Escaping The Rabbit Hole Escaping The Rabbit Hole

Watch this Podcast on Youtube about Charismatic cult leaders.Have you ever wondered what causes a person to go down conspiracy rabbit holes in the first place? If so, this will podcast will be the most important thing you listen to today."Why's that?" you ask with bated breath.Because I said so.  No seriously, you'll like it for a few reasons. My guest is fairly well known in the life coaching/personal development circles.As his wife pointed after she first met his family—"You've had to work really hard to be you."Reason for this?He was the outcast of his family because of his political beliefs.  Eventually he used some therapuetic techniques to transform his relationship with his father.Which went well until Trump came on the scene.In the podcast, Damon shares a simple exercise help you hit your goals.  These can be goals such as creating healthier boundaries with your loved one. This exercises uses your own personal vaules (freedom, security, safety, etc.) to help you get closer to these goals.You can download the free exercise from this link:https://selfconcept.com/eliciting-valuesHere are some of the things we discuss on the podcast:What do red cards have to do with predicting someone’s ability to get sucked into conspiracy theories? 5:33Discover why my guest is the black sheep of the family—despite being super successful 19:57Personal development is always a good thing, right? WRONG! Discover how personal development can go sideways 21:49A little-known “supplement” that conspiracy theorists chug by the gallon—this toxic material can permanently scar your skin 22:29Secret phrases cult leaders to use to brainwash people (This unique combination of words create a confused trancelike state in people) 24:10A common “emotion” that normally plagues teenagers…that’s now dragging adults into conspiracy theories 34:37You should always be honest with your loved ones, right? FALSE!  Discover how my guest got sucked into a rabbit hole by sharing his weaknesses 41:11Plus much more!Guest Bio & Linkshttps://selfconcept.com/

David Pakman, a political commentator, has a great piece about how to talk to conspiracy theorists.  I believe some of David's piece is loosely based off of this article by Charlie Warzel.In his video, Pakman talks about how socratic questioning is key to helping deradicalize a conspiracy theorist.Socratic questioning is a method of questioning that seeks to explore complex ideas, concepts, and beliefs by asking questions that challenge assumptions, clarify meaning, and reveal underlying principles.

Episode SummaryIn this episode, I talk to a former conspiracy theorist turned hypnotherapist.  We talk about the psychology behind what pulls people into cults and conspiracy theories.Quotes We LovedGrant on political theatrics: "What's the difference between politics and professional wrestling?"— Grant [00:02:20 → 00:02:26]The Importance of Mental Health: "Mental health's important, but focusing on doom and gloom is not good for your mental health in any regards."— Grant [00:10:18 → 00:10:24]Conspiracy Theories: "Because we don't have this conversation. Oh, why do you feel this way? Oh, because the government has done bad things in the past. Well, why does that mean they're doing this right now? Oh, well, I don't really know."— Grant [00:20:11 → 00:20:22]The Power of discovering hypnosis: "I felt liberated. I felt like all that time I was searching for something, and I didn't realize it was hypnosis I was looking for."— Grant [00:21:41 → 00:21:55]The Dangers of Believing in Conspiracy Theories: "You start to question the beliefs in general...and then It kinda falls from there, and then you realize I didn't have all the answers. What else am I wrong about? What other thoughts am I thinking that aren't serving me?"— Grant [00:25:59 → 00:26:12]The number #1 driving conspiracy theories: "Because it is all fear based. You're fearing for your life, for your safety, for your family."— Grant [00:30:51 → 00:31:00]The Power of Personal Responsibility: "When you give it your power to someone else you're no longer responsible for it, and people don't often like that responsibility."— Grant [00:36:41 → 00:36:49]Guest Bio & LinksGrant Offenberger's website:https://grantmepeace.com/

Episode SummaryIn this episode, I talk to my guest about the 9/11 Truth Movement, the Sandy Hook conspiracy fear mongers, human trafficking, and more.Quotes We LovedMental health improving after leaving conspiracy theories: "The mental health improved so much And it didn't really start improving until that moment when I was leaving the conspiracy theories behind."— Stephanie Kemmerer [00:10:18 → 00:10:32]Conspiracy theorists playing victim: "That is one of the things that conspiracy theorists lack...they feel so out of control. Nothing is in their control. They wanna control things."— Stephanie Kemmerer [00:13:35 → 00:13:50]The dopamine rush from conspiracy theories: "Those conspiracy theories were kind of like a hit of ecstasy where they ran that dopamine into overdrive And it would leave you with this I don't know if anyone's ever had an ecstasy hangover. They are not fun. They are not fun."— Stephanie Kemmerer [00:19:50 → 00:20:07]How to respond to conspiracy theorists on Social Media: "Push back firmly but politely. But if you have nothing to offer to the conversation and it doesn't affect you, Keep scrolling."— Stephanie Kemmerer [00:25:54 → 00:26:40]On debunked 9/11 conspiracy theories: "I didn't start hearing some of the actual stories about 911 until 2 years ago."— Stephanie Kemmerer [00:31:29 → 00:31:36]One being lied to by conspiracy theorists: "They all lied to me. Those assholes, they lied to me."— Stephanie Kemmerer [00:35:37 → 00:35:41]Conspiracy Theories and Shame: "There was shame. Especially with Sandy Hook, when my friend looked me in the eye and said that they worked with a parent who lost their child there...20 years of friendship was hanging in the balance based on how I would react to that."— Stephanie Kemmerer [00:35:49 → 00:36:32]Overcoming Conspiracy Theories: "I can't promise that you're gonna have a perfect life, but you're gonna have a better one."— Stephanie Kemmerer [00:53:29 → 00:53:36]How to protect child being trafficked: "And if you wanna try and if you wanna try and play detective, there's a thing called NamUs."— Stephanie Kemmerer [00:55:20 → 00:55:48]Guest Bio & LinksStephanie Kemmerer's links:www.tinyurl.com/stephkemmererwww.infointegrity.us

Episode SummaryIn this epsiode, my guest and I talk about her life in a religious cult.  As well how she managed to escape.Quotes We LovedThe Power of Self-Belief: "The thing or the, what's wrong in society is that are believing the lie that they're not enough."— Chantelle Neufeld [00:04:29 → 00:04:36]Reprogramming Beliefs and Shifting Mindset: "I just did it a little bit at a time...When I started on that path to recognize it, and then shift to the path of what I wanted to see, what I wanted to feel, what I wanted to experience, what I wanted to create."— Chantelle Neufeld [00:21:43 → 00:21:52]The Power of Personal Choice: "We're no better than the brainwashing people in cults if we're just trying to brainwash everybody into thinking our opinion is right and theirs is wrong."— Chantelle Neufeld [00:26:45 → 00:27:51]Perfectionism and Social Anxiety: "The number one thing that's the problem with most cult survivors is actually social anxiety.  The root of that is also feeling not enough."— Chantelle Neufeld [00:31:18 → 00:31:25]The Power of Deep Breaths: "The deep breaths, I think, is across board, everybody can agree that that's a good thing because it's so easy to do, and it's easy to remember, and once you've taken those deep breaths, you're settling into your own kinda trance where you can recognize when there's a thought or feeling that isn't being helpful to you and you can pivot towards your preferences and be like, I prefer this instead. Right?"— Chantelle Neufeld [00:39:46 → 00:40:10]The Power of Attention: "we really need to realize that attention is, like, our highest currency, but that we have always a choice to direct our focus to what we want."— Chantelle Neufeld [00:46:02 → 00:46:09]Guest Bio & Linkshttps://www.chantellen.com/Chantelle's Facebook PageChantelle's Instagram page

Watch the hypnotic storytelling podcast on youtube
Intro 
In this podcast, I talk to my friend and colleague, James Hazlerig.  I wanted him as a guest to talk about the power of stories.  At the core of conspiracy theories are stories. Stories about how the world is being run and managed.
From Trunk To Tale
In the podcast, I mention to James about his infamous hypnotic elephant story.  If you want to experience the power of hypnotic storytelling to take your imagination away to a distant land, watch the video below.
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Quotes We Loved​

The Power of Hypnotic Storytelling: "In my practice, I essentially consider that people come to me with a bad story, And I help them get a better story."— James Hazlerig [00:03:21] to [00:03:29]
Rise of Religious Fundamentalism: "My eyes had been opened, I was awakened to a hidden layer of reality that I had not known existed."— James Hazlerig [00:07:39] to [00:07:45]
The Influence of Religion on Identity: "I did essentially recognize that there were things at the basis of the fundamental Christian belief that I didn't agree with and that I didn't like."— James Hazlerig [00:09:07] to [00:09:14]
Child trafficking misconceptions: "These are 16 and 17 year olds who are being trafficked by people that they know and probably refer to as their boyfriend or girlfriend, so they don't realize they're being trafficked a lot of times, and why would they?"— James Hazlerig [00:20:57] to [00:21:21]
The Power of Compelling Stories: "Stories are compelling in a way that statistics are not."— James Hazlerig [00:24:12] to [00:24:15]
The Power of Human Stupidity: "You cannot underestimate the power of human stupidity, and in most cases, yeah, it's possible that somebody does have it out for me, but it's more likely that they're just incompetent."— James Hazlerig [00:29:56] to [00:30:03]
The pandemic shutdowns: "They were shutting down bars, which actually weren't as big a risk as choir practices, because at least people aren't singing as loudly in bars."— James Hazlerig [00:49:01] to [00:49:54]

Guest Bio & Links
https://www.hypnosisaustin.com/