6 ms·

The Dark Side of the Orgasmic Meditation Company

52 points by pmcpinto 8y ago

dwighttk 8y ago
Sounds like all dark side to me
dna_polymerase 8y ago
OT: I really expected Bloomberg to do better than NYT and others regarding their subscription service. How is it, that I would have to contact them to cancel my subscription? What is so hard about a simple cancel button. Also their pricing is way out of line. The introductory offer is $9.99 (which is just in the Netflix range and about right for a single service) but after 6 Months I'd have to pay $35? It needs more than one subscription to a news site to get a pluralistic world view and this high pricing works straight against that.
- yono38 8y ago
  Try this: https://outline.com/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-06-18/the-dark-side-of-onetaste-the-orgasmic-meditation-company https://outline.com/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/...
- mikestew 8y ago
  It's the reason I buy my subscriptions through either Apple or Amazon. In both cases cancelling is a matter of clicking a button. I learned my lesson from The Economist (I still subscribe, but through the App Store app now).
pjc50 8y ago
Of course it's a disaster, it's a for-profit sex cult. It even tells you that in the name.
insickness 8y ago
A few years ago I went to a one-day seminar with OM. It irritated the hell out of me. 90% of it was them talking about how much the 'practice' changed their lives. Then they went around the room and asked each member to talk about how excited they were to start. If you didn't, they put you on the spot and embarrassed you. I left halfway through after demanding my money back.
- pknopf 8y ago
  Did they end up giving you your money back?
  - insickness 8y ago
    They did. At first they said that it would be processed but I told them that's not good enough and made them process it right there.
throwawayqdhd 8y ago
> It’s best known for classes on “orgasmic meditation,” a trademarked procedure that typically involves a man using a gloved, lubricated fingertip to stroke a woman’s clitoris for 15 minutes Who would have thought that a company that offers this could have a dark side?
- coldtea 8y ago
  The company might have plenty dark sides, but what's described above is only "dark" in puritan sex-phobic cultures...
  - toasterlovin 8y ago
    You may want to consider the idea that traditional, conservative attitudes toward sex exist in part specifically to prevent the kind of coercive bullshit that inevitable arises in "free love" environments.
    - allthenews 8y ago
      Yeah, because "coercive bullshit" doesn't exist in sexually conservative societies...
      - toasterlovin 8y ago
        At least you have a good chance of avoiding coercive bullshit in monogamous pair bonds. Whereas almost every single cult that promotes alternatives to monogamous pair bonds somehow ends up being about providing the (usually male) leader with sexual access to some of the (usually female) disciples and then turning the rest of the disciples into personal servants.
        stickfigure 8y ago
        I suggest you have some long conversations with ex-Jehova's Witnesses sometime.
        8y ago
moate 8y ago
I've got a friend who works for these guys. It's always felt a bit off in the way weird hippie sex communes always would. I'd never have guessed it was this culty. Wow
mmagin 8y ago
"At OneTaste events, attendees often played communication games prompting them to share vulnerable stories. Former staffers say they took notes that might help them sell later—maybe a student was recently divorced and lonely—and senior staff assigned subordinates to home in on wealthy students who seemed attracted to them or had experiences in common." Eww.
jxub 8y ago
> The company has hired executives and advisers who worked at CrossFit and the juice maker Odwalla, and OM has won endorsements from Khloé Kardashian and Tim Ferriss (The 4-Hour Body). I am freaking out that such a dangerous cult could be so promoted and entrenched in the "influencer culture".
- erric 8y ago
  Reading the article, it feels like OT pulled directly from the $cientology playbook.
toasterlovin 8y ago
ProTip: Avoid any organization that promotes living arrangements other than monogamous pair bonds residing in their own homes. Source: extensive reading about cults.
- moate 8y ago
  If you, as an individual, want to have some crazy free wheeling life with 5 people all sharing love, life, and responsibilities, go for it. When your boss tells you it's part of the company culture though...
- rosser 8y ago
  I suppose those monogamous pair-bonds should be heterosexual only, too? Please lay off with the attempt to normalize any but your preferred flavor as deviant and wrong. You don't get to decide what happens in any bedroom but your own.
  - toasterlovin 8y ago
    You are arguing against stuff I didn't say. I would guess that monogamy works best for most of the people most of the time, but there's tremendous variation in temperament and personality in our species, so do what works for you! I was making an observation about organizations that promote non-monogamy and communal living. They are almost invariably cults, regardless of how they present themselves to the outside world.
    - rosser 8y ago
      Yeah: >> The monogamous pair bonds _are_ the coercive bullshit. > It's like Churchill said about democracy: It's the worst system, except for all the others. That's totally about coercive organizational dynamics, and not merely moralizing.
      - toasterlovin 8y ago
        Again, I am making a statement about what I think is the overall best system (for most people, most of the time; and admitting that it is imperfect while I'm at it!). In no way have I advocated for forcing that system on people.
stickfigure 8y ago
I'll bet the Landmark Forum folks are thinking: Damn. I wish I'd thought of that.
1024core 8y ago
As an SF native, and finding cults to be interesting, I dipped my toes in OM a couple of times. Nicole Daedone is the founder.. but follow the links to Viktor Baranco, if you want to know more. They used to run this "dorm" at 1080 Folsom in SF; but eventually got out of that business. I remember once I was at one of their presentations. At the end of the presentation, men and women were paired up for a round of stroking. Of course, men outnumbered the women. So one of the organizers called up the dorm at 1080 Folsom (which was right around the corner) and told them to "send more women". And soon, a bunch of women showed up, ready to be stroked... Once they had my number, they'd call me endlessly, selling some "retreat" or the other, for $$$. No thanks! I've lost touch with them over the last couple of years, but it's a sex-addiction cult, if I were to label it.

52 points by pmcpinto 8y ago

Sounds like all dark side to me

OT: I really expected Bloomberg to do better than NYT and others regarding their subscription service. How is it, that I would have to contact them to cancel my subscription? What is so hard about a simple cancel button. Also their pricing is way out of line. The introductory offer is $9.99 (which is just in the Netflix range and about right for a single service) but after 6 Months I'd have to pay $35? It needs more than one subscription to a news site to get a pluralistic world view and this high pricing works straight against that.

yono38 8y ago
Try this: https://outline.com/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-06-18/the-dark-side-of-onetaste-the-orgasmic-meditation-company https://outline.com/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/...
mikestew 8y ago
It's the reason I buy my subscriptions through either Apple or Amazon. In both cases cancelling is a matter of clicking a button. I learned my lesson from The Economist (I still subscribe, but through the App Store app now).

pjc50 8y ago

Of course it's a disaster, it's a for-profit sex cult. It even tells you that in the name.

insickness 8y ago

A few years ago I went to a one-day seminar with OM. It irritated the hell out of me. 90% of it was them talking about how much the 'practice' changed their lives. Then they went around the room and asked each member to talk about how excited they were to start. If you didn't, they put you on the spot and embarrassed you. I left halfway through after demanding my money back.

pknopf 8y ago
Did they end up giving you your money back?
- insickness 8y ago
  They did. At first they said that it would be processed but I told them that's not good enough and made them process it right there.

throwawayqdhd 8y ago

> It’s best known for classes on “orgasmic meditation,” a trademarked procedure that typically involves a man using a gloved, lubricated fingertip to stroke a woman’s clitoris for 15 minutes Who would have thought that a company that offers this could have a dark side?

coldtea 8y ago
The company might have plenty dark sides, but what's described above is only "dark" in puritan sex-phobic cultures...
- toasterlovin 8y ago
  You may want to consider the idea that traditional, conservative attitudes toward sex exist in part specifically to prevent the kind of coercive bullshit that inevitable arises in "free love" environments.
  - allthenews 8y ago
    Yeah, because "coercive bullshit" doesn't exist in sexually conservative societies...
    - toasterlovin 8y ago
      At least you have a good chance of avoiding coercive bullshit in monogamous pair bonds. Whereas almost every single cult that promotes alternatives to monogamous pair bonds somehow ends up being about providing the (usually male) leader with sexual access to some of the (usually female) disciples and then turning the rest of the disciples into personal servants.
      - stickfigure 8y ago
        I suggest you have some long conversations with ex-Jehova's Witnesses sometime.
      - 8y ago

moate 8y ago

I've got a friend who works for these guys. It's always felt a bit off in the way weird hippie sex communes always would. I'd never have guessed it was this culty. Wow

mmagin 8y ago

"At OneTaste events, attendees often played communication games prompting them to share vulnerable stories. Former staffers say they took notes that might help them sell later—maybe a student was recently divorced and lonely—and senior staff assigned subordinates to home in on wealthy students who seemed attracted to them or had experiences in common." Eww.

jxub 8y ago

> The company has hired executives and advisers who worked at CrossFit and the juice maker Odwalla, and OM has won endorsements from Khloé Kardashian and Tim Ferriss (The 4-Hour Body). I am freaking out that such a dangerous cult could be so promoted and entrenched in the "influencer culture".

erric 8y ago
Reading the article, it feels like OT pulled directly from the $cientology playbook.

toasterlovin 8y ago

ProTip: Avoid any organization that promotes living arrangements other than monogamous pair bonds residing in their own homes. Source: extensive reading about cults.

moate 8y ago
If you, as an individual, want to have some crazy free wheeling life with 5 people all sharing love, life, and responsibilities, go for it. When your boss tells you it's part of the company culture though...
rosser 8y ago
I suppose those monogamous pair-bonds should be heterosexual only, too? Please lay off with the attempt to normalize any but your preferred flavor as deviant and wrong. You don't get to decide what happens in any bedroom but your own.
- toasterlovin 8y ago
  You are arguing against stuff I didn't say. I would guess that monogamy works best for most of the people most of the time, but there's tremendous variation in temperament and personality in our species, so do what works for you! I was making an observation about organizations that promote non-monogamy and communal living. They are almost invariably cults, regardless of how they present themselves to the outside world.
  - rosser 8y ago
    Yeah: >> The monogamous pair bonds _are_ the coercive bullshit. > It's like Churchill said about democracy: It's the worst system, except for all the others. That's totally about coercive organizational dynamics, and not merely moralizing.
    - toasterlovin 8y ago
      Again, I am making a statement about what I think is the overall best system (for most people, most of the time; and admitting that it is imperfect while I'm at it!). In no way have I advocated for forcing that system on people.

stickfigure 8y ago

I'll bet the Landmark Forum folks are thinking: Damn. I wish I'd thought of that.

1024core 8y ago

As an SF native, and finding cults to be interesting, I dipped my toes in OM a couple of times. Nicole Daedone is the founder.. but follow the links to Viktor Baranco, if you want to know more. They used to run this "dorm" at 1080 Folsom in SF; but eventually got out of that business. I remember once I was at one of their presentations. At the end of the presentation, men and women were paired up for a round of stroking. Of course, men outnumbered the women. So one of the organizers called up the dorm at 1080 Folsom (which was right around the corner) and told them to "send more women". And soon, a bunch of women showed up, ready to be stroked... Once they had my number, they'd call me endlessly, selling some "retreat" or the other, for $$$. No thanks! I've lost touch with them over the last couple of years, but it's a sex-addiction cult, if I were to label it.