In this episode of MINDBEND, psychotherapist turned leadership consultant and author Blair Glaser reflects on her formative years inside a Siddha Yoga ashram and the complicated intersection of spiritual awakening, belonging, power and personal identity. Drawing from her memoir, This Incredible Longing, Blair explores why human beings are drawn toward gurus and transformational communities, how power can become addictive, and what happens when spiritual leaders lose sight of the responsibility attached to their roles. She also discusses psychedelic and meditative states, the vital work of integration, her evolution from psychotherapy into leadership development, and the distinctly human intelligence we cherish and must protect, in an increasingly digital world. #MindbendPodcast #PowerDynamics #SpiritualAwakening #CultAwareness #HumanIntelligence Connect with Blair: Blair’s Website: www.blairglaser.com IG: @blair_glaser Follow MINDBEND IG: @mymindbend Watch Full Episode on YouTube: @mymindbend Website: www.mymindbend.org This is an Operation Podcast production, connect with us @operationpodcast Produced in partnership with The Macro: themacro.net

The credit card was right there. About Me: I'm Daniella Mestyanek Young, author, scholar of cults, extreme groups, and extremely bad leadership. These days, I'm also known as Knitting Cult Lady. I grew up in the Children of God cult (also known as the Family International, or COG-TFI), and served 2 tours of duty in the cult of the US army. I noticed that those two organizations had a lot in common and have been studying them and what we can learn about other cults-- and how to protect ourselves from coercive control and abusive situations. Those books are called, "Uncultured" (my memoir) and "The Culting of America" (my bad-guy tactics book). For those of you who have been through the cult experience (any kind of cult experience including 1:1 cults, or single family cults, or internet cults, or 12 step cults) I made a "Deconstruction Workbook" as a companion guide to help you find your way out of the rabbit hole. Support my Work and Learn About Me: Linktree with all my links and Upcoming Events:https: //linktr.ee/Daniellamyoung Buy the Culting of America: https://bit.ly/4reK0u7 Buy Uncultured: https://bit.ly/42TKNWN UnAmerican VideoBook (A Work In Progress): https://tr.ee/V_vytb1pcO Patreon: https://bit.ly/YTPLanding Cult book Clubs (Advanced AND Memoirs) Annual Membership: https://bit.ly/YTPLanding Knitting Cult Patterns: https://bit.ly/4alDbQe Get my book, Uncultured, from Bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/4g1Ufw8 Instagram: https://bit.ly/4ePAOFK / daniellamyoung_ Unamerican video book (on Patreon): https://bit.ly/YTVideoBook Secret Practice video book (on Patreon): https://bit.ly/3ZswGY8

Not exactly the experience she'd been imagining. About Me: I'm Daniella Mestyanek Young, author, scholar of cults, extreme groups, and extremely bad leadership. These days, I'm also known as Knitting Cult Lady. I grew up in the Children of God cult (also known as the Family International, or COG-TFI), and served 2 tours of duty in the cult of the US army. I noticed that those two organizations had a lot in common and have been studying them and what we can learn about other cults-- and how to protect ourselves from coercive control and abusive situations. Those books are called, "Uncultured" (my memoir) and "The Culting of America" (my bad-guy tactics book). For those of you who have been through the cult experience (any kind of cult experience including 1:1 cults, or single family cults, or internet cults, or 12 step cults) I made a "Deconstruction Workbook" as a companion guide to help you find your way out of the rabbit hole. Support my Work and Learn About Me: Linktree with all my links and Upcoming Events:https: //linktr.ee/Daniellamyoung Buy the Culting of America: https://bit.ly/4reK0u7 Buy Uncultured: https://bit.ly/42TKNWN UnAmerican VideoBook (A Work In Progress): https://tr.ee/V_vytb1pcO Patreon: https://bit.ly/YTPLanding Cult book Clubs (Advanced AND Memoirs) Annual Membership: https://bit.ly/YTPLanding Knitting Cult Patterns: https://bit.ly/4alDbQe Get my book, Uncultured, from Bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/4g1Ufw8 Instagram: https://bit.ly/4ePAOFK / daniellamyoung_ Unamerican video book (on Patreon): https://bit.ly/YTVideoBook Secret Practice video book (on Patreon): https://bit.ly/3ZswGY8

This Incredible Longing is a great memoir of a yoga cult experience by my colleague Blair Glaser. In this excerpt, she talks about how self-isolating seemed like the right thing to do as she committed more fully to her spiritual growth...and guru. About Me: I'm Daniella Mestyanek Young, author, scholar of cults, extreme groups, and extremely bad leadership. These days, I'm also known as Knitting Cult Lady. I grew up in the Children of God cult (also known as the Family International, or COG-TFI), and served 2 tours of duty in the cult of the US army. I noticed that those two organizations had a lot in common and have been studying them and what we can learn about other cults-- and how to protect ourselves from coercive control and abusive situations. Those books are called, "Uncultured" (my memoir) and "The Culting of America" (my bad-guy tactics book). For those of you who have been through the cult experience (any kind of cult experience including 1:1 cults, or single family cults, or internet cults, or 12 step cults) I made a "Deconstruction Workbook" as a companion guide to help you find your way out of the rabbit hole. Support my Work and Learn About Me: Linktree with all my links and Upcoming Events:https: //linktr.ee/Daniellamyoung Buy the Culting of America: https://bit.ly/4reK0u7 Buy Uncultured: https://bit.ly/42TKNWN UnAmerican VideoBook (A Work In Progress): https://tr.ee/V_vytb1pcO Patreon: https://bit.ly/YTPLanding Cult book Clubs (Advanced AND Memoirs) Annual Membership: https://bit.ly/YTPLanding Knitting Cult Patterns: https://bit.ly/4alDbQe Get my book, Uncultured, from Bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/4g1Ufw8 Instagram: https://bit.ly/4ePAOFK / daniellamyoung_ Unamerican video book (on Patreon): https://bit.ly/YTVideoBook Secret Practice video book (on Patreon): https://bit.ly/3ZswGY8

This reading is from Blair Glasser's This Incredible Longing about her yoga cult experience. So many of you have asked for yoga cult stories. About Me: I'm Daniella Mestyanek Young, author, scholar of cults, extreme groups, and extremely bad leadership. These days, I'm also known as Knitting Cult Lady. I grew up in the Children of God cult (also known as the Family International, or COG-TFI), and served 2 tours of duty in the cult of the US army. I noticed that those two organizations had a lot in common and have been studying them and what we can learn about other cults-- and how to protect ourselves from coercive control and abusive situations. Those books are called, "Uncultured" (my memoir) and "The Culting of America" (my bad-guy tactics book). For those of you who have been through the cult experience (any kind of cult experience including 1:1 cults, or single family cults, or internet cults, or 12 step cults) I made a "Deconstruction Workbook" as a companion guide to help you find your way out of the rabbit hole. Support my Work and Learn About Me: Buy the Culting of America: https://bit.ly/4reK0u7 Buy Uncultured: https://bit.ly/42TKNWN Patreon: https://bit.ly/YTPLanding Cult book Clubs (Advanced AND Memoirs) Annual Membership: https://bit.ly/YTPLanding Knitting Cult Patterns: https://bit.ly/4alDbQe Get my book, Uncultured, from Bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/4g1Ufw8 Instagram: https://bit.ly/4ePAOFK / daniellamyoung_ Unamerican video book (on Patreon): https://bit.ly/YTVideoBook Secret Practice video book (on Patreon): https://bit.ly/3ZswGY8

The Siddha Yoga Sex Scandal: What Really Happened Inside | Blair Glaser Please consider buying us a cup of coffee or two by clicking here. Your support helps fund our out of pocket expenses In this episode of Cultimatum, author Blair Glaser discusses her years inside Siddha Yoga, a spiritual movement rocked by controversy and allegations involving its guru. Drawing from her memoir, This Incredible Longing: Finding My Self in a Near-Cult Experience, Blair shares how she was initially drawn to the community, the benefits she experienced, the red flags she encountered, and how the sex scandal ultimately changed her perspective. Unlike many former members of high-control groups, Blair's story is nuanced. She found genuine value in many of the teachings and was not shunned after leaving. In this conversation, we explore faith, devotion, guru culture, spiritual communities, scandal, personal awakening, and the difficult process of questioning beliefs once deeply held. Whether you're interested in cult dynamics, spiritual movements, guru scandals, or stories of personal transformation, this episode offers a thoughtful look at one woman's journey from devotion to disillusionment. Cultimatum Episode # 121 Blair's Contact Info: Blair's Book Link Blair's Instagram Link Blair's Facebook Link Podcast Recognition: Cultimatum: The Cult & Human Trafficking Podcast was selected by FeedSpot as one of the Top 35 Brainwash Podcasts on the web, recognizing its impact and contribution to awareness around cult dynamics and human trafficking. (We are #12) FeedSpot Website Cultimatum's Contact Info: Email: cultimatumpodcast@gmail.com Cultimatum Facebook Group Cultimatum Instagram Link Cultimatum TikTok Link Cultimatum YouTube Channel A Production of the Anonymous Andrew Podcast Studios: Website: www.anonymousandrewpodcast.com Disclaimer: Cultimatum is a documentary-style podcast that explores real events and personal experiences related to cults and coercive groups. The content reflects individual perspectives and reported accounts. For full legal disclaimers, visit our website.

What happens when a midlife woman decides to stop segmenting her identity and start owning her whole story? In this episode of The Uplifters Podcast, leadership consultant and memoirist Blair Glaser joins host Aransas Savas to explore one of the most common midlife reinvention challenges: the courage to be fully known. Blair's memoir, This Incredible Longing, follows her years inside Siddha Yoga, a near-cult spiritual organization, and what she discovered about herself, her gifts, and her capacity for change. For women over 40 navigating second act career changes, identity shifts, and the particular vulnerability of perimenopause and midlife transition, Blair's story is both a permission slip and a road map. In this conversation, Blair and Aransas dig into the "lily pad" career path, the financial reality and soulful satisfaction of following your own signal through multiple vocations across decades. They also explore why midlife women are uniquely primed to look back as a way of moving forward, and what it actually takes to silence the inner bully that shows up at 3 a.m. before every brave act. If you've been circling a story you haven't told, a pivot you haven't made, or a version of yourself you haven't fully claimed, this one's for you. Blair brings over two decades of experience as a therapist, leadership consultant, and writer to a conversation that is sharp, funny, and deeply honest about the costs and rewards of starting over at 50. What You'll Learn: How to navigate a midlife career pivot when you have multiple identities — Blair's "professional vocationalist" framework for women over 40 who don't fit neatly into one lane Why midlife women look back to move forward — what memory researchers say about the pull toward early chapters during the second half of life How menopause shaped one woman's second act career change — the hormonal and psychological shift that moved Blair from therapy to consulting Building confidence after 40 when your story feels complicated — how to hold contradictory truths about your own past without flattening them A practical technique for silencing the inner critic in midlife — Blair's embodied, no-nonsense approach to sovereignty over fear How to own your story as a second act career woman — the courage it takes to publish, share, and stand fully in your own history Resources & Links: Blair's website: blairglaser.com (http://blairglaser.com) Blair's Substack, The HI Stack: thehistack.substack.com (http://thehistack.substack.com) Instagram: @blairglaser LinkedIn: Blair Glaser This Incredible Longing — available wherever you buy books About Blair Glaser: Blair Glaser, MA, is a memoirist, speaker, and leadership consultant with a background as a licensed psychotherapist. A midlife reinvention story in her own right, she has navigated careers in acting, therapy, nonprofit leadership (including six years with V-Day, Eve Ensler's organization to end violence against women), and organizational consulting. Her debut memoir, This Incredible Longing, traces her years inside the spiritual organization Siddha Yoga and what she learned about identity, belonging, and the courage to claim your whole story. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and dog-ter, Vanna White. About Your Host: Aransas Savas is a wellbeing and leadership coach specializing in helping women over 40 navigate midlife transitions, career changes, and second-act reinvention. With 20+ years of behavioral research experience partnering with companies like Disney, Weight Watchers, and Best Buy, she hosts The Uplifters Podcast, featuring women doing transformative work in the second half of their lives. Aransas brings both research rigor and personal experience to conversations about courage capital, midlife transformation, and building meaningful second acts. Connect with Aransas: Instagram: @aransas_savas (https://www.instagram.com/aransas_savas/) Podcast Instagram: @the_uplifters_podcast (https://www.instagram.com/the_uplifters_podcast/) TikTok: @theuplifterspodcast (https://www.tiktok.com/@theuplifterspodcast) Facebook: Aransas Savas (https://www.facebook.com/aransas) Website: theuplifterspodcast.com (http://theuplifterspodcast.com) YouTube: @theuplifterspodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@theuplifterspodcast) LinkedIn: Aransas Savas (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aransassavas/) Keywords: perimenopause career change, women over 40, midlife reinvention, menopause second act, starting over at 40, women changing careers 40s, midlife transition women, second half of life, courage capital, midlife transformation, women entrepreneurs over 40, female founders midlife, perimenopause motivation, starting business during menopause, midlife purpose women, second act career women, women 40s new career, building confidence after 40, midlife dreams women, perimenopause fresh start, midlife memoir women, storytelling courage midlife, spiritual awakening midlif...

What happens when a story that could be told as trauma is instead shaped as triumph? Blair Glaser joins Estelle Erasmus to discuss her journey from a Catskills ashram in the 1990s to published author, and how she turned her time in a spiritual organization into her memoir, This Incredible Longing: Finding Myself in a Near Cult Experience. Rather than writing a simple escape narrative, she explores spiritual longing, group dynamics, depression, leadership, and the unexpected skills she developed inside a restrictive system. Instead of focusing solely on abuse and escape, Blair takes a nuanced approach, examining how that experience helped her find her voice, build professional skills, and ultimately claim her self worth. This episode is essential listening for memoir writers wrestling with how to structure layered stories, navigate family fallout, and uncover the thematic thread that elevates personal experience into crafted memoir. In this episode: Why her memoir rejects the typical “cult survivor” narrative and how she found unexpected gifts within a harmful experience [02:55] The rookie mistake many memoirists make and how she corrected it in revision [12:05] How the ashram taught her to rise through the ranks, create transformational programs, and become a writer, even while struggling with depression [16:00] Why she defines spiritual awakening as “a kind of madness” that rarely makes sense to the people around you [25:25] How to write about depression and suicidal ideation without deadening the reader [27:00] Why writing from therapeutic distance made revisiting trauma feel reflective, even sweet, rather than painful [27:20] Her best advice for writers who do not have journals to draw from [28:15] The family fallout that followed publication and why she chose authentic storytelling over protection [30:00] How indie publisher Heliotrope Books cha About Blair: Blair Glaser is a writer and leadership consultant whose essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, People Magazine, Longreads, Oldster, Quartz, HuffPost, Inside Higher Ed, and others, as well as in literary magazines such as Brevity, Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, In Short, and The Mantlepiece. She’s read stories live at events such as Writer’s Read, Generation Women, and The Woodstock Bookfest. Her debut memoir, This Incredible Longing, was published by Heliotrope in February 2026. She lives with her husband and dog-ter, Vanna White, in Venice Beach, CA. More can be found at www.blairglaser.com. Connect with Blair: Website: https://www.blairglaser.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blair_glaser/ Book: This Incredible Longing: Finding Myself in a Near Cult Experience: https://www.blairglaser.com/books Get More From Estelle Private Small-Group Memoir Class — Next 6-week session begins May 2026. Email me at freelancewritingdirect@gmail.com for details and to get on the waiting list. Read & Subscribe • Substack:— NEW POST: Why Your Memoir Draft Still Feels Flat: And How To Fix Ithttps://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/why-your-memoir-draft-still-feels Newsletter: Sign up at estelleserasmus.com for show updates + a free Pitching Guide. Watch: Estelle's TEDx Talk — How to Get Noticed in Your Writing and Beyond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcWmjpzSIQ Book: Writing That Gets Noticed — named a Poets & Writers "Best Book for Writers." https://www.amazon.com/Writing-That-Gets-Noticed-Storyteller/dp/1608688364 Listen: Freelance Writing Direct Podcast — 2025 Podcast of the Year (American Writing Awards) https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast/ About Estelle Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist,TEDx Speaker, author of Writing That Gets Noticed, and host of Freelance Writing Direct. An adjunct professor at NYU, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, PBS/Next Avenue, The Independent, and AARP The Magazine. She has served as editor-in-chief of five national magazines. Follow Estelle: • Instagram: @EstelleSErasmus https://instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus • TikTok: @EstelleSErasmus https://www.tiktok.com/@estelleserasmus • Twitter: @EstelleSErasmus https://x.com/EstelleSErasmus • BlueSky: @estelleserasmus.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/estelleserasmus.bsky.social