Hello fellow survivors,
My name is Starlight. This blog is for anyone between the ages of 30 and 40 who attended certain "New Age" retreats and camps in the early-to-mid 1980s. Were your parents into crystals, Eastern religion, or "ESP"? Were they ever inducted into a secret society, and were you promised great things, only to have your childhood destroyed by the terror and abuse at the hands of these monsters?
If the abbreviation "LSS" means anything to you, or being asked a certain question in French compels you to answer no matter how hard you try to refuse, then you know exactly what we are talking about.
The primary purpose of this blog is as a support group for those of you who suffered at their hands, or even think you may have. Remember: memories are funny things. But we are here to help. We offer fellowship, camaraderie, and common ground. We wish to provide a safe haven where you can share your stories, and have them heard with respect and kindness.
There will be more to come, soon!
Yours in peace and harmony,
Starlight
is what your referring to the "spirit camp" in virginia? think my mom mentioned going to that when she was a kid.
ReplyDeleteThe previous anon who mentioned spirit camp in Virginia. Was this in Lunenburg?
ReplyDeleteDid your mom ever tell you if it was the Lunenburg Spirit Society, or Spiritual Society?
I don't remember their name exactly, but my parents were into new age stuff, and they joined this society. I went to one of their camps one summer as a young girl, and they taught us meditation, and how to "focus our energy", but I was never abused. Also, I never really learned anything except how to relax and breathe. I don't know what kind "energy" I was supposed to be focusing, but it all seemed like BS to me.
My parents didn't really buy into the whole thing anyway, and we moved on. They were kind of spiritual seekers, and eventually became Jehova's Witnesses. But I don't recall any kind of abuse at the camp.
I think this was in 1983 or 1984. We moved to Richmond the next spring, so I don't know much else. I'm sure it's not real helpful, but it's all I remember about it.
Kara, did you have a Strawberry Shortcake backpack then? Do you pronounce your name "Care-A" or "Car-A"?
Deletelol! It's pronounced like "Car-uh". And yes, I did have a Strawberry Shortcake backpack! I loved Strawberry Shortcake.
DeleteI was also really into Rainbow Bright too.
Is your name really Starlight? I don't remember you, sorry. :(
I didn't talk to alot of other kids there, so I guess I missed you.
i asked my mom about it and i was wrong she didn't go there, her friend did. she use to live in lunenberg and it was in 1985, the spirt camp had a gas leak and burned to the ground. my moms friend died in the fire. =(
ReplyDeleteIf you don't mind me asking, what was your mom's name? How about her friend?
DeleteMy sister went to spirit camp in Blackstone in 1985. But she was a cheerleader. We were into the new age thing for awhile, but I don't think tha'ts what that was.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 10 we went to a spiritual retreat in Natchitoches for the first time. This was Autumn of 1983, October I think. The group was called Louisiana's Spiritual Scientists. I remember that name quite well.
ReplyDeleteI was in the group with the younger kids and we were taught meditation and concentration techniques. We focused on creating our own reality. I remember that was still in vogue at the time.
The next summer, we went again, but this time the age distribution of the kids was a bit different. I was 11 and it worked out that I was in the group of older kids that time around.
We were taught to focus on more advanced meditation, and we were told to write a story about a fictional character we wanted to be real. Then we were asked to imagine that character.
I chose Iron Man. At the time, Rhodey was actually Iron Man, as Tony was a drunk and had his company taken over by Obadiah. But that's beside the point.
At some point, five of the kids in my group were siphoned off into a smaller group. They were referred to as "ascended". By this time, I was becoming a skeptic in my own right, even at that age, so I assumed something foul was afoot. I don't know what happened to the "ascended" kids, ultimately.
We signed up for the third year, but by this point I was already a twelve year-old agnostic well on my way to atheism. I was relieved when we arrived to find nobody but a few other would-be attendees.
The place was shut down and the group seemed to have vanished.
I was not personally abused there, but it would not surprise me to learn that the "ascended" ones were picked for some desirable characteristic and taken into back rooms and possibly molested. I hate to be that cynical, but I don't know why else they were singled out.
I just wish I had had the wherewithal to do something for them back then. Sometimes humanity disgusts me.
I have searched for the LSS every now and again over the years but have not been able to find any evidence they even existed.
Definitely fishy. I'm glad I found this blog. Did anyone else here ever attend the LSS retreat in Natchitoches?