290. Finding Authenticity: Overcoming the Dangers of Cult-Like Religions - Scott Homan

In the folds of a seemingly regular family, Scott Homan's journey began. A battle between two opposing ideologies shaped his early years, but what he discovered went beyond mere disagreement. He experienced the dark underbelly of a faith that demanded everything. And as the echoes of his past reverberate, Scott's quest for freedom and identity becomes the driving force of all aspects of his life.

Shunning is evil and it destroys your neighbor's lives. It's not just some abstract thing in some other community. - Scott Homan

Scott Homan is a filmmaker known for weaving thought-provoking narratives around complex issues. He was brought up in the heart of Wisconsin, where he started his journey in the world of music and local television production. He then pursued his passion for digital media and photography at college, eventually launching his company - Banana Island Films. His latest work, Witness Underground, focuses on artists escaping cults, born out of a personal voyage of awakening from a similar situation. 

This is Scott's story:

As he ventured into the outside world, he carried with him the echoes of his past. A skeptical teenager, he was now a young man wrestling with the shackles of a cult-like faith. He witnessed first hand the shunning practices of the Jehovah's Witnesses, with family and close friends cutting ties to preserve their faith. Despite this, Scott harbored empathy for these very people he saw as victims of a dangerous belief system. He saw their fear, the loss of their true selves, and the imposition of a new personality that the religion enforced. Scott's story is a poignant narrative that highlights the dangers of unyielding faith, the destructive power of shunning, and the intrinsic human struggle for freedom and identity.

In this episode, you will be able to:

• Uncover personal stories about the transition from a Jehovah's Witness to awakening independence.

• Discover the underlying challenges faced by Jehovah's Witness artists after leaving the cult.

• Come face-to-face with the perils of cult dynamics and ostracizing practices hinged to Jehovah's Witnesses.

• Embark on a journey of self-discovery, rational thinking, and individual belief system development.

Questioning Faith and Leaving Religious Organizations
Questioning your faith is a deeply personal and courageous journey, often marked by doubt, struggle, and, ultimately, liberation. It's an essential process wherein we dive into our beliefs, giving ourselves permission to explore ideas, thoughts, and experiences that would otherwise be stifled in a rigid religious setting. Scott's story is inspiring in this regard. He shared his transformation from simply following teachings to questioning his doubts and finally renouncing the faith he'd been born into. His journey involved an intellectual and spiritual reckoning. His doubts led him to critically explore his alignment with the beliefs propagated by Jehovah's Witnesses, ultimately prompting him to choose a path of personal exploration over blind devotion.

Rebuilding a Worldview and Finding Personal Growth
Rebuilding your worldview after leaving a strict religious organization is often an uphill task. It involves rediscovering yourself, questioning previously held beliefs, and developing a new understanding of the world. However, it's this precise journey that enables personal growth and a more profound connection with your inner self and the world around. Scott's journey serves as an empowering reminder of this. He described how leaving Jehovah's Witnesses led him to redefine his relationship with God and himself. His journey, from initially identifying as an atheist to embracing "humanism," highlights the transformative power of personal exploration in rebuilding worldviews. Through his personal growth, he demonstrated the potential to carve out a space for one's own values and understanding, independent of any externally imposed belief system.

The resources mentioned in this episode are:

• Watch Witness Underground to hear the stories of former Jehovah's Witness cult members who are artists.
• Check out the Witness Underground podcast and YouTube series, XJW.
• Visit Karagoodwin.com or themeditationconversation.com for more information and links to the podcast sponsors.
• Share this episode with anyone in your life who would be interested in the topic of artists escaping cults.
• Subscribe to the Meditation Conversation podcast and rate and review the show to support its growth.
• Take responsibility for your own spiritual journey and regularly check in with yourself to ensure you are aligned with your soul.
• Ask your Higher Self for signs that you are on the right path and trust your intuition.
• Be courageous and willing to dismantle the structures in your life that are not aligned with your truth and integrity.

Timestamped summary of this episode:
00:00:14 - Introduction
Kara introduces the podcast and her guest, Scott Homan. They discuss the importance of spiritual growth and the potential dangers of falling under the control of a group or organization.

00:02:12 - Signs of Being Bound
Kara shares her personal experience of realizing she was being repressed by an organization and the importance of paying attention to signs that indicate we may be tied up in something that no longer serves us.

00:04:02 - Scott's Background and Approach
Scott explains his background growing up with a dual worldview in a Jehovah's Witness household. He shares his intention behind creating Witness Underground, a documentary that explores the experiences of artists leaving cults.

00:08:30 - Personal Awakening
Scott discusses his own experience of waking up to the limitations of the Jehovah's Witness religion and finding a balance between skepticism and belief. He explains why he chose not to feature himself in the documentary.

00:12:29 - Choosing Truth
Kara and Scott discuss the courage it takes to leave a cult or any belief system that no longer aligns with one's truth. They explore the importance of integrity and reclaiming one's life, even if it means dismantling the comfort of what is known.

00:14:45 - Personal Experience with Jehovah's Witnesses
Scott shares how being raised as a Jehovah's Witness affected them and how they always felt something was wrong. They later had a heart-to-heart conversation with their father, who is still in the religion and now holds a high position in the local congregation.

00:15:31 - Putting on a New Personality
Scott discusses how Jehovah's Witnesses are encouraged to shed their old personality and put on a new one to conform to the expectations of the religion. This involves assuming positions of power and control, even if it goes against their true selves.

00:17:13 - Shunning and its Impact
Scott talks about the practice of shunning within Jehovah's Witnesses and how it has affected their relationship with their family. Scott emphasizes the emotional abuse and manipulation involved in shunning.

00:20:24 - Compassion for Those Still in the Religion
Despite the hurt caused by shunning, Scott expresses compassion for those who are still in the religion. They understand that individuals within the religion have their reasons for following these practices and highlights the difficulty of breaking free from the programming and hierarchy of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

00:24:23 - Cult-like Structures in Society
Scott expands on the idea that cult-like structures can exist outside of religious contexts. They draw parallels between cult dynamics and hierarchical structures in corporate environments

00:28:43 - Questioning Faith and Leaving Religion
Scott discusses how leaving his religious group led him to question the existence of all gods and eventually identify as an atheist. He highlights the indoctrination and suppression of doubt within his former religion, which ultimately led to the collapse of his belief system when he started exploring alternative perspectives.

00:34:11 - Rebuilding a Worldview and Meaning
After leaving his religious group, Scott found himself without a community or a belief in God. He explains that many ex-members of his former religion become atheists due to the disproven nature of their specific beliefs. However, he acknowledges the need to create his own meaning in life and explores various spiritual practices and perspectives.

00:36:59 - Spirituality and Personal Exploration
Scott reflects on his journey of self-exploration and the impact of his religious trauma on his relationship with spirituality. He shares his hesitation to join any specific spiritual group but appreciates the openness and non-judgmental nature of the spiritual community. He also discusses the intersection of spirituality and capitalism, contrasting it with the donation-based system of his former religion.

00:39:33 - The Commercialization of Spirituality
Scott raises concerns about the commercialization of spirituality, where certain experiences are offered at a price. He contrasts this with the free entry and dinner provided by churches to draw people into their framework. He finds the emphasis on money in the spiritual community to be off-putting and prefers a more open and donation-based approach.

00:41:59 - Energetic Dart and Spiritual Retreats
Kara discusses an incident she knows of an energetic dart that affected someone's her marriage and her experience at a well-known retreat center. She expresses caution about some spiritual retreats and the lack of qualifications among some practitioners.

00:43:05 - Rebuilding and Self-Trust
Scott reflects on his journey of rebuilding his life and emphasizes the importance of staying centered and grounded. He discusses the need to trust your own senses and not rely on others for your well-being.

00:44:11 - Seeking Help and Personal Growth
Scott shares his openness to coaching and therapy to address deeper traumas. He also mentions the value he has found in using psychedelics, like psilocybin, in a controlled manner. However, he expresses concern about inexperienced individuals offering psychedelic experiences without proper training or understanding.

00:46:21 - Lack of Qualifications in the Spiritual Community
Scott discusses his reservations about the growing popularity of practices like Ayahuasca ceremonies. He raises concerns about inexperienced individuals promoting themselves as coaches or gurus without the necessary experience or training. He emphasizes the importance of trusting recommendations and the need for a system of qualifications.

00:50:28 - Prayer and Internal Self-Reliance
We explore the concept of prayer and distinguishes between praying to an external deity and praying to one's internal subconscious. We highlight the power of self-reliance and using prayer as a means to rewrite one's own internal framework.

00:57:07 - Ways to watch the podcast 
Scott explains that currently the podcast can only be watched on Patreon, but there will be more platforms available soon. Full release is expected before the end of the year.

00:57:23 - Request for sharing,
Kara asks the audience to share the episode with someone they think will benefit from it as a way of showing thoughtfulness.