Substack Exclusive: Why Spiritual Questions Open You To Risk

This week we’re sharing something special that was previously only available on our Substack page: a chat between Jonathan and filmmaker, Mark Vicente, co-director of the 2004 film “What the Bleep Do We Know!?“, and the NXIVM whistleblower whose testimony helped put Keith Raniere in federal prison.

Many teachers have real wisdom and profound opportunities to change. Many are resurfacing hidden ancient knowledge that the world truly needs. And some of the teachers are wolves in sheep’s clothing who prey on those who believe there must be more to our often limited experience.

If you saw The Vow on HBO, you know one half of Mark’s story.

Mark was born in South Africa. At nine years old, out in the bush, he heard Zulu drumming and was overcome with emotions in a way he couldn’t explain. He wept — hit by a certainty that if everyone else could feel what he was feeling, the country he was born into would change. And the senseless injustice could be stopped.

Years later, Mark’s film, What the Bleep Do We Know, used the language of quantum physics to argue that the materialist worldview is incomplete. That consciousness participates in reality. That suffering is not only something to endure — it’s something we have some say in. Then the wolves came.

When What the Bleep was released, the NXIVM cult began profiling Mark. They read his interviews. They studied what he wanted more than anything — to communicate a spiritual truth that could change how people see the world. Then they built a recruitment around that specific longing. He was inside NXIVM for over a decade.

His wife realized what was happening before Mark did. She handed him an article listing twenty things a narcissist does in a conversation. He read it, took a scheduled call with Keith Raniere, and ticked them off in his head as they happened live. When he hung up, he knew he would never speak to Raniere again.

Mark’s new film, The Narcissist’s Playbook, is the map he wishes he’d had while under the control of a cult leader. It features self-identified narcissists explaining, on camera, what they do and why they enjoy doing it.

Dr. Ramani Durvasula — who appears in the film — estimates roughly one in six adults meets criteria for narcissistic personality traits. Not all of them are dangerous. Some are, and the current consensus among clinicians who study the darkest end of the spectrum is the part spiritually oriented people find hardest to accept: Those brains do not change. Not with love. Not with patience. Not even with the right teacher.

If you love someone who is inside a dangerous community and they can’t see it, or if you’re beginning to wonder whether you are, Mark shares this: The deepest trick of narcissistic abuse isn’t the abuse itself. It’s that you come to believe you are the cause of every problem.

• Upgrade your kitchen with Our Place today. Visit fromourplace.com/BREAK and use code BREAK for 10% off sitewide.
• Make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to https://www.quince.com/breakdown for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.
• Go to https://helixsleep.com/breakdown to receive up to 30% off your Helix mattress.
• Visit https://drinkag1.com/BREAKDOWN and get a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler and a FREE bottle of Vitamin D3 + K2 in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order.
• Get your annual IANDS Conference tickets at https://conference.iands.org.
• Go to https://tidd.ly/4uVltMe and use the code MAYIM50 to get $50 off your Elastique order.

Find Mark at @markvicente on Instagram and narcissistsplaybook.com.

Follow us on Substack for Exclusive Bonus Content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bialikbreakdown.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BialikBreakdown.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube.com/mayimbialik⁠⁠⁠

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.