Thursday, May 9, 2013

Cults

A friend of mine has gotten deeply into CrossFit training. Her vocabulary is filled with CF jargon like "WOD" and "box". Her involvement is now so deep that it almost seems like she's been sucked into a cult.

I'm somewhat cult-phobic. I dumped a seemingly promising relationship with a woman whose educational activities turned out to be deep involvement with "Landmark Education", a relabeling of the old "est" group that uses cult-like tactics in their "training". When I see someone suddenly restructuring his or her life around some new-found cure for what ails ya, I turn skeptical eye on their activities. In the case of CrossFit I see little more than the usual Super High Intensity Training fad that will harmlessly fade into the next cure-all exercise craze.

My skeptic's eye is not blind to my own deepening involvement in similar behaviors, though. I, too, have begun to use strange jargon like plié, penché, and changement. I'm also rearranging schedules to make time for classes attended by other devotees. I'm reading books written by luminary figures whose names are famous within the cult, but barely recognized by outsiders.

Cult? Am I saying ballet is a cult? No, of course not. But like CrossFit, it does seem to be addictive. But we'd be the best looking cult on the block!

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