On any day you might find Blanche d’Alpuget, glamorous wife of former PM Bob Hawke, barking like a dog to get closer to God.
She is never one to shy away from controversy but Blanche d’Alpuget is uncharacteristically quiet when asked about a strange movement where she and other members can bark like dogs to connect with God.
Blanche has become a devotee of Subud, a quasi-religious group out of Indonesia described as a “cult” by its detractors. Twice a week, the writer wife of former PM Bob Hawke visits an unassuming hall in Sydney’s inner-city Newtown to devote herself to the principles of “latihan”, an Indonesian term for spiritual exercise.
Blanche and other members undergo a “cleansing” ritual that supposedly gives them contact with God. The practice takes the form of “an emotional release” which may see members scream, cry, punch the air and speak in tongues.
One member describes some fellow followers barking like dogs, running with only one eye open or jumping over fellow participants, whose actions could range from singing opera to laughing uncontrollably.
“I have a very strong feeling of the Christ,” Blanche told the ABC in an interview about her spirituality. “My practice is with particularly a lot of Muslims and also Jews and Hindus and Buddhists. Every time I go to practice it’s different.”
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