For the past 14 years…primarily on the Facebook platform…the vast majority of my conversations revolved around the ‘spirituality’ of non-duality…and not political issues.
My interests are, specifically, in the authoritarian aspects of patriarchal non-duality (as extensively demonstrated by authors Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad in their landmark book: The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power…a link to the pfd below) and how the authoritarian aspects of patriarchal non-duality (neo-advaita non-duality) drive their views politically.
I’ve noticed among those who are considered ‘awake’…however one defines that for themselves…that there are a surprising number of folks who adamantly back Donald Trump and his divisive, predatory and overtly racist policies. Yet, considering the authoritarian tendencies of so many in the non-dual world I am, now, not surprised.
Never in-a-million years would I have ever considered that those who are ‘awake’-to-wholeness would even consider to embrace such divisive, predatory and racist ideologies.
The possibility of that, alone, would be the hypocrisy-of-hypocrisies!!
This has me deeply questioning the values of the core spirituality I had once deemed the highest – that of non-duality — and, after many considerations, I question if neo-advaita (non-duality) can even be considered ‘spiritual.’
We’ve all seen that one can be awake to Wholeness and yet that, in no way, means one is free from shadow or is somehow a balanced-and-decent Human.
One can be awake to Oneness and still be creating delusions and, worse yet, harming others in the process.
All one need do is look at the energetics of the likes of such teachers as AdiDa and Osho.
As long as we don human body there is shadow…and mistakes can, and are, easily made.
It’s what a conscious person does once a mistake has occurred that is the true mark of an evolved Soul.
Then we have the unscrupulous who, with the attendant omnipresence-of-awakening, there can arise all sorts of unseen manipulation-over-others…inclusive of existential control.
Values such as truth, honesty, integrity…where the front-matches-the-back…fairness, equality and generosity seem to be hugely missing with those who align with many aspects of patriarchal spirituality, Donald Trump and the MAGA world. SO many, if not all, of the MAGA world profess the teachings of Jesus Christ and proudly wear the cross – a profound symbol of The Christ upholding the very highest of values…with His Life. THAT is what it means to be ‘spiritual’…where we back-up and honor our very Life with our values.
I see no greater opportunity than the recent election of Pope Leo who, I feel, will be a profound albeit gentle yet fierce Mirror for the profound upholding of the true values of Jesus Christ and the true meaning behind what some have bastardized in the name of spiritual and political dogma.
Imagine!!…when a leader of an organized religion has more spiritual integrity than teachers of non-dual ‘spirituality’!! 😀
“You cannot follow both Christ and the cruelty of Kings. A leader who mocks the weak, exalts himself, and preys on the innocent is not sent by God.” ~Pope Leo
Given everything that is currently going on in the world our Humanness comes into its rightful focus and, in numberless ways, is revealing the hypocrisy of those attempting to uphold the ‘world is unreal’ concept…one of the many ‘spiritual’ concepts non-dualists tend to trip-over in their life on this planet and with ‘others.’
Is it possible to uphold values of truth, honesty, integrity…where the front-matches-the-back…fairness, equality and generosity while being addicted to…or chasing after…transcendent states?
Is the mere transcendent state true enlightenment or God-realization? Or…is it merely the recognition of a transcendent state?
When non-dual teachers made the decision to place the entire burden for their lies and deceptions on these shoulders, and the shoulders of my family, they essentially took this life. That is no understatement on the existential harm that stemmed completely from deception…”what a tangled we we weave when first we practice to deceive”…” The details are here:
Once again, in the words of Facebook friend and teacher David Bingham…
“…I would like to add that in this modern age the Neo-Advaitan tradition of the truth existing ultimately in the sphere of the non-dual (which is followed by so many, with so many esteemed teachers) is a deeply flawed model of understanding of the nature of the human condition and its relationship with the Infinite.
It is a form of understanding which has an in-built tendency to deeply exacerbate illusions concerning the experiences of life and in turn to generate rigidities around its interpretation. In doing so it has great potential to be harmful to the fundamental well-being of its adherents, all the more so because it dresses itself in the clothes of liberation. It is a false and incomplete freedom of the age.”
Having lived through and watching the lives of so many in the contemporary non-dual community…the vast majority of whom lied directly to me regarding their knowledge of my former teacher and of what occurred at their hands…I’d have to conclude that there is very little about non-duality that resembles anything of a superlative Spirituality. Yet, understandably, the non-dual experience is so strong and ‘real’ as to supplant any notion to the contrary.
This…is, sadly, what ends-up as dogma.
Honesty & integrity are values I will not compromise on.
What values do you utterly refuse to compromise…in yourself and in others?
Thank you for reading…and for following my work. ❣️
Simply put, a cult is a person and/or organization ensuring abject control over its members thru a variety of means. It has been widely touted that intelligent people would never end-up in such situations… yet, some of the most intelligent folks certainly got ensnared in the Osho cult as well as the cult I was involved with for well over 2-decades.
“A cult is a group, religious organization or family structure of any size led by a charismatic leader. Cults control their members through manipulation, abuse, and coercion. These groups feature transcendent belief systems, and create self-sealing systems from which followers find it difficult to escape.” ~Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion
My time at SAT (the Society of Abidance in ‘Truth’) spanned over 2-decades beginning in late 1989. During that time I would have never considered the teachings of non-duality, as presented by Nome and Russell Smith, to be a cult. THAT …was/is precisely how insular SAT is.
Let me explain….
Somewhat similar to Donald Trump saying exactly what he is going to do (as-above-so-below) Russell Smith actually exclaimed, one day, for all of us to hear: “Cultic tactics actually work!”
That should have been the obvious-and-decisive indicator for me to leave…immediately.
Yet…what over-road even such an outrageous exclamation were the underlying, unseen high-level occult practices of a siddha…in this case Nome. As a siddha, Nome had/has access to occult powers (siddis)…which can literally do anything. It was this, plus the fact that Nome knew-that-I-knew of his lies and was seemingly helping me in the silent background (THAT is a whole other story!).
While a true Siddha rarely shows these to his/her followers my experience was the perception of MANY siddis with this teacher. So many, I almost wrote a book about them as they were often hilarious and, by-far, most were benevolent and helpful in the earlier years of my highly-devoted practice.
Those siddis were helpful until Nome, Russell Smith, Candace O’Denver, Adyashanti, Gangaji, Jeannie Zandi and many other non-dual teachers in their orbit made the decision to place the entire burden for their lies and deceptions on these shoulders…and the shoulders of my family.
It was then that those siddis (occult powers) turned deeply malevolent and controlling over every.single.aspect.of.this.life.Those siddis were SO controlling that someone described my situation as a “Soul murder” akin to being “buried alive.” Those are excruciatinglyaccurate descriptions.
An apt quote from Andrew Harvey on contemporary spiritual teachers:
“It is my belief that 90 percent of the so-called masters in the modern world are not enlightened at all but are in fact occult magicians. The occult magician will use his or her occult powers to ensnare the devotee in a posture of adoration by feeding them visionary experiences, which may seem to open things up for the devotee but actually keeps one dependent on the guru. It’s a kind of drug pushing as dangerous on the spiritual level as cocaine or heroin is on the physical. Because people don’t know the difference between the divine and the occult, nor how accurately the occult can mimic the divine, nor how easily occult powers can be cultivated by the unscrupulous and ambitious. They take these powers and experiences to be unmistakable signs of divine presence and go on worshipping as divine these people who have, in fact, shown that they are neither good, nor kind, nor humble, nor generous.”~Andrew Harvey
The lies I was forced (under a death threat) to hold were in regard to the supposed split of the Smith brothers (Nome and Russell) and Russell’s development of Great Freedom/Balanced View with Candace O’Denver. While I never met Candace in person, nor visited her center, I had a reluctant meeting in 2016/17 with Kevin Corlette and Britt Posmer who had just finished a visit to ‘Great Freedom.’ In that meeting I asked what that center was like. Hesitatingly, Kevin stated (paraphrasing) it was “Far too controlling for his liking.” Alternatively, Britt mentioned to stay dedicated to a root Guru. My intuitive sense, in that moment, was that she was indicating for me to stay silent. Coming from Britt, who I greatly admired, this statement actually kept me silent for another couple years.
The teachings of Nome, Russell Smith/Candace O’Denver, etc. grew-up out of the morally corrupt neo-advaita teachings of, primarily, Osho Rajneesh but may have, also, been influenced by Adi Da (who goes by a variety of names stemming from Franklin Jones), Mooji etc. Osho’s entire cult is wrapped in the mesmerizing, albeit beautiful, musical culture of Deva Premal and Miten occasionally accompanied by Manose (Miten and Manose have their own reported sexual exploits).
The following is an important comment by Jeffrey Wolf Green (founder of Evolutionary Astrology) on the spiritual evolution of Osho. I feel it applies equally to Nome, Russell Smith, Candace O’ Denver, Adyashanti, Gangaji, Jeannie Zandi, Byron Katie and many other currently acting non-dual teachers:
“Rajneesh experienced a fall from Grace, because of intense, spiritual delusions of grandeur, and a secret egocentric agenda that pointed the way to himself as the vehicle to salvation. Since he was exposed as a fraud who perverted natural laws because of his own self-interest, we now know that he was really here to fulfill his own soul’s evolutionary intentions. There was a huge emphasis on paying his Saturnian Karmic dues (Saturn exactly opposite Pluto), and having to learn some very harsh lessons around maturity, cooperation, and taking personal responsibility for the consequences of his actions/choices: hence, the massive fall from Grace that was as an evolutionarily necessity. As the mask was finally removed, and his living-a-lie exposed as fraudulent, Pluto, his own soul, would reveal the truth that was not in harmony with natural law, and eliminate (Pluto), the false doctrines to reveal the truth of his deception to the world. The deception was that he had created teachings of the natural truth, butin truth had lured his followers through a sexual vibration, not a spiritual one. Rajneesh was a sexually realized guru, not a God realized one.” (Page 149 of 538 of Neptune: Whispers from Eternity by Jeffrey Wolf Green)
This KEY statement in the above paragraph: “The deception was that he had created teachings of the natural truth, but in truth had lured his followers through a sexual vibration, not a spiritual one. Rajneesh was a sexually realized guru, not a God realized one…”
The above statement is one that accurately describes Nome, Adi Da, Mooji, Candace O’Denver, Amma (the hugging ‘Saint’) and so many other currently acting non-dual teachers…including the teachings of ACIM (A Course in Miracles). They are not God realized.
As sexually realized gurus…the use of sex… includingthe sexual abuse of under-age girls in the ashrams…is now coming to light as seen in the various reports of the children, now grown women, who grew up in those cults.
As reports have it, by the time I arrived at SAT in 1989, many of the sexual exploits had been “cleaned up.”
As many were/are awakening to the ‘natural truth’ of wholeness…by whatever means: NDE’s (near death experiences), their own attention or thru the current non-dual teachers…people began hanging-out their signs in the hopes for the often-lucrative teaching of non-duality which…to this day…is hyped as the equivalent of the teaching of The Christ and The Buddha…which they clearly are not.
The real danger is in the declaration, and false claim, that this non-dual ‘realization’ was THE actual ‘awakened spirituality.’
Facebook Friend David Bingham accurately describes the teachers of neo-advaita:
“…in this modern age the Neo-Advaitan tradition of the truth existing ultimately in the sphere of the non-dual (which is followed by so many, with so many esteemed teachers) is a deeply flawed model of understanding of the nature of the human condition and its relationship with the Infinite. It is a form of understanding which has an in-built tendency to deeply exacerbate illusions concerning the experiences of life and in turn to generate rigidities around its interpretation. In doing so it has great potential to be harmful to the fundamental well-being of its adherents, all the more so because it dresses itself in the clothes of liberation. It is a false and incompletefreedom of the age.”
Moral-and-just, neo-advaita is NOT. The old patriarchal paradigm of abuse and control-over-others to ‘free’ people from their attachments to a ‘world’…takes the approach straight-out of the ancient Rumi (among others) play-book: “Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field…I will meet you there.” These teachers literally felt that right-and-wrong – and KARMA – did not apply to them in their transcendent selves.
“The paradox is that the character/ego persona of even the awakened Self still goes thru its cause and effect as long as it dons a physical body – that’s why masters fall ill or lose someone etc – but as awakened Self they are wholly detached from the role….thus its effects don’t affect them!Thus no-me no karma! But cause and effect IS; it’s like a board game on which the cosmic play plays out!” ~Divyaa Kumar
The teachings of neo-advaita/non-duality were/are completely devoid of the ethical integrity that is the Hallmark of true Spirituality.
Leonard Jacobson, as well as many others, actually marketed their teachings as the equivalent of the teachings of The Christ and The Buddha!
Instead of the altruism of genuine Spirituality we have the arrogance of such closed systems looking to preserve the non-dual brand (and their view of what ‘awakening’ is) and the brands of various non-dual teachers such as:
-SAND (Science & Non-Duality)
-Rick Archer’s BatGap (Buddha at the Gas Pump)
-The relatively new association of supposed over-sight: the ASI (Association of Spiritual Integrity) co-founded by Rick Archer and Jac O’Keeffe shortly after I began reporting on this website: ⚛️ https://www.integrityintruth.com
Some have said I am “anti-teacher.” This is not entirely an accurate statement yet, at this point, it is mostly true. As with any system, there are some who are far more dangerous than others…and the scary paradox is that those who may appear the most credible can, also, be the most dangerous.
I now feel that the risk of associating with any given teacher is far greater than, certainly, our own ever-present-and-direct line to God, Source, Spirit, whatever name feels right-and-true for you… and that that Line is ever pure and undefiled by corruption and control.
In the words of Ken Wilber: “Unless you are on a path that includes not only ‘waking up’…but ’growing-up’ AND ‘cleaning-up’…all 3-in-one package…you are going to get f**ked!!You WILL end up in a bad, bad way because one of these is going to go sour.That is THE major, unfortunate, path that the majority of people end up taking… and they end up wasting a life.Samadhi does not, of course, address (ANY) shadow elements…in some cases it makes it *worse* as there is pure dis-identification.”
Looking back, the characteristics the cult at SAT included the following:
-an airtight insularity and airtight secrecy
-the cutting off of anything worldly…the duality-of-non-duality
-strict dictates of dress and actions
-an efficient money-making organization (including the concept of tithing and loan ‘forgiveness’) and assigning your will to SAT as recipient
-an extensive web of lies and deceptions
-cutting people off from their families and friends
-extensive ‘love-bombing’ by those in the non-dual community looking to keep the deceptions I was forced to hold from ever becoming public knowledge.
-using the teachings themselves to gaslight the one who might report on the harm
– polarized, us-versus-them mentality…mirroring the utter duality of non-duality
-an exalted and arrogant status of, not only the teacher, but of its members
-immense control over your time in the forms of service
-pitting some people against others in the group…in the olden days it would be women competing with other women…a sad aspect of the patriarchy
-manipulation of how the group is perceived through publications etc.
-the use of (and threats by) mostly unseen-and-unknown siddis (occult powers)
-reliance on and alignment with traditional spiritual texts and historical Saints and figures
-collusion with other non-dual teachers
-little to no disagreement with the main teacher(s)
-deference to the teacher
Thank you for following my work. Please leave me a comment if you have ever experienced similar or are currently with a group…and, always, if you have any questions and/or comments..
-Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad’s “Guru Papers – Masks of Authoritarian Control” (a free PDF of the entire book): ⚛️ https://www.joeldiana.com/?page_id=8
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. ?⚖️?❤️
