Cult Expert and Survivor Agree: Twin Flames Universe (TFU) is Dangerous
Review "Twin Flames Burned" Author / Survivor at National Writers Series in Michigan / Online
The National Writers Series of Traverse County event is held at the City Opera House and is a very special event with a charity to enable reading for kids. Right off you can see more about the event at their website. It’s been around 15 years, and has many financial supporters.
Kudos to the technical team which had zero difficulties. Well done on a smooth livestream - one of the smoothest I've ever seen. Again, it was via YouTube, using a link for virtual viewers (which were in the hundreds from multiple countries according to the introductions). There were also about 400 people in person is my guess. The venue was quite beautiful.
We were all treated to a slideshow of past events while waiting. This area in Michigan seems to be a mix of locals and seasonal vacationers. I will excerpt the descriptive note we received upon registering for the event.
Twin Flames Universe (now called the Church of Union) is a cult stationed in Suttons Bay, charging money for its members to take classes designed to help them find their "twin flames" or soul mates. They've also been accused of coercing members into changing their gender. Some members refused to do so and left the cult, while others underwent surgeries.
Twin Flames Universe survivor Keely Griffin, who appeared in Netflix's miniseries "Escaping Twin Flames," will be in Traverse City on Thursday, Feb. 22 to talk about how she left the cult and why it's so dangerous.
Cult expert and book author, Janja Lalich, will join her on stage to discuss why people join cults, what to do if someone you love is in a cult, and how to escape. Janja's book, "Take Back Your Life," will also be featured at the event.
"There's so much more to talk about," Keely said about Twin Flames Universe and its dangers, highlighting that the Netflix series only touched the tip of the iceberg.
Doors open at 6 p.m. with live music and a cash bar. The event begins at 7 p.m. Each ticket comes with a copy of Take Back Your Life (or opt for a two-ticket package with one book).
Guest Host: Jacob Wheeler is a journalist, author and teacher. He publishes the Glen Arbor Sun newspaper in Leelanau County and advises student journalists at Northwestern Michigan College. He has written two books.
Keely Griffin was one of the main speakers in Escaping Twin Flames the Cecelia Peck documentary (IMDB), Griffin went to Twin Flames and the leaders online to find her soul mate, and was coerced ever inward toward the top. The journey that followed left her bankrupt and emotionally damaged.
Her mind, confused from that cultic thinking and aggressive tactics of Jeff and Shaleia Ayan (Divine). Keely is able to expose some of the cross-gender tactics the leaders of Twin Flames are using which are unethical and purely for profit.
And that brief statement said so much about why locals are concerned. Griffin had the benefit of knowing Dr. Janja Lalich (yawn ya - law lish) during her filming of the documentary. How fortunate and a great choice by producers. Dr. Lalich is Professor of Sociology Emeritus, University of Chico, California.
I learned during this talk that she retired quite recently as an instructor. Dr. Lalich is known among many for her compassion for the victims of mind control and coercion in cults and has studied Heaven's Gate members in interviews for another of her books, Bounded Choice.
The live and livestreamed event also celebrated a new print edition of Take Back Your Life by Dr. Lalich. A note that as I sometimes used to do from Las Vegas, I live-tweeted the event, while watching and listening, grabbing major quotes, but excluding anything I felt was for paid audiences only. I’m not trying to start a slander war. Often, cult issues are buried in gossip, allowing the hurt to go on and on. It’s about solutions, and that’s why I am covering this in the first place. I made a short video of it on my Tik Tok and Youtube for you to see. Check that out.
The Talk's Vibe
The event was a wild cross between a documentary Q & A, an author lecture, and town hall of concerned citizens who want to stop Twin Flames. The energy was palpable. These people feel threatened that this could really affect their region.
Imagine hearing that a couple has rooted in your area, encouraging people to find their twin flame. When they find the person which the leader sees in a vague vision, you are encouraged to stalk them mercilessly, bring them into the group and become recruiters for more people to join and find their twin flame partner in life, bringing in money. That’s the pyramid scheme. It’s a life commitment too, you need to go all in to play. Examples are set by the leaders, a Michigan couple named Jeff and Shaleia Ayan (Divine). Followers are largely online but beginning to relocate to the area of Sutton’s Bay, Michigan.
Not finding the right person in the body of people which are with Jeff and Shaleia? Well, it's time to switch genders then, to make it all work. Jeff can tell you if that is necessary. Next, it's time to confirm your male or female energy (you can't have both) with top or bottom surgery. There has been both types of surgery coerced.
With a core group of converts, there has been a meet-up and another very large one is planned. At least 40 people have moved to the area now, for expansion into a planned compound. Gee, where have we seen this pattern before? Waco? Jim Jones Temple?
The current numbers are in the thousands and international. The belief? There is a twin flame that you need in order to attain your next spiritual level, Jeff is the second coming of Christ, he saw that in a vision which he announced on a public video which Cecelia Peck featured in Escaping Twin Flames, the Netflix documentary.
When Jeff plays spin the bottle and the next person who contacts you in any manner is your twin flame, it's like truth or dare – real life edition. You are assigned to this person and you need to make it work, in one case, the detriment of a very young woman trafficked to another state to serve this man. And now, imagine her in a shack with this jobless man.
The leaders, mainly Jeff, encouraging her to serve her new twin flame sexually. Peer pressure and she did it for many years. That's part of the relationship. Our speaker Griffin knows something about that too. The leader is chauvinistic in many videos and it's quite plain. Male aggression seems to be encouraged via the documentary I saw.
If they’re doctrine doesn't work, there is something wrong with you according to Jeff and Shaleia Divine. Most of the directions are coming from Jeff Divine, who clearly has a cult leader con all worked out. He even recently looped in the church angle to stop paying taxes, fairly recent. And they do the union ceremony too, there is a profit to be made all around.
Jeff likes bling carrying a sort of "Jersey Shore" reality show type feel with his attitude towards his wife on camera, overtly sexist. Jeff shows off he and his wife’s wealth, all accrued through this scheme. Gucci, and more.
It's ruthless. And as Lalich said in the event, they have a good con, and they are on the dangerous spectrum of the scale of cults. She tells us that the Vanity Fair article about the Michigan leaders first alarmed her especially that they were getting women to have surgery and switch genders to be in the twin flame program.
Here is the title and subtitle of the Vanity Fair article Dec. 3, 2020.
“Everywhere I Went, They Went With Me, Because They Were on My Phone”: Inside the Always Online, All-Consuming World of Twin Flames Universe Before we all spent our days on Zoom, the spiritual community used the power of its Facebook group and webcams to spread a gospel of eternal love—and build its founders’ business along the way. Is it a cult that has manipulated some members’ understandings of their own genders, as ex-followers allege, or the outermost extremes of influencing? By ALICE HINES.
According to Dr. Lalich. "This becomes your whole life. You're in an altered reality. You can't even entertain the thought of leaving".
Answering a host questions, Keely Griffin and Dr. Lalich decide that the filming of Escaping Twin Flames was sometime in December because Lalich's friend Tarzan was vising from Canada. That got a chuckle from the live audience, and me. I have to note here, Lalich wore some pretty attractive boots to the event. Just sayin’.
Griffin refers to the Lalich "shelf" concept which is when we put things on a shelf to ignore while in cults under strict thought control. Finally too full – the shelf breaks and we leave the cult. That happened to Griffin at one point, starting her painful exit. “There was too much I couldn’t unsee” she said.
Our host read an official statement from Twin Flames about this event stating they are a "community founded on love and respect" and "members are free to engage with our resources as they see fit", reading like a legal disclaimer.
Griffin's reply? "Answers are designed to keep you in a loop. They're not going to answer the questions. They want to tire you out - to confuse you - make you give up. That's one of the ways they maintain their control".
Why did Lalich re-release Take Back Your LIfe (Previously Captive Hearts, Captive Minds)? Why Now? Lalich responds "I left a cult in San Francisco, CA and they had a cult clinic. Jewish Family Services. They saved my life" and then she went on to describe changes in the new edition of the book.
"There's more about CPTSD in this edition. Complex PTSD is by people you knew, you were close to. Very similar to domestic violence. Just last week another kid died at a wilderness program. There is a whole section on the troubled teen industry added [to the new edition]".
How are online based cults different? Lalich answers "they have thrown a wrench into what people like myself do". Adding a comment that in old cults someone you trust recruits you. "During the pandemic my email exploded”.
Discussion turns to the fact that Twin Flames Leader Jeff Divine has talked about free love and that his newborn will experience his love. A hint at abuse has been made according to this survivor. The authors are asked by the audience how they can save Jeff's baby. Dr. Lalich suggests looking into resources if locals are concerned. And the locals are clearly concerned about this doctrine spreading in their area.
Lalich talks about one town she studied that had a similar problem, a ‘cult problem’ in their town. It was so bad, they finally set up a regular event and held talks, offering resources to those wanting out of the group, or those who already left.
Dr. Lalich reads a poem from her book Take Back Your Life, a stirring poem from a child called Secrets. This was one she had interviewed for the book. In addition, she had written about her own experience in a political left-wing cult where she was nearly destroyed, leaving after a decade in the inner circle. From my live notes: ‘Dr. Lalich chokes up while reading from her book "what did they do to my brain?” tears here too.
Common cult questions are addressed which most experts get, what are some myths about cults, are they business or just religious? Dr. Lalich gives the audience her cult 101 type information stating they can also be political. The informational is foundational to allow a beginner to realize cults are all around us in all cities. Cultic thinking is the danger.
Griffin is asked by the host, what are some common myths about cults? She quickly answers, “people think cult members are stupid". Ah, good one. That has got to be the biggest. A cult wants sharp people and needs those to help recruit others and accomplish tasks. These are not stupid people.
How to start helping someone leave a cult is the next major question addressed. Send people a post card, ask questions, approach with care were some answers both survivor and expert gave to this one. "Make a plan" Lalich continued. "Assess where you can go and what you can do. For her aptly named book Escaping Utopia, she had interviewed over 65 people from many different cults. Lalich talks about how shocked they all were upon leaving. "Everyone was so nice", the ex cultists would tell her, referring to the doomsday profit words always keeping us all in fear of leaving. It's all lies. There are good people everywhere.
What about after you leave? How to recover was asked of Dr. Lalich. "You can't be hard on yourself. It's going to be a roller coaster." Janja Lalich said. "Do what feels right for you. Take your time. Be easy on yourself, you have to learn how to relax". And truer words were never spoken there.
Keely Griffin then describes her encounter earlier that day being in the area post documentary. As they drove by the leader saw her and she waved hi. The crowd erupted in applause. Yah, we felt that one Keely. It is every survivors dream to stand up to the tyrant which hurt them. One notch for our team there, in this event and Keely's every words. Thanks for those words to Keely.
Talk turns next to the looming Summer event Twin Flames now Church of Union has planned. Some venues have turned them down in light of the documentaries which revealed horrors going on, and the cultic thinking, the lack of care and the profit before people exposed.
Yet according to Griffin, they have already make $80 thousand dollars on ticket sales to the event. This concerns her, and me too. That's not chump change. They seem to be growing from the controversy. Some do that. In addition, the turn towards apocalypticism has happened. Leaders of the cult have issued a manifesto which Griffin states has very violent descriptors.
"There are crimes happening in Sutton's Bay and to women around the world" Dr. Lalich says. "I don't think all religion should be allowed to create crime, to be criminal".
Audience members ask how to spot a member of the group to which Griffin responds "That's really hard, Jeff gets angry when they talk to the locals. They'll use a lot of new age words like "we are all one" and "we are all love". You can gain more information at their website and Facebook page" Griffin added.
From the audience "We just left a cult seven months ago, any pros and cons about speaking to the media? Griffin "Find the right people who won't exploit you". Dr. Lalich added "Make sure you're ready, the consequences are going to be rough. The backlash can go on for months".
As the event concludes they take a selfie with all the audience holding up their copy of Take Back Your Life, obtained upon entry. Cecelia Peck the Director of Escaping Twin Flames saw some of my live tweets from this event and commented "Thank You for attending. Keely is a courageous survivor of coercive control, willing to share her story to help other people".
I could not agree with you more Cecelia.
See more about the event
See more about the speakers
Take Back Your Life (Amazon Book)
Keely
See more at FrankieTease.Substack.com