i lived with, but wasn't a part of, another local cult, the circle of friends. around the time of the mass suicide this guy showed up and started staying with us. he'd gotten out of Heaven's Gate a few years before, and was clearly whacked, and got interviewed by the Union Tribune sitting next to this alien doll. i will lexus-neux it. he told the requisite crazy stories of cult practices but i didn't pay much attention. don't know what happened to him.
― jergïns, Sunday, 2 September 2007 04:51 (sixteen years ago) link
there were two cults. The first, Heaven's Gate, wasn't anything i was a part of. one dude from Heaven's Gate showed up on our doorstep.
The second cult (or pseudo-cult, or yoga group with cult-like tendencies) had a sufi yoga master--ashtanga, kundalini--named Murshid as their leader. They seem pretty benign, all lovey-lovey yoga bs but there was some serious underside going on. Murshid would rename people, try to marry people off, try to decide who would impregnate who, sleep with disciples. They drove big cars, bankrupted a friend of mine, fought with former members. He claimed the world would change in 1998. though he used end-of-the-world tropes and phrasing he said it was more of a mental change that some people would go through. Don't know how that wound up. He also said that my friend's baby, Moad'dib, was the chosen one. She gave the baby away.
i lived with them but didn't join the group. the loft space was big enough that i could pretty much stay out of there way. they expected daily work, sweeping and cleaning, and that was doable, but i didn't go to the retreats (well, one, but i ditched after the first day and hitched back to San Diego) or participate in the other extra-cirriculars.
some names he gave: cyrene, world, circe ooooolovefeeling. fucking funny, getting her mail: Circe Oooolovef with the rest cut off.
grady posted a picture on the noise 'your place' thread of a loft space in chicago that had the same layout as the SD loft. also, I bet you five bucks v4h1d used to go there. it was THE SD rave spot through most of the 90s. and crash worship, this awesome drum troupe, used the studio and hung around. so there were some cool things.
i'll save the drug-running and samizdat movie-making and eventual condo conversion for the life blog or the autobiography. autoblogography?
― jergïns, Monday, 3 September 2007 01:50 (sixteen years ago) link
He also said that my friend's baby, Moad'dib, was the chosen one.
LOL Dune baby
― am0n, Monday, 3 September 2007 05:55 (sixteen years ago) link
Dune baby
i know, right?
loft space is like wide open floors, do what you want. they are in various states, from perfect wood floors million dollar views way expensive to no water on the 4th floor shitty posterboard walls raw space that used to be a factory a few weeks ago.
― jergïns, Monday, 3 September 2007 09:15 (sixteen years ago) link
nine months pass...
four months pass...
I've just read this. I lived in that loft. I was one of the Crash Wordhip dancers. I toured with them all over USA and Europe in the 90's. I also was one of murshi'd 'chosen ones'. Weird times! Do you remember Playschool and Planet Genius? It would be interesting to chat. Maybe we even know each other. Crazy!
― Triste (unregistered), Saturday, 1 November 2008 06:13 (fifteen years ago) link
three weeks pass...