Thread by @CTPuzzlePieces

🧵 NZ's Conspirituality subculture has a role in the amplification of social division through love, peace, wellness and spiritual semantics. More importantly it has it's own potential extremist component, let's not overlook it or mislabel it as 'far right' due to overlaps 1/

Echoing a strain of international protestors from health, fitness, and spiritual communities these Kiwi peddlers market hyper-driven ideologies about health measures and government responses. They recruit with enticing assurances (manipulations) about wellbeing and knowledge 2/

Cult researcher, Matthew Remski (2021) describes Conspirituality as today’s intersection between “left-wing wellness” & “right-wing conspiracy theories” which explains why some yoga & wellness folks have fallen into the influences of covid denial and QAnon-type influences. 3/

Vulnerabilities today allow people to easily align themselves to new “soft-Q” structures to "feel' better, It is powerful because wellness influencers need to maintain a market share and cultural relevance at a point in time when science is dominating. #Remski 4/

The cross over with other extremes occurs in this space of relevance and market (the grift). These aims have seen these communities blend together as leaders to drive the agendas. Example: VFF , Baker & Counterspin shared platforms, grifting, anti govt bonding. 5/

A nexus with modern extreme right is a preoccupation with health and fitness, specifically with the RWE strains that promote ‘white’ superiority (e.g.Action Zealandia) and a belief in eugenics, #ConspiracyTheories & anti government tenets.

Ward & Vos (2011) [1] define Conspirituality as a synthesis of the “male-dominated” conspiracy sphere with its negative emphasis on international politics & the “female-dominated” New Age that incorporates a positive emphasis on “self”. Not all in wellness community believe. 7/

But this has resulted in a modernised hybrid politico-spiritual ideology that is propelled by political disillusionment and alternative belief systems through celebrities and a variety of alternative health spokespeople/platforms. #antivax 8/

With 2 core convictions 1) a secret group is trying to control, or already covertly controls global political and social order, 2) that humanity is undergoing a “paradigm shift in consciousness”. strategies they believe, will deal with the threat of a “new world order”. 9/

"...... your Chinese herbs, your meditations, your singing bowl sessions, your group therapy that's unregulated & online, that becomes that more essential for people to participate in to protect their health and wellbeing from these nefarious forces."#remiski. 10

"Some of its proponents are hard to miss: remember the “shaman” who invaded the US Capitol building wearing a buffalo-horn headdress? " #Jan6thInsurrection 11/

abc.net.au/religion/consp…

Conspirituality Podcast attempts to bring understanding to this subculture Remski & cohosts discuss the stories, cognitive dissonances, and cultic dynamics tearing through the yoga, wellness, and new spirituality worlds. 12/

podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/con…

This new loud subculture exists in NZ and raises concerns about social cohesion, propaganda, misinformation/disinformation. It has emotive mobilising power on believers, has to be part of the discussion about potential extremism non violent & violent. 13/

‘The potential for conflict between science and spirituality has always been apparent, but in the face of COVID-19, these tensions can become a matter of life or death. Understanding alternative belief systems has never been more important,’ says Professor Voas.
14/End.

VFF videos and talk shows evidence this at work regularly.

Wellington Occupation - "Hang em high" with love heart and smiley face .