Shivangi Sinha
ID’s ‘People Magazine Investigates: The Cult of the Soulful Journey’ features interviews with former members of a group led by Soulaire Allerai. Based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Soulaire operates several businesses, including a spiritual organization through which she offers what she describes as a path toward enlightenment. Throughout the documentary, former members and relatives of current participants share their experiences and concerns about the group. Soulaire has denied the accusations and allegations made against her and her organization. Some family members of current participants have claimed that their loved ones became estranged from them after joining. These concerns are explored in the documentary alongside the perspectives of former members and Soulaire’s responses.
Soulaire Allerai Started a Spiritual Community in Minnesota That Grew Over the Years
Born Lynn Young, Soulaire Allerai has shared only limited details about her childhood. She has said that she did not grow up in a wealthy family and that her father worked as an executive chef. According to Soulaire, many of her early lessons about restaurants, food, and cooking came from him. Over the years, she has said that she held a wide variety of jobs before embarking on her later ventures. She has spoken about working as a school bus driver for children with special needs, serving as an airline dispatcher, managing a call center, training employees for different companies, running a fish store with a friend, and operating a housekeeping business. By the time she enrolled at Normandale Community College to study arts and communications, she was already married and raising two children.
According to an interview published in Edge Magazine, Soulaire said that around 1993 she became a “full-body channel” for what she described as “G,” an omniscient being of Divine Light. As her spiritual teachings developed, her company, Master Paths LLC, began sponsoring seminars and workshops that claimed to teach people “how to transcend the human matrix, shed the religious matrix and reclaim the spiritual life that is a birthright.” At the same time, Soulaire continued her formal education. She attended St. Catherine University, where she studied communication and studio art, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1997. A few years later, in 2000, she founded the Living Faith Spiritual Community, where she served as both the minister and spiritual founder.
Soulaire Allerai and Bad Rooster Filed a Defamation Lawsuit Against the Daughters of Her Group Member
In 2004, Soulaire Allerai launched The Soulful Journey, a lifestyle and spiritual guidance company that remains active today. According to reports, her following grew during that period, and she expanded her operations. She eventually acquired a large property in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which became the Soulful Journey Wellness Center and served as a hub for many of her programs and events. In 2007, Soulaire published her book, ‘Being: Transformation Begins With…’ During promotional appearances for the book, she spoke about her separation from her then-husband and her estrangement from her children. Over the years, she continued to lead her spiritual organizations and broaden her business interests. In 2019, she ventured into the food industry by launching the Bad Rooster food truck, which operated from the parking lot of her wellness center in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
In 2022, Kelly Ring Abedi and Angela Marie Hummelgard, the estranged daughters of Mary King (who goes by Cianna LaJoie since 2022), a member of The Soulful Journey, publicly accused Soulaire of being a cult leader. According to the documentary, the sisters claimed in a social media post that they believed their mother had died, although they later acknowledged that this was not true. They also alleged that Bad Rooster was helping fund a cult. In response, Bad Rooster, and its co-owner Soulaire, filed a lawsuit against the sisters, alleging defamation and civil conspiracy and sought damages exceeding $200,000. She publicly denied the accusations and rejected claims that she was operating a cult.
Soulaire Allerai is Running Her Food Truck and Wellness Centre Even Today
Addressing not only these allegations but also similar criticisms raised by some former members, Soulaire Allerai maintained that she had done nothing wrong and suggested that the attacks were motivated by resentment toward the success and visibility of her businesses. In July 2023, the defamation lawsuit was dismissed. Since then, several news outlets have published allegations from former members, but Soulaire and her team have continued to deny the claims and maintain that the accusations are unfounded. Today, Soulaire remains active in her various ventures. She continues to operate both Bad Rooster and The Soulful Journey and serves as the Executive Director and Spiritual Director of Living Faith Spiritual Community.
Soulaire is also a co-owner of G & Company LLC. In her professional work, Soulaire presents herself as a life strategist and artist and emphasizes the role of creativity and artistic expression in her teachings and personal philosophy. In response to ongoing criticism, she has repeatedly maintained her innocence and argued that she has been unfairly blamed for decisions made by other adults. Soulaire has described herself as a survivor of social media harassment and public scrutiny and continues to stand by the beliefs she has promoted for many years.
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