Cults, Culture & Coercion with Dr. Steve Hassan The Hidden Influence of Occult Beliefs on World Politics with Joe Szimhart
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Mar 10, 2025 Joe Szimhart, an occult and cult researcher who left esoteric movements and now helps intervene in high-control groups. He explores how occult beliefs seep into politics. Short, punchy takes cover Agni Yoga, Church Universal and Triumphant links to political actors, decreeing and ritualized prayers used for power, and modern tech and crypto echoing cult-style economics.
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From Theosophy Reader To Church Universal Member
- Joe Szimhart joined Church Universal and Triumphant after deep study of Agni Yoga and theosophy, attending large conferences and becoming a keeper of the flame.
- His life changed (vegetarianism, stopped drugs, marital strain) and he later left after a spiritual crisis triggered by a caring nun's prayer.
A Nun's Prayer Broke The Spell
- A Carmelite nun's compassionate prayer sparked an emotional breakthrough for Joe Szimhart that cracked his commitment to the group.
- After days of intense physical and emotional reaction he sought critical literature and the movement rapidly unraveled for him.
Occult Ideas Shaped Modern Russian Politics
- Russian leaders and intellectual currents (Agni Yoga, Russian Cosmism, traditionalism) shaped political identity and supported autocratic tendencies.
- Joe links Fedorov's cosmism, Vernadsky/Teilhard ideas, and Gwinnon's traditionalism to Putinism and state-aligned Orthodoxy.
