Needham? Needham?, with some trepidation, stepped out of the subway entrance and stood there for a moment, looking a little hesitant. [Ran^Text^Library] []www。 xs520。 com He was surrounded by a dense stream of people coming and going, walking briskly, and soon someone bumped into him without noticing.

Needham stumbled to his feet, but didn't react much, not even hearing the man's apology. But finally he made up his mind and took a step, crossing the sidewalk towards the opposite side of the road.

He was going to attend an event of an Elite Enlightenment sect today, a sect he had never heard of before. After asking many friends, they all said that they had not been in contact with each other, and suggested that Needham should consider it carefully. So even before heading out this morning, Needham was hesitant to give it a try, and apparently he decided to take a look at it in the end. Anyway, there is nothing to lose by seeing, and if it is boring, just leave, Needham comforted himself.

And the cause of all this has to start from last Friday.

Needham is a consultant for a technology company and often has clients asking for on-site service. That morning, the streets of Manhattan were as hot as any other day in September, and Needham had just come out of the client's office and passed by Times Square in Midtown Manhattan. On West 47th Street, he suddenly saw a group of young and beautiful men and women standing in a crowd on a nearby street corner handing out flyers, with a striking sign behind them: "Free "stress test" for pedestrians.

These handsome teenagers are generally in their 20s, but they feel very different from today's young people - they don't have messy hair, no nose rings, no earrings, no belly button rings, no exploding heads, and almost no makeup or tattoos. They wear very well-fitting and well-styled clothing. There is a bit of solemnity in his handsomeness, as conservative as a young bank executive.

These young and beautiful men and women who look full of sunny and gentle temperament appear in groups on the streets, wearing uniform attire, which naturally easily attracts the attention of passers-by. Just as Needham slowed down curiously, one of the young men approached him.

"Hey! Hello, I'm Emmett. His eyes were very clear, and he said to Needham with a smile. Can I delay you by a minute? ”

"On the other side of the street, there's the Elite Gate Enlightenment building, and we're organizing a small consultation session." Emmett said. He pulled one out of the neat, postcard-sized flyer he was holding in his hand and handed it over. "The theme is stress reduction and self-improvement, do you want to hear it?"

Needham was just finished busy and was not in a hurry, and after hearing it, he took the leaflet and flipped through it in his hand, looking a little curious. Emmett clearly saw his hesitation. Continuing in his hearty voice, "I'm just making a suggestion, trust me, that's good." Of course, the decision is yours. ”

After he said this, he smiled kindly, and instead of continuing to persuade, he walked away. Emmett's unobtrusive attitude intrigued Needham, who didn't seem to be the bad guys. The theme of "Stress Relief and Self-Improvement" also sounds interesting.

So he saw that it was still early, and walked in the direction that the young man, Emmett, had said. At the end of the street, I saw a building made of limestone, granite and marble. The mid-rise building is located at 228 West 47th Street, northwest of Times Square in Midtown Manhattan. It is very well clustered with the surrounding Broadway theaters, restaurants, and hotels, and it doesn't look any different in the slightest. Despite being seven stories tall and a huge metal awning with the name "Enlightenment" in gold letters, it is still inconspicuous and easy for passers-by to overlook.

Walk up the high steps. Entering the hall of the sect, two young girls in white dresses stood in the front desk. Just like the young people who were handing out flyers outside. They were in their 20s and had blonde hair. There are no decorations on the body, and it looks really beautiful, fresh and innocent, which makes people can't help but feel good.

It reminded Needham a little of the Mormon missionaries, but these young people were more sunny and relatable. One of the girls smiled and led Needham around the back of the hall, which was very spacious and bright, with a simple but pleasing décor, rows of seats, and the lights gilding everything in a shining rose gold.

The hall is very large, and there are already nearly 100 people sitting inside, but it does not seem crowded at all. The people were talking in groups of threes and twos, and their voices were very soft, so that they did not feel noisy or noisy at all.

After a while, a tall, slender woman approached Needham and sat down beside him. The woman introduced herself as Laura, and she looked to be close to 50 years old, like everyone Needham had met along the way, modest and polite, sunny and neat, dressed in uniform clothing, but with a more sedate and affable demeanor. Needham noticed that Laura's uniform had a small but striking gold ring logo sewn with three silk threads on the chest.

Laura was very sincere when she spoke of the propaganda: "Tell me about yourself, what made you interested in the Enlightenment sect?" ”

Over the next half-hour or so, Laura asked Needham a barrage of questions: Are you married? Is your family in harmony? Do you feel happy? What are your goals? Do you feel like you're reaching your full potential?

Despite asking a lot of questions, she gave Needham a warm and kind feeling, not at all aggressive, nor the slightest uncomfortable compulsion. To Needham's surprise, he unconsciously opened up to her and told her about his relationship with his girlfriend and his desire to quit smoking.

During the conversation, Laura never got impatient, and looked at Needham intently, making him feel that the other party was listening very carefully and responding. This made Needham feel very relaxed, barely feeling the passage of time.

Finally, Laura asked him if he would be interested in attending the Enlightenment Sect's Introductory Coaching: A One-Hour Seminar.

Needham thought to himself that it was finally here, and that he would still have to sell those so-called "starter packages". He has heard from many friends that many denominations look good, but the ultimate goal is soft selling, those introductory packages, denominational consultations, these are all charged, ranging from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars, and in the end it may even be as high as thousands of dollars.

What the? You say it doesn't seem very reliable? Perhaps, but there are still a lot of people willing to try. Because of thriving liberalism and the purpose of relieving stress, too many Americans need to find some spiritual sustenance. In New York, the standard price for a 45-minute session by a professional counselor is $160 to $280, which translates to a little more cost-effective for participating in these various denominations.

But Needham was still a little disappointed in his heart, after all, before that, he was full of affection for everything about this Enlightenment sect. The environment, the atmosphere, and the way people talk and dress up give him a positive, sunny feeling, and it makes people very relaxed, and he can leave behind the worldly distractions and hardly want to leave.

Because of this, he just hesitated and did not immediately refuse.

And the price that Laura said next surprised Needham:

$10.

The price was so much lower than he had imagined that he almost thought he had misheard, and he was stunned for a moment, and then looked at the hall in a simple but detailed, costly decoration - could this be a charitable organization.

"We sincerely hope to bring more people to feel the teachings of the Enlightenment, to understand themselves, to emancipate themselves, and to improve themselves. All projects are just charging the cost of keeping things running, and they don't make a profit from them. Laura was obviously not surprised by his reaction, and immediately explained.

"Mr. Smollett, of course you don't have to be here." Laura smiled softly and patted Needham's arm. "I just feel like it's going to help you."

This sect looks simply wonderful, Needham said to himself. Even after leaving, he kept thinking about it, even if his friends advised him to think about it, he still couldn't help but want to come and see it, anyway, it was only 10 dollars, and he couldn't talk about how much he had lost.

So, today Needham is in this place again.

After coming out of the subway entrance, he didn't go far before he saw those sunny young people again, still in the same uniform and smiling, but not as many as last time. But the young man who called himself Emmett happened to be there, and he was talking to an old lady with a rickety back, apparently recognizing Needham, and nodding at him with a smile.

Although it was just a meeting of eyes, it seemed to give Needham great encouragement. As Laura had told him last time, he entered the sect and walked into another small room, where there were about 10 people. It seems that most of the people know each other and have a good conversation. This made Needham feel a little inhibited, but the others were welcoming, and two of them offered to greet him.

Needham was a little earlier, so it wasn't the latest. After him, three or four more people came in one after another, both men and women, old and young.

It seemed like a strange combination, Needham thought to himself. (To be continued)