You know, every once in a while some asshole comes in and starts howling about how we ex-members of the Academy for Psychic Studies should just forget what happened, thrust our hand on our pockets and shuffle off silently without ever speaking ill of the abuses, the exploitation and the deep betrayal we have all experienced.
"Live and Let Live" is the warped mantra they usually chant. Live your life and let the Witches of Ellsworth live theirs without MY blog and without MY commentary and without the interference of ME exposing the harmful and destructive practices that are the hallmark of the Academy for Psychic Studies. These individuals want to never hear the empresses have no clothes. They won't stand for anyone standing tall and standing up. They won't ever tolerate or accept that anyone could say anyone could possibly be wrong or that they have disrupted and destroyed lives. Such an idea would not be possible in the esoteric world of the spiritually elite where all beings are good and perfect as they are.
All persons that is, except for me and those of us who speak out. We are the spiritually deficient and should be blamed for all the troubles of the world and must be lynched from the nearest tree at the earliest opportunity.
So much for "forgive and forget", "live and let live" I guess. I find it amazing that anyone would believe those pithy aphorisms apply to all but myself and you who follow my blog. Sill, I wonder what might be that person's reaction when the things that happened to us happen to them?
Probably exactly like ours.
I've just had a really bad experience with my sister-in-law. She and her daughter lived with us for a while and completely disrupted our home, our marriage and our lives. The behavior of the daughter was more than obnoxious, it was abusive, degrading and absolutely unacceptable. My sister-in-law denied anything was wrong, excused the daughter's behavior and when pressed, turned around and blamed the girl's bad behavior on ME saying she would not be in that state if I would just "live and let live".
WTF?
It was my insistence that the 14 year old girl do some simple and quick chores around the house to integrate her into family life at our home, my intolerance of her wearing her iPod at the dinner table and frequently insulting her family members, my distaste for her smoking and drug use, my strong opinion that her 0.0 GPA was not only poor academic performance but should be addressed with extra support and attention from her school that was so rude, intrusive, uncaring and non-supportive that all the stress and ills in my sister-in-law and niece's lives were indeed a result of my less-than-spiritual and unenlightened persona.
I guess it was my behavior that prompted my wife to say "We are NOT having kids! We CANNOT risk having a kid like HER!" and "If that girl turns up at our door - YOU KEEP IT SHUT!" Although I am not the girl's parent, her problems are all my fault. Makes sense to me. My sister-in-law must be right. I should have my balls cut off as penance.
I think those of you who knew me at the Academy for Psychic Studies recall how much time I spent with the children there. And you may recall my conduct with them. You may recall that I went out of my way to teach one kid basic writing and spelling skills, I fed some who's parent forgot to serve them meals, I clothed several when they worked in the freezing cold. And yes, I wouldn't stand for them wearing iPods at dinner, insulting family, smoking, drug use, drinking alcohol or ignoring their education either.
What in hell does all that have to do with this post? And why am I wasting space defending myself against another ludicrous accusation?
Recall that first paragraph. "Forgive and Forget" "Live and Let Live" Stay silent. Leave the Witches of Ellsworth alone. And worse of all: you are the real person who is to blame.
My sister-in-law threw a brick like that at me as she was packing up and moving out of the house (thankfully - the moving out, that is, not the brick throwing) and I was cleaning up cigarette butts, marijuana leaves and vodka bottles from my niece's bedroom. So I figured it would be a good topic for this blog.
The spiritually deluded like to see the real world as something to be feared and the esoteric and dreamy world of the spiritual is so perfect none can make even a mild criticism of an organization like the Spiritual Rights Foundation.
Ask Jeff, the Psychdoctorate about the trolls he has to deal with. Every one of them calls HIM out as the villain. Some say they never saw anything out of the ordinary right after they say they never bothered to take a look around. Others call Jeff names and insult his honesty.
Look at Joy's blog. The ex-bishops adult daughters never offered correction or even tried to engage in any kind of dialog. They just insulted her in every way possible.
The spiritually enlightened are above it all. They are above reality and above reason and certainly above any call for them to behave reasonably.
I've been thinking it over for a lot of time, now. There is just no understanding the people who just want us to shut the hell up and there is no way to reason with them.
I left a comment on the Psychdoctorate's blog replying to this little gem:
- I didn't know Lewis or have anything to do with him. However, to have an entire site dedicated to destroying someone who is dead, seems sad some how. I hope that you will learn to forgive and forget as I would hope you will suggest to your future patients.
- "Forgive and Forget" seems pretty presumptuous coming from someone who admits she doesn't know Lewis Bostwick or has had anything to do with him (and likely had little experience with BPI either).
- I'd imagine that commenter has not been in an abusive or exploitative relationship.
- Would this person simply be able to turn away, "forgive and forget" when the realization finally washes over them that they were used and abused?
- Or would that person turn to a therapist? Would that therapist listen patiently for an hour and dispense the helpful advice "well, just forgive and forget" before thrusting his hand out for his fee and tossing you out the door?
- Those who personally experienced Lewis Bostwick and his crazier graduates can speak volumes of the abuse and mistreatment they suffered.
- Much more than a few suffer after-effects such as PTSD, insomnia, depression, anxiety and more (like suicide attempts).
- Jeff is performing his civic duty and his moral obligation to warn prospective members of BPI of the practices that occur behind closed doors (and the practices at BPI continue even after Bostwick's death). He has not only made his story public but has provided a forum for others who suffered similarly to make sense of the experience and begin the healing process.
- I'll be sure to pass on your advice to "forgive and forget" to those who are experiencing PTSD, depression, anxiety and insomnia. I'm sure they will appreciate your thoughful and compassionate advice, you fucking tool.
I think that's the think right there. There are people with a deluded sense that all will be well if they believe all is well. Didn't the Academy for Psychic Studies tell you the same while they picked your pocket and slapped you in the face?
Doesn't thinking all is well when your world is crumbling around you smack of delusion?
And won't your positive thinking positively distract your attention towards something not-so-well while you ignore the things you would have to address?
For me, it's not easy or anything less than painful to re-live those experiences at the Academy for Psychic Studies. It's not easy to reconcile myself with the thought that several good people at the Academy will never leave and will never escape the exploitation. It's shameful to reflect upon all that I lost and what little I gained (apart from my marriage, of course).
I would like to forgive and forget, live and let live. But how can I do forget and how can I "let live" while those who have cause so much pain and destroyed so many lives continue to loot and pillage?
When there is wrongdoing in the world, we must address it. When one is on a path of destruction whether they destroy only themselves or those they encounter, we have the duty to address that behavior for the good of the fabric of our society and to uphold the decency we stand for as Americans.
As for my sister-in-law, I'm not too hopeful she will admit the responsibility to recognize and act to correct her daughter's behavior problems lay with her and her alone. While her daughter's school and mental health professionals announced their eagerness to help, she minimized the problem and obstructed any support.
Despite her protests, the daughter's school intervened (at my insistence) and are providing assistance without her agreement (which they can do if the need exists and the parent is uncooperative). I hope my sister-in-law will cooperate with the school and other officials who are attempting to bring her daughter out of the darkness of substance abuse and anti-social behavior. I'm not too hopeful of that either.
I'll never get a trophy for that action, for standing up to save the life of a teen girl. I don't expect many accolades for standing up to save those who may fall victim to the Academy for Psychic Studies either. And I certainly can't expect a pat on the back from any current or most former members of the Academy for Psychic Studies.
Almost every one of the ex-members absolutely hate the Academy for Psychic Studies (so do many current members). Yet most are too afraid to speak up and they will never acknowledge me - unless they want to make a stupid complaint based on unfounded rumors.
And while they remain silent in their hate of the Academy, they still demonize me for things even they don't understand.
Thanks to the indescribably horrific experience at the Academy for Psychic Studies, their fear of the world continues. As well as their fear of the Academy.
And as my sister-in-law fears and distrusts those who want to do nothing more than help save her daughter, the ex-SRF-ies stand in fear and distrust of anyone who has the courage to speak out against our tormentors to help those who may fall victim avoid our fate.
But still, let's all "forgive and forget". Let's all "live and let live". Let's all allow those who disrupted lives and caused emotional trauma to continue to feed on more victims.
I'll forgive the Academy for Psychic Studies when the exploitation and abuse ends.
Why?
Can you forgive one who can't abuse you anymore but abuses your friend so severely he has PTSD? Can you forgive one who can't steal from you but still takes from those you care about? Can you forgive those who would keep old men with money hanging on closely in the hope they can snatch a few shekels from his grave?
Until that behavior is addressed and is corrected, there is no purpose for forgiveness - there is only the opportunity for correction. Even God will only forgive a sin only after the sin is acknowledged and renounced (sorry for getting all religious on you).
Can you forgive a thief who says, "Yeah, I know I stole all your money but since you are broke now, I won't steal from you anymore - I'll just steal from someone else!" Uhh... let's think - NO!
But if that same thief said, "I'm sorry I stole from you. I spent all the money I stole so I can't pay it all back but I promise I am living a more honest life and I will never steal again." could you find forgiveness in your heart? Of course you would.
I think the "forgive and forget", "live and let live" people and the Academy for Psychic Studies are cut from the same cloth: they cannot and will never acknowledge their own impact on the people around them. They can't even see the impact others have on the people they know.
Worse, they can't see how you, me and everyone else can express emotions that are appropriate for the moment and they will never acknowledge that we have the absolute right to feel anger, frustration and all the other emotions that the emotionally healthy, well-rounded and spiritually fulfilled of the world feel as full members of the human race.
While I am not out for vengeance, I will not rest until the Academy for Psychic Studies is no longer a threat to society. And when I can rest, I will begin to forgive.
There are now some very hard core books and research studies which now point the therapist to not be so quick to ask their clients to forgive. The mythology of forgiveness has deep roots in our society and cultures worldwide. It has long been felt that it is the cure all.
ReplyDeleteHowever, such quick forgiveness is not often in the best interests of those who have been severely abused. 40% of those who have been abused by their siblings, cut off all contact with them.
40%!!!
This figure is from a clinical psychology journal article on the effects of sibling abuse. It is more common than one would think.
I do not know the statistics for the number of children who cut off all contact with their parents because of corporal punishmen and other serious forms of abuse. I suspect that the numbers are rather high. Abuse takes several forms, physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual. BPI and SRF are well known for their spiritual and psychological abuses. Over time it wears you down and steals your soul.
I am angered at what happened to me at the institute. I am infuriated that I was so lied to and had my mind rearranged by deluded individuals who fell under the sway of mind control. I am enraged that I spent so many years giving to an organization I thought was benevolent and benificient. I am outraged I was deliberately lied to and decieved by Lewis Bostwick. I personally only encounterd a small amount of his behavior, but the stories I have heard from others, made me realize how deluded and insane the man was.
Will I forgive Lewis. Probably not! Am I bitter, not anymore. Am I angry, to a degree not as much as I used to be. Putting things in persepctive helped me to see what really happened to me at the institute. By changing how I viewed things, I came to see the BS for what it was and to call it for what it was.
I will probably never forgive Lewis or Susan or some of the other top staff. They know what they are doing. However, I can forgive those who have been deluded and brainwashed. They are not completeley aware of what they are doing. They may hate me for my blog and my writings, so be it! Its not for them. I may have lost some friends, so be it. In all due respect, I can no longer support "pocketbook" spirituality. and the deluded beliefs and practices these people profer on others.
I cannot forgive those who go out and hawk the stuff. Even though they are just deluded, they are doing something immoral and unethical and borderline illegal. I know I did it and I deeply regret it. I enjoyed counseling people, but when I realized I had no true skill or anything of any long term value to anyone, I made my decision and stoped doing readings.
It was a hard decision, it cost me a lot of money and has forced me to restart my life over again. A lot of people questioned my reasons because I was making good money. There are some things in life worth so much more than money. yes money is good, but not at the expense of someone elses health (mental or pysical), wealth and or well being.
I would happily give it all up again. I want to give people something that has value and meaning and which they can take with them. That is one of the reasons I am pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology. I have forgiven myself for my mistakes and I am moving forward. That is who deserves forgiveness.
I have put all eles in a clear perspective. That is the most effective means of dealing with deep hurt and abuse. It leads to true peace and much deeper understanding. It also alows one to truly be objective and clear without compromising themselves.
I also think that you are supposed to forgive but I dont think you shoul forget so easily. As long as something is still going on, it is on your responsibility to warn others about it. This is a danger to others and I belive there is a lot of people that have their children or a partner or mabye a parent in this cult. How do they feel about it, they have lost an imortant family member and migth lose their home and children as well because of this. They dont even understand what is going on, or how to get help.
ReplyDeleteI think that even the gouvernment dont know how to deal with cults. Cults are dangeourus things that can go very wrong and it s important that ex members explain whats going on inside there. The more information the better. Take a look on wace or peoples temple, what happend? The members were all killed, of some of them did commit mass suicice. The worst migth have been Jonestown or the Mansons. Reverend Bill sometimes resemble Manson a lot in his weirdest moods. I can tell you, if they get a new leader over there, we dont know what can happend.
I remember that for instance they had exercises like going to the airport to sit ther for hours to study the energies, to go back and report to Bill, what was that for, what was he planning on doing? There is a crasy cult out there looking for a new crasy leader.
I realized this following paragraph was in the alleged "response" to all who read this blog:
ReplyDeleteResponse Third Paragraph
The anger that some former students expressed after leaving SRF is akin to the anger that some children express as they separate from a parent that nurtured and supported them. The process of separation is necessary for some souls, and, unfortunately, separation can be messy as it involves all kinds of justifications and projections.
Commentary
I'm speechless. Perhaps they found a Psychology 101 textbook that dropped open on the "projection" page. Or maybe they consulted an expert on the subject and made a well considered and thoughtful determination. Oh, yes. I forgot. Robin is an expert at Google-ing and she read the only paragraph she could understand on the subject from the Oprah site.
And uh, I have not ever met someone who separated from their parents in anger, when their parents are indeed warm, supportive, and as nurturing as most parents are (has anyone left their kind and supportive parents pissed off?). I have met people who separated from their parents in anger when their parents are abusive, exploitative, unreasonable, dictatorial, insane or just plain mean - just like the leaders of the Spiritual Rights Foundation.
I wonder if Robin, Angela and Debi are speaking from their own experience? All three have at this expressed conflict or strain with one or both of their parental units. Perhaps the strained relationships with their own parents inspired the above statement? Would we then, be the targets of the "projections" and "justifications" of the three SRF leaders who have expressed their own rocky relationships with their parents? Since it is much harder to reconcile your emotions when your abuser is dead, perhaps they are looking for a target, any target, for the unresolved issues with their dead parents?
Or maybe I'm just cutting the Witches too much slack...
If the inconsiderate martinets at the Spiritual Rights Foundation truly believe they give the support and nurturing of the finest parents, while they loot their flock's finances, conduct baseless and self-destructive lawsuits (ours is only one), skirt the law, displace parents from their children and shriek of defamation while thrusting a dagger in your back when their immoral and detrimental behavior is brought into the light, then I guess they really are nurturing and supportive.
Maybe I'll go back and get me some more of that kind of nurturing and support.
Its more likely that they are dancing at the party with the one who brought them, rather than the ones they met while at the party? There needs are such, that when Bill was alive, they were just sitting back and allowing Bill to do the dirty work, and they were yes woman to him. When he died, in order to keep the status quo, they had to become him.
ReplyDeleteThis would lead to things such as being angered that they weren't given/demanded respect as Bill was.
Bill's control would have been short lived as well, because as everyone has gotten older, everyone has gotten more mature and wiser. We realize Bill was the guy behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz, only in this case, he was a very good wizard, but a very bad man.
He gave Angela the Lion...Arrogance! Robin the tin woman a mouth to incite those around her with her narcisstic ways instead of a heart to nurture with. Debi: A split personality: One that was shaped like a general who leads people, the other one shaped like a spy who deceives people with.
They are going on with their merry little lives like nothing ever happened and what they are involved with, in destroying peoples lives. Yet they all fly around the Ellsworth street property on their brooms sky writing BEWARE! Thus, keeping all those left there in fear. Evidently, the truth hasn't been the water to awaken them out of there controlling and manipulative ways of enslaving others with. Dropping a lawsuit on top of them hasn't been an eye opener either, as they can enjoy the hard earned monies left to them by the male elders of the place. They are insulated and in charge, still feeding at the public trough called staff and students.
I hope Mort Litwack's heirs will question any clause of his will leaving any amount of money to the Spiritual Rights Foundation.
ReplyDeleteI do know that hits to this blog spiked after Mort passed. Many appear to have come from Mort's friends and relatives. With luck, they will refuse to turn over Mort's money to SRF based on the revelation of the truth.
As for the other older folks left, one man appears to be without heirs. Whether he has the kind of riches Mort had is not really known as he is a bit eccentric. However, I do recall a retired couple (who are still there for reasons unknown as the husband is hatin' on the Witches) telling me they are providing for a donation to SRF in their will.
Please if there is anyone out there who can reach out to those people, take the risk and do so. It is shameful and a disgrace to mankind for someone outside a person's family to stand by his or her grave rubbing their hands together in anticipation of free money. That money is for the family and no one else.
Looks like the Witches of Ellsworth have gone from stirring their cauldron to robbing graves.
I agree with this post and the comments. There is a line in Jane Smiley's A THOUSAND ACRES (a novel about incestuous child abuse) in which a survivor says, "There is absolutely no obligation to forgive someone who has not asked for forgiveness."
ReplyDeleteExactly. Sociopaths and con-artists who choose to "make a life" by selling other untruths and exploiting them financially or in other ways do not deserve forgiveness.
Look at the festival of "apologies" coming from all the narcissists and sociopaths in sports, media and politics! They only apologize when they are caught. These people NEVER ask for forgiveness unless it is in the context of a plea bargain or p.r. move.
I personally do not forgive my abusers. Helping other escape abuse is my life's work. Too bad the trolls who attack these blogs have no life's work but to enrich themselves at gullible others' expense.
When I said I don't forgive people who have made money from spiritual methods, I didn't mean it to be as sweeping as I realize now it sounds.
ReplyDeleteI know many people who sell services that have a spiritual component and I know a person who does readings and is very sweet.
It is very possible to be in a "spiritual field" and be doing good for others. I go on several forums for ex-scientologists and I know some of them actively took people's money, etc. But if they are sorry and they have separated from the delusive organizations and are educating themselves about their situations, then there is nothing to forgive.
I'M sorry I wasn't wised up when I was teaching--I did good for kids, but I could have done a lot more if I'd have had the tools to understand myself better and if I'd been in possession of a more rational/empirical approach to life. So, I'm sorry, but I think I deserve forgiveness--everybody in the world could be wiser and stronger, right? When one comes from an abusive background, it takes longer to find one's feet in the world. That's what I've observed.
Anyway, I also wanted to say that I think forgiveness is ONLY misplaced if the person in question refuses to admit, justifies and continues to commit abuses. There are some, for instance, on the ex-scientology blogs, who still want to consider themselves superior to mere human beings--they still throw around the terminology to browbeat other posters and will occasionally gang up to suppress the comments of anyone who "cuts too near the bone" in criticism of the cult or its leader. They harbor the delusion that scientology "works" but the bureaucracy is corrupt. They can't see that what they are defending is part of the whole con game--and, it's true that admitting one was conned is very painful.
IMO, it is just very hard to heal if one holds on to ego-enhancing views of one's past. For example, I know people mired in horrible dysfunction like drug abuse or bulimia, who refuse under any circumstances to admit that their parents were anything but wonderful, special, above-average and completely loving. But when they have to talk about what their parents actually did in the past--cheated, were alcoholic, abandoned their children, etc.--it is an entirely different picture. These poor people cannot heal because they won't "see."
This was my case for a long time, too--I wanted to believe in a fantasy of my past because I was ego-identified with my family. Phew, what an enormous relief when I let that go and was able to rationally evaluate the good and bad of my upbringing and who I really am. Worth the pain, for sure.
And of course Mike is correct--there is no such thing as nurturing, loving parents producing "rage" in their children, unless the child has a severe disorder of some kind. I think that paragraph might be referring to a brief period in adolescence (which I saw a lot as a high school teacher) when the process of separating from adults produces some rage in some people as a part of a process. But lasting rage at a decent parent is not a normal phenomena.
Hi Vera,
ReplyDeleteThe Psychdoctorate and I were talking some time ago about what places like the Spiritual Rights Foundation and the Berkeley Psychic Institute do to your relationships with your family.
Both SRF and BPI amplify and distort any kind of behavior that - shit, they amplify any behavior from appropriate to evil. Any behavior but their own, of course. Their evil behavior is routinely amplified to holiness.
So if your dad had a cow that time you jacked his M5, packed it with half-naked high school girls then drove it into a tree after you beer-bonged a six-pack, you would have been subjected to extreme trauma and would be a victim of parental abuse according to SRF.
I did that last year and boy was my dad pissed! I think I'll need some psychic healings to relieve the trauma.
Even if your dad handled your transgression with the grace of an English butler, they would still amplify his response as cold, judge-like and traumatic.
It's all in an attempt to turn your affection and loyalty away from the people who raised you to the people who exploit you.
I'm planning to work up a post on this topic. Stay Tuned...