The presentation of Passionate Journeys really changed my perspective on “cults” or new age religious movements. From mainstream media, the story of Bhagwan Rajneesh and his followers was one of “brainwashing” and poisoning of some of Organs people, but in reality that was only one women that the media focused on. The reality of the majority of the people on this commune was just about finding yourself without the limits that society has placed on people. The stories of the Rajneesh’s followers were rarely told to the public. I knew the story of the poisoning but I never knew anything about the other people on the commune. I now have a whole new understanding of what drew these women to leave their lives and their families to become a part of this movement. Their lives in the “normal” world were unsatisfying and they wanted to break away from the idea of traditional women and find themselves. The idea of “always searching, always seeking” really stuck with me because I think majority of people do spend their live searching for something larger then themselves to believe in. These women broke out of the cages that society had put them in, and then never looked back. Even after Rajneesh fled the United States, many of his followers still practiced his teaching and never really assimilated back into society completely. Rajneesh’s teaching gave them a sense of purpose that mainstream religions just couldn’t give them. The presentation gave me a new perspective on new religious movements.