Cult Hopping Chronicles pt. 1: A Journey Through Control and Liberation with Cara Cordoni
IndoctriNation
IndoctriNation
4.8 • 566 Ratings
🗓️ 30 April 2025
⏱️ 75 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this compelling episode, Rachel engages in a deep and revealing conversation with Cara Cordoni, a certified leadership coach and survivor of multiple cult experiences. This is part one of their two-part discussion, where Cara shares her journey through the labyrinth of cults, from her early encounters with a charismatic individual in San Francisco to her experiences with organized religions and large group awareness trainings.
As Cara recounts her story, she reflects on the psychological manipulation and emotional hooks that kept her entangled in these environments for years. She candidly discusses the allure of belonging and the seductive nature of charismatic leadership, revealing how her vulnerabilities were exploited and how her journey led her to form the organization 3SC, advocating for safer spiritual communities.
Throughout the episode, Rachel and Cara delve into the complexities of human connection, the desire for validation, and the often unseen dynamics that drive individuals toward controlling relationships. Cara's insights illuminate the importance of self-awareness and the need to reclaim one's power after experiencing manipulation and coercion. Her story serves as a poignant reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the ongoing journey of healing and self-discovery.
Read the New Yorker Magazine Article on ISTA here:
https://www.thecut.com/article/the-neo-tantric-sex-group-that-promised-to-change.html
You can learn more about Cara's advocacy work at the 3SC community here:
Learn more about Cara's leadership coaching and support groups at:
https://www.caracordonicoaching.com/
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to indoctrination, a weekly conversation series about protecting yourself from systems of control. I'm your host, Rachel Bernstein. |
| 0:13.5 | Hello, everyone. Good to have you here. Our guest today is Kara Cardone. This is part one of my two-part conversation with her. |
| 0:23.9 | Kara is a certified leadership coach with 20 years of experience in guiding individuals and |
| 0:30.5 | organizations through transformative growth. Originally from San Francisco, Kara lives in a small |
| 0:37.3 | seaside community in northern California, |
| 0:40.2 | behind the famed redwood curtain, beautiful area to live in. |
| 0:45.1 | Kara's journey includes joining and leaving multiple cults, from her first husband, a cult of |
| 0:51.1 | one, to joining an organized religion, to two different large group |
| 0:56.3 | awareness trainings over a decade apart. She was certainly a seeker. In 2021, Kara came across |
| 1:05.2 | Istha, the International School of Temple Arts. She attended three retreats and was planning on returning |
| 1:14.1 | before discovering a Facebook group of individuals |
| 1:17.8 | who had been harmed by Ista. |
| 1:20.7 | With reports going back over a decade, |
| 1:23.6 | Kara realized that she'd been harmed |
| 1:25.8 | through the large group awareness training format, |
| 1:29.3 | as well as by the spiritual content of the training. |
| 1:33.3 | She joined other community leaders to form 3SC, safer, sex positive, and spiritual communities. |
| 1:42.3 | 3SC collected over 50 reports of harm |
| 1:46.8 | and was able to influence ISTA leadership |
| 1:49.8 | to participate in facilitated, mediated talks, |
| 1:54.1 | to reduce ongoing harm, |
| 1:56.5 | and to advocate for repairs for those injured. |
... |
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