the limelight lately for its more than questionable tactics to “reform” kids. Add in a heavy dose of religious extremism and you have the sometimes fatal Independent Fundamental Baptist all-girl’s school Ashley attended. The most common sentence was 1 year of brutal manual labor, peer-inflicted punishments and psychological warfare.

Click here to watch on YouTube

Find Ashley on Social!
IG @ashfilet
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ashley.kellam
**FULLY BOOKED** Our C2C vacation where we can meet you in real life and go on adventures together has sold out! However,  you can add yourself to our waitlist in case of cancellations.   Click here to go to the official booking page


How did Ashley's family become involved in the church?Why Ashley got sent to the girl's boarding schoolHow did the rules change after joining the IFB?Boarding school expectations vs reality...Ashley's game plan for survival"The Get Right Room"Ashley's shame and guiltHow the parents were also manipulatedTW: Mentions of su*cide and de@thWhat did Ashley learn in school?Were there other IFB schools?Forgetting the IFB schoolHow was Ashley changed after boarding school?Survivor's PromHolding space for yourselfWhat brings Ashley peace and joy now?Our Merch!
Patreon: Patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness
Venmo @sheliseann
Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast
Website CultsToConsciousness.com

Find Shelise on Social media!
Instagram @cultstoconsciousness
Host Instagram @sheliseann
TikTok @cults.to.consciousness
Twitter @cultstocon

Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara

**Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**

Disguised as a wholesome Christian school for troubled youth, was a house of horrors for those unlucky enough to be placed there. Diabolical and dangerous punishm*nts, intense physical labor left these girls scarred in more ways than one.  The documentary “Let Us Prey”, finally started to expose the secrets behind the walls of the school and within the IFB (Independent Fundamental Baptist) churches as a whole. Amanda shares her story, as a young one of parents who ran one of these schools.

Click here to watch on YouTube

TikTok: @notmyfathersdaughter3

Support Shelise
Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast

**FULLY BOOKED** Our C2C vacation where we can meet you in real life and go on adventures together has sold out! However,  you can add yourself to our waitlist in case of cancellations.   Click here to go to the official booking page 


Beliefs and rules of the IFB (Independent Fundamental Baptists)TW: CA in various formsHow the boarding schools are related to IFBDoctrines that promoted ab*se at homeCulottes or skirts? Rules tighten at Agape.TW: CA-Amanda's dad learns new punishmentsTW: CA - Amanda's grandmother calls CPSAre these group homes still running?What's the draw of sending your kid to an IFB boarding school?Sad*stic parents? Or good intentions?What was Amanda's actual education like there?Trapped at Circle of Hope until age 30 – Rachel Kellso’s storyTW: CA -5 point restraint punishm*nt at IFB schools How did Amanda finally escape boarding school?"We aren't a cult...THEY are!" DeconstructingRepeating damaging patriarchal patternsWhere are Amanda's parents now?Agape shuts down (with some help from TikTok)How Amanda has been since "Let Us Prey" releasedOur Merch!
Patreon: Patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness
Venmo @sheliseann
Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast
Website CultsToConsciousness.com

Find Shelise on Social media!
Instagram @cultstoconsciousness
Host Instagram @sheliseann
TikTok @cults.to.consciousness
Twitter @cultstocon

Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara

**Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**

Joined for a second time by Mary (former Amish) and Hannah (former Holdeman Mennonite), we discuss the ways in which being gay/bi in their settlements harshly affected them and how queer plain people are generally erased from society. Bringing awareness and visibility to the LGBTQ community, they share their experiences openly and shed light on the disproportionate harm they faced.

Watch Mary's original episode
Watch Hannah's original episode

https://www.lgbtamish.com/
The Trevor Project

Hannah's book
Follow Hannah on social media:
TikTok: @hannahprosser_beat

Mary’s Book
Follow Mary on Social:
IG @plainrainbows_mary
Fb: https://www.facebook.com/Mary.A.Byler/
TikTok: the.misfit.amish
The Misfit Amish Podcast


Our C2C vacation where we can meet you in real life and go on adventures together has 5 spots left!  Click here to go to the official booking page 


Hannah explains some basic rules about her Holdeman Mennonite settlementMary explains the basic rules in her Amish settlementModesty and hyper-sexulization of womenMarriage without courtship in MennonitesCourtship in Mary's Amish settlementsTW: CSA-“Sex education" booklet for parents to teach kidsWhen Hannah recognized she had feelings for girls The consequences of Mary coming out to her parents at 5 yrs oldTW: LGBTQ suicide- The Trevor ProjectHow strict gender roles affected Mary's mentalitySome Amish are run out of their settlement when it's found out they are gayTW: Rape- Do the Amish have conversion therapy?Mary's advice for anyone leaving the Amish trying to find themselvesMary's activismOur Merch!
Patreon: Patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness
Venmo @sheliseann
Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast
Website CultsToConsciousness.com

Find Shelise on Social media!
Instagram @cultstoconsciousness
Host Instagram @sheliseann
TikTok @cults.to.consciousness
Twitter @cultstocon

Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara

**Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**

*Content Warning : SA, CA, CSA, mentions of rape* After enduring an excruciating youth at the hands of her mother and step father, isolated on a mountainside, Misty was forced into an Amish settlement at 18 years old. Though in many ways this new lifestyle was far more liberating than what she was used to, it came with darker days than she could’ve ever imagined. Hurt and blamed by those most trusted she took a risk and tried to escape.


Http://www.Change.org/childrightsact to sign Misty’s petition to get congress to come in and protect the youth locked in cults

Find and Support Misty!
Buy her book "Tears of the Silenced"
IG @mistyelainegriffin
Facebook: Misty Griffin
Website: https://www.mistygriffin.com

Our C2C vacation where we can meet you in real life and go on adventures together has 5 spots left!  Click here to go to the official booking page


Misty's early youthWhy did Misty's father become Amish?Misty's father tries everything to keep her isolatedAmish homeschool educationThe neighborhood knew and did nothingMisty's dad was sabotaging herHow Misty adjusted to being a teen in one of the strictest Amish communities in the U.S.What it was like going from isolation to lots of siblingsNot knowing how to use money or a phone"The woman is the temptress"Amish protocols for handling CSA "The entire community was in on the plot"TW: CSAMisty couldn't report her ab*ser without being blamedSA, CSA (Misty catches the bishop with his daughter) This has got to stopTW:SA (Misty runs away during an ass*ult)Misty's neighbor drives her to the policeAmish are treated like a sovereign nationThere are 7 little ones still living in that houseMisty leaves the AmishPerps get a slap on the wrist in the AmishHow Misty adjusts to life outside the AmishMisty's motivation to speak outMisty finds herselfMisty's book makes an impactThe bishop's ch*ldren reach out to MistyDoes Misty feel like she got justice?TW: CSAWhy is ab*se so prevalent in Amish communities?What can be done to help Amish youth?Our Merch!
Patreon: Patreon.com/cultstoconsciousness
Venmo @sheliseann
Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast
Website CultsToConsciousness.com

Find Shelise on Social media!
Instagram @cultstoconsciousness
Host Instagram @sheliseann
TikTok @cults.to.consciousness
Twitter @cultstocon

Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara

**Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**