The Academy for Psychic Studies - Ray of Light

One of the nice things about being part of the anti-cult movement is you get to swap war stories. I have one that I think is interesting that involves the Academy for Psychic Studies and it's nearly-next-door neighbor, the Berkeley Psychic Institute.

You may know that Bill Duby was a graduate of the Berkeley Psychic Institute and often spoke highly of the Founder of BPI, Lewis Bostwick. You probably also know that the founder wasn't exactly fond of Bill, calling Bill "dangerously twisted" and a pain in the ass besides. However as that twisted pain in the ass was willing to dump a load of money into the BPI cash bucket, he was allowed to complete the course of study and was conferred the title "Reverend".

You might have also heard of Bill's media exposure in the late 90's to early 2000's (and now too, I guess). Almost all of it was as searing, unflattering, and presented a picture of wanton greed, lust for power, lust for property, more greed and just plain lust.

Those media reports uncovered behavior that was so scandalous, so vile and repulsive the Academy for Psychic Studies could never recover. We used all of the psychic tricks we knew to fool ourselves into believing there was hope and salvation from the scandal and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Those articles were popular ones; drawing readers from all over the media's coverage areas. I remember walking around downtown and by chance, picking up a San Francisco Chronicle. On the front page was the groundbreaking article from an abused and displaced member of the Academy for Psychic Studies. It's not easy to get column space on the front page. I figured the information there was indeed relevant and powerful. I read the article. I was right.

After that, several news media had article after article that presented the true goings-on at the Academy for Psychic Studies. Another abused and exploited member named Steve Sanchez bravely told his story (he later wrote a compelling book named "Spiritual Perversion".

The ex-wife of a current member told her story in print. And the plight of the children who were left alone all day without education or the guidance and comfort of their parents was also revealed (so much that the Berkeley School Board declared them truant).

And of course, there was the media reports of the arranged marriages, the arranged divorces and the effect that was having on the children of those unions.

There was intense public interest in the Academy for Psychic Studies and its parent, the Spiritual Rights Foundation. The public wasn't interested in what SRF and the Academy was offering but they were certainly interested in what they were doing behind the wrought iron gates.

Apart from the general public, there was another group interested in what was happening behind the tall iron fence. That group was right down the street from the Academy for Psychic Studies.

You might call this group the mother of the Academy for Psychic Studies as they conferred ministerial certificates on the founders of the Academy. They probably regret their error. In fact, it appears they REALLY regretted their error.

What I've been hearing is that about the time all the psychotic and maniacal behavior of the Academy for Psychic Studies was revealed, the Berkeley Psychic Institute paid close attention and took some action of their own.

For what reason? Apart from being in the same city, the two organizations had no connection despite teaching the same techniques. So how would the insanity at the Spiritual Rights Foundation and the Academy for Psychic Studies possibly effect the stalwart and seemingly upright and ethical Berkeley Psychic Institute?

Simple: Reverend William Duby frequently (and quite publicly) touted his special relationship with the founder of BPI, Rev. Lewis Bostwick. Duby would always entertain us with hilarious stories about Lewis Bostwick's antics and entrance us with tales of Lewis Bostwick's magical and supernatural psychic abilities while repeating over and over again, "Lewis took me under his wing."

While none of that was true (especially the "under his wing" part) Bill Duby was able to con us and the public into believing he had a special relationship with Lewis Bostwick and that Bill and Bill alone was entrusted with carrying on the legacy of the teachings of the Berkeley Psychic Institute.

When made aware of Bill's psychotic delusions, the Berkeley Psychic Institute was said to be horrified. They took immediate steps to "clean up" the public image of BPI and moved to ensure their organization could never be run with the insane exploitation and abuse that the Spiritual Rights Foundation was fond of using against their members, prospective members, ex-members and anyone else.


I think the conversation at BPI went like this:

BPI Official #1: Hey did you see what Bill Duby is up to?

BPI Official #2: That shitbird? Who cares!

Official #1: You'd better read this. The press is calling him a child molester, thief, maniacal psychotic and tax cheat.

Official #2: Again, so what?

Official #1: He says he was inspired by Lewis Bostwick.

Official #2: HUH? (sound of pages being flipped rapidly) Oh shit, he's saying right here and - what the fuck? He's saying Lewis was his mentor and took him under his wing! That prick was the most hated guy we ever had! Lewis couldn't wait to get rid of him. I mean, why else did he tell the crazy bastard "Now go out and learn."!  We have to distance ourselves from this fucking psycho but quick.

Official #1: I agree. If the government figures on investigating Duby, we might be next on the list. I'm going to clean up our operations - everything has to appear on the up and up. We're stopping anything that might even remotely look sideways or underhanded. Oh, and I have some other bad news.

Official #2: Will I need a Valium for this?

Official #1: Probably. The Berkeley City Council and the Mayor caught wind of what Duby is up to. They are proposing to license and regulate places like us.

Official #2: You're right. Pass the Valium.

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In a very indirect way, Bill Duby and the Spiritual Rights Foundation had a hand in raising the standards at their rival organization. While Bill and the Witches of Ellsworth decried the practices at the Berkeley Psychic Institute, BPI conducted reform for the purpose of complying with law and prevailing business conduct while Bill and his Witches continued to browbeat, exploit and waterboard their faithful followers daily while skirting the law at every opportunity.

No wonder the Spiritual Rights Foundation is on the long, slow spiral into the bottomless pit of irrelevance.

Their rival organization saw the light and did something to help themselves avoid trouble. Why did Bill Duby and the Witches of Ellsworth continue their deceptive practices?

Greed, maybe?

Or maybe it's because of greed.

Whatever it is, SRF has a small window of time for real reform. That light at the end of the SRF Tunnel is an oncoming train.

postscript: All due respect to the Berkeley Psychic Institute but I have to wonder: why the hell didn't they copyright all the stuff they were teaching and make it clear to students BPI owns all the things taught there. If the students wanted to use the teachings on their own, fine. No problem, nothing due BPI. However if they start a school of their own, those new spiritual teachers will have to cough up a royalty to the guys who put them in business. The fact they were students at BPI and are relying on what BPI taught them in their new endeavor is enough to say a royalty is owed.

That would also give BPI some control over psychotic maniacs like Bill Duby. If Bill or another criminally insane malcontent were to taint the value of the license or bring disgrace or embarrassment to the licensor, their ticket to ride can be yanked or suspended until they get it through their thick skulls to walk the line. Better yet, if their experience with a student was similar to Bill's, BPI could just deny a license altogether. If BPI had realized they had a licensable product and did deny Rev. William Duby a license, things may have turned out differently.

It's amazing that considering the number of organizations inspired by or copied directly from the Berkeley Psychic Institute, there wasn't a concerted effort by BPI to control their intellectual property and provide an appropriate licensing program. The passive revenue from that alone would have been significant and most of that would have gone directly to the bottom line.

And guys like Bill Duby would have to play by the rules or find a new con game. Knowing Bill, I think he'd set up a Three Card Monty game on Shattuck Avenue. He'd make a fortune at it too.

Unfortunately, since BPI organized as a church, not an educational institution, they practiced like they were writing the next Bible and did not retain ownership and control over their content. Now, there are many BPI-inspired organizations with their own spin on mental torture, control and overall nuttiness.

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Update:

Those searching for "Spiritual Rights Foundation" found this blog listed prominently next to the "Spiritual Rights Foundation" site.

Now, those who search for "Academy for Psychic Studies" will find this blog listed right next to the "Academy for Psychic Studies" site.  I did nothing special to get that listing.  I just wrote one hell of a lot of relevant material.

I hope this event will allow seekers to see both sides of the story and will let them make up their own minds.

Here's a real ray of light that you might enjoy a lot more.

Call me a Gleek and I'll wear it proudly.

The Academy for Psychic Studies - Come In For a Healing Then Go Away

This article is from the Bohemian newspaper, distributed in the Sonoma County area. I have excerpted it with a link to the full article.

It pretty much speaks for itself.

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From The Bohemian

http://www.bohemian.com/metro/01.02.08/cover-0801.html

Medium Cool
By Vrinda Normand

The New Year is the busiest season for psychics, and Silicon Valley has a lot of them. Even true believers are always on the lookout for fraud, and Santa Clara's Edward Carrion wants to protect the psychic consumer.

"I hate people that rip off other people," he says.

So he's doing something about it. He created a free educational resource on his website (readingsbyedward.com) called "Psychic Consumer 101." There you'll find easy-to-read tips on what a psychic is, how to tell if a self-professed psychic is the "real thing," and how to tell if a psychic is "using you."

"Silicon Valley has the highest concentration of psychics that I know," Edward says. "The energy of readings here is huge." Downtown San Jose, he adds, is a major "reception center" for the other side. If that's true, then you're more likely to find a good psychic among the crowded phone book listings, websites and hippie fairs in the South Bay.

Still, Chapman warns, the same trend also invites wannabes who see the profession as an easy moneymaker, especially when the economy is struggling.

"Anything in the psychic realm can be misused," Chapman says.

I gathered lots of practical tips to be aware of if you plan on being a psychic consumer this year, but the most obvious and understated one was this: trust your gut feeling.

So I decided to find out about becoming a little psychic myself.


The Academy for Psychic Studies is tucked into a tiny office space off Lincoln Avenue in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood. On some Saturdays, the school advertises its presence with balloons and a sidewalk sign offering a free psychic consultation.

The Academy's website includes a list of its classes, from beginning meditation to advanced aura reading. On Tuesdays, it welcomes members of the public to an open, complimentary "energy healing clinic."

Unfortunately, the Academy does not welcome members of the media, and refused to speak with me for this article.

"We're not interested because that's not what we're about," a woman from the Academy told me before she hung up the phone (and before I could ask why). The school also requires that visitors sign an agreement promising they're not investigators or journalists .


…be very wary if they respond defensively or try to hide something from you. I told Edward (author of "Psychic Consumer 101") about my strange experience with the Academy for Psychic Studies in San Jose. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Why are they so afraid of investigation?" A trustworthy psychic, he added, is willing to be transparent and should even let you record the reading."

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Mind Control Today and Forever

She's not the slave you're looking for... I saw her first.

Pardon the Jedi Mind Trick.  It worked on a couple of Storm Troopers so I figured it would work on you.  Keep drooling, though.  Covering the keyboard with a towel works for me.

The psychotic founder of the psychotic church called the Spiritual Rights Foundation practiced mind control over everyone, every day and controlled as many people in an individual's life as he could possibly influence.

That influence never stopped.  He worked over the children as well.

Bill's magic touch was intended to create tension and conflict between parent and child while increasing the child's loyalty and faith in him.  It was the most disgusting thing I ever saw there.

Even more recently, the Witches of Ellsworth Street have been asserting their own influence over as many of the now-ex-members now-adult children.  I've heard of so many tales of adult children being told how to demean their parents and being told exactly how to do it, I've had to take a nausea break at the porcelain throne.

I have no reason to believe that practice has ended - the undue influence over the adult children, not the nausea.

Steve Sanchez has perfectly described the ways the mind control at the Academy for Psychic Studies has been practiced in the past.

How about the present and what does that do to determine the future?

Well, does a tiger change its stripes?  Does a witch change her cauldron?  Aren't the brooms the Witches of Ellsworth Street ride pretty much the same as they've always been?

You have to admit (even you SRF supporters and Academy for Psychic Studies feel-gooders) that when the people at the top of an organization (as the Witches are) have tremendous financial incentive to maintain control over their flock (and the Witches do) the real purpose of a place like the Academy has got to be more than your spiritual well-being.

Take a look at this article.  You'll recognize some familiar themes here:


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THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2005

Some of the ways Bill practiced mind control

I will give you some idea here of how Bill Duby used his mind control.

As an enlightened or ‘X-ray’ clairvoyant he claimed to be able to see all the foreign entities in a persons space. This gave him free license to berate, insult, and abuse a person to no end and afterward say he was talking to, and cleaning out. the foreign entities in that persons space for their own good. He claimed he was giving tough love for the sake of healing - like sand paper smooths wood. He claimed this was his personal commission from God. Along with many other abuses, he claimed to be able to ‘see’ who a persons soul mate was. He even claimed to be able to channel Jesus Christ at times.

Bill Duby made himself the central hub of all relationships in his church. He had to have the primary loyalty of everyone. Couples were manipulated into crisis, and out of bonding with each other, so that he would be in the position of primary loyalty with each. If two people were to bond with each other that would be a force out of his control, and he didn’t want that.

He opportunistically used problems in people’s lives - or more often, manufactured crisis - so that he could council, berate, heal, and finally save them. In this way ‘his superior psychic abilities’ were demonstrated again and again. His members dire need for him was solidified over and over.

After years of establishing this kind of authority our lives when some of us began having kids he was able to influence the decisions we made with our kids. He defined - on his ‘enlightened’ terms - how all of us should be raising our kids. He worked hard at getting the primary loyalty of all the kids toward himself and his two wives.

He did this by having the absolute loyalty and love of the mothers. He gave them as he did everyone ‘tough love’. For years he publicly shamed the mothers. On a weekly basis one or all were embroiled in crisis, berated on the hot seat, and then healed. The woman received the light from Bill, but not the men. Every time we were berated we worked ever harder to win back his approval.

The fathers or men in general were considered below the women. He often made a joke that ‘first come the children, then women, then dogs, then snakes, and last: men’.

He controlled the relationships of the men by controlling the woman. He always said the men were beasts, and sneaky and that ‘if they breath - don’t trust them’. This was accepted as profound streetwise wisdom. The men were kept in a tense state always yearning to be with their woman, if they were lucky enough to be with one. We were held at arms length because of our beastliness and unworthiness. Every single man that was in a relationship was banished to live alone in a mobile home for months or years at a time.

Bill set everyone up to be in competition with himself and at the same time to know that they would lose to him. He constantly claimed he could psychically and mentally run circles around anyone. He claimed that most people on the street were empty pods who, if he chose to, he could easily make act out his will. These notions devalued ‘the other’ and fed the sense of our elitist superiority.

He would say that his Aura was so powerful that anyone who competes, or ‘F---’ with him would take on his ‘past-time’ aura. In other words he was super powerful and if you competed with him you would suffer the ultimate humiliation of living the dregs of his personnel past. Then he would give inviolable examples of how this was happening to certain disfavored members.

He often pounded us with the idea that if Christ came into the room all the women would instantly fall in love with him and all the men would go into competition with him. Then, at the right moment, he would follow up by saying, with super intense emotion, that he was the closest thing to Christ we would ever see; that he carried the Christ consciousness within him.

This and other such manipulations caused his members to feel they had no rights in relation to him and his teaching. We gave up much of our normal instinct for self interest and self protection.

In this way he compounded his control on level after level, because his subjects had no self esteem, no rights; we felt that everything bad that was happening to us was our fault, and especially because we had no idea that we felt this way.

We could justify everything because we were close to him, we were the elite, part of the .01% of the enlightened population that could ‘have it’.

There was a pretense of normal relations on the social surface which Bill fostered for his members and especially for beginners. No-one knew how to look underneath even though it was right in front of our face. Our minds were blocked from it. This played right into his hands because he lived underneath; he had a field day there.

A great example of the intensity of his control is in the sexual arena. He kept the men and women at odds and distrustful of each other. Men were beasts, sneaky, selfish liars; and women were the source of evil, full of ‘female insanity’. He claimed that to satisfy a woman, or to sweep her off her feet you had to give her ‘the light’. But only he could do it. The men were set up to try, and to fail. He berated individuals, couples or groups for hours, which he called spiritual counseling.   Crisis always came and and relationships always failed under his counsel.

There were men and women there who didn’t have sex for fifteen to twenty years. Eventually he called the men confirmed bachelors or eunuchs. This gives you some idea and feel for the cult.

As in all cults, Bill Duby controlled and manipulated with elements of the truth. Children were held as being the most important and special. Bill claimed that because he was enlightened the children loved being close to him. He said that he was like the children because he had never been shut down, and that they loved him because he spent the most time with them and had innocence like them.

Some of us adults were said to have innocence - this was said when one of us happened to be lucky enough to take our turn in the position of the ‘golden boy or girl’ - but Bill always intimated that his innocence and enlightenment ran circles around the rest of us. The kids, including my daughter, spent a lot of time with Bill and his wives, especially at the cult farm.

In the inner circle was Bill his two wives, four children and one of the children's mother named Rev. Debi. Everyone wished they were in the inner circle. The children felt very special to be there. It took no effort on their part, Bill chose them. If the children didn’t act in a way that pleased him or that he didn’t approve he claimed that their vibration slipping under the control of their parents, or dark forces, and that they were losing their place in the inner circle.

Bill, of course, controlled the children by the safety and prestige of being in the inner circle and conversely by the devastation of not being in it. Once, when my ex-wife and daughter lived on the main cult property where Bill was, Bill’s daughter came into their room and wanted to ply with my daughter. My daughter said she would play later but wanted to have breakfast with her mom first.

Bill's daughter went back home, but then she and Bill showed up a few minutes later and Bill asked my daughter to come play. Thinking it was okay my daughter said the same thing. Bill was incensed and said my daughter had a cruel streak.

He brought all involved upstairs and in front of the other members shamed her by saying the anger and dark forces from her parents were shutting down her innocence and clairvoyant abilities. He said she was being cruel and that this was causing her vibration to sink.   He said she was leaving the inner circle.  My young daughter cried bitterly and fought for days to make up for it so she could get back into the inner circle. This, along with other manipulations, caused her to shun her parents - especially me.

Bill Duby did a lot of this kind of public shaming to his members. There were a few kids of long time members who he couldn’t control, usually because one of the parents was not completely under his control. In the SRF cult there was a supposed air of normalcy, and for those things which were beyond normal there was total justification by enlightenment. Most of the women in the cult ‘confessed’ to loving Bill and to being very attracted to him.

One woman named Carol did not feel this way because it was her innate belief that she shouldn’t be involved with her teacher and she didn’t find him attractive. Bill could not control her son even though his father was utterly dedicated. Carol was under the spell but remained on the outskirts and was eventually shunned for the above reasons. Because he couldn’t control her son, Bill said her child, Ben, was spiritually retarded. He was considered lesser and therefore semi-shunned by the other members and kids. Because the parents believed in Bill’s authority they believed what he said about Ben. They worried terribly about him and tried to get him to be more accepted. Ben was treated this way for years, but once he left the cult and joined a regular school he thrived because of his natural intelligence and enthusiasm.

When carol left Bill told her she was an unfit mother and that he would have his whole congregation testify to that affect. This debilitating fear caused her to be under his spell for years after she left.


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Heavenly Parents from Hell

Joy and I went for a way-too-brief visit with our friend Jeff who goes by psychdoctorate. We went to Taylor's Refresher for some great, casual vittles and good conversation.

Taylor's is a family burger stand in St. Helena, CA. They serve Ahi Tuna burgers (the best) and Blue Cheese burgers (they are amazing) with fine Napa Valley wine - hey, it's a Napa Valley burger stand. Did you expect flat cola and gluey cheeseburgers?

There was a community event there and the place was overrun with little kids. Taking in the sight, Jeff asked us how many kids we wanted. We had to think about it. Odd that we had to pause to think but I do know why. There was something lurking in the back of my mind. It was evil. Sinister.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my night with my niece. Taco Bell, DVD's, popcorn (with a couple of cans of Coke sneaked past my sugar-averse wife and sister-in-law) made for a great night. But the thought at the end of the evening that put me into a really depressed mood has stuck with me - and it reared it's ugly head right there, that night.


I can't help it. I have to say something about this and just how sick and perverse the whole situation was - and may still be.

I know one thing - when it came to the children of their followers, the leaders of the Spiritual Rights Foundation observed no boundaries and practiced no restraint.

Robin Dumolin, Angela Silva and Bill Duby were frequently touted as the "spiritual godparents" of certain of the SRF children. Robin, Angela and Bill accepted their roles with gusto.

Even though Bill had a child of his own, he seemed to be constantly surrounded with his follower's kids. He nearly seemed like the parent of these children. And why not, nearly all of the children related to me Bill was more of a parent to them than their own parents.

Now, were those children victims of abuse or neglect?

Well, no. Not at the hands of their parents anyway.

Bill did keep the parents busy with classes, workshops, work projects, long and vicious verbal abuse, intense and protracted sessions of projecting many of his own bad habits and shortfalls onto the hapless parents for so much of the day, no one had the strength or opportunity to see their kids before bedtime.

He did, of course, alienate children against their parents while elevating himself, Robin and Angela in their eyes.

And through it all, Bill justified his actions by using his honorary title of "godparent" saying he was "fathering from above". Robin and Angela (Angela in particular) were said to be providing divine motherhood for the children.

The role of a godparent is generally accepted as an adult, well familiar in the doctrine of a particular church, who is entrusted to help guide a child's spiritual and religious education. In a legal sense, godparents have no particular parental rights with their godchildren. In a religious sense, they don't either. They are essentially, the child's spiritual advisers; assistants to the parents empowered to speak up on matters of religion as they effect the child and on religion only.

As he did with many other things, Bill took that simple (and limited concept) and ran with it, creating a re-interpretation of the role of "godparent" to a whole new and perverse level.

In Bill's mind, "godparents" were so empowered to assist in the spiritual development of children, there were no bounds to his influence. No limits to his behavior. And no one to stop him, either.

The kids spent more time with Bill, Robin and Angela than their own parents. I know. I saw it.  It is unusual for the church's spiritual leaders to be godparents to their follower's children. Actually, it NEVER happens - except in a cult.

Oh, did I say "CULT"?  I meant a warm and nourishing spiritual kindergarten.  my bad...  Naahhh.... I really meant CULT.

The children were also very aware about how Bill. Robin and Angela spent more time with them than their own parents. I know. The kids told me.

It got so bad, the children were looking to Bill, Robin and Angela for guidance: asking life questions about themselves or who they are or about their parents. The answers were usually phrased around men playing games with women for the purpose of control, deception and manipulation. I know. I listened in on such conversations.

Bill's role as "godfather" was so pervasive, he displaced the real fathers in the lives of the children. He was sure that Robin and Angela were equally enlightened and they soon implanted themselves as "godmothers" with a similar level of interest and as unrestrained as Bill ever was.

Who knows if if Bill watched "The Godfather" too many times, hoping to be a new Don Corleone. Maybe he thought he could create real, honest-to-goodness fairy godmothers here on Earth? Whatever he was thinking, the effect was displacement of the real parents in the child's life for the heavenly misguidance of Bill, Robin and Angela.

I've already written about displacing parents. But the last few days, I kept asking the question: why bump off parents who did nothing more than conceive a child?

I'm really not sure. But I have a guess.

I was prompted to think about this by Jeff's question about how many kids Joy and I want (and I know that sounds unusual). I later related a story to Jeff about Bill elevating the image and status of Angela Silva by saying (among other things) "...they took away her children but she still likes men."

Actually, "they" turned out to be none other than Bill himself.

Some years ago, Bill and Angela were living in a house in Emeryville, CA with Angela's young teen daughter. According to several ex-members, it came out that the daughter had made an allegation to her school counselor that Bill had molested her over a number of years (I would imagine this incident played a huge role in Bill's dictate that the SRF "kids" be home schooled. No school, no school counselor. No school counselor, no worries!).

Bill was so panicked about facing an existence in San Quentin as the special friend of a guy named "Butt-dozer", he asked one of the members to retain an attorney to make arrangements to send the girl to her father in exchange for the girl and her father refusing to cooperate with law enforcement.

The daughter was so angry about her abuse and forced silence she made no contact with her mother for many years. It was until the daughter was well into adulthood (and years after Bill's death) that a reconciliation would take place.

Who knows what Bill said to Angela to set those wheels in motion. The more interesting part to me is what Bill may have done later to compensate Angela for the loss of her daughter. Angela was already set up as a member of the board of directors at SRF and was starting to receive enough income to keep her in credit cards, luxury cars and shopping sprees at Macy's.

So, what was the hole Bill had to fill and how did he fill it?

I think Bill wanted to satisfy Angela's need for motherhood and relieve the pain of losing her daughter in what could be the most cruel and disgusting way possible: he used his followers as surrogates to provide children for Angela. He reduced innocent children to playthings to satisfy the emptiness he created in his partner. He used them to help him avoid the pain of retribution that would surely take place if his partner realized what really happened.

There's something just as perverse. For many years, Bill wanted children with his partner, Robin (no one is sure they ever legally married - they never wore rings and they did not usually refer to each other as "husband" or "wife" as most married couples do). But Robin was famous for balking whenever Bill had that look in his eye. You know: that look.

I'll bet Bill was softening her up by keeping kids around her so he could get right in there (so to speak) and have one of their own.

Bill Duby related (in one of his amazing, and inspiring stories of heavenly and divine lust) that after Robin Dumolin brushed past him without saying a word one night, he followed her, broke down the door to her apartment and took her forcefully right on the living room sofa.  OK, Bill being Bill, he didn't actually say he "took" her.  Bill's description of how his spiritual lust guided him to kick down the door and do the nasty with his spiritual wife was pretty close to rape.

I hope he had the decency to shut the door behind him. Who wants to hear THAT going on? Oh, right. He broke the door down. My bad...

A short time later, he told us he learned he would be a father when Robin said to him "I hope you're satisfied. I'm pregnant."

wow

I hope Joy doesn't give me the news like that.

Note to self: to prevent nasty demeanor in spouse, avoid rape.

Sorry, that should have been note to Bill. My bad again...


Robin was surrounded with children almost as much as the other two leaders. Generally, she said her own daughter wanted playmates and that explained the constant presence of the member's children.

But to me, to others it looked like more than that.

The child of one SRF couple seemed to be around Robin a lot. Not in the way that makes you say it's something cute. It's more like Paris Hilton with her fashion accessory chihuahua.

I think Bill Duby took "godparent-ing" so far, he not only used children to maintain his status with his women but he used his influence, Robin's influence and Angela's influence to maintain assert control over the children and their parents. I have already written about the disgusting, horrible manner that Bill displaced fathers. Kids soon ignored their own fathers, brushing right past them so they can run into Bill's arms at bedtime.

When one of the fathers clashed with Robin and the leadership, we heard Robin refer to herself as the "spiritual mother" of the child. Saying the father was unavailable and distant and the mother too crazy to have been a good mother. Robin made herself available to this child at all hours, taking the child with her and spending as much time with her as possible while she helped the child's mother plot a divorce action designed to ram the father out of the picture. This behavior continued until the child was in the teenage years.

The real parents were certainly not cast in Bill's mold. By any standard, they were good parents given the circumstances and both had a good, solid bond with the child. But when the father had a falling-out with Robin, Robin worked hard to be sure the father was worked out of the child's life.

The faithful few remaining at the Spiritual Rights Foundation would love to name the SRF leaders as godparents of all the children - no matter how the "godparent" role works out.

Because SRF godparents are the best godparents. And a good godparent should always displace real parents. In the best interest of the child's welfare and spiritual development, of course.

Bill Duby kept spouting "it takes a village to raise a child" over and over and over again. It was enough to make you seasick. We assumed he meant WE were the village. In Bill's damaged mind though, the village was he, Robin and Angela.

And that village was an exclusive one. One child hovered around the periphery of Bill's village receiving then not receiving the same attention showered on the others. One child was excluded altogether. Another child was on the outs for a number of years until attrition (and growing up) thinned out the ranks of the SRF children. The village got lonely, apparently.

There are only two very small children left at the Spiritual Rights Foundation. I have no idea how things are shaping up for them. I hope they don't wind up as a plaything, seeing nothing but the walled garden of the village and encountering no one but its leaders. Those children deserve a better existence than that.

I hope the village closed the Kindergarten for the children's sake.