It is often said that new converts are the most devout, the most proselytizing. Are the deconverted, the disappointed who understand that they were wrong or that they were wrong, then the fiercest detractors of their former belief? In any case, they are among the most motivated and the most captivating. This is the case of Elisabeth Feytit, 51, a documentary filmmaker and former radical follower of New Age practices.
A cauldron into which she fell at the age of 27, pushed by her partner, herself versed in spiritual practices. Her life then began to revolve around spiritual feelings. “I was convinced that energies could disturb certain places. For example, I refused to sit in certain seats in the metro because I was convinced that they were full of negative waves,” she remembers. This obsession conditions her, “like a phobia.”
Snowball effect, she begins to believe in conspiracy theories, from the Illuminati and reptilians who control the world, to chemtrails, these trails in the sky that poison us, to indigo children, superior beings supposed to save humanity. And then one day, she comes across a YouTube video. Jessica Schab, a former guru, simply asks her listeners if what they believe in really helps them. Elisabeth wonders. She contacts her, talks with her. It’s the trigger. She gradually deconstructs her beliefs. “The fact that she speaks publicly gave me the strength to do it in turn. It’s difficult though: there is a certain shame in admitting that we believed in crazy things,” she confides.
Questioning your beliefs
Since then, Elisabeth has been giving her testimony, and not just a little. His podcast Méta de choc, launched in 2019has 220 one-hour episodes. A weekly meeting that aims to offer a space for reflection conducive to critical thinking and questioning through expert analyses – scientists, psychologists, historians – and testimonies. Sometimes, the criticism is incisive. Elisabeth does not hesitate to denounce public figures who can be dangerous. As she did for Issâ Padovanichampion of non-violent communication, or even for the bigwigs of anthroposophy, this esoteric current with worrying excesses. “But most often, it is enough to name things, to describe practices without even needing to say that they are scandalous, and people understand by themselves,” she assures.
However, she never stigmatizes believers. Her approach is meant to be empathetic, caring, echoing her own experience. She also uses self-mockery. “You also have to know how to say to yourself: ‘OK, I believed in extraordinary things, but I have the right to accept that I was wrong and to laugh about it,'” she says. A way – the best? – to help people get out of practices that can be harmful, even dangerous for them. “My goal is for us to ask ourselves if our beliefs do us good, if we know where they come from, what they are, if there are any deviations and, once we know, if they still correspond to our values.” As in his episodes on lithotherapya pseudoscientific practice according to which certain crystals have healing powers, which nevertheless contributes to the exploitation of children in mines.
300,000 listens per month, zero advertising
The recipe works. “Méta de choc” generates 300,000 listens per month. If this audience were monetized, it could bring in at least 30,000 euros per month… But Elisabeth is a fierce anti-advertising advocate and only finances herself through donations from her listeners. Which bring in 5,000 euros per month all the same. The sum remains modest for this titanic work. “There are 1,000 cuts in the editing on average per episode,” she confides. “Not counting the documentation beforehand.”
But the exercise is tiring. Her vacations over the past five years can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Her goal? To reach 10,000 euros per month, in order to recruit people to help her with production and broadcasting, as well as to take some time off. Despite all these efforts, she also has to deal with sometimes violent reactions from angry listeners. “Our beliefs shape our social relationships, our way of being and thinking. Questioning them can cause discomfort,” she explains. Fortunately, many more of them thank her for helping them see things more clearly. An essential fuel to continue her educational approach, and her passion.
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