Back in the USSR

My buddy said he'd like to see a photo on each of my posts. Not of me or anything else. Of hot chicks. So, Elena here kindly offered her contribution to this post. She figured it would be on message considering the title. Yep, I'd say she's right.




The Spiritual Rights Foundation web site had a link right there on the front page regarding their arch nemesis. The statement is posted here verbatim:

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'Regarding Steve Sanchez

Over the past few years Steve Sanchez has been successful in generating publicity for himself by portraying the Spiritual Rights Foundation in a negative light. SRF regrets that Mr. Sanchez may have had an unpleasant experience with SRF when Rev. Bill Duby was alive. SRF also regrets not recognizing earlier Mr. Sanchez's need for professional help with his psychological and emotional health issues.

Clearly, from his own writings, Mr. Sanchez became fixated on Rev. Bill in an unhealthy way. Mr. Sanchez believed that all of his personal problems were the result of Rev. Bill's influence. Since Rev. Bill's death in 2001, Mr. Sanchez has transferred his attention from Rev. Bill to SRF. Mr. Sanchez now attributes SRF with being the source of his failed relationships, estrangement from his daughter, strange sexual practices, and his emotional and psychological health problems.

Over the past few years, Mr. Sanchez has delighted in exacting revenge against SRF by making all manner of false allegations and complaints regarding SRF to various federal, state and local governmental agencies. (As a result, SRF has been throughly (sic) scrutinized and investigated by multiple governmental agencies, and no agency has ever found any basis for any allegation or complaint, and no agency has ever issued any penalties, fines or charges against SRF for any reason.)

Mr. Sanchez's obsession with Rev. Bill and SRF is indicative of mental health problems. SRF wishes only the best for Mr. Sanchez and sincerely wishes that he is able to receive help for his illness.'

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To be fair, that statement no longer appears on the SRF website. If you would like to see it in its original context, you'll have to view it on the Internet Archive and enter: celestia.com in the search box. When you get the list of archives, click on the June 29, 2005 archive.

update: you can Google "Steve Sanchez SRF" and glory be, you might find a page similar to the one I quote above.

Just check out these pages from the Internet Archive (which isn't a link to your spiritual mothers' web site you fucking SRF Troll):

Some of you may remember that time and you may have seen that statement about Steve Sanchez on the web site.  I remember what I did when I discovered it.

When the statement was placed on the web site, I expressed my concerns to the webmaster. I told her that a statement like that could be damaging as SRF has no standing to say that (saying clearly it sounded pretty damn close to defamatory as it is a direct attack on Steve and is done with no regard for the truth) and such a statement would be, at the least, poor public relations.

She replied, "Our attorney OK'd it. He's the one who thought Steve is sick"

Flashback to an old hospital movie (can't remember the name):A gorgeous hottie is sitting on an exam table. Standing next to her is a man in a suit.
Man: I checked every inch of your body and looked in every opening.
Hottie: So what's wrong with me?
Man: How should I know? I'm a lawyer.

In previous posts, I pointed out that SRF never recommends psychological or psychiatric treatment. They don't like it and they have made several statements that lead all of us involved that mental health treatment is to be avoided. SRF doctrine states that psychiatric drugs like Prozac "freeze" the mind and prevents spiritual growth. The doctrine also states that psychologists, counselors, therapists and life coaches just "get into your head" and must be avoided.

I also wrote about Santa Rage. An SRF member who was in a psychotic episode was tossed out the door and left pounding on the gate rather than referred to mental health treatment.

And earlier, I wrote about how the founder of the Spiritual Rights Foundation proudly proclaimed that he drew Social Security Disability benefits because of a psychiatric illness and that he "rescued" a co-founder from a "crazy house".

Likely based on their experiences, SRF hates the idea of scientifically proven treatment for mental health issues. So then, why in Steve Sanchez's case do they state that Steve had a mental illness and needs help?


Remember the Soviet Union - that place where many dissidents were jailed and the rest sent to "mental hospitals"? The USSR called those in disagreement with the government (such as Alexandr Solzhenitsyn) "crazy" and made sure they were force-fed powerful drugs to keep them quiet.

SRF likes to call their own dissidents "crazy", it seems. And in those cases, recommends mental health treatment. But if you claim you are Santa Claus, then you can stand on the sidewalk an pound on the gate.

How does a group of lay people suddenly realize that only one person of the thousands claimed to have spent time there needs mental health care? And why is it that the one person blows the whistle on a dysfunctional organization needs referral to mental health care but the one person who goes on a psychotic rampage doesn't?

I don't know. Was Steve in need of mental health care? Well, not based on any allegations he made concerning potentially illegal activities. As stated in their tome, Steve was able to make a case for investigation to the appropriate agencies and was apparently considered lucid and reliable. And as evidenced by the SRF statement, "various federal, state and local governmental agencies" HAD conducted investigations of the Spiritual Rights Foundation based on the information given by Steve. There is no agency anywhere who would risk embarrassment or worse, open themselves to a malicious or false procecution charge by relying on information from one who would appear mentally ill. That the investigations took place is all you need to know about the veracity of Steve's report and how reliable the agencies considered him.

As a result of the investigations initiated by Steve Sanchez, the Spritual Rights Foundation was forced to modify some of its activites to comply with law. As is ususal for those kinds of items, the agencies gave SRF a chance to clean themselves up before citations were written. The "multiple government agencies" were actually the code enforcement division of the City of Berkeley, the City of Berkeley housing agency and the Berkeley School Attendance Review Board. They were nothing as big and scary as the IRS or FBI.

At least, not yet.

Indignation about the practices of a particular person or group does not strike me as particularly unhealthy - especially coming from one who was a victim of that conduct. Certainly SRF appeared indignant about Steve speaking out. Would SRF's indignation and fixation on Steve Sanchez also be considered unhealthy?

Maybe the Spiritual Rights Foundation deemed him mentally ill because he wrote a tell-all book about his experience - a book that we ex-members will attest accurately reflects what happened there? Or maybe is was because he had the guts to speak out in public about his life in a cult.

Looks like the most vocal of the SRF escapees are considered the most in need of psychological help.  It's a pattern I have noticed with these New Age Nitwits: everyone on the world is in need of psychological treatment.  Everyone is in need of healing from a variety of illnesses, trauma, pain or other emotional condition.  They believe that the healthy range of human emotions (which includes love, pain, fear, anger, frustration, empathy and more) show be narrowed down to only those which are spiritually and psychically acceptable - a range that is as wide as paper is thin.

Look at some of the posts on Jeff, the Psychdoctorate's blog.  This one too.  The supporters of organizations like the Spiritual Rights Foundation gladly hand out condescending and back-handed statements of concern for your emotional well-being.

"Go on with your life!  You need to heal!  I am sorry you are in such emotional pain!" is their spiritually acceptable way of being mad at you.  This kind of transparent insult is acceptable because the real display of a real human emotion in one's communication would bean unacceptable display of emotion, as emotional "neutrality" is the rule of order with the New Age.

I haven't published a book, participated in news articles or spoke publicly about my own experience and I don't plan to. But this blog is certainly enough to raise a few hackles in the Spiritual Rights Foundation gulag, I think.

Well, comrade, I guess if SRF has it's way, my fellow dissident Steve and I will be headed straight to the psych ward. You'll recognize me. I'll be the one drooling on myself wearing an SRF t-shirt.