Rather than enlightenment, however, nearly a dozen ex-members, students and other affiliates have come forward to tell KQED about a consistent pattern of psychological and sexual abuse at the hands of the Welcomed Consensus, and its leader Robert “RJ” Testerman, over the past three decades.

To commemorate my 2 year anniversary, I am posting a text exchange I received from a woman who was being groomed by the Welcomed Consensus.

This is Nat’s full journal of her time at The Ranch, A Madrone Cult Story – with pictures. It’s long but worth the read. She does a good job 0f describing the subtle messaging and red flags she encountered along the way and how it affected her. Below is an excerpt and her conclusion after

The following events took place from 1998 to 2001, after Dennis and I moved out of The Welcomed Consensus house on Joost Avenue in San Francisco. We had left because I was unwilling to participate in yet another Touch and Look course. RJ told me I had to leave, but after everything that had happened

We spent four days at “The Ranch” as Workaway volunteers in 2023 before realizing the true nature of the ranch and quickly fleeing. We were not indoctrinated, we were not members, and we are relatively unscathed.  But we are the lucky ones. It’s now our mission to prevent any other unsuspecting farmstay-seeking volunteers from stumbling