Zendik

I also wonder if they exhumed Wulf's body when they moved. I can't imagine that they would have left him there but don't you have to get permits to do something like that. Actually, I'd think you'd need a permit to bury someone at home to begin with.
I'm also curoius as to how much Shey leaving has effected their finances as I think her family was quite wealthy and she was a nice meal ticket for them. Lore is still there, though. "ELEVATE"

 

"I don't really know what to believe"

Mallus: As you read this thread you see that new people, mostly exZendik residents, keep coming out of the woodwork to expose the spookiness of Zendik and tell of their often humaliating experiences there. As the pile of testimonials & evidence grows, I think it's getting pretty obvious what to believe. Also, everyone with any mind of their own either leaves or gets thrown out: that should be evidence enough.

 

This is true, but one has to maintain a healthy skepticism of all claims, Zendik or ex-Zendik.

 

regarding being programmed:

I think that anyone who has spent more than 15 minutes reading zendik's website, and or Wolf's books, especially over a long period of time, has some issues with this society we live in. I have slowly been trying to get myself to stop being so aware of all the b.s.. The best I can do for now is live MY life the way I feel I should. For me that means being a vegetarian and having compassion for others. I have been doing what I can to try to mellow out about things and accept that others just don't have that level of awareness. Some days are better and some worse. I must say that I have changed the way I view communes. I know in theory there should be some out there that are "benign" and do what they mean, but after seeing these goings on, well, I hope I can make my own way.
PS - for those of you who haven't checked out The Rainbow Family threads, I've been to a rainbow gathering, and it was very good vibes, young and old alike. (I don't know much about how they square into the commune thing, I think alot of the full time rainbows live on the road) from what I understand thier biggest probs have been young'ins partying a bit to hard at the gatherings and some people not carrying thier weight. What's cool is there is no leader, and anyone anywhere can be a rainbow.

"When the earth is ravaged and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people shall come unto the earth from many colors, classes, creeds, and who by their actions and deeds shall make the earth green again. They will be known as the warriors of the Rainbow" -- Old Native American Prophecy

 

I can only imagine the difficulty faced by ex-Zendiks who spent ten or fifteen or twenty years with the group and are now trying to build a life outside of Zendik Farm. I want to say "congratulations Shey and Thea!" but it sounds grotesque considering the problems they're likely to be facing now.

 

Imagine being at Zendik for a decade or more and then getting dumped back into the "deathkulture". What are they going to put on their resumes? Spent 20 years at a farm that claims it wants to overthrow the government? Who will be thier references, Arol? Yes it must be tough. I wish Shey and Chen and Bugzy and the rest of the long-term now ex Zendiks well and hope they find somewhere they can call home.

Does anyone have any stories they want to post about their own expriences right after leaving the Z. Farm?

 

I felt as though I had been in a coma for two years.

I knew that the President's name was Bill Clinton, but I'd never heard his voice and I couldn't have picked him out of a lineup.

My family was clueless.

I had nothing in common with my old high school friends.

I blamed myself for being kicked out of Zendik Farm. Ambi (sans inheritence money) was kicked out shortly after I'd left, and we corresponded for awhile. He expressed his anger (he was an angry man) and this helped me to express mine, which was a huge relief.

The first year out of Zendik was a living hell of chronic nightmares, depression, intense homicidal fantasies, cognitive dissonance hangover, scattered thoughts, dissociative episodes, hysterical sobbing, total alienation.

If I'd had access to others who had "been there" and survived, I think I could have made much more progress in those first five years after leaving Zendik. At the time, I didn't even realize how fucked-up I was. I was running on broken legs and hating myself for always finishing last.

 

OK (hehe)... hello to you all:::

this is just a short response to all of the BS and actual questions I've read so far.

You'll have to forgive me, because I haven't had time to read the whole thread, (as I have stuff to do, you understand)....

First::: there have never been any chains or shackles on anyone who came to visit/live at Zendik Farm. Those who claim that they were "lied to" are either insane, demented, or otherwise incoherant.

Those whom were here while Wulf was alive will know that he was an incredible artist, therefore, may not have had the time nor inclination to personally council each of you in the way you might have expected.

Second:::
Arol is the most humane and human of teachers of truth that you would ever find..... what you may call bitchiness may just be a true fact that you were not ready to here.

Third::: yes, Wulf is here in WV. 'nuff said.

Fourth::: things are sometimes seen as illegal, (execpt if you are a non-profit arts foundation, or you are a highly righteous warrior for the planet earth).

Fifth::: the sale of the NC property was done on a short 2 months.... mainly because they were building three golf courses on the top of the mountain which served as our back yard.... in other words, they are putting a golf course/development/sewage treatment plant above our water-table.... we said fuck this and decided to sell after we found a great property in WV that borders a National Pakl and State Forest. We wanted to sell the place as quickly and as efficiently as possible. That's what happened.

We have work to do, and sometimes, the "PC" solution doesn't work.

rev

 

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
Well, I wake in the morning,
Fold my hands and pray for rain.
I got a head full of ideas
That are drivin' me insane.
It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor.
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.



I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.
Well, I try my best
To be just like I am,
But everybody wants you
To be just like them.
They sing while you slave and I just get bored.


She's sixty-eight, but she says she's fifty-four. :H


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Revel, I wish when you or anyone else at Zendik had more time, you'd return and actually address the MYRIAD of issues brought up here.


I am especially disturbed by the discussion on "forcing" (or coercing, whatever) people to have sex - particularly unprotected sex.

I am disturbed by the post that described your "ecowarriors" using motor oil as paint or doing other things that are clearly HARMFUL to the environment.

I am disturbed by the discussion of your treatment of individuals who donate large amounts of money and are summarily kicked out immediately after signing over the money to your group.

Also, I wish someone would address how your group is creating a human-scale egalitarian society if you have "leaders" like Arol who have special housing and special priveleges? Why does Arol have her own home, for example? Why are your studios accessible to only the "elite" in your group?

Again, I wish you would return and address these issues, because eventually your group will face serious legal ramifications if even a fraction of these complaints are true. Your defensive, inadequate reaction here only makes it appear that your group is guilty of what has been said and that you are completely unconcerned about how this looks for Zendik, or how it could increase negative societal views for the rest of the intentional communities movement. I encourage you to elaborate on your response. Thanks.

 

Revel says that those who make such claims are insane......maybe they are insane because of what what does to them at zendik?Revel you may think all of this is a joke but I can tell that farm has done some serious damage to people.What's really funny is that when people put in a search for zendik(like when they are thinking of going there) this thread is listed! Hopefully that will stop some of the people from going and becoming victims of the control and greed that live there..peace

 

Wow: Zendik war machine has struck back! I love this quote:


"First::: there have never been any chains or shackles on anyone who came to visit/live at Zendik Farm. Those who claim that they were "lied to" are either insane, demented, or otherwise incoherant (sic)." This statement would be funny if Zendik hadn't set itself up as a charitable non-profit that's supposed to be training young people. Young people are routinely subjected to psychological abuse there: no physical chains necessary, only the dispossessed youth of America. On that basis, the Zendik's non-profit status should be challenged and revoked.



Revel, what are you talking about when thousands of people have passed through the Zendik gauntlet and less than 40 remain? Are the people who've left or given the boot all "insane, demented, or otherwise incoherent?" Is that how you treat anyone who doesn't agree with you? This kind of thinking perfectly expresses the arrogant Zendik attitude that you are right in every case and everyone else is always wrong. Instead of calmly and truthfully explaining your position, your official Zendik voice lashes out with defensive and angry language.


"Arol is the most humane and human of teachers of truth that you would ever find..... what you may call bitchiness may just be a true fact that you were not ready to here."



Who says Arol is so humane? That's not what I hear. Not ready to hear? Who says? Maybe Arol and the rest of you aren't "ready to hear" what others are saying!

"Fourth::: things are sometimes seen as illegal, (execpt if you are a non-profit arts foundation, or you are a highly righteous warrior for the planet earth)." What the hell does this mean? I think what you're trying to say is that because Zendiks are highly righteous warrior for the planet earth then you can do whatever you want to without scrutiny. All of the evil bastards in history used that one: Hitler, Stalin, Castro, (who Arol's so down on), all of them. It's simply not true. You ARE what you do, how you act, not what you THINK you are. You get back what you put out, and the universe judges you no differently than it does me or anyone else. Wulf said something similar: he must be rolling around in his new grave in WV.

Fifth::: the sale of the NC property was done on a short 2 months.... mainly because they were building three golf courses on the top of the mountain which served as our back yard.... in other words, they are putting a golf course/development/sewage treatment plant above our water-table.... we said fuck this and decided to sell after we found a great property in WV that borders a National Pakl and State Forest. We wanted to sell the place as quickly and as efficiently as possible. That's what happened. What? The golfers were going to come down at night and smother you in your sleep? You couldn't wait a couple more months to find an eco-friendly buyer? What happened to the national forest that your website used to say "was your back yard" in NC? They pave that over too?

We have work to do, and sometimes, the "PC" solution doesn't work.

The complaint about you auctioning off your pristine land to the highest bidder has NOTHING to do with being "PC" It has to do with you going directly against your OWN fucking philosophy. You should read it sometime. It condemns capitalists. It says that we need to save the planet by eliminating the constant drive for profit. If you don't act according to your own beliefs, then how on earth can you expect anyone else to listen to you? You hypocrisy is a big lie. You, who are supposed to be "warriors of truth" are so self deluded by your own propaganda that you can't see that you're mangling your own philosophy.



What work do you have to do? Spread your hypocrisy to unsuspecting youth and then fuck with their minds? I think you all SHOULD vote in November. Might as well vote for Bush, he shares your defensiveness and self delusions.

 

I am a Cult Recovery Counsellor. Based on the information in the first two pages of this thread, I must offer the caution that Zendik does sound like it employs at least some of the control tactics used by cults.

Granted, I have never visited Zendik, and two pages isn't much, and I'm willing to discuss this further with anyone interested. But the initial evidence I see suggests caution.

I'm saddened by intentional communities like Zendik, because they give IC's a bad name. Not all IC's have to employ such control tactics. It is quite possible to build a community that respects freedom of mind, and totally unnecessary to exercise autocratic control.

It's also regrettable that, thanks to Hollywood, there is a lot of misinformation circulating, and therefore most people do not know what to watch out for when approaching Zendik or any other suspected organization.

As a cult survivor, having put years of effort and study into my own recovery, and having helped dozens of others with their recovery, I do know what to watch out for. Please contact me if you have questions on cult issues. (Or interest in forming an IC in the Seattle area which respects freedom of mind.)

Love and blessings,
Owl Watching Bear

 

Owl, you've got some reading to catch up on, lol

I think you've arrived just in time!

 

Quoting Revel:

"Fifth::: the sale of the NC property was done on a short 2 months.... mainly because they were building three golf courses on the top of the mountain which served as our back yard.... in other words, they are putting a golf course/development/sewage treatment plant above our water-table.... we said fuck this and decided to sell "

Revel,

With Zendik's magazine, television, website, and road warrior outreach power, you could have mobilized environmentalists all over the state to block those development plans. What work could possibly be more important than saving a region's water supply from contamination?

Instead:

"We said fuck this and decided to sell"

.

 

It's obvious that the Zendiks sold their land for the money. Perhaps their finances aren't doing so well, perhaps they had a heavy debt load. It was about the money, anything else is secondary. If no more trust fund kids show up to pump money into the system, they may have to become developers on a permanent basis.


Also, it should be noted that public financial records indicate that the Zendik farm paid it's "managers," Arol, Fawn and one other individual $33,557 rent for "use of the land" It appears as if the managers are milking the Zendik machine (not just the goats) for a little profit like good micro "money monarchs." Perhaps a little nest egg in case Zendik goes bust?

 

its pretty amazing that the zendik farm has aroused so much in so many people man and i know for some it may have been a bad move for them,but i still think it could be a good thing if you can stand to live in whatever manner they exist in and,hell.i`d move there just to have said i participated in something communal,i beleive that the greatest comfort is to know that our misfortunes are those we have created for ourselves and wether a good outcome or a bad one at least it had been done.i think the zendiks are allright for managing to do this for so long and so what if they sold their land?whos buisnessss is it anyway?theres way to many brown nosers in the world and we dont have to take on that quality,am i right?
arol for prez!(j/k)
peace people

 

If you think it's so great, then by all means move there. As for me, this whole thread has confirmed my suspicions about Zendik that I've had ever since I first came across that Zendik chick on the Drag in Austin 7 years ago--mainly, that they're a cult.

BTW--aren't you the one, FREE, who started this thread way back in May asking about the Zendiks? It sounds to me like you had made up your mind a long time ago to be favorably predisposed towards the Zendiks, and inclined to defend them. If so, why did you bother asking about them in the first place on this forum? It seems to me that you don't like the answers you're getting because they conflict with your preconceived notions of "idyllic, care-free life" on the Zendik Farm. I'm not dissing you, FREE, but that's just my impression.

 

Free: If you're oblivious enough not to see the hypocracy and the destructive mental games of the Zendiks as outlined in this thread and shown by their angry, irrational response of Revel's recent post then why not try going to live there? You might like it, so why not? The food's healthy, and the goats are neat. If you've ever bothered to read their philospophy then you'd see that their actions don't match what they claim to stand for, but that doesn't seem to bother you. You just don't get it. Spend a few months at Zendik and get back to us.

 

ROFLMAO - wow GH that was a peach picked right off the epiphany tree there.