Nate's childhood was, well, if you asked him years ago normal.  However, now he knows he was raised in a cult.  Most would not consider it a cult per exact definition but, it has caused him great pain up until this point in his life.  He was raised in a fairly strict fundamentalist Christian household that held to the doctrines and dogmas of hellfire and damnation and everything that comes along with it. 
I was kind of a wild child growing up and enjoyed partying until I had a “spiritual awakening” of sorts; this took place due to getting into trouble with the law.  For a good couple years, I stayed on that path until I started to get back into smoking cannabis and drinking.  I just think reality as we know it is tough and that life sucks for most people.  Well, I met a girl, got her pregnant so I decided to join the Army.  I spent 5 years on active duty as a military police soldier.  My wife and I divorced and I started back down the highway to hell,
Drugs and alcohol pretty much fueled my life until I was 30.  One night about 10 years ago now I lost all my money at a casino and had the brilliant idea to rob a hotel.  I did, I was caught and was looking at 25 years in prison.  This then spurred on my next spiritual awakening.  I went from robber to jailhouse preacher overnight.  It is strange the way these spiritual awakenings work when in a dark place and you have this urge to want others to feel them as well.  It’s like trying to explain to someone what LSD is like if they never had it. 
Unbelievably I never went to prison, dumb luck or a good lawyer or God knew I wouldn’t make it in prison.  I do not know, I was happy to receive probation and never look back at criminal behavior.  I decided to enroll in school to receive training to become a full-fledged pastor this time.  No one would hire me because of a felony conviction so I used my GI bill money to earn a B.S. in psychology and an M.A. in religion (Christianity).  I am currently working towards an Ed.D. in Christian leadership.  I am sure this seems kind of interesting for someone who is now an aspiring occultist.
Occultist, how can that be, you may ask.  Well, I was raised in a cult, which is a big difference from an occultist.  Occult simply defined is something hidden.  When I was working on my MA degree I simply could not buy many of the doctrines and dogma when examining my childhood.  I especially took issue with sin, hell, and the hindrance of natural human experiences. I still very much am a Christian but not a Christian in your typical sense.  I prefer Christian mystic, Gnostic, Thelemite, or just call me a weird guy with a distorted view on reality.
I did eventually find a job.  It sucks for people with felonies.  Society makes it extremely difficult for people to overcome having a little set back like robbing a hotel.  I mean, who hasn’t?  Anyway, I have been working in the nonprofit world for about 5 years. I love helping people succeed and that is a big part of what I do for a living.  I do not want to do this forever.  I would hope my podcast becomes a success or at least earn a livable wage working for myself. 
Probably one of my biggest passions is people.  I love to interact and learn from people from all different backgrounds.  Maybe I was meant to be a preacher. I just don’t have your typical Sunday morning sermons.  I doubt most churches would not want a guy who integrates Jesus and Aleister Crowley within the same sermon. 
I will leave it at that as I touched on the major points of my life.  I am 40 years old now and still find this existence fascinating, somewhat, or yes, very much troubling.  But, I am here just space surfing around the solar system on a large rock next to a burning inferno that all of our ancestors once worshiped!  Better Call Daddy: The Safe Space for Controversy!
 
Connect with Nate:
www.thinkforyourselfwithnate.com
www.facebook.com/thinkwithnate/
https://anchor.fm/nathanael-sprott
 
Let's connect
www.linkedin.com/in/reenafri