READ ABOUT A BIZZARE ORGANISM CULT THAT STRIVES IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

In 1994, Californian-born Nicole Daedoe joined a community of orgasm researchers called The Welcomed Consensus. Here she developed a technique called ‘orgasmic meditation’ . What is orgasmic meditation?. A woman lies on ‘a nest’ of pillows and ‘butterflies’ her legs (Daedone’s words), draping a leg over a fully-clothed man beside her. He sets a 15 minute timer. Wearing latex gloves he then touches ‘the upper left quadrant’ of the clitoris

In 2004 Daedone set up OneTaste Urban Retreat. She hoped to promote OM as ‘a way to make orgasm, connection and sensuality sustainable’. The community quickly grew to around 50 members, most in their late 20s, OM-ing 2 or 3 times a day with various ‘research’ partners.

Prospective OM-ers were offered a menu of services: An introductory workshop cost $195, A week-long ‘urban monk’ programme set you back $2,000, Or you could train to become a certified coach for $16,000. They sold were how-to DVDs, ‘One Stroke’ lubricant and OM pillow sets to build nests. Men stroked women, and sometimes women stroked women; nobody stroked men. But everybody paid.

OneTaste’s former ‘lead instructor’ Ken Blackman said that OM-ing ‘resonated particularly deeply with techies.’ ‘Silicon Valley was a really great place to market because we could talk in terms of having a new operating system for human connection.’ OneTaste soon gained traction with celebrities too. Khloé Kardashian was said to ‘swear by’ OM. But its most celebrated champion was Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow’s website Goop  famous for selling the ‘This Smells Like My Vagina’ candle ran interviews with Daedone

At its peak, 'Orgasmic Meditation' group OneTaste was making millions and endorsed by the 'high priestess of the vagina', Gwyneth Paltrow. Now, the defunct 'cult' faces sex-trafficking and prostitution allegationsHere's the bizarre story of idealism and desire, of Californian sex communes and three-hour orgasms, of the search for Eden and the worms in the apple of power and money.

Daedone was sensitive to the cult accusations.  Yet, in 2015, Daedone organised a series of events called Magic School, naming a handful of the inner circle as ‘priests and priestesses of orgasm’. By 2017, OneTaste had 150 staff members, including salespeople. They promoted a smorgasbord of different courses costing up to $60,000 a year. The ‘Nicole Daedone Intensive’, offering personal tuition in stroking by Daedone herself, cost up to $36,000

OneTaste’s downfall began in 2018 when a Bloomberg investigation discovered that it was engaging in pressurised sales tactics. They urged customers to take out multiple credit cards to pay for courses. Potential customers, it was alleged, were referred to as ‘marks'. Another Bloomberg investigation revealed that in 2015 OneTaste had paid a $325,000 out-of-court settlement to a former staff member who said that she had been ordered to sleep with prospective male customers

In 2020 ‘The Orgasm Cult’ podcast brought damning allegations of staff being coerced into having sex with men to entice them to take courses.  It was allegedly said that women should be able to have sex with anyone as ‘the orgasm is so strong that it alchemises everything’ Responding to the BBC programme, a lawyer for OneTaste said:  "All allegations of abusive practices are completely false. OneTaste is an organisation that helped individuals to increase health, happiness and connection through methods combining mindfulness and sexuality.’

In October 2018, after the Bloomberg exposé, OneTaste announced it was closing all its US offices saying instead it would be focusing on online education to reach a wider audience. But the OneTaste website no longer exists...  ❓And Nicole Daedone disappeared. However, her cult of the orgasm continues to thrive… A new ‘Institute of OM website’, set up by former members, invites users to ‘Learn to OM for free’.