According to Singer’s statistics (back in 1995), 2/3 of cult members came from normal, functioning families and acted normally when they entered the cult. The rest were generally stable psychologically with only 5-6% of that remaining 1/3 having discernable psychological difficulties and the rest suffering from depression related to personal loss, failure to get into a good school, a romantic failure, etc.

            When Singer talks about the reasons that people join cults, she talks about vulnerabilities- like the losses I just mentioned- or an inability with coping with the post-high school world- or sexual or career problems. I firmly believe that ‘vulnerabilities’ is the place to hunt for if you are looking for reasons, but let me add one important motivation in line with ‘vulnerability.

            As I mentioned in my last discussion of Chapter I, Singer boils the main reasons down to 1) depression for various reasons, alluded to above and 2) being in between important affiliations.
            But I think there is another, fundamental reason, one common to many, many people who join spiritual, political self-improvement and other types of cults.

            Besides seeking a kind of accelerated magic solution to my financial problem, one that could perhaps let me leapfrog over the class-consciousness in Haiti’s professional class, I was also very curious, extraordinarily curious about the meaning of life.

            I know for some this might sound clichéd, but truly if there is an ordinary institutional answer to deep, metaphysical dilemmas, it is not all that easy to find.
            If I were in a primitive tribe, the type common to many different cultures- North and South American, African, Australian, what you might call an indigenous tribe, I think I would have the best environment to find an answer. The whole tribe would support the answer to be somehow located in the mystical teachings of their shaman, medicine man or witch doctor, a teaching often centered on raising consciousness by an herbal concoction, a visit to a lonely mountain peak or dancing and singing for hours in front of a tribal bonfire. 
            Whether this type of teaching has validity or not, I will let the reader seek out their own answer.

            But the point that I am making is that our world, the world of modern technology, the Internet and fast cars- is a highly fragmented world, a world full of easy, authoritarian belief systems or complex, ideological ones, thousands of books, hundreds of “special teachings” and dozens and dozens of spiritual and political leaders eager to take hold of your hand and lead you to their infinite spaces.

            H. Spencer Lewis, whose book, Mental Poisoning, I recently reviewed, makes the point that one of our human frailties is our desire to be unique, somehow superior to others, a desire which often leads the seekers towards a religious cult or somewhat exotic group. This kind of decision satisfies many peoples’ taste for the exotic and unknown and puts them in a special place above the rest of the world.  And belonging to AMORC, with its claim of antiquity and exclusivity, was peculiarly attractive to me, especially I could not find answers, neither from my Catholic upbringing or from the philosophic and religious books I had sought to address my questions.

            I believe the desire to know the Truth is a valid, human need and cults are positioned to satisfy this thirst in a way that appeals to someone who feels frail in front of the challenges of human existence, empty because there has never been a soul-satisfying answer and hungry for the human companionship that might endorse and sanctify the search.

            I believe that the quest for truth is an important vulnerability- and, yes, if one dares to step out of the norm to find a special answer, which perhaps is really not there in the normal world, one may very well become a prisoner if one steps into a stranger’s vehicle without real, serious due diligence.

            So my answer to Singer is that there is a commonality among prospective cult members- a sincere and poignant desire to know the meaning of life, a third vulnerability, possibly the deepest. .
            So just like you should be careful of buying a ticket from a stranger, you should also look over your prospective vehicle very carefully- be in train, car or spaceship- before you hop aboard.
            Even if you have paid a lot for that ticket, if something about that vehicle feels suddenly very strange or seems menacing or deceptive, you should be ready to tear up that little piece of paper, cut your losses and remain your own person- until you find the most reliable ride for a journey potentially of inestimable importance to all human beings.