Former Buddhafield Follower Shares Unvarnished Truth About Cult Life
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Radhia Gleis spent 25 years of her adult life in the Buddhafield cult, under the influence of a narcissistic sociopath known by many names: Michel, Andreas, The Teacher or Reyji. She escaped the psychological prison of cult life over 12 years ago, but the emotional scars remain. The post-traumatic stress, forever entombed in her psyche, is repeatedly triggered by the characteristics of political and cultural leaders of today, prompting her to explore her past decisions through a much broader lens that sheds light on the blind spots — and dangers — of groupthink.
“What makes people give up their will, their sense of right and wrong — give up their moral compass and family ties for a person or an ideal?” Gleis asks in her captivating new book, The Followers: “Holy Hell” and the Disciples of Narcissistic Leaders: How My Years in a Notorious Cult Parallel Today’s Cultural Mania, giving a nod to the 2016 Buddhafield cult documentary Holy Hell, in which she appears.
The Followers lays the groundwork by skimming Gleis’ upbringing in Hollywood and tracing the steps of her adult life, when, at the age of 30, she fell under the influence of the charismatic leader of Buddhafield.
She draws striking parallels between her devotion to a cult leader — an authority — whose damaging behavior and influence she willfully ignored, and the followers of other authoritarian leaders, both past and present.
Gleis weaves her personal experiences with reflections on a number of thought-provoking topics, including:
• The search for a higher truth • Cults, groupthink and mind control • Authoritarian leaders • Malignant narcissistic personality disorder and sociopathy • The American schism • How an intelligent, well educated person may find themselves under the control of a narcissistic sociopath • Cognitive dissonance • The three basic types of people who join cults • The power of words/influence of media
Informative, raw and irreverent, Gleis’ book shares the unvarnished truth about cult followers from the viewpoint of a former follower still grappling with the consequences of her choices.
Author Radhia Gleis is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist, CCN, MEd. biochemical analyst and educator for over 33 years. She has appeared as a featured guest on numerous radio and television shows including Fox News, Austin. She hosted The Health Revolution and Let’s Get Healthy on Talk 1370 AM, KLBJ, and The Wellness Connection podcast on Voice America. She was the host and executive producer of three YouTube series: Wake up America; How the Body Works; and The Natural Way. She was featured in the internationally viewed movie, Holy Hell, which was broadcast on CNN and named one of Sundance Film Festival’s and Netflix’s top 10 documentaries. It can now be viewed on Amazon Prime.
For more information, please visit www.radhiagleis.com, or follow the author on Twitter (@radhia_gleis).
The Followers: “Holy Hell” and the Disciples of Narcissistic Leaders: How My Years in a Notorious Cult Parallel Today’s Cultural Mania Publisher: Sage Card Publishing ISBN-10: 1737125803 ISBN-13: 978-1737125808 Available from Amazon.com, BN.com and Audible.com
Trish Stevens Marta Riley Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Transcendent Journey Gives Doctor Insights into Life’s Greatest Question Website details transformational visits with spiritual presence
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Why are we here? Minister and licensed psychotherapist Dr. Pieter Noomen consciously searched his mind for conclusive insight into this question during his evening walks. One evening, out of the blue, the word “Oneness” filled him. Day after day, a total of 12 words crystalized within him and around him. Those words became the basis for his 12 booklets, each of which explores the 12 components of life: Oneness, Love, Life, Fire, Space, Connectedness, Progression, Effect, Freedom, Joy, Differentness and Harmony.
Although the content of the 12 booklets comes from Dr. Noomen, he didn’t consider himself the author. “I ‘heard’ them within me when I specifically sat down to ‘hear’ them,” he explained on his website. “I listened while they formed in my head. I guess that the best way to describe this is to see it as a ‘merger’ on my spirit level of the voice/presence/spirit of Life itself and my ability to be consciously receptive for that — as much as a human being can be.”
Dr. Noomen’s connection with the higher presence would ultimately last for many years, resulting in an abundance of deeply profound insights freely shared on his website, www.wordsforall.org.
Visitors to Dr. Noomen’s website can read about the 12 components of life and ponder 147 thought-provoking questions and the illuminating answers that came to him during his extensive communications with the All Spirit. Avoiding the word God, Dr. Noomen relays his extraordinary journeys on the spiritual plane with an openness that invites readers to uncover and explore their own accessibility to spirituality without labels or constructs.
He grew to believe that, directly or indirectly, all life stems from one common source and that to connect with that source is the highest level of existence we can achieve on earth. And perhaps more importantly, he believed that being in direct contact with the ALL of existence is possible for every human being.
As to the answer to life’s most puzzling question, Dr. Noomen had this to say: “The consistent message in all Writings is that the purpose of being on earth is to make individual personal choices; choices that can either further direct contact with the real, full reality or can do the opposite and limit our experience of being alive …”
Dr. Noomen passed away in 2019, but his wealth of wisdom and insights freely shared on www.wordsforall.org will continue to inspire people throughout the world to broaden their spiritual paths.
“Self-help books, groups or gurus offer mental, social or physical well-being. These weekly words don’t focus on this. They focus on our intentions, our choosing-ability. Which is why we are on earth in the first place. ‘What’ we choose is not the issue. We won’t ever be judged anyway. But ‘that’ we choose is the issue; that is fulfilling our mission here. There are no exceptions to this.”
Trish Stevens Kathleen Harrison Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 281.333.3507 Main [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
The High Sign Identifies Celestial Event Heralding the Day of the Lord
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The occasion of Jesus’ Second Coming, referred to in the Bible as the Day of the Lord, continues to a be a source of great fascination — and speculation — among believers. But the exact day of this event, according to Jesus himself, should not be the primary focus, explains Bible scholar David S. Heeren. Instead, it is important to both understand and recognize the celestial sign that will herald Jesus’ return.
In his latest book, The High Sign, Heeren compellingly reveals 200 prophetic images and 24 dramatic events mentioned throughout the Bible that support his unique interpretation of the Bible’s end time prophecy.
Heeren was inspired to write The High Sign after experiencing his own prophetic event of sorts. While reading Isaiah 6:8, Heeren says he decided to pray Isaiah’s prayer: “Here am I, send me.” It was after that day when the meaning of many biblical passages began to crystalize for Heeren, and the message of The High Sign started taking shape, Heeren explains.
“The next day, I started perceiving a pattern in Isaiah’s prophetic imagery looking beyond the life of Jesus on earth to the era of his prophesied Second Coming on what the Bible refers to as the Day of the Lord,” Heeren says. “This was a noteworthy first for me because for a half-century before then, I had read biblical prophecies with great fascination but negligible understanding. Suddenly, I was beginning to make sense of some of the Bible’s most mysterious passages.”
Within weeks, he says, he found 40 prophetic images supporting his first impression concerning the identity of the celestial sign of Jesus’ Second Coming, and that number eventually grew to the 200 individual points he explains in The High Sign, leading Heeren to arrive at a conclusion no one else has reached yet.
“There is not a single contradictory point of evidence, at least none that I found, and I have studied this specific subject now for 16 years,” he adds.
Heeren also explores in detail the Flood of Noah, the demolition of Sodom, the plagues of the Exodus, and the arrival and Second Coming of Christ — and how astronomical events are tied to each. To help readers recall his main ideas, Heeren provides summarization points at the end of each chapter, and concludes his book with a list of seven things for Christians to do to prepare for the Day of the Lord.
David S. Heeren is an award-winning journalist and author of 17 books. He used his background in mathematics and logic to create Tendex, the first internationally used statistical system for rating professional and college basketball players. Nine of his books have Christian themes, including the Online Book Club Book of the Day The High Sign, Day of the Lord, What the Bible has to Say about the U.S.A., The Sign of His Coming and God…or not? To learn more, please visit: www.endtimesmystery.com.
The High Sign Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC ISBN-10: 1647531586 ISBN-13: 978-1647531584 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Helen Cook Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 903.654.0938 Direct 281.333.3507 Office [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
NOKI Sparks Meaningful Conversations About Limitations Placed on People with Autism
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It’s a struggle that parents of children with special needs face every day and well into that child’s adulthood: how much decision-making latitude is safe?
NOKI is an empowering story from Douglas Farrago, MD, about a young man with autism who wants to become a professional boxer. Life’s circumstances have dictated the reason for him choosing this path. The lawless world of boxing has its reasons for embracing Noki and his abilities. And they are not good ones. So, the debate wages on: Should Noki be allowed to make the life-altering decision to enter the ring and put his life on the line?
Meanwhile, what few know is that Noki is actually a savant and can imitate and transform himself into any legendary boxer he wants — a plot twist that allows NOKI to pay homage to some of the greatest boxers of all time.
Dr. Farrago draws upon his experiences as an All-American collegiate boxer, a sports medicine trainer for professional boxers in Houston and his decades-long career in medicine during which he worked with autism patients to lend authenticity to his characters and narrative.
“Noki becomes somewhat of a hero to those with special needs in this story, which I think is pretty cool,” he said. “I felt it would be nice if a story showed that those with autism don’t need to be anything but themselves, and maybe it is the rest of us who need to change.”
Ultimately, NOKI is a heartwarming story that will spark real conversations about the limits that society places on people with special needs. Knowingly or not.
Author Douglas Farrago, MD, is board certified in the specialty of Family Practice. Recently retired, he had a large following of autistic and special needs patients in his career. Dr. Farrago is the inventor of the Knee Saver, which is currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Knee Saver and its knock-offs are worn by many major league baseball catchers. He also invented the CryoHelmet, used by athletes for head injuries as well as migraine sufferers.
Dr. Farrago received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia in 1987, his Master of Education degree in Exercise Science from the University of Houston in 1990 and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 1994. His residency training occurred way up north at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Dr. Farrago still blogs every day on his website http://Authenticmedicine.com and lectures worldwide about the present crisis in our healthcare system and the effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Farrago has written six books to date, his latest one being NOKI.
Black Sheep: A Blue-Eyed Negro Speaks of Abandonment, Belonging, Racism, and Redemption (This press release may be reprinted in part or in its entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet or used by any means of social media sharing.)
With an afterword by My Haley, PhD, widow of Alex Haley, famed author of Roots and Malcom X
Ray Studevent walked hesitantly toward the door of the nursing home and prayed that his Momma, now in the throes of dementia, would recognize him. Surely, the blue eyes would give him away. The blue eyes that his Momma originally equated with hatred and brutality.
White on the outside, Black on the inside, Ray grew up on the eastern side of the Anacostia River, the Blackest part of the Blackest city in America not long after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the D.C. race riots. There were guidelines if you were Black; different rules if you were White; but only mixed messages for mixed-race children like Ray, who had to fight for acceptance and struggle to find his identity.
Black Sheep: A Blue-Eyed Negro Speaks of Abandonment, Belonging, Racism, and Redemption is the unforgettable true story of Ray’s struggles as a mixed-race boy learning to fight the ghosts of his past to find trust and love. Abandoned by his White, heroin-addicted mother and Black, violently alcoholic father, Ray found salvation at age 5 when he was adopted into a loving, stable home by his father’s uncle Calvin and his wife, Lemell. But that is just the beginning of the story.
Lemell is suddenly widowed and must raise Ray and her two daughters as a single mother in Chocolate City. Each time she looks into Ray’s blue eyes, she sees the Klansmen who tormented her family as she grew up in segregated Mississippi.
Ray and Lemell must navigate the minefields of society’s outward racial tensions while inwardly, Lemell does her best to overlook her emotional scars and suppress her justifiable resentment toward White people when she looks into Ray’s blue eyes.
Black Sheep takes readers on an emotional journey and reveals universal truths through faith and great humor. It is a search for who we are, where we fit and who we can become. Imagine a book where The Notebook meets The Help.
About the Author Ray “Ben” Studevent was a mixed-race child whose unique look led him to fight a racial identity crisis his entire life. Each time he entered a room, he had to decide whether it was better to be Black or White. His personal and career journeys ebbed and flowed, taking him to prison, fatherhood and gigs in comedy clubs, modeling and stock-market research. In all these varied experiences, he realized that race played a critical role. Visit his website at: raystudevent.com.
Black Sheep Publisher: HCI Books Release Date: May 4, 2021 ISBN-10: 0757323812 ISBN-13: 978-0757323812 Trade Paperback, 288 pages Available wherever books are sold
Trish Stevens Lindsey Mach Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Embrace Your Imperfections and Embark Upon a Healing Journey with God as Your Guide
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Crippling fear permeated every aspect of Christine Soule’s life from an early age and followed her into adulthood. Her past of brokenness — abuse, dysfunction, addiction and other trauma — could have very well defined her future. But once she turned to God and let Him lead the way, she found a path toward a brighter future.
“The key is discovering who you are in Christ — your true identify. And that’s especially significant if you, like me, have a past of brokenness,” Soule writes in her inspirational story, Broken and Beautiful. “So much of how we see ourselves revolves around the demands our society places on us, insisting we live up to its expectations. Don’t listen to the world. Listen to God.”
Soule’s life was a jumbled pile of broken pieces. Her father was married seven times; her mother four times. Between her parents’ divorce when she was 5 years old and the day she allowed the power and presence of God into her heart, she watched her sister have an affair with her adoptive father; met 15 siblings she never knew at her biological father’s funeral; turned to drugs and alcohol; got pregnant at 17; had twins less than two years later; and became a victim of human trafficking. She had to break the cycle for the sake of her children. With nowhere else to turn, she dropped to her knees and prayed. And that’s when everything changed.
Broken and Beautiful is Soule’s remarkable story of how God took the pieces of her broken, astonishingly dysfunctional life and transformed it all into a breathtaking mosaic of joy and purpose.
“The places where you feel hopeless are exactly what He wants to redeem and fill with beauty, dignity and strength. He has a plan for your pain. A wonderful intention for your failures. A purpose for your hardest, darkest stories,” Soule writes.
Told with honesty and surprising touches of humor, Soule shares her journey from drug- addicted stripper to exuberant Jesus lover with a passion for helping others embrace God’s love. Broken and Beautiful is a raw, authentic story of hope, from a place of experience.
Author Christine Soule lives with the love of her life, Mitch Soule, in Seattle. They have five kids and three wonderful grandchildren. She is the founder and CEO of Providence Heights (www.providenceheights.org), a nonprofit created to house women and children in need and to provide counseling, education and jobs.
Broken and Beautiful: Let God Turn Your Mess into a Masterpiece ISBN-13: 979-8662957619 Available from Amazon.com (Broken and Beautiful), providenceheights.org and christinesoule.com
Secrets Threaten to Unravel Family Ties in The Wool Over Their Eyes
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At 18, Natalia Foster knew seven things about the biological father she’d never met: he was tall, dark, handsome and Italian. He was also married to someone other than Natalia’s mother, had three children and, clearly, no morals. Now, at age 28, Natalia knows something new: her father is dying.
The Wool Over Their Eyes, from Dione Martin, is an authentic, heartfelt story about complex family dynamics and the emotions that must be unpacked when long-buried secrets push their way to the surface.
Illegitimate and bi-racial, Natalia is the secret that her father, Joe, planned to take to his grave. His wife and family know nothing of Natalia’s existence — or that her mother is Black — but when word spreads that Joe has only months to live, Natalia feels compelled to meet him and salvage what little time with him she has left. But at what cost to Joe’s devoted wife, Rosa, and their grown children?
In the midst of Natalia’s family drama and pain is also a love story. Natalia must choose between two loves — a long-lost one and a new one. Her ex-boyfriend, Tyler Davis, who captured her heart and connected with her soul, resurfaces. But she meets a handsome doctor, David Duplessis, who’d cared for her father. Just as the relationship begins to blossom, David commits an act that severs her trust and sends her spiraling further into her dark abyss.
The Wool Over Their Eyes is loosely based on Martin’s personal experiences. She drew upon her own memories and insights of growing up without her biological father and being betrayed in her own marriage to inform her narrative and give her characters depth and authenticity.
“I wrote The Wool Over Their Eyes for fatherless girls, for women who have been betrayed, for those who have been rejected because of their race (or otherness) and for families that have been torn apart by secrets, lies and deception,” Martin reflects. “Healing is possible – through change, through empathy, through faith and through forgiveness.”
Author Dione Martin was born and raised in New Orleans, where she spent much of her childhood and teen years reading. She earned her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Minnesota-Morris and her Master’s in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently a senior communications director at Brinker International. She lives in Dallas with her two daughters and enjoys running, cooking, performing arts and attempting DIY projects. The Wool Over Their Eyes is her debut novel, and she is working on her next one.
For more information about the author, please visit www.dione-martin.com or follow her on Twitter (@DioneMartin30), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/dione-martin/) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/dionehmartin).
The Wool Over Their Eyes Publisher: Inspire on Purpose ISBN-10: 1948903539 ISBN-13: 978-1948903530 Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Chelsea Smith Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
