What makes the idea of mushroom spores a sect, and why is this not comparable to cases where we discuss with a few close friends that lemon balm tea is good for sleep, even though everyone around us is convinced that only drugs prescribed by doctors can help in this regard? And if we love video games, while everyone around us thinks it’s stupid, are we part of a cult?
A cult can be formed from almost anything, but this word has a very negative connotation. Who would want to be a sect member? Clearly, nobody. Therefore, no cult member would ever say that they are part of a cult. They usually use words like ‘community’ or ‘group’ to describe these, as we get the impression that cults are made up of brainwashed people.
Take the mushroom cult, for example, whose member Pistachio is well known. Who would believe that mushrooms could solve everything? Only someone who is very naive would believe that, or someone to whom it could be explained that the sky is actually green. Of course, Pistachio is young and somewhat naive, but that’s not the reason.
Such ‘communities’ often use false but seemingly logical arguments to build a worldview that can then attract and retain individuals within the group.
Perhaps you are familiar with activated carbon. It is a spongy material that, thanks to its structure, can absorb and neutralise a lot of substances. Not everything, of course, but it can be useful in cases of poisoning, because the toxins are not in direct contact with the body and can leave the body without causing symptoms. If poisoning has already occurred, then the same absorption and binding properties help to alleviate the symptoms and remove the toxins from the body. There are records of its beneficial effects in cases of poisoning dating back to ancient Egypt.
Imagine attending a lecture where it is explained to us that the spores of mushrooms, or more specifically, a group of mushrooms, work in the same way in the body. The spores attach to harmful substances in the body, including those in the digestive system, and in the case of the right fungus, from other places too – so for example, the fungus cleans the blood, the lungs and other respiratory organs, reduces inflammation in different parts of the body, and so on. Moreover, unlike activated charcoal, the mushroom provides the body with specific nutrients, so it doesn’t just absorb the harmful substance, it replaces it with a “positive package”. Therefore, we have nothing to lose by consuming it, but we have a lot to gain!
So, something is presented to us that we think is possible, but we cannot prove it is true or false. The question arises: if we hear something that we cannot determine to be true or false, why do we believe it? Why don’t we remain in the realm of cautious scepticism?
Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, put it like this: ‘Faith, however, is charisma, […] not a method.’ (1) Therefore, if we hear about the properties of mushroom spores from a charismatic person, it is likely that a large part of the healthy scepticism within us will disappear. However, in our case, we can see that there is indeed a method, as in this sect it is prescribed that everything must be eaten and drunk, and the members also exchange tips, essentially continuously reinforcing their belief that the mushroom is one of the hidden treasures of humanity, which only reveals its secrets to the chosen few. Or at least those who were willing to question the reality of their grey everyday lives.
A trust circle emerges in the sect, where members ask each other about their personal matters, and do not turn to outsiders, as they “would not understand them”. Thus, over time, the members come to rely on the opinions of the other members in almost every respect. Moreover, in many cases, the members of the sect find work and thus a means of livelihood through sect acquaintances, and they ask each other, or rather the leader or a middle-level manager, for advice on many issues, such as studies or moving. Essentially, before making any decision that could lead to stress or uncertainty, the members seek each other’s feedback.
However, sects do not organise themselves just because there are a few people who are convinced – possibly even correctly – that a mushroom soup made from a family recipe helped to alleviate post-illness fatigue. Someone is needed to organise, a central figure who is usually the key person for the entire sect, whose outlook shapes the attitude. This will always be an alternative method, something that creates the effect of “awakening”. It’s a similar feeling to when a person has been unable to decide how to act in a situation for a long time, and then suddenly realises what they should do. It’s like when a person suddenly feels they have found their own path.
If we take a moment to reflect on the idea that some people highly value the family mushroom soup recipe and imagine them going on a picnic where everyone brings a sample of their own soup – is that a cult? Well, no, it’s not quite that yet. So what could make it one?
If there is a leader among these people, they will use this mushroom soup to justify their own views and worldview, and claim that it provides answers to all life’s unpleasant and cruel questions. It’s not really about the mushroom at all, but about him thinking his worldview is superior to everyone else’s – or, fearing that this is not the case, trying to convince everyone around him of the truth of his beliefs. The difficult questions of life, illness, parting, the pain of not belonging, not being recognised, not being seen as valuable, being seen as stupid all our lives, the feeling that we are not loved in our personal or professional lives, the feeling that life is meaningless, and that as we grow older, we will only look back on our lives and see nothing of value – these can easily be resolved by the leader offering the members belonging, as most of the members do recognise each other. They will be loved, they will belong somewhere, and they will be able to experience the truth that most people – who consider themselves so clever – pass by every day. The mushroom is a cure for all diseases, so this difficult question is solved. Often, the leader of a sect seeks self-justification, as do the members.
A person going through a difficult period in their life can easily find themselves unwittingly drawn into a sect, since, as I mentioned, they never define themselves as such. It’s a community where you are understood, accepted, and given valuable advice that you won’t find elsewhere. The underlying message is that belonging to the community makes life easier because there is someone who loves you, acknowledges you, and values your opinion. It’s a feeling that others also see your value without you having to participate in the exhausting and discouraging race of life to prove your worth. This difficult period does not have to be unbearable. It could be a breakup, or moving away from where you grew up, and the lack of acquaintances and company could wear down your resilience, as we see with Pistachio.
So how do these sects work? The lifestyle is heavily controlled, which at first does not seem like control, but rather a lot of new methods that help, provide answers to previous difficult questions, fill the void and relieve the individual of the responsibility of having to develop their lifestyle through experience. It is much easier to follow someone who has “lived on this earth many times before” and has “experienced it all”, as Pistachio also says, and it is not at all clear how to live well. These sects introduce new people to their ideas through a circle of trust, because it’s easier to believe a slightly strange idea if it comes from someone I trust than from a drunk stranger on the street.
You might think, “Okay, that person had a hard time,” but once the difficulty has passed, people usually want everything to return to normal. They only realise that instead of a pleasant mushroom soup picnic on a Saturday afternoon, they are attending a sect meeting where they hear that the world is clearly divided into two: those who organise their lives around mushrooms and those who still live in darkness. A study examining the different stages of belonging to a sect found that the average time spent in a sect was around 18 years. (2) Once someone is in, and all their intimate relationships have changed, they primarily discuss their concerns with the other members of the sect. Otherwise, if they have any doubts, they will either try to reassure them or convince them that they have lost their good sense, and then they can live in the darkness too.
Just as the first impression is important when we meet a person, so is the feeling we had when we joined a community, because if we felt loved and respected, we will always want to return to that state, even when acceptance has turned into oppression.
(1) C. G. Jung: Psychology of Religion: West and East, paragraph 864
(2) Shaelen Grant: THE CULTIC LIFECYCLE: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF FULFILLMENT AND FEAR IN CULT MEMBERSHIP
Further references:
Melissa M. Greiser: Understanding Cult Membership: Beyond “Drinking the Kool-Aid”
Jonica V. Carlton Best: Cults: A Psychological Perspective