The Academy for Psychic Studies - New Site, Same Shite

Update:

Has anyone else noticed that there are NO NAMES OF THE LEADERS nor are there any more pictures of the people still there.  No leadership pictures either.

I think they are on the run, trying to hide from the evil in the world.  That evil is all who would expose them to the world.

So actually, it's not the world that is so evil, isn't it?

There is little information there outside of them telling you to spend money on classes.

But the Clairvoyant Training Program is only 4 MONTHS long!  Of course, that means only four months at a time, actually.  Like us, the poor victims of this cult will find themselves renewing a session at a time until they wake up one morning to find a decade has passed by.

I know of some students in the Clairvoyant Training Program who have left because it took years to complete, with no end in sight.  Of course, they were demeaned and degraded as those who "can't have the teaching".

Seems to me they did have it.  And they had enough of it.

I've seen one who has set up a psychic reading practice.  She's a very good person who does care about the people who call or visit her.  I hope she does well with it.

Another has a bodywork practice and is highly rated for her effectiveness and professionalism.

They are both great people to know and are very talented.  And neither appears to mention their time at this worthless cult - even the person who has set up a reading practice.

Maybe that's all you need to know about the Academy for Psychic Studies.  If those who have been there don't want to talk about it and the Academy for Psychic Studies themselves don't want to talk about themselves, can you really say there's something of value there?

============================

There's a new web site for the psychotics on Ellsworth Street. While I can't link directly to the Spiritual Rights Foundation's new web site, you can certainly Google them.

It looks better, I have to admit and I encourage you to take a peek at it.

There is a troubling bit of information, though.  Look at the title.  They are changing their public name to the Academy for Psychic Studies, most likely to avoid the bad publicity from the title "Spiritual Rights Foundation".

However, if you Google "Academy for Psychic Studies" you will see some important entries: the factnet page containing all those articles (and this blog) critical of the Academy for Psychic Studies, Joy's anti-Academy for Psychic Studies vlog and this blog.

They'll have to be more creative to duck the tomatoes coming their way. The public is more and more interested in knowing exactly what goes on at the Academy for Psychic Studies.  So, you and me will be the ones to give the other side of the story.  I pledge to continue to provide he truth for as long as it appears necessary (or as long as I can hold up).  I hope you all will be there as well.

I had to point out the new SRF site to all.  And I have to point out that the Academy for Psychic Studies is just another name for just another evil cult.

Who the hell is ISHI Hypnosis?

I keep statistics on who is reading the blog.

Now, don't worry about me knowing exactly who you are. I only get an IP address and a general location. I won't track down any of the many readers and commenters - unless you threaten anyone, anywhere with any kind of physical act.

You DO have the right to call someone a name here (like the "Witches of Ellsworth" or "Angela and Robin are a couple of dried up cunts" or even "Rev. Bill was a lying con artist". That is the First Amendment in action, like it or not and those statements were upheld as absolutely LEGAL by the Superior Court of the State of California.

As they have for years now, ISHI Hypnosis is holding classes for hypnosis training. And as it has been for years, those classes are being held at the SRF headquarters in Berkeley.

And as usual, the cost is some $2225.00 per person - with a 20% discount if you pay online with PayPal! That makes it only $1780.00 for your certificate (now think about it: if ISHI Hypnosis was indeed thriving as they claim, why offer up a 20% discount?).

I'd say it's worth the money, considering you can't possibly fail. You'll be certified, no question about it. I was. I missed half the questions. I took the final exam while sick and totally unable to see straight (kind of like that time in Tijuana on Spring Break. or was that Lake Havasu? or maybe the Padre Islands? hell, I don't remember . I was drunk, you know.)

I probably would have done no worse if I were drunk during my ISHI Hypnosis final exam. Come to think of it, I'd probably have a lot more fun if I was...

Anyway, whenever there is an ISHI Hypnosis training class, I usually see a huge bump in hits from people searching for ISHI Hypnosis.

But not lately.

Lately, there's been no Google's on ISHI Hypnosis. None. Nothing at all. In fact, there hasn't been many queries on ISHI Hypnosis since the beginning of the year.

I wonder what that is all about? Is there so little interest in ISHI that no one is looking? This blog is just a few slots below the ISHI home site. Maybe no one is bothering to look at this blog? Maybe no one can be bothered to look up the other side of the ISHI story?

Who knows?

All I know is: no one has come to this blog as a result of searching for ISHI. That does not necessarily mean no one is interested in ISHI Hypnosis. Nor does that mean no one is interested in what this blog has to say about ISHI Hypnosis.

I'm not exactly sure what that means just yet.

However, I can say that SRF thinks there is a huge relationship between what is written in this blog and the evaporating interest in ISHI Hypnosis.

In their FAILED complaint against me, SRF claimed five people called SRF to say they would not attend ISHI Hypnosis training because of the information they found in this blog. Again, there is no way to know how true this is. Legally, because they dropped their suit after I filed an anti-SLAPP motion, their claims are without merit and could be considered false (I am legally entitled to file a SLAPP-back suit against SRF for their false prosecution).

In a moral sense, you'd have to apply your own judgment to SRF's claim.

If you think their claim is true, that tells you the strength of the First Amendment and renews our faith in people - at least some of them were careful enough to check out the other side of the story and make up their own minds.

If you think their claim is false, well it is just another falsity in a long string of lies and distortions (and it takes some mighty big testicles - or a pea-sized brain, to make a false claim and send it to a JUDGE).

Anyhow, exposing those lies is why this blog exists.

So who is ISHI Hypnosis?

I have no idea. All I know is Robin Dumolin and Angela Silva scoop up the money. As a fictitious business name owned by the Spiritual Rights Foundation, ISHI Hypnosis IS the Spiritual Rights Foundation. And all the money paid to ISHI goes straight to SRF. In fact, I recall writing a check to SRF when paying for ISHI Hypnosis training. Does anyone else?

So, who the hell is ISHI Hypnosis?

Can anyone tell me?

What is it they do? How valuable is it? Who's taking the training and how many are taking it?

And why is it worth $2225.00 (or even worth the 20% discount)?

Oh, I know why: it's because you can get a certificate even if you fail the certification test. Gee, that's like getting a driver's license after taking the test drunk. I wish my college worked that way. I could have got a degree on Spring Break!

God DOES have a sense of humor

I bet this was Robin and Angela when they looked
out the window this morning.

I would have loved to be there to see it...

Today the Academy for Psychic Studies attended the "Spice of Life" fair in Berkeley, CA:

Spice of Life Street Fair
Sunday, October 17, 10am-6pm

Free Healings
A variety of psychic readings:
Next Step in Growth, Aura, Past Lives
Relationships, Career, Prosperity, Past Life

It's the first public appearance for the psychotic readers, energetic healers and otherwise deluded crackpots in a while. Unfortunately for them, the weather in Berkeley has been terrible with an early rain that has poured down all morning and dribbled the rest of the day, making for a very dreary, wet, cold day.  It's certainly not the kind of day we Bay Area residents would want to be outside.

I would have loved to see the looks on the faces of the Witches of Ellsworth when they saw the weather.  And when the metal box the "donations" for the bogus psychotic readings and retarded energy healings came back empty, I wonder who they blamed for their misfortune. Probably Sherry again.  Or maybe any of the other older members of this demented and mentally deficient organization.

Well whoever they put on the Spiritual Rights Foundation waterboard, I'm still laughing my ass off at a coincidence of events so perfect, it had to be God setting up a situation comedy.

In the Academy for Psychic Studies case, it wouldn't be the first time.  Just think about all the times people were ecstatic about an event, mocking up success and thinking about how well things would go then would be crushed when it all fell apart.

Or think about the time we did something like a fair, a demonstration or other event "spontaneously" and had to run around like our hair was on fire trying to get all the things we needed to accomplish said "spontaneous" task because no one was given a chance to sit down, think things through and actually create a plan of action and follow up with a list of materials and people needed to decide if we could even consider doing it.

I shook my head back then.  Now I laugh my ass off.  SRF and the Academy are the best damn show in town.  No better comedy could possibly be imagined.

Even if they fall flat on their faces due to bad weather or because they tripped over their own feet.

Steve Sanchez on the SRF Response

Steve Sanchez has generously contributed this observation to the response by SRF.

=======================================
The letter by SRF to Mike and joy has a suffocating quality to it, no doubt especially for someone like myself who was in the cult.

The reason being this: the letter demonstrates how they insulate themselves in superiority. They never deny anything that has been said about them; that is beneath them. They communally wipe away all of the abuses of Bill and themselves by saying that any negatives towards SRF are the projections of those who left.

With this thought they can and will deny anything and everthying. As lame as this sounds to anyone on the outside, they really believe this; they must believe it to survive. They are completely unprepared to engage in a genuine dialogue, because communally they are dominated by their shadow to the point that they have become it, and will do everything to protect it.

This is why professionals are educated in ethics in all fields, such as psychology, ministry, and teaching. The study of ethics helps a person to see their own needs and other's needs. It helps a person to see a situation in its whole context, and the consequences that a particular situation has for all who have a stake in it. This is studied in the light of what it means to be faithful to God, and how we can be of service to one another.

The SRF version of ethics according to this letter goes something like this: All of you who have left SRF must deal with the consequences of your projections, but we are above that. We are inviolable and everything negative that has happened is the failure of the others.

Behind the facade of this letter is enmity and hatred. Swedenborg would even call it a deadly hatred. I say that because the lifers in SRF have allowed their anger and hatred to become trapped under an elaborate superiority that is actually all about denial. The SRF life is a constant process of scolding and abusing each other, and then doling out validation. This is very similar to the process of spousal abuse. Surface appearances are kept up, but behind it in their will, it is all about contention, conflict and hatred.

I say it is deadly because when this becomes the dominate motive in ones will that person begins to lose their soul. This is why Bill loved to, and was a master at, playing games with people's minds. He could get people to hate him, while they thought they loved him. He could get people to hate him, and be completely ashamed to ever recognise it. This is how he took peoples souls, which he so brazenly claimed to do.

Those who remain at SRF know these things, but, as demonstrated by this letter, are unlikely to ver recognize it. Those of us who have left SRF have had to deal with and face all of these feelings as I have written about before. It takes courage and self reflection. It is sinister to be instrumental in causing the trauma of people and then turn around and say that it is all their own doing. Their intent is to avoid their own pain, and compound the pain of others. The only way to do that is to insulate themselves in superiority and blamelessness. be This is what the SRF letter is all about.

I remember the abhorrence I had when I realized that to be part of SRF meant to be superior to others. I was inwardly terrified at the spiritual consequences of this. I remember one day after Harpreet had been berated all night by Bill for trying to get back with his wife and kids. I was standing with Angela at the Russell street property. She was going to escort me into the woman's house in the back to fix something, and we were waiting for them to be ready. She included me as her buddy for the moment, and was laughing at harpreet (who lived in the front house on the property) and giggled, "He is probably masturbating right now wishing he could be with Debi.That is why he is late".

She held him in deep disgust, and delighted in is pain and misfortune, when, in fact, the man was actually trying to fight to be with his own kids. She was probably repeating some crude comment of Bill's, but she forgets her own shadow.

She is the one that chose to be with the man who raped her own daughter over being with her abused daughter. I tell this story at the end of my book Spiritual Perversion. Angela's daughter, Angie, spoke to Rhondi years later about this and never forgave Angela for it.

In my book part of my purpose was to thoroughly expose my own shadow and that of SRF with painstaking honesty for the sake of understanding and helping others.

Mike and Joy have done a great service for all of us by further exposing SRF and showing them that they are not above the law. In fact SRF's denial blinds them so that they have very little self awareness of how foolish they are.


Steve Sanchez

Paradise Recovered Premieres!

The premiere is here!  Paradise Recovered will premiere at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis, IN Saturday October 16, 2010.

Here's the Facebook page with tix information.

And on October 21, 2010, Paradise Recovered will be screened at the Austin Film Festival.  Woohoo!

I've gone on a lot about this film.  So I'll just go on some more:

This is a great film about discovering the beauty of the real world after being secluded in a highly controlling religion.

The filmmakers did an excellent job of telling the story of a young woman recovering her love of life and finding that paradise is in the world around her.  The film is beautifully shot and unlike too many indie films, the acting, the writing, and the production are all amazing.

Go see this film when it comes to your town or DVD.   Part of your ticket will help those who need to recover from a cult experience afford treatment and besides, you help support a great group of filmmakers, artists, actors and crew who made a tremendous film.

New Posts!

OK, so most of them are not-so-new.

I added some commentary to some older posts and put them up on this page for you.  You might find some information you may have forgotten or otherwise missed (probably because they are so damn long).  Anyway, it's worth a good read.

Please especially look at the Scientology/Spiritual Rights Foundation connection.  Tell me if that has any relation to your experiences with SRF.  A comment would be welcome and important.
I also found a web site for the hypnosis business of one of the current members of SRF.  I have nothing against her practising her craft for her own reasons and her own living.  In fact, I hope she does well - very well.  You might remember her - she's that woman at the well.  Although she and I had a perverse and troubled relationship, I think she has made a huge improvement with her life - and it's only partly due to hypnosis and not only do I wish her well, I am happy to see she is, well, happy.  If you know who I am talking about, look her up.  Of all the crazy stories we have from SRF, at least this one has turned out for the better.

Please take some time for a read of my re-purposed posts and make a comment of your own.  Or just take it all in.  I think it will all make the craziness of the Spiritual Rights Foundation make a little more sense.   It might even get you to think about your own successes in life now that you have found freedom.

Compare and Contrast

I'm going to point you guys to a post by my friend, Jeff Watts. He talks about the financial workings of the prototype model for the Spiritual Rights Foundation, The Berkeley Psychic Institute.

Jeff ran the accounting for BPI for some number of years. He saw the money come in and go out. In fact he saw every penny that came in and went out. Jeff has a Bachelor's in BizAd (all right, that means Business Administration - sheesh, try to save a few keystrokes...) and based on his direct experience with the BPI books and his BA in BizAd says:

"The Church of Divine Man has not to the best of my knowledge, ever mismanaged or done any illegal activity with its money."

Compare that statement to the things the members of the Spiritual Rights Foundation saw every day.

All I know about is that I and others gave money, labor and goods for the purchase and upkeep of the "SRF" farm in Bethel Island. We thought it was an SRF farm anyway. We all gave money to SRF, not Robin and Angela. We thought we were supporting SRF, not Robin and Angela. Our checks were written to "Spiritual Rights Foundation". Our cash was deposited into an SRF donation envelope and collected by an SRF staff member. We believed that farm was "the people's place" for retreats and peaceful meditation. We thought that farm belonged to the congregation.

It turns out, Robin Dumolin and Angela Silva own the "SRF" farm.  This is a fact.  My attorney and I both pulled up the official records from Contra Costa County in California.  The deed from the seller was written out to Robin and Angela.

The "SRF Farm" turned into Iraq. Endless amounts of labor and money, much of it straight from the members of SRF being dumped into a black hole on the Sacramento River Delta. I'll elaborate in another post (well, maybe - there are other things rolling around too).

Apparently, other former members of SRF are quietly speaking about other less-than-reputable activity going on there. If those activities are indeed true, SRF will have some explaining to do.

I'm not surprised. Bill related a story to me about the tax situation of a for-profit company operated by his wife. Bill said his wife was running in circles in a conniption over her company (Health and Wealth) having to pay income tax on its pitiful net profit. Bill's solution? Increase the company's donation to the Spiritual Rights Foundation so as to lower the company's income and avoid paying tax. Genius, isn't it? Give, Take and Cheat all at once!

He told me this story with great pride, saying it was a right to avoid paying taxes. I agree, the government does encourage all taxpayers to pay no more than their fair share (which is the smallest amount possible) - as long as you act within the law.

Maybe it's technically legal to make a donation to a non-profit to reduce your tax.

But donate from YOUR for-profit company to YOUR non-profit church? HUH?

How about it? Are there any other tales of SRF "ledger"-demain? Any other stories of the financial genius of Bill Duby?

Compare and Contrast Part Deux

You can draw your own conclusions from the below description of the woes the Church of Scientology is facing with the current woes of the Spiritual Rights Foundation.  

However, the parallels that appear between the situations at Scientology and SRF are remarkable and if I heard it right (my wife frequently says I don't, so let me know if that is the case) there is a similar situation happening at the Berkeley Psychic Institute.  Maybe the Psychdoctorate can help us understand if BPI is also feeling pressure.  

I imagine BPI is - they moved from that magnificent building in Downtown Berkeley to a commercial office space in a crappy part of town.  I would imagine that is a result of lower membership revenue or some other reduction in income, indicating less interest in BPI or what they have to offer.

If there are truly no accidents in the universe and there is no such thing as a coincidence, I'd say there is some kind of other-worldly, spiritual or divine presence at work here with three similar organizations experiencing similar woes at similar times.

Or, more likely, people are getting wise to them.

I'm going to keep up the pressure on the Spiritual Rights Foundation.  Our side of the SRF story will be available to all.

I'll give those who are looking to SRF for, well, whatever they are looking for, that opportunity for objectivity and the information they need to make a rational choice.

And I'll keep it up, no matter how many 20-something young women cry to their mommies, tell lies to their friends and act like Lindsey Lohan on drugs.

---------------------------------------------------

Here's an article on the dark times the Church of Scientology faces today:

Defections, court fights
test Scientology

By ERIC GORSKI, AP Religion Writer Eric Gorski,
Ap Religion Writer 2 hrs 16 mins ago

The Church of Scientology is going through a difficult season.

Over the course of two days last week, a French court convicted the church of fraud and Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis' resignation from the church over a litany of concerns was aired publicly. On one hand, it was just another bad press week for the embattled institution founded in 1953 by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.

But for former Scientologists and scholars of the movement, the setbacks pose a greater challenge coming on the heels of defections of top-level Scientologists who lifted a veil of secrecy on the organization and alleged a culture of violence and control under Hubbard's successor, David Miscavige.

"With any organization, the loss of a substantial number of your most experienced people and chaos at the upper levels is problematic," said David Bromley, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor who studies new religious movements and has written on Scientology. "There are PR implications, the possibility of legal actions ... That dwarfs the other things."

The church has strenuously denied the allegations against Miscavige, portraying the accusers as lying disgruntled ex-employees.

Church spokesman Tommy Davis said Scientology is flourishing, with more than 8,000 Scientology churches, missions and groups in 160-plus nations. He said assets and property holdings have doubled over the past five years, including a new church in Rome and another opening this weekend in Washington, D.C.

"From our perspective, things are going pretty great," Davis said. "In fact, that's downplaying it. Actually, what's happening with the church right now is frankly spectacular. To the degree there are these various things happening, it really is a lot of noise."

One major survey of American religion shows Scientology declining in the U.S., however. The estimated number of Americans who identify as Scientologists rose from 45,000 in 1990 to 55,000 in 2001, then plummeted to 25,000 in 2008, according to the American Religion Identification Survey.

Davis said that while the church avoids membership estimates, it's "absolutely in the millions" globally and growing in the U.S.

Scientology has long been controversial. The Internal Revenue Service granted the church tax exemption in 1993 after a nearly four-decade battle over whether it should be considered a religion.

Critics say Scientology is a business, preying on people by charging exorbitant sums for services.
The church continues to fascinate, fueled by interest in celebrity adherents such as Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley, as well as beliefs that don't fit into typical American religious boxes.

Hubbard taught that the "thetan," the equivalent of a spirit, can be cleared of negative energy from this and previous lives through a process called auditing. With the aid of auditors, Scientologists seek a state called "Clear" and then advance through various levels of "Operating Thetan."

The allegations of violence were leveled by four former high-ranking Scientology executives who told their stories to the St. Petersburg Times last summer. The executives said they witnessed Miscavige, chairman of the board that oversees the church, hit staff members dozens of times and urged others to do the same.

Davis called the allegations "absolutely, unquestionably false" and "sickening and outrageous." ABC's "Nightline" aired a report this month covering much of the same ground.

To critics of Scientology and ex-members who have grown increasingly vocal in recent years, it's a breakthrough — critical voices from former members of the inner circle, not the media or outsiders.

"When you have dozens of people speaking out, it's no longer too credible to say they're all malcontents and criminals," said Jeff Hawkins, a former Scientology marketing guru who defected in 2005. "(The church) is either going to reform or collapse, and I think it's going to be the latter because they're incapable of reform or admitting any wrongdoing."

One defector, Marty Rathbun, who served on the church's board and was a top lieutenant of Miscavige's, said a growing movement of people hold to the tenets of Scientology, but reject the institutional church.

"I don't foresee another church," Rathbun said. "That was the first attack on me — that this was a coup, that I'm trying to tap a schism or start another church ... That's not an objective of mine or a positive way to go."

Haggis, the Oscar-winning director of "Crash," was not a high-ranking Scientologist. But his defection is significant, said actor Jason Beghe, who left the church in 2007 and has become a critic.

"He was somebody the Scientology community was proud of, and therefore I'm sure he helped hold some of their base in place," said Beghe, who appeared in the film "G.I. Jane" and TV's "Everwood" and is cast in Haggis' next film, now shooting in Pittsburgh. "Anybody who is a Scientologist is harboring doubts."

It was Rathbun who obtained a copy of Haggis' critical letter to Davis and posted it on his blog. Haggis complained that Davis didn't do enough to distance Scientology from proponents of California's gay marriage ban. He criticized the church's "smearing" of the high-level defectors.

The filmmaker also wrote about the church's practice of "disconnection," in which members cut off contact with loved ones who leave or advocate against the religion — something Davis said is not mandated.

A day after Haggis' letter went public, a Paris court convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud and fined it more than $900,000, but stopped short of banning the group's activities in France. The organization's French branch likened it to a modern-day Inquisition and said it would appeal.

Davis questioned the attention paid to the French verdict, saying that little notice was given when the church won court victories in Italy and Russia that cemented the church's presence in those countries.

He said the top-level defections are not troubling, but rather a gain for the church.

Some scholars of Scientology believe the recent setbacks are momentary.

Defectors are overly optimistic about doing any real damage, said J. Gordon Melton, director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion in Santa Barbara, Calif., and editor of a book on Scientology.

"If five cardinals walked out of the Roman Catholic Church and turned on it and said there are bad things happening, it'd be a storm, but the church would weather the storm," Melton said. "I think Scientology is big enough to where it can and will weather the storm."

Most religions, Scientology included, experience disagreement and leadership turmoil after a founder's death and survive, said Susan Palmer, a religious studies professor at Dawson College in Montreal.

"I think they'll end up like the Mormon church or Jehovah's Witnesses, that were very controversial in our time but now are largely accepted," Palmer said.

Others think the Church of Scientology is in trouble. Along with the defections and French court setback, Scientology has been unable to stop Internet leaks of confidential material that members must pay a premium for, said Hugh Urban, a professor in the department of comparative studies at Ohio State University.

"They're really losing what has been the bread and butter," Urban said.

Meanwhile, an online betting parlor is taking wagers on the next celebrity Scientologist to leave.

___

On the Net:

Church of Scientology International: http://www.scientologytoday.org/

Marty Rathbun's blog: http://markrathbun.wordpress.com/

Comments on the Academy for Psychic Studies Response

Well, it's been a year since the Spiritual Rights Foundation and the trained psychotics at their Academy for Psychic Studies have compelled us to display their response to this blog.

I've posted it. I've made my comments on it.

But in the year since, not a single person has made any kind of comment on it.

Why is that?

Possibly because it's a stinking heap of dung? Maybe it's an incomprehensible, rambling and pointless mess?

Or maybe they have a real point there?

The psychotics of the Academy for Psychic Studies tell us we are psychologically damaged, projecting our shortcomings and disappointments on poor little them. I see Robin Dumolin and Angela Silva dabbing their eyes as they claim they have done no harm to anyone and do not take advantage of anyone. How could anyone say they have ever done anything but benefit the lives of so many?

They tell us we who know the truth speak with the same forked tongue they use to deceive and exploit the remains of their followers.

They say we are the true demons for speaking the truth. They say we are hallucinating as we relate our own tales of abuse, exploitation and overall nasty treatment at their hands.

They still hold on to the delusion they have created such a fabulous life for so many. Can anyone say these Witches of Ellsworth are indeed Fairy Godmothers?

I don't know. Since I ask that you make up your own minds, I am posting the infamous "response" to this blog for your commentary.

Please be sure to have a bucket, bag or are close to the toilet as you read this. And remember that if you have a tender constitution, you may experience flashbacks, nightmares or other uncomfortable events as you read this. So please take care. Don't continue if you are prone to nausea.

Take a read of their sewage. Once you have slammed a bottle of Pepto, please leave your own commentary.  I would love to see it.

And enjoy Joy's Victory Video after you read.

====================================

Anonymous Bag of Shit Cult Goon said...

THE SPIRITUAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION RESPONSE
TO
MICHAEL KAWAHARA AND JOY FAITH BUTLER

The Spiritual Rights Foundation was founded in 1981. Since its inception, thousands of seeking souls have come through its doors. For some seekers, SRF was a brief sojourn on their path, for others, an abiding spiritual home.

For those who have come and gone, SRF has nothing but good wishes, understanding that those who left found what they needed and then journeyed on. Some former students of SRF have gone on to be spiritual guides and teachers in their own right, and many of those still maintain a warm and nourishing connection with SRF. On the other hand, a small number who have left SRF have expressed hostility and anger toward SRF after leaving. Some have made the most outrageous and fantastic claims against SRF.

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.

Spiritual teachers are subjected to all manner of projections from their students. Students project their higher selves as well as their shadows onto their teacher. Discerning students recognize that they are projecting their own psychic wounds on to the teacher. These students continue to grow and mature. Some students do not understanding the phenomenon of projection and believe that what they are seeing in the teacher is really inherent in the teacher. These students can become stuck in their confusion and anger and, as a result, fail to progress.

The late Rev. Bill, the founder of SRF, was the recipient all kinds of projections from his students. Rev. Bill was an iconoclast who refused to be held to a particular form. He was a spiritual teacher that never conformed to the stereotypical image that people hold of a spiritual teacher. As a flame can illuminate one’s path or burn one’s hand, so was Rev. Bill. He was challenging to some because he confronted students who tried to hide behind false conceptions and worn-out ways of being. For those who knew and understood him, Rev. Bill was a guiding light on their path to Truth.

Some of Rev. Bill’s former students had difficulty in assimilating his teachings, and in understanding who he was. In order to justify leaving SRF, these students painted a picture of Rev. Bill as a dangerous man. However, these students failed to grasp that the image they painted was simply a projection from their own psyche. They failed to realize that the real danger lies in not understanding that what they have projected onto Rev. Bill is the picture of their own unresolved inner wounds.

Many charges and wild allegations have been hurled at Rev. Bill and SRF by a small–but vocal--group of former students. Rev. Bill cannot defend against the charges, and SRF chooses not to do so. For those who believe the wild stories told by some former students, nothing SRF can say will change they minds. SRF invites those who want to see the truth with their own eyes to come, take a look at SRF’s work, meet the current students and teachers, listen to the teachings, and then to listen to the teaching that comes from their own hearts.
July 17, 2009 11:37 AM

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Comments from the original post (which has nothing at all to do with the above).


Anonymous said...
Here is a scene that is an example of what Mike is talking about:

Bill Duby, the cult leader, went on for hours, talking about me in the third person to the class about how sick my soul was and comparing me to others who “stole money” from SRF and who were now “asleep,” or in other words, in a state of spiritual death.

He painted all those who had left SRF as having fallen into karmic ruin, or as power-tripping fools whom he had completely defeated mentally, or as people who had basically become psychologically debilitated or insane from messing with the teaching.

When we heard this, part of us was vengefully delighted that we were doing so much better than those who had left, and the other part of us was full of dread and determined to never suffer such an unthinkable fate.

Rev. Bill often said, “I am happier here in my misery as a prisoner of the teaching than most of you are in you freedom.”

During his usual monologue, he occasionally got Rev. Ang and Robin to say something devastating about me, and sometimes addressed me directly for an answer.

They went on to tell their plans of what they were going to do with me. As they talked about me in the third person, I found some distance between myself and them. I was shaken beyond my capacity and knew this was not right. I knew at this point that I would have to leave.

The thoughts of the horror and hatefulness of the place were growing stronger in my mind, but concurrently I still thought Rev. Bill was an authority and that he had spiritual power. It was strange how the two antagonistic thought patterns coexisted in my mind.

Because I still feared Rev. Bill as an authority, I was deeply doubtful and concerned about my own moral standing with God. This is where the two diametrically opposed thought patterns started to merge and I would have to sort it out, one painful, fear-filled thought at a time. I was desperate. I had to find a way out of this nightmare.
July 16, 2009 1:46 AM


Mike Kawahara said...
Thanks Steve.

You spoke out about your experience and revealed the truth about the abuse, lies and cruelty you endured. By doing that, we have seen you regain your life and find the strength to continue.

I found Steve and others who have been candid about their experiences with SRF and have been open and communicative about their disappointments, anger, frustrations and guilt were more able to find healing and recovery - things they longed to receive from the very cult that abused them.

To stay silent about the abuse is the beginning of a long, difficult road.

To maintain the lie, to keep up appearances, to "fake it until you make it" works like a Vycodin for your soul. You might feel good for a while - a long while even. But that issue remains, the pain returns and you'll need another dose - putting you on the destructive cycle of pain and healing SRF used to exploit and control you.

Staying silient about your plight continues the SRF trademark of hypnotic control, leading to the death of your soul and the elimination of your spirit for life (YOUR life).

To speak out may be rocky at first, but with the support of others who share your experience, you will find the road will be easier to navigate.

You will find you can life your life and enjoy it. You can live your life without fear.

Please see my post about our pledge.

Our hands are open and the coffee pot is on. And we won't make you pay for a cup.

I'll even pick up a nice, fresh bag of Peet's for you and a dozen Krispy Kremes.

Joy makes some mean baklava as well. It's all yours.
July 16, 2009 2:10 PM


Marilyn Daily Junkins said...
I left SRF 19 years ago after 7 years of tyranny.

The last two years, after I was "ordained" were brutal, horrific years of shame and torture where I felt I was living in two worlds without anyone to whom I could really talk; who could really understand what I was going through.

I knew I couldn't speak with Angela, Robin, Debi or Bill ... they would only make me feel worse, or demand money to heal me. What a relief when I left SRF and discovered my own inner healing over time. Even after all this time, I was so glad to find Mike and Joy's blogs and to learn that I was not alone in my experience.

Thank God the two of you, Steve, and Mason, all had the courage to speak of your experiences and free yourselves from the bondage of Bill's mind. I hope that the others still there can find the way out and SRF can be disbanded without ruining any more lives.

Friend me at Facebook to get my email address.

Questions waiting for answers

I've spoken to many ex-members of SRF. All of them have the same thing to say: "I just can't figure out why those people left are not leaving."

I can't either.

But let's look at how the membership of this dysfunctional and valueless organization has changed over the years.

In its heyday, the SRF membership was some 35 staff ministers and ministers in training. There were nearly that many casual members taking six-week classes, psychic readings and enjoying the healing clinics.

These members were dedicated. They toiled night and day performing manual construction labor, writing, creating audio and video recordings, and always learning and learning. Oh, and paying too. Paying the fees for classes and materials, paying the tithe that was strongly suggested of them. Paying for the recorded materials they created. And throughout it all, none of them could imagine life without the spiritual comforts of the Spiritual Rights Foundation and its leaders.

But over time, people began to see that the Emperor (and Empresses) had no clothes. One woman left because of a dispute over her inheritance (a situation similar to my own). Others left because of the crushing financial demands or the oppressive demands for free labor and the endless requirement for classes, workshops and special sessions.


A brave group of men and women left the Spiritual Rights Foundation because of the demands made by the leadership to end their church-arranged marriages or relinquish custody of their children (and end their parent-child relationship as well). When they refused, the leader conducted a campaign to discredit those people and created a campaign of manufactured and false claims of child abuse against one such parent.

Dissatisfaction happens in all organizations, even those that are well operated. At SRF, the number of people leaving had nearly well equaled the number who stayed. Historically, that was fine. There were many people interested in the cult. The leaders were quick to identify and rope in the ones they wanted to stay.

But at some point the numbers started to dwindle. I think it began to happen about the time the fathers of children born into the cult started to stand up for the rights of their children.

This group of dissident dads fighting for the freedom of their children were originally some of the most devoted and faithful of the followers. They would have never dreamt that they would someday fight against the very church they were so devoted to. But fight they did, as they must.
At that time, the mind control perpetuated by Bill Duby began to wane. Bill was fighting a war on many fronts for his public image as well as for control over the people remaining at his cult. Even for Bill, it was an impossible task. This fight wore him down to the point where he couldn't keep up. Bill eventually died suddenly from a cardiac arrest.

Bill's death at first solidified his cult. But only for a short time. The hairline cracks in Bills armor began to expand. The house of cards he built teetered. Many of this followers began to question his particular brand of spirituality. And many more began to understand that without the overbearing and unrestrained tirades of Bill Duby the feet of SRF were built of clay. And it was time to make an exit.

From the time of Bill's death in 2001 to today, the membership of SRF has declined significantly. It looks to me to be well over half. In fact, one estimate is that only 16 staff ministers remain at the Spiritual Rights Foundation. Estimates by myself and others indicate that at least double the number of present ministers are needed to continue a thriving operation. And as there are as few as two non-ministers in the congregation, the size of the congregation has dwindled from a roar of enthusiastic young people to a mere whisper of those in middle-age.

Tasks that were simple and quick to accomplish when Bill was alive became excruciating (or even impossible) today. In the early days, only minor errors were made in the web site and publications. Today, there are numerous omissions, errors and other shortcomings with their public communications. Events of months past still appear on the web sites, future events are sloppily described and appear to have been posted in haste. Descriptions of classes and workshops are sketchy and even more ambiguous than usual.

The American Spirit Newspaper, once the pride of the Spiritual Rights Foundation is no longer published in print form. The web version still displays a Happy New Year message for 2008. SRF's "Paranormal Connection" television broadcasts (available on Public Access Cable TV) has only a few shows, broadcast over and over again. There's not enough people remaining to record any more shows than that.

The slow decline of the Spiritual Rights Foundation is already starting. I think the slope will just get steeper and steeper.

If I could talk to those who remain, I wouldn't corner them in a basement and demand they leave the cult. I'd just ask them a few short questions.


Questions like:

- How much of your life have you missed?

- Would you want to spend your remaining days on earth for the benefit of you and yours?

- Are you willing to spend your time on earth for someone else's benefit and wealth at the expense of your own benefit and wealth?

- If you could live your life any way you wanted, would you do it? Can you do it now?

- If you could have more in your life than you have now, would you want it?

- Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?

- Who's projecting their spiritual shortcomings on you?


And most of all:

- Don't you deserve more than the life you have now?



Of course, if I asked these questions, the SRF-ies would respond with a stern look and beating on the head with Bill Duby's "Cosmic Acid" as directed by the leadership.

But why don't you ask the SRF faithful? Or better yet, if you happen to be one of the remaining SRF faithful, ask yourself those questions. And leave a comment with your answers. We would be thrilled to see them.

It's the law of attraction, stupid!

r
Originally posted Nov. 12, 2008




After some time stewing over the insanity that was my life the last decade or so, I realized something.


One of the tenets of the Spiritual Rights Foundation is to bring what you want from a mental picture down to your body. That means take action. If you want something, just do it.


I kept this blog on the DL for quite a while. A hit was a rarity. Comments, non-existent. I didn't promote the blog ever. I never talked about it, not even to my wife. It was a personal blog. I figured that it was just a way for me to vent. A journal of my thoughts. A way to pull back the curtains of my mind.


All that changed lately. After some number of months of having a stealth blog, my wife said "Those people piss me off, I wish someone would write a blog about that place". So I said someone had and told her where to find it. She read my blog, surprised to see what was there.


Of course after that, I couldn't just stop. So I kept writing. And writing. And writing.


Then an old friend happened on the blog. She liked it. After a great day with her, my wife decided now was the time to create her own blog and bring mine to light.


Now, I did not prompt her to do this. She did it entirely on her own. Personally, I like to think that the ramblings you see here is kind of like graffiti - seen but not taken seriously. But her perspective was different. A lot different.


Bless her heart, she outed me. It's the kick in the ass that was necessary. I guess Hockey Moms aren't the only ones who have something in common with Pit Bulls. She thought my blog has something important to say to the world and brings the outsider's message to solidify those regular folks on the outside.


After posting a link on her own blog and telling a few people about mine, my down-low, under the radar blog got its stealth cover blown. The last two days generated hundreds of page hits. I'm getting alert after alert showing wave after wave of readers. It's unexpected and serendipitous.


I'm now that guy who writes that blog about that place. And as such, I have been passed the crown of "The King of Evil" by the previous wearer, the original whistle-blower who's story was front-page news in the San Francisco Chronicle. I like how there is a picture of him wearing a crown in the article.


I'm now posting as much as I can while people can read this blog. This blog has progressed from pipe dream to reality. Sometime you need someone has to give you a kick in the ass in order to take that necessary action. I got mine.


So, I'm listening to a Spiritual Rights Foundation broadcast now. Part of it talks about how certain events are attracted to you by the way you believe. One speaker talked about a phenomenon where you attract into your life those things you think about or "mock up".


Now this sounds a little new-age and may not be something you believe but bear with me. It's all about the law of attraction.


The law of attraction works like this: whatever you visualize in your mind is what you manifest in the physical world. Those visualizations can be beneficial to you or not. Your visualizations are your own responsibility. What you manifest is also your responsibility. I mean, we have all seen "The Secret" right? In it is a story of a young man who kept thinking the world was out to get him. And of course, everywhere he went he found disappointment and conflict.


I know that those at the Spiritual Rights Foundation have been looking for this blog and have found it. It's clearly on that radar screen. Those hackles have been raised. At the same time, people looking for some clarity, perspective and maybe some time on their hands are reading as well.


If you believe that there are no accidents in the universe and that the law of attraction is a real thing, what is the Spiritual Rights Foundation attracting? What are they thinking about? A blog perhaps? Perhaps that blog's effect on those who want to broaden their horizons?


And what are you attracting? Good fellowship, maybe? A forum to hear from people like you? Well, you mocked it up. And it's all here.


I think that's no accident.

Spiritual Perversion relaunched

It's BACK!

This groundbreaking book that blew open the hidden abuse and exploitation at the Spiritual Rights Foundation and Academy for Psychic Studies and pissed off the Witches of Ellsworth Street is now available as a digital download.

If you have a Kindle, PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Blackberry, Steven Sanchez's tell-all book "Spiritual Perversion" is available for digital download from the Kindle Store at Amazon.  the price is only ten bucks.

Kindle will give you a free preview of the first two chapters.  Steve is hard at work on a version for Google Books that will give you a longer preview of Spiritual Perversion.  When that is done, you'll hear it on this blog first.

If you have a Kindle, a computer, an iPhone, an iPad or Blackberry, picking up Spiritual Perversion is the next best step for your recovery.  It can be a tough read.  Steve's writing is vivid, visual and guttural.  The first time I read it, I couldn't sleep for days.  But I couldn't put it down either.  Reliving those crazy events and coming to grips with my participation in them helped me accept that I was indeed in a cult and that my best interest was the last thing the Spiritual Rights Foundation gave a damn about.

I'll post a chapter from Spiritual Perversion on the blog periodically.  But do me and the thousands of former cult members a favor: drop a ten on a copy of Spiritual Perversion for yourself.  A portion of the proceeds will be donated to an organization to help bring cult recovery resources to former cult members.

Reading Spiritual Perversion won't suddenly bring you healing or peace and calm in your "space".  Only the sacred publications, recordings and waiving of Bill Duby's preserved genitals will bring instant healing.  The difference is: if you drop a ten-spot, you'll help someone with their recovery.

Come on, buy one.  And ask your friends to buy one too.

If you'd rather not, please give a donation to a cult recovery center like MeadowHaven, a residential center for ex-members of high-demand groups to rest, heal and grow. The Wellspring Retreat is also a great residential center for those in recovery and would welcome your support.

 

The Mayor

Steve Sanchez has contributed this guest post.  It is a tribute to the now-famous O.G. of the SRF dissidents.  Steve's post speaks for itself.  I would hope you will read it.


===========================

The Mayor

      I talked to ‘the Mayor’ today. The Mayor is Mason. It is a good name for him. As Mike intimated he is the Mayor because he was the first to leave the cult with a solid awareness of what it was. He was the first to take all the heat of standing up to the cult, and standing for his rights.

      I found the letter he wrote to all of us who had left the cult (at thee funeral ceremony) to be challenging in a very good way. He wrote it only a week after Bill died. The letter is challenging today, even more so than the day it was written. Somehow he saw with clear eyes and a clear heart. It is challenging to me because of its compassion, confidence, composure, and fair-mindedness. How did he stay within himself enough to tell the story truthfully? The letter is remarkable to me because he at once did not minimizing the pain of the experience, and he did not speak from vengeful zeal.

      The Mayor exemplified this same quality in the way he went about claiming his rights to parent his daughter. He went about his court business with intelligence and clear-sighted strategy. He methodically won what he needed, and at the same time was fair minded and reasonable toward his ex-wife, who chose to divorce him (at the behest of Bill of course).

      One reason is this, unlike myself, Mason had a remarkable ability to not dissociate in the face of conflict. He handled the difficult business of court proceedings very well. For a long time after leaving I had the dysfunctional need to seek the approval of the abuser. I wanted to try and prove that I was OK to them, as a way to prove I was OK to myself. This is typical of abuse victims in many ways. The abuse from the outside may or may not be present, but the abuse continues from within. I had to work at unraveling this kind of dysfunction. The most difficult part of changing this is facing the truth of it. The cult had always banked on my (and others) tendency to dissociate in the face of conflict.

      Most former members find it difficult to express compassion, confidence, composure, and fair-mindedness toward others, much less toward the cult itself; understandable so, they have been unjustly treated, humiliated, lost years of their life, and have a river of suppressed rage to deal with. Mason felt all these same things, and had his own dysfunctional way of dealing with things in some ways. Mason cared deeply about all of us who had left and were willing to be his friend, but he cared about one thing more than anything else – his daughter. He was able to subjugate all other motives and focus on this primary objective.

      Mason was completely vilified by the cult in every way possible. He was constantly slandered by all the cult people. Bill built a massive propaganda program against him. He is still completely misunderstood by the cult and, no doubt, by many former members.

      All this is not to say he walks on water. Everyone I have seen that leaves the cult suffers post-traumatic stress, and has a great deal of suppressed rage. Mason too. To be in denial of the rage only makes it worse. It will come out one way or another. For example, for me it came out in fits of anger, vengeance fantasies, and for the first few years, sexual misconduct. One ex-member makes it plain for all to see in his writing. Another adopted another righteous ideology. (I for one am glad she is Christian, but it seems to me she chose a very exclusive form). Mason had fits of agitation the extent of which I don’t know. Others I know became alcoholic.

      One of the best ways to heal the trauma is to work in and be part of a new model that is good and functional. Mason has had consistency in his work throughout the cult experience and after. He has worked as a professional teacher for slow kids the whole time. This has given him consistency and discipline. He told me how he often has the responsibility of counseling parents who are first finding out that their kids are ‘slow’. Sometimes the parents are devastated and sometimes they are relieved. It is his job to deliver the news with skill and compassion. He told me that the suffering he underwent from the cult experience helps him to understand the feelings of the parents, and thus makes him an effective councilor.

      I have experienced a similar benefit from my cult experience. I work now as a fulltime chaplain in a hospital. Everyday it is my job (and privilege) to visit patients in the hospital who are recovering from many different illnesses or injuries. I never know who will be behind the next door. Sometimes I visit with folks who have just learned they have cancer, people who are in end of life care, young or old folks who have been in accidents, or received wounds. In the program I am in, we learn psychological approaches to caring, and we learn spiritual and devotional approaches. It is process oriented, not technique, which primarily means that an essential part of the process is to examine ourselves, so that we can better serve others.

Our goal is to bring presence into the room for the sake of the service of the people. Presence can mean different things; it means to hold the Holy Spirit in our heart, it means to be fully present as a listener for another, it means to simply to be a companion. Sometimes it means to be a witness to what a person most needs to say to God. Sometimes I have to be able to handle huge emotions of release of grief or anger. At these moments I must stay with the person and not flinch, so that the person feels safe, held, and cared for. I like the people and I love the people. Some visits are one-time shots and some go on for weeks or months.

My own experience of suffering prepared me for this more than anything else. While writing Spiritual Perversion I re-experienced the traumatic episodes in the cult and gave myself the compassion no-one else was there to give me. Now I try to give compassion to other people’s stories to facilitate their self-acceptance, transformation, and hopefully their contentment in God.

Mind Your Own Spiritual Business

So, SRF has launched several businesses. Bill Duby frequently announced that he is a businessman - a businessman who was also a church pastor, spiritual teacher, wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove.

Well, I guess the harmless as a dove part may be up to considerable debate given what is revealed in Steve Sanchez's book. But the businessman part is unquestionable.

Somehow, SRF went from its humble founding to a "company" with real estate investments, publishing operations and other money making ventures. That SRF "owns" companies that create revenue isn't an issue. It's where the seed money came from and who actually owns it that is the issue.

Bill Duby was fond of telling us that he was considered "insane" by the U.S. government and was drawing disability payments.  He was also fond of having "rescued" his partner and co-founder of SRF, Angela Silva, from a mental health facility. The exact details of how she wound up there was never revealed but he did occasionally say that she is "brain damaged" and had a long history of drug abuse - even after she received a leadership position within SRF.  Bill would also speak about tying her to a chair and beating her to unconsciousness, supposedly to keep her from obtaining drugs.

Once SRF was established, Bill, like any faithful partner, became more and more concerned about Angela's support. To accomplish this, he strongly suggested that she be "elected" president of SRF. And as new for-profit companies were formed from SRF's coffers, he was sure to appoint her as president of those new companies.

Bill proudly said that his women are "well taken care of." while exhorting his male followers to do the same.  Of course, given the environment where every spare nickel (and even nickels we couldn't spare) was dropped into the Spiritual Rights Foundation's coffers..

Now, one of the policies of these companies was to tithe. And tithe big. Companies such as Patagonia, Ben and Jerry's and others would donate a percentage of profits to independent charities. SRF's for-profit companies would donate a percentage of revenues to non-profit SRF and no one else.

The difference there is that a percent of revenues is bigger than a percent of profits and profits exist after you pay expenses like employee wages and health care.

Paying donations based on revenues creates tremendous pressure on the business to control costs in order to survive, grow and re-invest in itself.  In fact, the tithe amounted to an amount greater than many businesses would reserve for capital improvements, or growth opportunities or things like taking care of employees with health insurance.

To the knowledge of all involved, no SRF-owned company ever provided employees with health insurance - forcing some to use public health hospitals. Not that these companies couldn't afford to provide health insurance, though.

The president of the SRF owned companies got a cut of the revenues and she wanted to maintain that as much as possible. The company's tithe also supported the president's church stipend.  Why reduce your already-big cut to, you know, take care of the people making your cut possible?

That greed, and that desire to maintain secrecy on the financial affairs of the Spiritual Rights Foundation explains why the SRF for-profit companies were:
1) operated and "managed" only by Angela Silva and Robin Dumolin - no one else could come near.
2) donating up to 30% of revenues to the Spiritual Rights Foundation, so more of the company's money could be "shielded" from state and federal income tax, and could be retained by the Spiritual Rights Foundation to be spent on Bill Duby and his two sister wives.
3) always operating on a shoestring, unable (or more likely unwilling) to spend money on real marketing, hiring employees (outside of "employing" Robin Dumolin and Angela Silva), and where employees were hired (at Liberty Construction) they were not offered basic, simple benefits such as paid time off or simple health insurance.
4) never open to scrutiny or debate.  There were no transparent practices supervised by the congregation as other ethical churches would conduct.  Nope, the practices there were as opaque as those fucking black window shades those paranoid bitches installed in the premises.  (you know, black-out window shades are NOT black - they are just made with an inner layer that blocks light, such as aluminum foil.  The shades themselves can be an attractive color and do not need to be black.)

In fairness, the tithe would be spent on Spiritual Rights Foundation facilities (sort of) and for the living expenses of the leaders.  Things like expensive luxury motor homes.  I recall Rev. Bill Duby and Angela hauling me out to an RV show to look at a brand-new luxury motor home.  Bill borrowed my phone to call an SRF board member.  After that brief discussion, Bill drove the motor home back to SRF headquarters.  It was his new toy and his alone.

If a fair and equitable stipend were paid to Angela Silva, Robin Dumolin and whoever the fuck else, there would be no real controversy.  However, that those two appear to be living well in excess of the average standard of living of their followers and that the net wealth of those two are well in excess of any one of their followers (in excess of their living follower, at least) you would have to think there is something a bit out of line with not only their stipends but with whatever else they are dipping their gnarled fingers in.

Oh right, they say the Bethel Island farm they own is an "SRF Farm" despite that the county recorder says otherwise.  But when caught, they say they are just holding the property for the benefit of the congregation - and all the "businesses" SRF operates is really for the congregation anyway, even if those two reap all the benefits.  I think I heard that one before.  Oh yeah, it sounds like my 14-year-old niece saying the marijuana we found in her backpack belonged to a friend and she was just holding it for her.

Uh, yeah...

Anyway, the way the tithe works is: money goes to SRF which would then pay Angela and the other leaders a tax-free stipend. This was in addition to Angela taking a cut of the for-profit company's proceeds as a payment for her "management" position.  No matter how much or little work or management she provided for the for-profit companies owned by SRF, this kind of payment may have violated generally accepted accounting principles and is absolutely not an ethical manner to operate a business.

This kind of double dipping arrangement is generally not considered acceptable in the business world. Making tax free money from the church as its leader and making money on the side from church businesses is not only unethical, it make you wonder if the real purpose of SRF is for the spiritual enrichment of the members or the financial enrichment of its directors.

As for where the capital to start the SRF for-profit enterprises came from, much of it came from non-profit SRF's revenues. While no person was told where their donations, tithes, and other payments were being spent for, I believe that the federal government takes a dim view of soliciting donations by leading the donors to believe they are supporting the work of the non-profit then spending that money on for-profit companies.

Ask Jim Bakker and Dr. Gene Scott. They found out the hard way.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Trading Places

After I had been around the Spiritual Rights Foundation for a while, I started wondering, as most have, what the hell I was doing there. That's not in the sense of looking at the nearest exit and planning the quickest path to freedom. It was more like: what is my purpose here?

The founder and pastor of the Spiritual Rights Foundation, Bill Duby, said several times that I did indeed have a purpose to him personally. Bill related his experience during his education and training at the Berkeley Psychic Institute (BPI). Bill claimed that during his tenure at BPI, many of the directors and teachers there were less than friendly to him. He claimed that his first appearance at BPI resulted in him be rejected immediately. Then he claimed that on more than one occasion, he was expelled from the BPI Clairvoyant Training Program by a teacher or director then reinstated by the founder of BPI, Lewis Bostwick.

He went on to say that one person in particular, Michael Tamura (a long time and respected director of the Berkeley Psychic Institute) was particularly harsh with him. Bill related that Michael would smirk whenever he was in the room, would say various insulting statements to Bill and was apparently instrumental in Bill's expulsions. Bill would say that Michael would always say things behind his back and that he was a mean and vicious guy. Bill was not really a fan of Michael Tamura, obviously, and admitted that the thought of Michael was personally disturbing to him.

So, what was my personal purpose to Bill? Bill would say to me that I physically resembled Michael Tamura. As I recall, Bill said I even spoke like Michael Tamura, and did the same things, had the same kind of qualities . Bill hated Michael Tamura and that my presence at SRF was to confront Bill with his "pictures" regarding him.

Fucking great.

I was given the impossible task of changing another person's attitude towards a person, I did not know, never met, knew nothing about and my likely never encounter. Further, I would have to atone for that person's sins against Bill and anyone or anything else Bill could think of. I couldn't even imagine what I could do that would not offend Bill in some manner. So, I figured I would just try to lay low and just go along with the program.  

I saw Bill when he was displeased and unhappy or upset. The average two year old was easier to deal with than Bill on one of his tirades. There was no way I was looking for Bill's wrath.

Fortunately for me, at least, shortly after those revelations were disclosed to me, SRF began a rancorous involvement divorce cases, child custody disputes (one of which is apparently still ongoing), truancy charges and other legal issues. That kept Bill's attention on settling the messes he made over the years than scrutinizing my behavior for signs of the spirit of Michael Tamura.

Now, years later, I decided I'd better start looking into this guy Michael Tamura and figure out why I had the honor of representing a guy who my teacher hated.

Michael has a web site. His picture is on it. I don't look a thing like Michael Tamura. But I guess since all those goddamn slant-eyed gooks look alike, then yeah, that guy must be a spitting image of me. Michael Tamura actually looks more like a friend of mine than he ever looked like me. Oh, I forgot. All those sonofabitch yellow devils look alike. Never mind.

I don't exactly speak like Michael Tamura, either. One co-worker said to me: "is it even possible for you to utter a sentence without the word 'fuck'?" I gave him the finger.

Michael Tamura does have a reputation, based on my research. But not the kind that Bill portrayed.

There are many people on the web who sing Michael's praises. Not a single negative comment regarding this fellow can be found. At least, not by me. And I have been looking for quite some time now.

Those who know Michael extolled his generosity, kindness and broad knowledge of spirituality and the nature of psychic techniques and phenomena. He is said to be quicker to drop a twenty on a homeless person than he is to lose his temper.

In contrast, there has been much written about Bill Duby by his former students - Bill is certainly not the kind of guy who would give a homeless man a buck and his tirades were legendary for their length and overwhelming force. I'm still waiting for someone to speak about Bill as Michael's students speak about him. I may be waiting for a while.

Now what is up with this? I come to a spiritual home for wayward souls (as Bill would often call SRF) to represent someone who is reprehensible to him? And I am now responsible to help a guy I barely knew get over his anger towards another guy I never met? WTF?

That's the insanity that is part of SRF. Once you hook up with them, you are who you aren't and you have to overcome all the sins the person you resemble may have committed to various persons. Any if you represent someone the founder hates, you could be set up for something you never expected.

Now, I'd like to know what, if anything, set Bill off in regards to Michael Tamura. Bill is one of those thin-skinned Irish with a temper to match. Did he do something at BPI that required the intervention of the founder, Lewis Bostwick? It might be interesting to find out.

Stay tuned...

Suffer in Peace, Bill.

Jeff, the Psychdoctorate left the following comment on the post "Farmyard Follies".

It's a well thought piece on what Rev. Bill Duby must have been encountering after his perverse, abusive and deranged practices were exposed to public view and condemnation.

Sure as long as no one knows about your bad behavior, it's OK, right?  That's what my niece thinks, anyway.  But the kind of thinking you would expect from a teen is not what you would find acceptable in a spiritual leader.

Ever since the groundbreaking, bombshell expose of the Spiritual Rights Foundation in the San Francisco Chronicle broke, there has been more and more of the craziness, abuse and perversion exposed.  It wasn't the only media coverage.  There was more.  Lots more from several other dissident followers - even the ex-wife of one devoted follower.

The cult's only defense to these true stories?  They never addressed them directly.  Instead, we heard the authors are lying, cheating, thieving, immoral and mentally deficient psychotics who have perverted the true nature of the peaceful practices of the Spiritual Rights Foundation.

At least, that is what the Witches of Ellsworth delighted in telling us.

They must have been looking in the mirror when they concocted that tall tale.

Bill, on the other hand, became more introspective and more concerned about the afterlife than ever.

One of his foster parents (the one he had formed the closest bond - to the point he called her "mom") was a very moral and religious woman.  I know all this because I met her at her home more than once.  She insisted on morally correct behavior with Bill, I am certain.  Bill was a good student and a high school star athlete under her guidance - a church-going and bible-believing young man as well.

Once away from his foster mother, Bill was drawn to the dark world of the streets of Emeryville, CA.  In his day, Emeryville was a rough place, filled with prostitutes, gamblers and the usually motley collection of street hustlers and con men.  Bill worked at his uncle's card room then, learning the gambling trade and spending much of his time interacting with the people on the street.  One of them was Rev. Angela Silva.

Bill's transformation from high school star athlete to hustler, con man and preacher was certainly a product of that environment. And that allowed him to take his Berkeley Psychic Institute education to start the Spiritual Rights Foundation.

I would bet BPI now wishes they kept him the hell out when they had a chance.

When the negative press about the Spiritual Rights Foundation and Bill in particular emerged, only Bill's wives were outraged.  Bill, uncharacteristically, withdrew.  I not only saw less of him but he was indeed not-so-glib and not-so-grandiose and shallow.  His famous tantrums were less than ever as he was too preoccupied to find demons among his followers.

I'm sure Bill found that his chickens had come home to roost and the vision of his foster mother shaking her head in disapproval found its way into his psyche.

The high school athlete with the morally strict mom began to return.

What might have happened after his epiphany had he lived long enough is anyone's guess.  I believe Bill would have toned down his aberrant behavior a little but would have allowed the picking of the follower's pockets and looting of their assets to continue.  I mean, he had two women to support, you know.

But instead, Bill dropped dead.

It had to happen.  The realization that he and he alone set the Spiritual Rights Foundation on a path that will lead it to a long, slow demise, the thought that he alone had left a path of destruction in his wake was too much to bear.  His foster mother, I am sure, instilled a sense of moral responsibility in Bill that was long ignored but never forgotten.

Unfortunately, his two wives never had that fundamental teaching.  And as Steve Sanchez said so well, only the ego's desire to avoid exposure of one's inner evil and its tendency to resist its elimination is the essential manifestation of hereditary evil.  In short, they appear to not know better but they should.

As Jeff has observed so well (and he did this well without even being there!) Bill's evil deeds came back to haunt him after experiencing a lifetime of an empty void deep within his being.

Jeff said it well: I pity you Bill.  It's all you deserve.

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PsychDoctorate said...

The term psychopath litterally translates into "suffering soul". Robert Hare, a man who studied sociopaths and psychopaths for many years in the prison system would say that this is an accurate description of these individuals. They are truly suffering souls, with a baren inner world filled with nothing but desolation, lonliness, isolation, rage and anguish. They take their deep suffering out on others because they lack empathy. Without empathy, they cannot love, they can only feel negative emotions such as hatred. They lack the moral and ethical components that make us human.

Their personalities are a facade. Something they hold onto, especially since all psychopaths are Narcissistic. However, this facade cannot be maintained and over time the "mask" falls off. Their glibness and false charm falls away and we (the victims) see the "suffering soul" for what they are. An emotionally bleak and baren landscape. It is a hard thing to view, for it is a void where there should be something. It has been said somewhere that if you look long enough into the void something will eventually look back! To those now leaving SRF and those who have left, they saw that void and they ran for their lives. Steve saw it, Mason saw it, Joy saw it and Mike all saw it. So have many others.

The women, Angela, Robin and Debbie saw it and embraced it letting the void despoil them. It eroded their sense of self, claimed their morals and corrupted their ethics. It made them mockeries of what they could be. It is sad.

It is good that Bill is dead, it is good that his "suffering soul" is now at rest. The desolation and corruption of his "subjects" and his reign of terror is over. Although the women cary his "essence" they cannot and do not have his charisma or glibness and too many have seen through their thin veneers.

Rest in peace Bill Duby, your reign of terror is gone. Your suffering soul will claim no more lives and harm no one else. From what I have heard, you are a pitiful thing.

Mike told me that near the end Bill called him, something deep inside of him knew his life was coming to a close. If I am correct (if not, Mike will fill in the proper details) you were showing some regret for you behaviors. You were feeling guilt and shame. Emotions you can feel as they do not require empathy to be understood. You knew and you were being forced to acknowledge your immoral and unethical (and illegal) behavior. The terror of seeing ones self so clearly is a humbling experiencing, espeically for the you the suffering soul.

I have nothing but pity for Bill, that is all he deserves.

Right now I am facing a huge loss in my life, my own sister is dying. We have never gotten along but she is trully suffering from a horrendous thing. She is dying of cancer that has spread. I wish her peace, I wish her strength and I wish her courage as she now leaves this world.

For all of the surviviors of Bill Duby's reign, I wish you courage, I wish you strength and I wish you peace. I also wish you a speedy recovery as you reclaim your own souls and rid yourself of the pain and suffering he inflicted upon you. I offer you compassion and deep empathy. I offer anyone coming from SRF who needs it, a safe place to speak about your trevails. Please contact Mike and he can put us into contact.

Best Regards,

Jeffrey

August 12, 2010 10:15 PM