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  • Showing only topics with the tag "documentaries". Back to normal view
    1. Two documentaries about Twin Flames Universe. Is the Michigan based group a new cult?

      Prime has the documentary "Desperately Seeking Soulmate: Escaping Twin Flames Universe" while Netflix is running "Escaping Twin Flames" which were produced by different investigative reporters but...

      Prime has the documentary "Desperately Seeking Soulmate: Escaping Twin Flames Universe" while Netflix is running "Escaping Twin Flames" which were produced by different investigative reporters but take a similar approach to exposing this new group. Both rely on the testimony of ex members of the group to expose the founders power and control and how things changed when the group wasn't working out as they planned.

      Apparently the group has a strong presence on facebook and there is also an entire reddit sub for its adherents.

      I watched both of these multi part documentaries and was fascinated by the origin and rise of this group. The founders, Jeff and Megan (who now goes by Shaleia) are preying on the desperation of mostly female followers who are desperately seeking their 'one and only true love', their "twin flame". Using a technique of turning all hurts and pains inward the pair asserts they will help heal people who will practice their 'mirroring' technique.

      But it starts to get really strange. Shaleia appears to be the one who started with the 'spiritual' aspect of the enterprise and Jeff appears to be the one with a fervent entrepreneurial bent who has turned it into a money making proposition.

      They were living in a run down apartment when they began, but now a few years later, have bought a large home with a lake view in Michigan, with Jeff boasting about his Corvette and Porsche in the driveway. Even stranger, they have people living and working in their house to keep their enterprise running. There are shades of other religious communities with a strong 'messianic' leader that have started this way with Waco being mentioned in the documentary. Jeff even suggests, very strongly, that he may be the Christ.

      The adherents pay for private or group facetime sessions with Jeff and Shaleia and are encouraged to take their video courses, which can be anywhere from $100 to $8,888. And those who have taken on the role of being life coaches under them are also encouraged to find more life coaches - it seems to be a combination of multi level marketing, religion and some kind of mass delusional 'teaching' to desperate and gullible people.

      Jeff and Shaleia encourage people in their group to cut off relationships with anyone who is not supportive of Twin Flames, a sure sign of a cult, and there are several testimonials from hurting parents who are desperate to be back in touch with their children.

      And in probably the strangest twist, when very few people were finding their "twin flame" to be responding, Jeff proclaimed that their twin flame already was part of the group - but since most of the group were women, he insisted that several of the women pair up and that one of them was now a "divine male", to the point of asking some to change their clothes, hair and go by a new male name.

      It's all quite fascinating, and I couldn't believe that in an age where information on cults and cult activity is so easy to find, that so many people would be sucked into Twin Flames Universe and not see the control and manipulation going on in their lives.

      Both are well worth watching but if you only have time for one, I'd recommend Prime's documentary - seems to be a bit more professionally produced.

      17 votes
    2. Two short films about potters

      These two videos about potters are lovely. They're long (well, 20 minutes and 30 minutes) so the people get a chance to speak. There's no jump cuts, no weird edits. You get to spend some time with...

      These two videos about potters are lovely. They're long (well, 20 minutes and 30 minutes) so the people get a chance to speak. There's no jump cuts, no weird edits. You get to spend some time with these quiet, reserved, people as they go about their craft.

      Everything in Batterham's studio is covered in clay. Including, sadly, probably his lungs by the sound of him.

      Anne Mette Hjortshøj - Paying honest attention

      "Danish potter, Anne Mette Hjortshøj lives and works on the small island of Bornholm, situated in the Baltic Sea. ...

      Our documentary gives a gentle and revealing insight into one of Denmark's leading potters. It follows Hjortshøj's daily life; collecting clay from the local beach for her glazes, throwing and making pots in her studio, and talking about the firing of her two chamber wood-fired salt kiln and its role in producing the decorative aspects of her work. We learn of her influences both within and outside of the Danish potting tradition and the inspiration she takes from the nature of the island.

      Her pots are characterised by a quiet dignity, entirely in tune with her surroundings and with the greatest respect for both beauty and function."

      Richard Batterham - Independent Potter

      A 30-minute documentary about one of the UK's finest potters. ... Batterham's domestic stoneware is highly collectible - but made for everyday use. Here he shares his philosophy and demonstrates his art, from mixing the clay to glazing the finished item and much in-between. Batterham died on 8th September 2021

      (I tried to tag this with Anne Mette Hjortshøj's name but tags didn't like the unicode.)

      10 votes