Adyashanti, the ASI (Association of Spiritual ‘Integrity’) and their Collusion to cover for the Existential Controls of Nome, Russell Smith and Candace O’Denver…
Association for Spiritual ‘Integrity’ – ASICandace O’Denver’s Great Freedom/Balanced ViewNome and Russell Smith’s SAT – Society of Abidance in ‘Truth’Adyashanti and Mukti’s ‘Open Gate’
On March 2, 2023 (Admin of) the FaceBook Association for Spiritual Integrity (ASI) Discussion Group posted:
“We are excited to let you all know that the Association for Spiritual Integrity has been invited to present at the Harvard Divinity School Conference….Jac O’Keeffe, Philip Goldberg, and Rick Archer will be leading an interactive workshop on “Lessons from a Young Organization Making a Difference,” about the work of the ASI.”
“Making a difference?!?” Given the hypocrisy of the ASI’s attendance to Harvard Divinity School Conference I wrote the following:
Is this the same Rick Archer and Jac O’Keeffe who I addressed the following letter (dropbox link below) to?
Instead of saying “How can we help?”…I was told Nome, Russell Smith and Candace O’Denver (who goes by too numerous aliases to mention) that they were NOT members of the ASI, and therefore the ASI could NOT help me.
Jac O’Keeffe and Lauren Medeiros met with me on Zoom for 30 minutes concluding ONLY that contemporary non-duality is the ‘wild west’ and…
…Rick Archer who, on a private messenger thread with @ 50 others, chided my reporting…and the voice recording at the end of the above letter describing the deliberate existential controls affecting 4-generations of my family…defiantly asked me “How’s thatgoing for ya?”(in reference to my reporting).
This case involving 4-generations of my family is arguably one of the most existentially damaging to a life/lives…not to mention to the integrity of the teachers/teachings.
Are these the SAME PEOPLE who are going to the Harvard Divinity School??
How about a live…and OPEN…meeting with one of the more significant and influential teachers who absolutely participated in the existential controls of Nome/Russ/Candice?
Namely: ADYASHANTI?
Adya could look me straight-in-my-eyes and tell me, unequivocally, that not only does he know nothing of Nome but he, himself, didn’t have his OWN HANDSdirectly involved in the ‘Compression Years.’
In 2020 I wrote a letter to the ASI (The Association for Spiritual Integrity) describing the harm that had occurred in this life at the hands of certain spiritual teachers: Nome, Russell Smith and Candace O’Denver (who goes by various aliases).
The organization ASI (Association for Spiritual Integrity) was formed shortly after I began working on my own website: www.IntegrityInTruth.com.
The ASI provided a platform…an address…with which I addressed my concerns in a letter that detailed the existential harm to this life…and to the Truth. It was in the hopes of getting some support that I wrote this letter describing what is arguably one of the worst breaches in the awakening community.
(A link to the PDF of that letter appears at the end of this blog-post.)
Over time it became very clear that not only would no help be forthcoming but that there was inordinate cover-up and collusion for the very ‘story’ I was/am reporting on.
Shortly after writing that letter I started a private message thread with approximately 100+ people that I invited who were current FaceBook ‘friends.’
Of those 100 at least a couple dozen were/are currently acting teachers and others well known in the non-dual spiritual community.
Many well-known teachers were/are present on that thread as well as Rick Archer of BATGAP (Buddha at the Gas Pump) and
Ralitza Zaya Benazzo and Maurizio Benazzo, co-founders of SAND (Science & Nonduality Conference).
(At this time a separate letter explaining what had happened was addressed to Zaya and Maurizio. No answer was forthcoming.) Clairvoyantly I felt Zaya’s discomfort.
During the past couple of years, those on that private message thread bore witness to the unfolding of my deepening understanding of what had occurred and the nature of what, ultimately, looked like collusion and cover-up in the non-dual community.
Significantly, as I deepened in my understanding of the obvious collusion…people began to leave the thread.
While I appreciated the willingness to stay ‘on topic’ and not go down endless rabbit holes around abuse of power, eerily, there was an airtight silence regarding the harm I was describing among the folks that remained on the thread.
Why?
As the saying goes: Silence = Complicity
That silence became even more airtight as the enormity of the scope of collusion to cover for the existential harm to myself…and my family…became clearly evident.
Rick Archer…one of the founding board members of the ASI began pushing back on my reporting with the following gaslighting:
“All I’m saying to you Leslie is, this thing seems to dominate your life. Is it really your mission in life to bring these people to justice, or whatever you hope to do? How is that coming along? How long have you been at it and how much progress have you made?”
“I’m sure that these guys are putting much less attention on you than you are on them. That to which we give our attention grows stronger in our life. Want to get them out of your life? Stop giving them attention.”
In correspondence with me one person (who will remain unnamed) finally stated the unspoken obvious:
“…everyone plays dumb to maintain a whitewashed narrative — at your expense …(and) is lying about the same thing…”
Thank you for following this story and for your continued interest in seeing actual integrity in high-level spiritual teachings. ❦
Please email with any questions at: Leslie@IntegrityInTruth.com
_________________________❦
Please use the following link to access the letter to the ASI. At the end of that letter is a link to a short (22 minutes) recording detailing the harm to 4-generations of my family.(There have been several editions of this letter…the factual meaning and substance remains entirely the same.)
Controlled suppression of the ego. (Siva image first found on Jeannie Zandi’s Website.)
The following is, in part, from a ‘private’ FaceBook messenger thread where I’ve been relaying what occurred in this life at the hands of certain spiritual teachers:
Patriarchal spiritual traditions have a history of teachers manipulating families of seekers in order to achieve certain spiritual goals.
In addition to manipulating families for certain spiritual outcomes, there have been teachers who have attempted to ‘influence’ seekers by indicating certain romantic outcomes.
I’ve long described Nome as the ‘Cosmic Cupid’ as he would, quite literally, pluck people out-of-nowhere and pair them up with people in the sangha at SAT.
It was his version of the ‘arranged marriage’…so to speak.
This might even entail the breaking up of marriages that had been together 20–30 years…as long as he achieved the goals he needed and wanted.
“Yes, many teachers have done exactly that: they have split families up and/or longtime connections and marriages. This is one of their techniques of subjugation. To control the emotional and sentimental lives of their followers is one of the tools to keep people in trance. I have seen happening inmy own cult: the leaders separate friends and familymembers to deeper control their subjects. It is revolting and cruel… Unfortunately, in the so-called spiritual world amends have not been made and this has damaged many souls.”
– Maria Grazia Mori-Oakley…Prior Osho Community member – Pune
Everyone who has said: ‘change will never happen’…the ‘occult will never be able to be proven’….“How’s that working out for ya?!” (Rick Archer)… all those who have denied knowing my former teachers as well as the many, within the non-dual community who have been actively covering for my former teachers…acting in complicity and collusion…each-and-every single-one-one-of-them knows I’m telling the truth!
Yet, ultimately, I feel truth rises and there will be justice. We are seeing the last stranglehold of those aspects of patriarchy that are out-of-sinc with the new energies of our Humanity: justice, integrity and fairness.
What we are moving into is simply no longer a match with the out-of-balance energy frequency of patriarchal structures that give no credence to the Just…call it God, Source, Spirit or what you will.
Solely realizing Wholeness is no longer the singular mark of an evolved Soul. That has been made abundantly evident.
The statement “How’s that working for ya?” (Rick Archer) was made after listening to an outline of the occult controls over 4-generations of this life. His statement was indicative of the pervasive sentiment….not only of himself but of many currently acting teachers and those in leadership positions of organizations (such as SAND, ASI and his own BatGap)…all of whom have known of the harm in this life…and have remained silent.That silence of so many in leadership within the non-dual community indicated that I would have no choice but to simply accept the harm and control of these teachers.These were all people who knew of the harm…and said nothing.
In some cases the very teachings were used to gaslight the one reporting on the harm.
Yes…occult controls are nearly impossible to prove.
Anyone with any understanding that siddis (occult powers) can do anything would know that.
Yet…with the addition of naming-names and providing photos of people directly involved in collusion to cover-up harm — ALL on a public website…this story could not have been ‘made-up,’ as some have alluded to.
Furthermore, it was more-than-evidentwho was protecting the brand of Adyashanti.
From 2012 I knew of Adya’s involvement in covering for his friends: Nome, Russell Smith and Candace O’Denver.
Over this past decade it became clearer-yet that Adya was the major player in ensuring the harm at the hands of those teachers would never become public knowledge.
There were many who met with me and emphatically expressed that Adya did not even know of Nome!
Ellen Davis was one who came within a hairsbreadth of gaslighting me by indicating I was reporting on this for money. Even she must’ve realized that would be going too far.
Adya was, clearly, not the only teacher covering for his friends…yet he was/is the main one. Of all the currently acting teachers protecting my former teachers…Adyashanti is the one who has the most ‘skin’ in the non-dual game.
If I could describe the look Adya gave me as he was indicating that I should return to SAT a decade ago….one word comes to mind: arrogance.
That look indicated what I was ‘up against.’ His look indicated that there would be no way for me to overcome such ‘power’ and control.
I am not interested in power…or in the overcoming of such.
What I am interested in…and what I am reporting on…is pulling-back-the-veil involving unintegrated teachers and their deliberate control-over-others.
That deliberate control-over-others is variously known as patriarchy which, of course, is not gender-specific.
There are quite a number of current female teachers actively carrying that patriarchal shadow. Those femaleteachers still operating within the patriarchal paradigm are fully willing to cover for harm at the hands of their male counterparts…especially as seen with the submission and existential quashing of the Human ego. (The header image for this post…of Siva’s foot on the head of the ego…was first seen on Jeannie Zandie’s website.) https://integrityintruth.com/bentinho-and-the-adya-connection/
(Humans need a ‘healthy ego.’ It could be argued that, for some, the expedient path of Freedom is not the denial of an ego but, rather, the building up of the ego. This is subject for another post.)
“I have witnessed the worst side of patriarchy in the Osho cult where some of the women were involved in prostitution for the “master” and in turn were telling the, younger ones how to do it so that they could contribute monetarily to the commune and his extravagant, luxurious life-style.“
– Maria Grazia Mori-Oakley
Historically, women veered away from any sense of ‘right sisterhood’ to where women felt they were more valued (and safe) if they acted in certain ways according to the patriarchal paradigm.
This affected everything from competition with each other for men, status and ultimately their own survival…and often, and sadly, against each other.
That type of control…which was out-of-control in the Osho community will be (and more-and-more is) undermined as we each discover our own authentic connection to Truth, Spirit and the Divine.
The necessity to prove, compete, manipulate, toe-the-line or do any kind of harm to others will dissipate. At SAT this was displayed by the subtle moves by Nome/Russ playing women against each other. In fact, I remember Nome saying out-loud “Jealousy is good!”
That same dynamic is carried on with Bentinho…
The patriarchal imbalance…resulting in a type of False sisterhood…remains as long as there is any kind of channel seen to be more worthy than our own innately sourced connection to The Divine.
With our own, independent, connection to The Divine the patriarchy in spirituality will be wholly undermined.
The following was in conversation with a FB friend and currently acting teacher regarding Adyashanti’s knowledge… and cover…for Nome, Russell Smith and Candace O’Denver:
I begin with a ‘bit’ of clarification regarding Kiran’s ‘honesty’….
While, I appreciated the feminine aspect of authenticity that Kiran Trace deJaray brought to the teachings there was, also, an obvious dishonesty regarding the reason and purpose of the time she spent with me.
She was not the only one in such a position.
Kiran was one of several who had been sent to spend time with me. This may have even been a paid job as it was with the following:
-Michael Harrington
-Steven Walters
-Marilyn Madden
-Kiran Trace
All 4 have very close ties with Adyashanti.
Those four (and, later, Prajna Ginty and Kristy Thompson) spent inordinate amounts of time with me.
Marilyn Madden invited me to gatherings at Prema Akasha’s (she was then the “Creative Director” for Open Gate and who, now, goes by Maja Apolonia Rode) where Bentinho, Michael Harrington, Benjamin Smythe (who had his knowledge of my situation written all over his face…as did Rupert Spira during the 2 Satsangs of his that I attended in 2013 with Nishkala Leslie Jennings (who, also, was sent!!), etc would gather.
Being from the highly air-tight and insular SAT (Society of Abidance in Truth in Santa Cruz, CA), at the time I knew none of these people.
Some have gone to great lengths to protect Adya’s brand…for obvious reasons.
Yet, from Adya’s talks, in Santa Cruz, the cover for Nome was apparent.
Even mentioning such a connection of Adya’s ties with Nome to Sonya Amrita Bibilos, Marilyn Madden, John Thomas and others draws extreme reactions and, in the case of Marilyn, gaslighting that is over-the-top.
The reactions of those three tell a lot…yet SAT and Open Gate were always revolving doors.
Mary Winslow, who was very close to my kids and who eventually left for Open Gate, wore her distress about this situation all over her face. I ran into Mary and Peter outside the Nickelodeon theater in Santa Cruz where we had just (appropriately) seen ‘Diving Bell and The Butterfly”…a movie which amazingly described being physically silenced after a car accident resulting in complete paralysis with the exception of being able to blink one eye.
I was in shock from that movie as it was the very beginning of feeling my life had literally been taken.
While much of this is sensitivity and intuition there were also clairvoyant messages, particularly of other teachers tied to Nome. I didn’t know, at the time, what clairvoyance even was/is…but thoughts/feelings of others (some whom I had never met) would come streaming in.
Why am I reporting on this?
…for myself, for Stan (my father), for Em and Ty (my daughter and son), for my two grandkids (the youngest of whom would not recognize me), for those who have also been harmed by these teachers…and, ultimately, for the Truth.
Gratitude to one who had the courage to say it ‘out loud’:
“…everyone plays dumb to maintain a whitewashed narrative — at your expense …(and) is lying about the same thing…”
Honesty and integrity are values that I will not compromise on.
The extent of these deceptions is steep…and it is systemic.
❦ Feel free to contact me at with any questions: leslie@integrityintruth.com
Photo: A Deep Burn in what (only) appears to be Truth…taken with an iPhone 13 in NW Portland. 🪐⚖️🙏❤️
Yes…in our Humanity there are mistakes…there are victims…there are ‘stories’ that need to be told…especially when there has been existential harm at the hands of spiritual teachers.
“It’s more important to be in integrity than to be ‘enlightened’.” -Adyashanti
I agree with this statement. Yet, if Adya really felt this way he would have refused to participate in the non-dual community-wide collusion and cover-up for the lies of: Nome, Russell Smith and Candace O’Denver (who goes by numerous, evasive, aliases).
Instead, in answer to a question of mine at one of his Santa Cruz talks, he indicated for me to actually return to SAT (The Society of Abidance in Truth).
That, of course, was an impossibility.
Yet…Adya was not the only one involved in this collusion. I am not reporting on his words to single him out as this breach-in-integrity was/is systemic-wide throughout the non-dual community.
However, he and Gangaji were two of the more well-known and respected teachers to participate in this pressure-campaign to ensure my silence regarding how/why the teachings of Nome and Russ were supposedly split up.
This was systemic collusion that placed the entirety of the burden for those lies to fall squarely – and solely – on my shoulders.
In order to ensure ‘Integrity’ in the non-dual space…when (all) the acting teachers already know about these lies where is the problem with bringing this out in the open?
Is it truly ‘wise’ to perpetuate deceptions?
Thank you for following this blog and this ‘story.’ ❧
