Leaving Mormonism to Join Teal Swan’s Cult - Jared Dobson Pt. 4 - Mormon Stories

When someone loses their faith in Mormonism, there are several paths often followed. One is to become agnostic or atheist, and never to rejoin a religion again. One is to re-join a Christian church. One is to follow a more fundamentalist Mormon path (e.g. Denver Snuffer, Preppers, Julie Rowe). And one is to become susceptible to new age beliefs and other gurus or cult leaders. Today we will be talking about the last option.

Teal Swan (born Mary Teal Bosworth) is described on her web site as an American spiritual teacher, author, and social media personality. She was raised in Logan, UT, and as a teenager was connected to controversial Mormon therapist Barbara Snow, who was at the center of the Satanic Ritual Abuse panic in the 1990s and 2000s. After a very turbulent childhood, which involved self harm and suicidality, Teal pursued modeling for a time, and eventually began pursuing the path of becoming a spiritual guide.

Teal's teachings on how to manage mental health issues have often been described as unconventional and she has received criticism for how she attracts fans, with some critics nicknaming her "The Suicide Catalyst". At present she has 700,000 followers and has been covered by the BBC, and in several documentaries, including a recent documentary on Netflix.

Her history of work is highly controversial because it incorporates various super controversial and problematic ideologies and practices such as:

The cultivation of repressed/recovered (false) memories.
Claims of Satanic ritual abuse.
Energy healing.
Clairvoyance.
Numerology.
The Law of Attraction.
A belief in a "Third Eye."
The usage of crystals to "raise your vibration or frequency."
A belief in multiple lives.
A belief that she is an alien from another planet.
A belief in spiritual projections/possessions.
When dealing with suicidal clients, referring to suicide as "pushing the reset button" for a future life.
Communal living.

Jared Dobson was raised LDS, served an LDS mission, got married and divorced, became suicidal, and started searching for answers in New Age Spirituality. He came across Teal Swan, and became a follower in her movement (a "Tealer") for 2 years. He ended up moving in with Teal and became a part of her communal family in Park City, Utah. They were romantically involved for 5-6 months, were set to have a child together, and as the relationship began to fray, Jared was kicked out of the commune and checked himself into a psychiatric ward (UNI at the University of Utah).

He has been recovering ever since.

This is Jared's story of his experiences with Teal Swan. This story also has important connections to other cult-like phenomena occurring in recent times, including the Lori Vallow/Chad Daybell/Julie Rowe/Prepper phenomena. It also is an insider's view into the emergence of a modern cult.

Chapters
00:00 Thinking he is crazy, committing himself to uni psychiatric ward
04:23 Living with his mom, later with his dad. Being a burden to others
08:28 Living all over the place, getting a job. Visitation rights for his daughter
10:12 Changing his diet. Improving health. Sign of a cult: dietary restrictions
11:03 Changing beliefs. Recognizing cults
13:30 End of contact with Teal. Not relying on some external guru. Reprogramming himself
16:36 The power is in you. It's not outside.
19:21 Grounding techniques. Bringing yourself to the present moment
21:25 Anger as a second emotion. Talking out the primary emotion
22:55 Jared's thoughts on Teal Swan's suicide teachings
30:08 You can create a cult everywhwere. The heart of all abusive relationships
32:02 Any good religion or dictatorial regime has an enemy
39:16 Having to unpack the baggage. Telling the story is part of his healing
42:29 Jared getting emotional at a Pride parade
51:47 Comparing to mormonism
56:27 Closing words

Mormon Stories #1328-1331: Leaving Mormonism to Join Teal Swan’s Cult - Jared Dobson
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