tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87750782024-03-07T01:56:59.450-08:00WHAT enlightenment??!an uncensored look at self-styled American guru Andrew CohenUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-71188652733859854482013-07-18T11:33:00.000-07:002015-09-20T14:03:40.342-07:00THE “A” LIST: A Catalog of Trauma and Abuse<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">The following is a list of categories
of abuses committed </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">over the years against students </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">by Andrew Cohen and the EnlightenNext community, with selected representative examples. All of these
acts have been reported, verified and corroborated by first-person witnesses.
Most have been documented in three published books written by critical former
students—</span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Mother of God</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"> by Luna
Tarlo (Andrew Cohen’s mother), </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">American
Guru</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"> by William Yenner and </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Enlightenment
Blues</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">by Andre van der Braak—and on a blog by former students, </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">What Enlightenment??! </i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"> This
list is by no means exhaustive. Many other reprehensible acts, both subtle and
gross, have been documented and, as former students are finding their power and
their voices, more are emerging every day. This list is only a summary
reference. It fairly represents the kind of abuses that frequently occurred in
the EnlightenNext community, often justified under the rubric of acts of “crazy
wisdom” designed to destroy “ego.” It is hoped that this list will aide former
students in coming to terms with their history and trauma, and that it will
serve as a warning and wake-up call to those who are currently engaged with
Andrew Cohen, EnlightenNext, “Evolutionary Enlightenment” or its teachers,
spin-offs and associates, and those who are considering engaging with
them in the future. [We acknowledge and appreciate that some of the senior students of Cohen mentioned here may have played a role in recent events leading to Cohen stepping down from leadership of EnlightenNext, either temporarily or permanently. Yet, as of publication of this summary of abuses, none have publicly disassociated themselves from Cohen or disavowed the abuse of students documented here or their support of and participation in it in the past.] It is also hoped that this list may provide food for contemplation
for Andrew Cohen himself and inspiration for his reform and remediation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">In the title of this list, “A” is for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A</b>ndrew Cohen, for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">a</b>buses
committed by Cohen and his organization, and for long overdue meaningful <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">a</b>pologies and reparations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">I.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Physical Abuse</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Hitting,
slapping, punching of students by Andrew Cohen </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">and other students at Cohen's command.
At times a group of men were ordered by Andrew Cohen to corner and attack
fellow students and at times men were ordered to restrain a man while Cohen hit
him. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having women repeatedly do
full-immersion prostrations in a freezing cold lake in New England in the
autumn (on EnlightenNext’s Foxhollow premises) as penance for perceived faults
and “women’s conditioning,” some to the point of hypothermia, delirium and unconsciousness.
Some women had to be rescued or helped from the lake, and some developed
illnesses afterwards. Some women were berated and ordered to repeat their
attempts to complete a required number of prostrations despite having become
delirious or suffering hypothermia. No medical care was provided for women who
passed out, suffered hypothermia or became ill, even though there was a doctor
in the community and on the Foxhollow premises.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;"> Having
students pour buckets of paint over the head of a former student who was
helping to work on the Foxhollow EnlightenNext premises, as a form of
punishment and humiliation.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">II.
Financial Exploitation<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Using
repeated group and individual pressure tactics on a student who Andrew Cohen
knew to be psychologically vulnerable, in order to induce her to contribute
approximately $2,000,000 for the purchase of the Foxhollow compound in Lenox,
Massachusetts, the headquarters and residence of Cohen and the EnlightenNext
community. Soon after meeting this student, Cohen had elicited from her that
she had a trust fund and was in intensive psychotherapy four times per week,
and persuaded her to cease her psychotherapeutic treatment.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">In
preparation for the move to Foxhollow, Andrew Cohen required every Marin
County, California student (where his major center of operations was at the
time) to contribute $1,000 for every year they had been a student (up to
$5,000), telling them that those who did not comply “would never set foot on
the Foxhollow property.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">In
preparation for the move to the Foxhollow EnlightenNext Center, students were
required to make a full disclosure of their finances to Cohen and the
organization, and to undergo financial “counseling” as to how they would
support themselves and the community after the move. In at least one reported
case, a student was encouraged to lie to his parents in order to receive
financial support so that he could pay rent to the organization after moving to
Foxhollow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Frequently</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;"> and repeatedly charging students
"fines" of thousands of dollars for what Cohen considered to be
various infractions, failures or slights. Ordering these students to pay these
amounts or to leave their homes at his Foxhollow center or be banished from the
spiritual community.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Inducing
a number of students to give Cohen or his organization their inheritances or
obtain advances from their families of their expected inheritances in order to
turn the funds over to Cohen or EnlightenNext.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Using
in excess of $500,000 in funds contributed to EnlightenNext to build and expand
accommodations just for Cohen, including extra offices, a music studio and a
yoga practice room.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Requiring students to provide Cohen
with elaborate and expensive gifts, flowers and engage in various other forms
of penance in order to apologize for perceived failures, wrongs or slights.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">11.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Imposing demands of long hours of work
and labor for Cohen’s organization that made it impossible for students to earn
a living and support themselves, often forcing students to incur thousands of
dollars of debt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">12.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Requiring a student to sign a
confidentiality agreement prohibiting him from publicly criticizing Cohen or
the community for a period of five years after leaving, as a condition of
returning an inheritance contributed under Cohen’s pressure.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">III.
</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Violation of Sexual and Reproductive Rights
and Privacy, and Interference with Family and Personal Relationships</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">13.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Requiring a student to visit
prostitutes repeatedly over a several week period and to provide detailed faxed
reports on these visits to Cohen, despite the student strongly expressing his
strong disgust and emotional trauma over having to do this and daily begging
Cohen to be allowed to stop. Witnesses saw Cohen reading and listening to the
reports of the prostitute visits with great interest, enjoying and laughing at
them.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">14.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Pressuring women to have tubal ligations (have their “tubes tied”) so that they could not conceive children. Encouraging men to have vasectomies. Actively discouraging the having of children by women and couples. Requiring some women to commit to having no children as a condition of being a student of Cohen. As a result of having made a commitment to having no children, as required by Cohen as a prerequisite for becoming a student, one woman had an abortion when she became pregnant. Many women refrained from having children, in some cases past the age to become pregnant, to their later regret.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">15.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Requiring some parents to live
separately from their young children, sometimes in other countries and for long
periods of time; actively discouraging parents from giving their children
ordinary love, time, attention and priority in their lives or spending holidays
and free time with them; sometimes advising parents to slap their young
children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">16.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Directly ordering the break up of
numerous couples and families. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">17.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Exercising direct and complete control
over students’ decisions regarding sexuality and relationships, including
whether the student would be celibate or in a relationship, with whom the
student could have a relationship, if and when students should end a
relationship or marriage, and whether married couples or students currently in
a relationship could have sex with their partner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">18.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Ordering a student to tell his young
daughter about her mother's (his wife's) long past infidelity, traumatizing the
daughter and contributing to her alienation from her father and to alienation
between her parents.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">19.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Directly giving harsh and critical
messages to children in the community, including, in one instance, telling a
thirteen year old daughter of students that she was “a little bitch now and
soon you're going to be a big bitch.”</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">20.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Telling a student she was a bad mother
and threatening to have authorities take away her child.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">21.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Questioning students’ sexual
orientation, whether homosexual or heterosexual. In one instance, forcing a
heterosexual male student to spend an entire retreat questioning his sexual
orientation because Cohen was mistakenly convinced he was really homosexual.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">IV.
Emotional and Psychological Abuse and Ostracizing</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">22.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Ordering a student who is a physician
to simulate the amputation of the finger of another student who had sworn,
under pressure, that he would cut off his finger if he failed to complete a
writing project. This simulation included full preparation of the student for
the amputation by the doctor and the doctor’s readying of surgical knives and
only ceased just before actual amputation. As a result, the student was
emotionally traumatized and soon thereafter fled Cohen's residential center,
Foxhollow.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">23.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Yelling at a student whose husband had
just committed suicide, calling the husband a “loser” and telling her that she
should be happy to be rid of him.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">24.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Having a senior student telephone and
loudly and harshly criticize at length an elderly and infirm former formal
woman student (Caroline Franklyn) for a misperceived slight to Cohen, telling
her that Cohen was furious at her for her failure to “admit her sin” and that
she would “die a miserable old woman.” Her health deteriorated alarmingly
soon after this event, and within approximately a week she was dying in the
hospital. Cohen failed to offer any communication to the woman of sympathy,
support or forgiveness after her concerned family requested this until it was
too late, as the woman had by then become unconscious. She died eleven days
after her verbal scourging by the senior student. Cohen’s acts in this regard
are considered by her family and others to be a direct cause of her decline and
death.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">25.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">On multiple occasions, criticizing,
disparaging and finding fault in students who were suffering bereavement at the
death of family and loved ones. For example, on one occasion, having the
community harangue and yell at a student who was grieving the death of half of
her family--the death of her sister, followed thirty days later by her father's
death-- for “betraying Andrew” when she was grief-stricken and therefore unable
to be as enthusiastic about Cohen's visit to Israel as was expected. When the
student went abroad to look after her sister’s affairs, having students pile
all of her belongings on the street, where most were stolen before the student
could return to rescue them.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">26.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Ordering students to spend hours and
days in a former sauna, and in a basement area of the EnlightenNext Center.
These areas had been decorated with students’ letters splotched with red paint,
representing "the guru's blood," and with cartoons of students who
had left Cohen depicted as demons falling off cliffs and causing destruction.
Students with whom Cohen was unhappy were characterized as having injured him
and “spilled his blood.”</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">27.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Frequently and repeatedly disparaging
and criticizing women for their “conditioning” and resistance to him. Having
female students repeatedly and at length contemplate disturbing cartoons
depicting sexually predatory, violent and sado-masochistic acts, including one
of a student eviscerating Cohen. This was supposed to be either a
punishment or cure for "female conditioning."</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">28.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Requiring a student to move her office
to a room in the Foxhollow basement that was painted red and decorated with a
cartoon of her as a devil, and requiring her to spend many hours working there.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">29.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Isolating students for long periods of
time in their apartments at Foxhollow, allowing them to leave only to work. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">30.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Ordering a student to have his newer
luxury Saab crushed because he was too “attached” to it.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">31.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">The frequent use of abusive, profane,
shaming, jeering and insulting language by Cohen toward students, and the
subjecting of students to public humiliation and shunning.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">32.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">In small private groups of close
students, Cohen frequently insulting attendees at public forums who he had
behaved warmly toward in public, by calling them “fat,” “stupid,” “useless,” “disgusting”
and other disparaging terms, and encouraging close students to do the same.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">33.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Giving students insulting, demeaning
and humiliating names (e.g. “Dizzy,” “Mad Dog,” “Vacance,” “Raging Bull,” “Q
the Clown,” “Mephisto,” etc.) and requiring the exclusive use of these names in
the community.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">34.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Requiring students to shave their heads
and take on celibacy vows as penance for perceived faults.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">35.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Threatening and enforcing
excommunication and ejection of students from the EnlightenNext Center and from
their homes, often without warning and, at times, late at night.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">36.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Revealing students’ confidences
disclosed to Cohen to other students, including confidences of an intimate and
sexual nature.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">37.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Depriving students of sleep to the
point of exhaustion, often for years.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">38.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Depriving students of ordinary
friendship and emotional support, frequently turning the entire community
against individual students and prohibiting them from speaking, touching or
having other contact with them.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">39.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Creating such psychological pressure on
students that numerous students secretly fled the community, some at night, and
many hiding and having little or no contact with other students or former students
for years.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">V.
</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Denying and Discouraging Students’ Freedom
to Leave the Community</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">40.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Holding and withholding students’
passports, credit cards and car keys so that they could not leave community
premises.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">41.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Posting guards outside a students’
bedroom so that he could not leave, forcing him to secretly exit through a
window at night and flee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">42.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Having </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">a student who was trained in the Dutch
equivalent of the military special or commando forces threaten another student
with serious physical injury should he ever leave Andrew Cohen, telling the
student that if he ever left Cohen, “no matter where you are on the planet, I
will find you and break every bone in your body.”</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">43.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Subjecting students who expressed their
wish to leave the community, or to lessen their involvement with the community,
to lengthy interrogation, haranguing, meetings and coercive discouragement from
leaving or lessening their involvement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">44.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Having students track down other
students who left the community, bringing or attempting to bring them back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">45.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Having students write disparaging and
insulting letters to students who chose to leave the community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">46.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;">Andrew Cohen repeatedly telling
students that if they left the community it would be the equivalent of “literally
committing spiritual suicide” and that they “can never escape me” as “I am
their direct connection to the Absolute.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">47.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Repeatedly telling students that there
were no valid spiritual teachers other than Cohen or valid spiritual paths
other than his, and that if they left him their lives would be meaningless and
hellish.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">48.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Cohen, when among close students,
ridiculing, laughing at, insulting and dismissing other teachers, public
associates and peers, such as Deepak Chopra, the Dalai Lama (“an idiot”), Don
Beck (“a disgusting old man”), Craig Hamilton (“a big baby”), Ken Wilber (“a
huge narcissist”), Michael Beckwith and Barbara Marx Hubbard (“they just don’t
get it”) and various members of the Integral community, such as
David Deida, Terry Patten and others, and encouraging close students to do the
same.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">49.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Disparaging and expressing extreme
anger and hatred by Cohen toward students who left him; labeling such students
as devils, traitors and “losers” and often “disappearing” them, denying their
contributions and the years of labor they had given him and his community.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">50.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Discouraging students who leave from having
any contact with other students who had left, labeling those who left as “losers”
and “the shadow sangha.”</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">As a result of abuse suffered in the community, many former
students experienced trauma, depression, disorientation, loss of connection to
spirituality in any form, and the need for psychotherapeutic treatment after
leaving Cohen’s community. Numerous former students are still struggling to
come to terms with their experience in Cohen’s community, sometimes a decade or
more after leaving.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.5pt;">[version 2.1-6/11/14 (numbering; minor factual correction; student names removed from intro)</span><br />
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 7.5pt;">v. 2.2-1/10/15 (revised #14)</span></div>
</div>
Halhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06673589586433735208noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-77462819441529275242013-07-07T22:49:00.002-07:002016-11-06T10:13:32.980-08:00MY DINNER WITH ANDREW<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">What follows is an
account of my attendance at a half-day “Evolutionary Enlightenment” seminar
given by <a href="http://andrewcohen.org/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Andrew Cohen</span></a> in Toronto on
22 June, 2013, and a private meeting that I had with him afterward. The seminar
was entitled “Living at the Edge of Everything.”<i> </i>As the afternoon
progressed, it became increasingly clear to me that my impressions might be of
value to those interested in a power struggle that had occurred recently in
Cohen's universe: He had been forced into some sort of reckoning with his
conduct as a “guru,” and pressured by his “senior students” into vacating his
leadership position at the organization he had founded, “<a href="https://enlightennext.org/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">EnlightenNext</span></a>.”</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It must be borne in
mind that these are my personal impressions, and that anyone else in my
position—as well as Cohen himself—might have come away with something
different. That being said, I'm surprised at how well I've been able to
recollect the sequence of our interaction; the conversation presented here is
quite close to a verbatim transcript. I find it harder to tell whether my
approach was either too aggressive or too indulgent. I do believe that the
questions I raised with Cohen are relevant and valid given his role and his
record.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I attended Cohen's
seminar reluctantly, as I felt that it ought to have been possible to arrange a
simple meeting with him on the strength of our past relationship. (I am a
former “student” who worked closely with Cohen for five years.) At the time, it
was common knowledge among some disaffected ex-followers of Cohen's that he had
recently begun engaging by telephone with some of the many individuals who had
become alienated from him as a result of his manipulative and abusive behavior.
But it had also come to light that he had been instructed to do this by his
organization's <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2013/06/andrew-cohen-and-fall-of-guru-in-age-of_21.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">PR</span></a>
strategist as part of a more comprehensive campaign to refurbish his
reputation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I had initiated
contact by means of a friendly email a few weeks earlier, and Cohen had
responded in kind, agreeing to a meeting and requesting that I contact him
closer to the date of the event. I did so, but had heard nothing by the night
before the seminar, so I decided to purchase a ticket. I sat in the first row
on the far right facing the stage, and when Cohen came out to be introduced he
was standing directly in front of me. I waved to let him know I was there, and
he acknowledged my presence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A bit of research had
alerted me to the fact that Cohen had developed a sizable following in Toronto,
including a dedicated core group that meets regularly to discuss his
publications and videos and registers for his online courses and virtual
seminars. According to EnlightenNext's 2010/11 “Biennial Report,” some members
of this group (“EnlightenNext Toronto”) had donated thousands of dollars to the
organization, and it was clear that they had effectively publicized this event
and made sure that many of their friends were in attendance. The assembly gave
Cohen a big round of applause as he mounted the stage, prompting him to wonder
why, “with a reception like that,” he hadn't visited the city sooner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For the most part I
found Cohen's lecture extremely boring, although some of the things he said
struck me rather differently than they would have several years ago. In
particular, I was aware that the “enlightened condition” that he was describing
as authentic and revelatory seemed more like a dissociated state essentially
devoid of human emotion. Cohen's sermon on morality, which hinged on an
examination of the differences between Adolf Hitler and Martin Luther King,
struck me as a subtle strategic disavowal of any possible similarities between
Hitler's actions and his own. (Obviously, I'm not referring here to scale of
devastation but to unacknowledged unsavory motivations.) And in his instruction
to his listeners to take his words “with a grain of salt, but not too big a
grain”—so as not to miss something of potentially crucial importance to their
lives—I recognized a stratagem for short-circuiting critical thinking and
encouraging suspension of disbelief. An apparently new direction in Cohen's
teaching was his observation that some Christian organizations, along with “the
greatest gurus in India,” have created facilities for helping to ease the
suffering of the poor. He went on to suggest that “relieving people's
suffering” is an important aspect of enlightened spirituality, but this talking
point seemed out of place, as if it had been implanted in his brain somewhat
recently and had not yet been fully integrated. Finally, I found that I was
hearing Cohen's descriptions of his mental state during his formative years
differently than I once had; they elicited compassion while offering some
measure of insight into his present condition.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>During the bathroom
break, I had interactions with a few of Cohen's current longstanding students.
The odd impression I took away from each of these conversations was that these
students seemed relieved (and possibly even overjoyed) to be able to talk
disparagingly about Cohen and his travails. Smiles would appear on their faces
as they said daringly disrespectful things—but they were still Cohen's
students, were still working for him, and without exception shared the
conviction that his “teachings” remained valid and legitimate. Some had
traveled great distances to be there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One of these—a “Senior
Teacher of Evolutionary Enlightenment” who had served for several years as
Cohen's personal assistant—had capitalized on his status in Cohen's
organization to form a business arrangement with another (more financially
successful) organization while continuing to function as EnlightenNext's
“Director of Education.” When I asked him if this meant that he was now more
“out” of Cohen's group than “in,” he said “out,” but I had to wonder how this
held up logically against his presence in Toronto as a facilitator for this
event. (He had relocated to Philadelphia from Foxhollow, Cohen's Berkshire
ashram, only two months earlier, having worked closely with Cohen for the
previous seventeen years.) This “Senior Teacher” explained to me that the “virtual
holon” he belonged to, which included five of his male colleagues in the U.S.
and Europe, was the mutinous vanguard that had stood up to Cohen, forced him to
take a good look at himself, and relieved him of his authority. Despite this
development, however, each of the individuals he mentioned remained, like him,
closely involved with Cohen and EnlightenNext. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A second longtime
student I spoke with, when I asked him what he thought Cohen would be “looking
into” during his forced sabbatical, glanced carefully over each shoulder before
smiling slyly and confiding, “Pathology.” This was definitely unusual; in the
past, I had seen references by students to Cohen's shortcomings inspire him to
heights of punitive creativity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When Cohen's seminar
was over at 4:00 pm, the leader of his local fan club let me know that Cohen
intended to spend some “quiet time” with me at a bar once he had finished
signing copies of his “international bestseller,” <i>Evolutionary
Enlightenment.</i> Would I be willing to wait for Cohen at the bar until 5:30?
Glancing over at the book-signing table, I noticed that Cohen was quite busy,
so I gave his representative my number and asked him to call me when he thought
Cohen would be ready to meet. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I didn't receive the
call until 6:00 pm, at which time I was told that I should get myself to the
bar immediately, as Cohen had just arrived there and ordered a drink. I said
that I couldn't get there immediately, but would need a few minutes. Cohen's
representative said “Okay” and hung up. Five minutes later he called again to
ask where I was. I said I needed a just a little more time. He said that Cohen
only had until 6:30, when he was due for dinner with his local acolytes. I
indicated that since in that case we would only have fifteen minutes together
at the most, it might be better to ask Cohen if we could meet <i>after </i>his
dinner. He said he would ask and hung up. Thirty seconds later, he called back
to say that if I wanted to meet with Cohen I had to “make it happen now,”
otherwise I should just forget it. He added that Cohen was willing to postpone
his dinner an extra ten minutes if I came right away. I told him (having
anticipated most of this) that I was already en route. (The vibe I got from
this intermediary—who otherwise seemed like a nice enough fellow—was that if
Cohen had instructed him to waylay me in an alley and shoot me, he would gladly
have done so.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When I arrived, Cohen
was sitting at the bar with his drink, and he motioned his companions to leave
so that I could sit down on the barstool next to him. I extended my hand in
greeting, but Cohen said, “Don't I get a hug?” I obliged him, but I felt
extremely uncomfortable doing so, and given the circumstances it seemed to me
that things were getting intimate between us rather too quickly. I felt that
while Cohen was genuinely happy to see me, he was trying to pull me in by sheer
force of will. We had not seen each other in fourteen years, and our parting
had not been amicable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I asked Cohen how he
felt his presentation had gone. He said it had seemed to go well, then asked
what I had been doing lately. He wanted to know about my academic and creative
activities, how old I was now, and whether I was married. He was also
interested in exploring my familiarity with certain philosophers, as he had
been in the past. But I felt that all these inquiries, though innocent, were
leading stubbornly in the direction of a premature camaraderie and an illusory
commonality of interests. After responding to several of them, I said, “And
what's been happening with <i>you,</i> Andrew?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cohen stopped cold and
said, looking at me intensely, “Well, that's a pretty vague question, don't you
think? Maybe if you could tell me more specifically what you're asking about, I
could give you a better answer.” His eyes met mine somewhat warily. He blinked,
but just once or twice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I hear you've been
dealing with some difficulties lately,” I said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Oh, that,” he
replied—of course he knew exactly what I was talking about.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yes, <i>that,” </i>I
said. “What about <i>that, </i>Andrew?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cohen immediately went
into a somewhat robotic speech about looking at himself in ways he never had
before, taking six months off to deal with these new issues that had come up,
and implementing measures intended to facilitate “healing” with former students
who still had longstanding grievances against him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“And after that?” I
asked.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I don't know. We'll
see what happens. It's all unknown.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Do you plan to teach
again?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“We'll see.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Are you planning to
explain to people why you're doing this?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yes.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>“Publicly?”</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Silence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Do you really think
six months is enough?” I persisted. “If I were in your position, I'd think six <i>years</i>
would be more like it.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I asked Cohen what he
thought his former students were angry about, and he launched into a
philosophical explanation about how, in his role as a “guru,” he had
“overemphasized <i>Eros</i> at the expense of <i>Agape,”</i> with the result
that he hadn't been as “kind” and “sympathetic” toward these students as he
should have been. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Having read Cohen's
infamous “<a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2013/06/andrew-cohen-and-fall-of-guru-in-age-of_21.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">PR plan</span></a>,”<i>
</i>I had certainly been expecting this, but something about actually hearing
him say these things unnerved me, and I began to feel uncomfortable and a bit
clumsy. I found that I couldn't bear to look at him—a feeling that had already
been developing for a short while, since he had been staring at me pretty
consistently without blinking. I couldn't figure out what to say next. My mouth
was dry, and I asked the bartender for some water.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cohen quickly pounced.
“The reason you're having trouble,” he said, “is because you're thinking too
much.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I found it thoroughly
annoying that he thought he was still my teacher. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Andrew,” I said,
“this isn't about me. It's about <i>you.”</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Well <i>that's</i> a
new one,” Cohen rejoined with a wry smile. “Most of what I've been hearing
lately is that it's <i>not</i> about me, that I should be paying more attention
to <i>them</i> and how <i>they</i> feel.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Andrew,” I said,
“it's not that they want you to pay attention to <i>them. </i>They want you to
pay attention to <i>what</i> <i>you</i> <i>did to them</i> that made them feel
the way they do. You did some pretty awful things, Andrew. <i>You. You </i>did
those things.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I know.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“And they want you to
consider what it means about you as a person that you were capable of such
actions. What do <i>you</i> think it means?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I know I've made some
mistakes,” Cohen admitted.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You're giving me such
a strange feeling!” I said. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“What is it?” he
asked.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I couldn't quite get a
handle on what it was. “What's the word? Impervious. Impenetrable. I feel like
I can't get through to you.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He was staring at me
with such detached intensity that I felt I had to wave my hand in front of his
eyes to get his attention. I actually tried this. It had no effect whatsoever. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I decided to be more
direct. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I was talking about
you with one of your students this afternoon, and do you know what he said? He
used the word <i>pathology. </i>That's a word that would've been <i>verboten</i>
in my time.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cohen's gaze went
slightly vacant. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Andrew,” I said, “I'm
sorry, but believe it or not, I'm here to support you in getting clear about
this, because in spite of everything, I care about you and I would like to help
you if I can.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cohen had rallied.
“Thank you,” he answered, “I appreciate that. Sincerely.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Andrew,” I said, “I
have to ask you something.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yes?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Are we speaking as
equals here?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cohen looked me in the
eye. “Yes,” he said, and then, after a pregnant pause,<i> </i>“as peers.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This struck me as an
odd choice of words. It seemed to imply that he was inviting me up to his
level, instead of coming down to mine or just abandoning altogether the notion
of some implicit hierarchy. I felt that I didn't <i>want </i>to be his <i>peer,</i>
I simply wanted to create the conditions necessary for a modicum of
uncomplicated honesty between us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Andrew,” I said,
“what I'm offering you, if you're interested, is dialogue—whether it's now or
in the future. I'm not too bad at it, you know, even though it might not seem
that way at the moment.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cohen smiled.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Anyway,” I said, “I'm
glad to know that we're speaking as equals, because otherwise I'd feel
uncomfortable saying what I have to say here. Even knowing that you were once
my teacher is going to make what I'm about to say feel kind of strange. May I
say it?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Okay, I'm listening.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Andrew, I've been
reading your PR plan, and I have to tell you that chalking this up to <i>'Eros
versus Agape'</i> isn't going to cut it. Chalking it up to 'Founder's Syndrome'
isn't going to cut it. Chalking it up to some 'Mythic Guru' nonsense isn't
going to cut it. None of that is going to cut it—do you know why? Because this
isn't philosophical, it's <i>human. </i>What you did to these people wasn't <i>philosophical.</i>
You caused real harm, and some of the harm you caused was simply incredible.
How are you going to justify that with some philosophical explanation? And
Andrew, this is going to sound especially strange since you were once my
teacher, but you can't allow yourself to go in that direction at all, because
if you even get near it, the temptation to be <i>philosophical</i> about this
is going to become so strong that you'll never be able to pry yourself away
from it, and nothing will ever change. Do you know what I mean? I'm really
sorry to be talking to you this way, but we both know that that's how it is.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Look,” said Cohen,
“as I said, I know I've made mistakes, and because of the mistakes I made, something
that is very beautiful is not as beautiful as it could have been, and I feel
terrible about that, because if I hadn't made those mistakes, those people
wouldn't have left. And that's why I'm trying to make amends with the people I
hurt—so that the potential of this beautiful teaching can be realized.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Andrew,” I said, “how
can you say that something is beautiful when it's bound up with so much
incredible damage and destruction? It doesn't make any sense. Don't you think
you might at least have to ask yourself a few questions about everything that's
happened? Don't you think there might be some flaw in the whole thing that you
might have overlooked?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I have no doubt that
I brought something beautiful into the world,” said Cohen, “something that wasn't
here before and that is significant for the evolution of humanity.... When did
you leave?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“When did I leave?
What do you mean?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“When did you leave
us? What year?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“1999.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“So you weren't there
for what happened on July 30th, 2001.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“July <i>what?”</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“July 30th, 2001.” [I
forget what he called it—please excuse my ignorance, but someone reading this
is bound to know; apparently a monument was erected to commemorate the event
referred to.] “You left too soon,” Cohen went on. “Everyone who was still there
at that time saw the beauty and potential of this teaching become manifest in a
way that left no room for doubt, and it's because of what happened on that day
that <i>I have no doubt</i> that I brought something beautiful into this world,
and that because of that, nothing will ever be the same. But without having the
context of that experience, you can't possibly understand what I'm talking
about.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I was visibly touched
by this, and Cohen seemed more than ready to attribute the moisture in my eyes to
the incontestable logic of his cosmology. Actually, it was the condescension
and desperate grandiosity of his declaration that amazed me. I was awed,
stunned and humbled. How I could ever hope to be Cohen's “peer” when I lacked
this vastly superior <i>context?</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Well, Andrew,” I said
with some sadness, “I guess that's my loss.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And I really <i>did</i>
feel at a loss. The power of Cohen's conviction was so strong that I'd begun to
realize I would never get through to him—I was by now certain of this. But I
was also realizing how lost I would have been had I remained in his orbit long
enough to witness the “miracle” (of July 30th, 2001) that his faith in himself
was now eternally tethered to. I was overwhelmed with gratitude that I had not
remained in his community a moment longer than I had.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i>“Listen,” </i>Cohen
said, leaning in toward me as he took my hand in his and rested his other hand
on my knee, “I know I let you down. <i>I'm sorry.”</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>How could he have let
me down, I asked myself, when he had never had anything real to offer me in the
first place? The idea that I had needed something from this man, and that
because he had failed to provide it I had missed out on one of the most
significant events in the history of the universe, struck me as ludicrous and
vaguely insulting. But I somehow continued to feel entranced, as if I'd been
manipulated against my will into an alternate reality. I felt that I was in the
presence of an individual with such tremendous willpower that I had to be
constantly vigilant in order not to abandon the most basic premises of my own
experience. Even more strangely, I suddenly had the profound intuition that he
was utterly devoid of conscience, that he lacked any authentic ability to care
for or about another human being. It was clear that his deluded agenda took
absolute precedence over everything. He was perfectly singleminded. Feeling his
hand on my knee suddenly made my skin crawl.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Andrew,” I said as I
pulled away from him, “don't you realize how much anger people feel toward you?
Don't you ever wonder what that's about?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Are <i>you</i>
angry?” Cohen inquired, leaning in again. “Why don't you tell me a couple of
things that I did to you, so that I can apologize?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This felt very weird
to me, and though I may be paranoid, when Cohen made this request I had the distinct
impression that he was anticipating with a kind of perverse pleasure the
opportunity of hearing a specific example of how he had caused me to suffer,
and everything in me resisted the possibility of allowing him this
gratification.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Andrew,” I said, “I'm
<i>fine. </i>It's <i>you</i> I'm worried about. I feel for you and for what
you're going through. From a certain point of view, when I think about what
lies ahead of you, I feel that it would have been easier for you if you had
managed to die this way.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our eyes locked
momentarily.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Well, as you know,”
he said matter-of-factly, “I believe in the continuity of consciousness, so if
I don't deal with it now, I'll just have to deal with it later. So I might as
well do it now.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I looked at my watch.
It was 6:30. “Looks like you've got to go,” I offered, but Cohen said that he
could stay a bit longer. I had a message from a former colleague on my laptop
that I wanted him to read, and I took the brief opportunity to disengage that
reaching for my knapsack afforded me. I opened up my computer on the counter.
Cohen put on his reading glasses and we read the message together in silence.
Then I handed him a message from another former colleague in a sealed envelope,
and told him who it was from. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Where did you get
this?” he asked. He had an expression on his face that made me think he might
have had a soft spot for this former student and missed her. I told him that
she had emailed it to me and that I had printed it out for him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Oh,” Cohen said,
“they knew you were going to see me.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Of course, Andrew,” I
said. “I know that you've talked to a few people on the phone, but I'm the
first one who's had a chance to speak with you in person, so of course people
are going to be curious to hear what happened.” Though it seemed highly
unlikely, I felt an obligation to give Cohen a chance to say something that
might reassure his disaffected ex-students, that would give them some faith in
the possibility of a genuine expression of remorse on his part. “Andrew,” I
said, feeling somewhat helpless, <i>“what am I going to tell them?”</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I can't tell you what
to say,” Cohen answered curtly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We could have spoken
longer, but I suddenly felt a strong desire to leave. “I don't have anything
else,” I said. “I'm going to go.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Okay,” said Cohen. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We embraced again, and
I asked him to give my love to his wife. I reminded him that he was welcome to
contact me whenever he liked. Then I was out the door.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">* * *</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While it may strike
some observers as overly generous, I've concluded since the above encounter
that it is pointless to hold Andrew Cohen responsible for the considerable
devastation he has left in his wake. The reason for this is the “pathology” now
alluded to even among those of Cohen's students who, despite his destructive
behavior, still remain loyal to him. Though many of Cohen's past actions cannot
fail to strike all but his most indoctrinated followers as perverse if not
evil, it seems clear that his psychological condition is such that he cannot
will himself to behave differently. In light of this, it goes without saying
that his functionality as a “spiritual teacher” is essentially a non-issue, and
that it would be to everyone's benefit if his general reputation, rather than
being manipulated by consultants, came to reflect his fundamental incompetence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As adept as they may
have become at rationalizing it, Cohen's students have always been at least
dimly aware of a Jekyll-and-Hyde quality to the disjuncture between Cohen's
“highly evolved spirituality” and his extremely predatory conduct. Looked at
from a perspective that privileges Cohen's self-proclaimed “enlightenment,”
this incongruence tends to be pretty confusing, whereas when examined in a
context that includes the possibility of narcissistic personality disorder
(“NPD”), one finds that it makes perfect sense.<i> </i>But this is a hard won
insight, and as I discovered during his seminar, perceiving Andrew Cohen in
this light requires a willingness to squint, to listen critically, and to read
between the lines. Then one begins to recognize in his “teaching” not just an
evolutionary spiritual doctrine but a well-developed technique for inspiring
the reverence he requires from others in order to affirm his own tenuous sense
of self. Accordingly, what a “teacher” like Cohen banks on is the effectiveness
of his Orwellian strategies (“The Bondage of Liberation,” “The Epidemic of
Narcissism”) for preempting or circumventing the critical capacities of his
listeners. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Whatever genuine
spiritual progress they may also have achieved through dedicated spiritual
practice, all of Andrew Cohen's students have at one time or another found
themselves infected by this viral “transmission.” They discover the core tenets
of Cohen's formulations rolling off their own tongues in a hypnotic and
intoxicating way, and are gratified by the magical consensus they are able to
generate through the articulation of some mind-blowing “transformational
truth.” Cohen's currently expanding galaxy of alumni spin-offs consists of
those “stars” most successful at cultivating—perhaps less compulsively than the
master—the underlying manipulation and opportunism of his technique. Some were
predisposed in this direction from the beginning, while others have been
corrupted through prolonged exposure without (one hopes) fully realizing what
they have become. And some of these “leaders” appear to be facing a confusing
dilemma in the aftermath of their guru's abdication: How does Cohen's
“teaching” stand up once its narcissistic roots have begun to show? Are they,
as individuals, sufficiently charismatic to aspire to guruhood themselves, or
are they merely residual spokespeople for a newly secularized spiritual
ideology? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>No doubt such
questions will also figure in Cohen's own <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2013/06/andrew-cohen-and-fall-of-guru-in-age-of_21.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">forecasted</span></a>
dialogues with Ken Wilber on “the death of a mythic guru,” which are clearly
intended to pave the way for Cohen's expedient reinvention of himself as
Wilber's fellow “pandit.” (Or were; at the time of this writing, the first of
these broadcasts had just been cancelled or postponed.) From the point of view
of accountability, Cohen almost certainly now regards “pandit” as a <i>safer</i>
role than “guru” to the extent that it reduces the likelihood of his having to
face aspects of himself which, in all probability, he simply can't afford to
look at. (Anyway, that's what he seems to be shooting for at the moment.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Len Oakes's book, <i><a href="http://www.sustainedaction.org/Explorations/prophetic_charisma_excerpt_part%202.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Prophetic
Charisma</span></a>, </i>provides a useful template for understanding the
phenomena considered here. Also,<i> </i>for a detailed and revealing
description of NPD, the content to be found in Sam Vaknin's book, <i><a href="http://gorgelink.org/freebooks/vaknin/MSL2excerpts.pdf"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Malignant
Self Love</span></a>,</i> is extremely helpful. Those who have spent time in
Cohen's intimate company will recognize the dynamics forthrightly depicted
there by one who (refreshingly) actually acknowledges suffering from this
condition. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The communal social
structure that Cohen has surrounded himself with for the past twenty-five years
was built on such skewed “intersubjective” dynamics, and Cohen's students, even
when they have wished to do so, have found these understandably difficult to
see through and resist. This is even less their fault than it is Cohen's: When
you have on one hand a prospective follower who is idealistic, credulous, and
perhaps a little too hungry for guidance, and on the other an established
communal social order organized around a spiritual ideology that has been bent
to the needs of a sociopath, you have all the ingredients necessary for a
perfect storm. With any luck, those seeking clarity will now have an
opportunity to come to terms with their past experiences and move on. For those
just getting involved, caution remains in order. Failure to recognize the truth
about Andrew Cohen can still leave the credulous seeker defenseless against a
mediated spiritual “brand” of compulsive predation and vampirism. If you have
any doubt, read <i><a href="http://americanguru.net/about-the-book/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">American Guru</span></a></i>
or the archives of this blog, which have been around for a while now.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">—former student</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-40339751761614274962013-06-21T12:21:00.002-07:002016-03-05T02:38:28.510-08:00ANDREW COHEN AND THE FALL OF THE MYTHIC GURU IN AN AGE OF PR-SPIN<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">Controversial spiritual teacher
</span><a href="http://andrewcohen.org/"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Andrew Cohen</span></a> <span style="color: #1a1a1a;">will be stepping
down from his role as guru and leader of the organization he founded, </span><a href="https://enlightennext.org/"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">EnlightenNext</span></a>. In a startling turn of events, Cohen has also begun
apologizing to some former and current students for misdeeds and abuses of the
past. Core students in the leadership of EnlightenNext have left the
organization and apparently struck out on their own. But a recent “PR and Communications Plan” message, widely circulated to EnlightenNext students,
leaves both the scope of future change in the organization and the depth of
Andrew Cohen’s remorse over his abuse of students in the past unclear.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">We at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What Enlightenment??! </i>first got wind that significant changes for
Cohen and EnlightenNext were happening several weeks ago. We heard rumors that
core members of </span><a href="http://andrewcohen.org/"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Andrew
Cohen</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">'s </span><a href="https://enlightennext.org/"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">EnlightenNext</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> organization had been calling Cohen to task for some time,
attempting to get him to change an autocratic and authoritarian style of
leadership. We also heard that some members of the EnlightenNext leadership </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">had recently left the
organization. There were rumors that large numbers of students had followed
suit. But all of this was difficult to confirm as no one concerned had made any
public statement of schism or disaffection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">So, in awe and wonder, we began
to investigate. Sources close to EnlightenNext have since told us that
criticism of Cohen began in the upper echelons over four years ago. Sometime
over a year ago, some of these senior students were ordered by Cohen to meet
together in London, apparently to attempt to purge themselves of their
rebelliousness. Instead, at their meetings their questioning of Cohen’s
authoritarian style of leadership deepened. They eventually stopped sending
Cohen notes of their meetings, as expected and required. Soon they were joined
in their dissent by other EnlightenNext leadership. A united front formed. As
if this were not shocking enough, we heard that things had recently come to a
head in a meeting between senior students and Cohen in Europe. A line was drawn
in the sand, it was said. Not being satisfied with Cohen's response, a number
of leaders left the community. Many other members followed suit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Yet nothing was publicly disclosed
of this rift. We waited to see how things would develop and if any public
statement would be forthcoming. Recently, we noticed a public web </span><a href="http://www.enlightennext.nl/"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">announcement</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> that the Netherlands EnlightenNext Center would no longer be
associated with Cohen’s organization as of this summer. But the bombshell fell
when we received from an anonymous source the “PR and Communications Plan” sent
out to EnlightenNext members on June 15, 2013. This fascinating yet puzzling document
is reproduced here, below.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">It remains to be seen what this
all means, or how it will play itself out. We have heard from several former
close students of Andrew Cohen that he has contacted them personally to
apologize for past misdeeds. Yet these students have also reported that Cohen
seemed “cut off,” even “robotic” in his communication. Cohen has also
personally contacted some current EnlightenNext students, presumably to apologize
for past misdeeds to them. The news of apologies was unexpected and somewhat encouraging.
Yet the “PR and Communications Plan” reproduced below makes one wonder whether
all of this is part of a well-orchestrated public relations campaign, rather
than the sign of a genuine turn to humility by enlightenment’s infamous “Rude
Boy,” as Cohen’s friend </span><a href="http://www.kenwilber.com/home/landing/index.html"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Ken Wilber</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> called him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">EnlightenNext appears to be
attempting to explain the changes as part of a natural evolution away from the
authoritarian-mythic “blue meme” guru model, using terminology originated by </span><a href="http://www.spiraldynamics.net/"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Don Beck</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> and </span><a href="http://spiraldynamics.org/"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Chris
Cowan</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> in their </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_Dynamics"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Spiral Dynamics</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> model of human development, a model which has been widely
adopted by </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integral_theory"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Integral
Theory</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> teachers and thinkers, such as </span><a href="http://www.kenwilber.com/home/landing/index.html"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Ken Wilber</span></a>. The PR Plan also identifies the need to address “Founder’s
Syndrome,” a situation where the founder of an organization impedes its
development. These theoretical explanations, with no mention of the harm Cohen
and his organization have done to students and with no inkling of empathy for the suffering those students endured, make one wonder whether
EnlightenNext’s culture of authoritarianism and abuse will really change.<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">And what to make of the silence
of those in the leadership who reportedly parted from Cohen? </span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";">We wonder whether the senior
students who left Cohen will attempt to follow the course of former student, <i>What Is Enlightenment? </i>magazine<i> </i>editor and </span><a href="http://www.integralenlightenment.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Integral Enlightenment</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";"> founder </span><a href="http://www.integralenlightenment.com/pages/about/craig.php" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Craig
Hamilton</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";">. Readers of <i>What Enlightenment??! </i>will remember </span><a href="http://www.integralenlightenment.com/pages/about/craig.php" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Hamilton</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";"> from years past as a <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/02/wie-editor-admits-slapping-smeared.html">vitriolic</a>
and <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/02/legacy-of-scorched-earth.html?showComment=1107534660000#c110753466900191439">insulting</a>
defender of Cohen on this </span><a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/02/wie-editor-admits-slapping-smeared.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">blog</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";">. Later, Hamilton secretly fled Cohen’s Lenox, Massachusetts Foxhollow compound like so many other abused and damaged students, and was
severely disparaged and ridiculed by Cohen, again like so many others who fled
Cohen’s abuse. Yet little more than a year later, Hamilton re-created himself
as a successful “graduate” of Cohen’s community, and the founder of his own
“enlightenment” school, </span><a href="http://www.integralenlightenment.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Integral
Enlightenment</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";">, offering webinars and on-line
courses on his philosophy, a close cousin (some might say almost a carbon copy)
of the integral-oriented “<a href="http://andrewcohen.org/">evolutionary
enlightenment</a>” teaching created by Cohen. Hamilton has been financially
successful at this enterprise, far more successful than Cohen’s EnlightenNext,
which has been plagued by financial difficulties. Indeed, when once asked by a
former Cohen student what value he had added to Cohen’s “<a href="http://andrewcohen.org/">evolutionary enlightenment</a>” teaching,
Hamilton is reported to have answered, “I figured out how to monetize it.” This
seems to be the case. We cannot help but wonder if the silence of senior
students who have left Cohen indicates their possible plans to re-create
themselves and start lucrative “evolutionary” oriented “enlightenment” businesses
like <a href="http://www.integralenlightenment.com/index.php">Hamilton’s</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Finally, what will become of
Andrew Cohen? Can we really believe that his role as the “Mythic Guru” is over,
as stated in the “PR & Communications plan for Andrew” reproduced below?
Can Cohen’s purported self-examination and newfound remorse for the harm he has
caused scores of past and present students be believed? Or is this just all
part of a public relations stunt?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Only time will tell. But
judging from the June 15 “PR & Communications plan for Andrew” and reports
from those close to the organization, big changes for EnlightenNext and Andrew
Cohen seem to be afoot. And these changes will almost certainly profoundly
affect both current students and the scores of former students who saw through
the “Mythic Guru” and left him. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">----by Hal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">_______________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">From: R____ B____ <</span><a href="mailto:rosb@enlightennext.org"><span style="color: #1237ca; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">r_____@enlightennext.org</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Date: June 15, 2013, 7:09:43 PM EDT</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">To: R____ B_____ <</span><a href="mailto:rosb@enlightennext.org"><span style="color: #1237ca; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">r_____@enlightennext.org</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Subject: PR & Communications plan for Andrew<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello there,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I just sent out the email below
to the current Core students (Defining, Resolute and Committed Core) and also
wanted you all to hear about our PR communications plan for Andrew. I'm sending
this to everyone who I know is involved in the current programs and who I've
personally spoken to, please feel free to forward this email on to others
involved who would like to hear the messaging going forward.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks so much,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">R___<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dear All,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wanted to let you know the PR
communications plan for Andrew that will roll out in the next few weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As most of you know J__ P___ and I are responsible for Andrew's PR and media platform and we have been
working on a message to the broader public regarding the situation we are in
the midst of with Andrew, and all the subsequent changes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many of you have contacted us
sharing your urgency around making a public statement, and we thank you all for
your input! We have taken everything you have said into consideration and come
up with a plan that we are very happy with.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before I go any further I want
to point out that while we're working very closely with M__, A__, M___ and the Education Department in our communications, what J___ and I are
specifically responsible for (and what we've outlined in this email) has to do
with communications from the Andrew Stream (to the broader public, Andrew's
personal relationships, etc), and not the communications for the education
programs and long retreats.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">GENERAL STRATEGY:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We felt it was imperative to
get an "outside perspective" on our PR communications as, being close
students of Andrew in this emotionally charged situation, it's very difficult
to envision the right message for the public at large. Our primary consultant
has been our PR advisor N___ W____. N___ is not only an excellent PR
consultant, but he also trained in crisis management. He has been working with
us for the last several years, and is fully appraised of Andrew's history, the
history of EnlightenNext, and the current situation. Given his experience and
his friendship with Andrew, we feel that he is the perfect person to help us
with this messaging now, and his input has been invaluable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">N___has helped us to see that
the most important point to consider in relationship to our PR strategy is that
there is a tremendous difference between communicating to our
"internal" audience of past and present students, and our
"external" audience of people who follow Andrew's work, but are not
part of any formal structures or communities (see a breakdown/description of
our audiences at the end of this email). N___ also stressed how important it is
that our public messaging be appropriate to our external audience, and that
this should not be expected to address the issues that pertain to our
"internal" audience of past and present students.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He made it very clear that from
an outside perspective, what is currently happening represents an evolution of
both our organization/movement and Andrew's work. The fact that Andrew is
acknowledging his mistakes, has stepped down from his role as Guru, and will be
stepping down as head of the organization, is a reflection of the fact that our
movement is changing and growing, and that Andrew is taking the necessary time
off to reflect, respond, and take the next step in his own development.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For the internal group of past
and present students, Andrew must find a different and appropriate way to make
peace; and, as most of you know, this internal process has already begun. He
has already stepped down from his Guru role, which is on hiatus until spring
2014, and he is in the midst of responding appropriately to many past and
present students.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">STEPPING DOWN FROM LEADERSHIP:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another very important
distinction in our messaging that N___ helped us to understand has to do with
how to announce Andrew's "sabbatical." He clarified that to frame the
time that Andrew will be taking to reflect and respond as a sabbatical is not
accurate. Given that Andrew will be doing a minimum of teaching work during
this period, (the retreats and French forum) and that our many programs and
content streams will continue in some form, from an outside perspective calling
this time period a "sabbatical" would be confusing. Instead he
suggested we emphasize in our public messaging that Andrew is stepping
down from leadership, both within the organization and the spiritual community,
and will be taking time to reflect and respond.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So in our public statements,
which will launch on Andrew's blog on June 28th(see Blog Themes below for more
detail), we will announce that Andrew is "stepping down from
leadership" rather than "taking a sabbatical." We feel that this
is also more authentic as to what is actually happening, so please consider
this in your own communications.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">BLOG THEMES:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our public messaging will
center around a series of blog posts which will be published on all of the
sites where Andrew writes (BigThink, HuffPo, etc) in addition to AC.org. They
will be on two themes outlined below. The first blog will also be accompanied
by an email to our list announcing Andrew's decision to step down from
leadership and offer some description of how the EnlightenNext programs will be
continuing forward:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Confronting Founder's
Syndrome: In this initial post, Andrew lays out what is happening for him
right now in the context of "Founder's Syndrome," which is a common
phase that organizations go through when due to a lack of willingness to give
up control its visionary Founder gets in the way of the further evolution of
the organization. He'll announce in this post that to address this situation,
he's stepping down from leadership of both the organization and the spiritual
community, and will radically reduce his teaching engagements to take time to
reflect and respond.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Death of A Mythic
Guru: In this second post (which may end up in multiple parts), Andrew
will speak about his own development as a Guru and how he created a
"mythic" Guru model within the postmodern world, outlining the
negative and positive consequences of that. He'll talk about how difficult it
has been for him to recognize the mythic structures within himself, and how
he's going to now take the time necessary to develop both himself and the
teachings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">COMMUNICATIONS CALENDAR:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Below is a list of the various
communications that will go out to our different audiences over the next month:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Today: Overview of
communications strategy/plan to the Defining, Resolute, Committed, and Past
students (this email!)</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Next few weeks: Series of calls/emails to various donors.</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">6/28: Blog #1 on Founder's Syndrome
will go up on BigThink</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">6/28: Accompanying the blog will be an email to our email list
announcing that Andrew is stepping down from leadership and giving a brief overview
of what kinds of offerings they will continue to get from both Andrew and
EnlightenNext.</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">7/6: Guru & Pandit Virtual Broadcast on the theme of The
Death of A Mythic Guru</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">7/12: Blog #2 on The Death of A Mythic Guru goes up on BigThink</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Thank you all for taking the time to
read this. I apologize for the length of this email, but we felt it was
important that we keep everyone informed as much as we can during this
challenging period of our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also, when we have an approved
plan of how Andrew's business line will be going forward, I'll send out another
email.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Best wishes all,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">R___& J____<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">AUDIENCE BREAKDOWN:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Below is a description of the
various audiences that we're reaching out to and an overview of the basic
messaging strategy for each:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"INTERNAL AUDIENCES":<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Past and Present Students:</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Includes all Defining, Resolute, and
Committed Core students and people who have been close students in the past. We
are the people who are the most affected by what is happening and have the most
investment in the whole situation and subsequent changes. These communications
have several dimensions: First and foremost, Andrew is following up personally
with people, both current and past students. Second, we as his communications
team want to keep everyone abreast of our overall communications, so that
everyone knows why we're saying what we're saying.</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Donors:</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">This audience has a significant overlap with past and present
students. Since they have all committed financial support to Andrew and
EnlightenNext, it is important for us to communicate how the current situation
will affect Andrew's and the organization's short and long-term future, and the
financial implications of this. We will be reaching out to communicate directly
with our current donors within the next few weeks.</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">"EXTERNAL AUDIENCES":<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Blog Readers:</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">This is our broadest audience and
consists of people who engage with Andrew's content on a wide variety of
external platforms (BigThink, Speaking Tree, HuffPost, etc). This audience is
least familiar with Andrew and sees him more as a spiritual thought leader and
less as a Guru with a community of students. This audience is the least
interested in hearing about the details of our current situation, and our plan
to communicate with them is through a series of blogs in which Andrew will
speak about the current situation in more of a philosophical/cultural context
(outlined in the Blog Themes section).</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Email List:</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">This is a group of about 35K people (~12K of which are very
active) who receive consistent communications from us about new content,
events, and products. This audience is a mix of people, but generally has more
familiarity with Andrew's role as a teacher and also leader of our
organization. Our primary communications to them will draw upon themes in
Andrew's blog, but speak specifically about how we as an organization plan to
respond to this situation and how that will affect the content and programs
that they are used to hearing about.</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Integral/Evolutionary Community: </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">This is the segment of our public
audience that is most familiar with the deeper dimensions of Andrew's work as a
Guru and spiritual innovator. This audience has been following Andrew's work
through the magazine, through the Guru & Pandit dialogues, and through
other platforms like Craig Hamilton's, and is more familiar with the spiritual
and philosophical stands that Andrew has taken in the post-traditional
spiritual world. Our plan for this audience is for Andrew to use some of the
remaining Guru & Pandit Virtual dialogues with Ken this year to explore
some of the "Mythic-to-Post-Mythic-Guru" themes that are at the heart
of the current situation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">[v. 2.0 6/11/14: removed names of students]</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-21197834308293306512012-01-24T16:44:00.000-08:002012-01-31T19:20:25.423-08:00From Rude Boy to Nice Guy?Dear Readers,<br /><br />There appears to be a curious online trend occurring with Andrew Cohen and his cohorts at EnlightenNext. Here at <a com="">WhatEnlightenment??!</a> we have observed with interest the following events:<br /><br />First, Andrew’s infamous <span style="font-style: italic;">"Declaration of Integrity"</span> <span style="font-size:85%;">(reposted <a href="http://americanguru.net/news-and-reviews/a-declaration-of-integrity/">here</a>)</span>, his bombastic and scathing blog rant from 2006 against his critical ex-students has quietly disappeared from his <a href="http://www.andrewcohen.com/">own blog</a>. Simultaneously, the gushing student-run Cohen-apologists’ blog, Guru-Talk.com has likewise been taken down in its entirety without so much as a peep*. <span style="font-size:85%;">(See a reposted entry <a href="http://www.integralworld.net/bampton1.html">here</a>) </span> And even more, around the same time, someone going by the user name <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrew_Cohen_%28spiritual_teacher%29&action=history">“Kosmocentric” </a> attempted to remove the entire <span style="font-style: italic;">“Criticisms”</span> section from Andrew Cohen’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Cohen_%28spiritual_teacher%29">Wikipedia page</a>. <span style="font-size:85%;">(It has since been restored by someone else). </span><br /><br />So what is going on here, folks? <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhb26f02FYxbCRF57RMshK-40LC11cd4offpkqcoKvqDiOlJQQ7esPHz2FYaW_Qn0EHpkvKvE0jz0Bg_lsY_cAGz3dRCa5TEwAidWpNgTyZtaFO57ZIiP1fzZVIKp5O99pCvGPA/s1600/ac-photo.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhb26f02FYxbCRF57RMshK-40LC11cd4offpkqcoKvqDiOlJQQ7esPHz2FYaW_Qn0EHpkvKvE0jz0Bg_lsY_cAGz3dRCa5TEwAidWpNgTyZtaFO57ZIiP1fzZVIKp5O99pCvGPA/s200/ac-photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703486613690188946" border="0" /></a>Dare we infer that there is a slippery and concerted effort on the part of Cohen and his students to remake the "rude boy" guru’s online image?<br /><br />Stas Mavrides’ recent article, <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.integralworld.net/mavrides1.html">I Love Him, I Hate Him, I Love Him Again</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>suggested that Andrew did a pubic about-face on his critical, angry stance toward his former teacher, in part per his PR consultant’s advice that he needed to make some specific image changes in order to help his fundraising efforts. <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >(There are indications that Cohen’s group is in difficult financial straits – In 2011 it officially ended publication of its magazine <a href="http://blog.ncreview.com/2011/09/17/enlightennext-magazine-going-out-of-print/">“EnlightenNext”</a>, and listed its Foxhollow property for sale, selling off a portion of the estate to a development company.)</span> We believe that Andrew’s disingenuous re-creation of himself as a "kinder, gentler" guru described in that article is continuing with the above-mentioned "disappearing" of his angry and arrogant <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html">"Declaration"</a>, the silent takedown of his students’ apologetics website "Guru Talk", as well as the attempted removal of the <span style="font-style: italic;">"Criticism"</span> section of his Wikipedia bio.<br /><br />We also believe these numerous actions have a common theme, which is to defang his <a href="http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/gurupandit/ken-wilber-foreword.asp">“rude boy”</a> guru image, as well as to hide cultic public displays of student adoration in an attempt to appear more compassionate, less pompous and even humble to potential new students and donors. These days Andrew speaks to large Integral audiences like the <a href="http://integralspiritualexperience.com/?page_id=9%22">“Integral Spiritual Experience”</a> convocation held in California earlier in January. His “abusive-guru” baggage, if discovered, would most likely be a liability in trying to reach these new, discriminating Integral students.<br /><br />There are many in the Integral world who are disturbed by the endorsements given to Cohen by various <a href="http://www.godblessthewholeworld.org/integral-abuse-andrew-cohen-and-the-culture-of-evolutionary-enlightenment.html">Integral teachers</a>, especially Ken Wilber. Given that, it would seem by removing earlier internet testaments from himself and fawning students it might help him forge his <span style="font-style: italic;">new</span> image as a likable ‘Integral-friendly’ leader; an image that belies the character of an abrasive, even abusively autocratic guru, a man to whom his inner circle of students have surrendered control of their lives, yet secretly fear displeasing.<br /><br />And so we say, “Beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing!”<br /><br />The WhatEnlightenment??! Editors<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />***************************************************************************<br /></span> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 2 1 2 1 8 4 8 7 8; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 65536 0 -2147483648 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">*Editor’s Update: </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> </span> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Will wonders never cease?</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Well, imagine our surprise when after our post noting the recent removal of Andrew Cohen’s <span style="font-style: italic;">“Declaration of Integrity”</span> from his blog, the attempted takedown of the <span style="font-style: italic;">“Criticsms</span>” section on his Wikipedia page, and the concurrent disappearance of the Cohen apologetics blog, “Guru-Talk.com”, we got an email from “Guru-Talk” founder, Pete Bampton, claiming that his site was not intentionally taken down, but had according to him been “hacked into”. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;">So what’s next? Will Cohen’s “Declaration” make a sudden reappearance? Who knows? Nevertheless, we welcome back online our WhatEnlightenment??!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;">‘counterpart’, “<a href="http://www.guru-talk.com/">Guru-Talk</a>”, or as we affectionately call it, “Kool-Aid Talk”.</span></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-89114959281354508932011-01-28T08:36:00.000-08:002016-03-05T02:39:49.609-08:00Welcome to What Enlightenment??!<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span">A Guide to the Facts and First-hand Experiences of Former Students of </span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">American Guru, Andrew Cohen</span>.</span></i></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
An active blog from 2004 - 2007, <i>What Enlightenment?!! </i>is now closed for commenting, but remains as a resource for factual information. It is periodically re-opened and updated whenever new, relevant information is brought to light.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If this is your first visit to this site, it would be useful begin <a href="http://enlightennixt.com/">here</a> with</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><a href="http://enlightennixt.com/">Breaking The Code Of Silence</a></i> by Hal</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Thank you.</i></div>
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<i>*************************************</i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">4/19/11</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">ARTICLE</span>:<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 130%;">"I Love Him, I Hate Him, I Love Him Again"</span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-size: 100%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px;"></span></i></span><br />
<div style="display: block; font-family: "georgia" , "times" , serif; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em;">
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px;"><strong>Devotion, Deception and Opportunism<br />in Andrew Cohen’s Re-found Love<br />for His Guru, H.W.L. Poonja</strong></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21px;"><div style="display: block; font-family: "georgia" , "times" , serif; margin-bottom: 1.12em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.12em;">
by Stas</div>
</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times" , serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; line-height: 21px;"></span></i></span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: "georgia" , "times" , serif; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;">Those of you who tuned-in to the latest online offering from Andrew Cohen/EnlightenNext on March 26, 2011 — Awakening to Your Highest Self — a lengthy guru love-fest billed as his “Gift to the Cosmos,” may have been surprised to hear Andrew effusively celebrating his formerly reviled teacher H. W. L. Poonja and their relationship. As a close senior student of Andrew’s for 15 years, I know I was. For over a decade while I was in Andrew Cohen’s inner circle, the only comments I heard from Andrew about his former Lucknow, India Advaita teacher “Poonja-ji” (also known as “Papaji”), were disparaging, disrespectful and vituperative.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Read the full article at <span class="Apple-style-span"><u><a href="http://www.integralworld.net/mavrides1.html">INTEGRAL WORLD</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">,</span><span class="Apple-style-span"> and comments to the article <a href="http://integralworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=17&page=1">HERE</a>.</span></u></span></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-4821480705295002462009-04-22T23:29:00.073-07:002012-01-22T11:40:45.665-08:00The Truth Will Set You Free<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Introduction</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br />In June of last year, the editors of this blog were contacted by Yonatan Levy, a contributor to the Israeli online journal </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">NRG-Ma’ariv</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, for an article he intended to produce on Andrew Cohen and Cohen’s organization, EnlightenNext. Levy had sought an interview with Cohen himself, specifically in order to seek a balanced perspective on the allegations against Cohen previously published on this blog. While the interview he’d requested was never granted, Levy did receive from EnlightenNext’s “Communications Director,” Amy Edelstein, a series of official written responses to questions he had submitted in advance of the proposed interview. He also received an intimidating letter from Cohen’s lawyer, dated the same day, advising him of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">NRG-Ma’ariv’</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">s potential legal liability in the event of the article’s publication. These documents are available here:</span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.myimagehosting.com/13130jfWIQ-99318.pic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">EnlightenNext's responses to Mr. Levy</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span></span><a href="http://www.myimagehosting.com/13130jfWIQ-99319.pic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Letter from EN's attorney</span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Under the circumstances, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">NRG-Ma’ariv</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">’s legal department encouraged Levy to seek firsthand confirmation of any allegations against Cohen or EnlightenNext that he intended to outline in his article. It was for this reason that Levy contacted us with the answers he’d received from Edelstein—in which she declared that most of the information published by former students of Cohen on this site is simply false.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Almost a year later, Levy’s article has still not seen the light of day, and it now appears that it may never be published. However, EnlightenNext’s responses to Levy’s questions represent an historic event of sorts, as they constitute its first official denial of the events described on this blog. Although previously Cohen and his defenders had publicly taken refuge in the notion that the incidents reported here have been taken “out of context” by “a few disgruntled former students,” they have never—until now—gone on the record with official declarations that the reported incidents never actually took place.<br /><br />Although it seems clear from the correspondence reproduced above that EnlightenNext’s representatives believed coordinated legal intimidation would be sufficient to keep their denials below the public radar, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What Enlightenment??!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> has decided—in the interests of a free, transparent and open exchange—to publish them here. Doing so will accomplish two objectives. First, it will give EnlightenNext a platform from which to “go public” with its reportedly common response to the queries it receives from current and potential students about the contents of this blog, i.e., that they are mere fabrications. Secondly, it will give former students who have direct experience of the reported incidents an opportunity to respond specifically to EnlightenNext’s denials.<br /><br />It is worth reiterating that the publication of these documents represents an historic moment in the public dialog that this blog was created to facilitate but could never fully accomplish without the full participation of both sides. This is why we have decided, at least for a limited period, to re-open it. It is our sincere hope that potential responses, from current and former students alike, can now begin to focus specifically on the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">truth and accuracy of our recollections</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, as it is only by these means that we can arrive at any meaningful reconciliation—or, in Andrew Cohen’s well-chosen words, “come together in the truth.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Searching for the truth about Andrew Cohen: </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A journalist's odyssey </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">My name is Yonatan Levy. For the last few years I’ve been a writer and editor for the spirituality section of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">NRG-Ma’ariv,</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> a major Israeli media site. Nine years ago I attended a weekend intensive led by Andrew Cohen in Israel. It was my first encounter with a living spiritual teacher and my impression was positive. I was impressed by Cohen’s simple and clear meditation instructions and by his powerful personality. Soon afterward, I attended a meeting of a group of his followers, but found the atmosphere awkward and unnatural. Yet I still found the rhetoric of Cohen’s writings moving and inspiring. I was thus surprised and bewildered to discover dozens of accounts in the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What Enlightenment??! </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">blog depicting Cohen as a capricious, dishonest tyrant—especially in light of his emphasis on ethics and integrity as a crucial aspect of true spiritual evolution.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Before Cohen’s next visit to Israel, I asked to interview him, with the intention of asking about the allegations. In response, I was told that the interview would be granted on the condition that I would not ask about anything in the WE??! blog, because Cohen had not yet responded publicly to the issue as a whole, and was planning to do so on his own blog; after this, I was assured, I could ask about anything I wanted to. I was willing to wait, but all of my interview requests following Cohen’s post <a href="http://americanguru.net/news-and-reviews/a-declaration-of-integrity/"> (“A Declaration of Integrity”)</a> were declined. Finally, I decided to write the article without an interview. Yet I did send Cohen a list of questions concerning the issues and accounts that had been presented by the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What Enlightenment??!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> blog, adding that if the allegations proved untrue I would call the article off.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The answers to my questions, formulated by Amy Edelstein, perhaps with the aid of Attorney Barry Fischer, are the first detailed public response by Andrew Cohen’s organization, EnlightenNext, to the accounts of Cohen’s ex-followers. Some of the answers use juridical language, taking advantage of inaccuracies in the phrasing of the questions to evade the matter. Others seem to be blatantly counterfactual, or are so easily refuted that there is little doubt they were primarily given in order to convince me not to write the article—which ultimately did not appear on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">NRG-Ma’ariv</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> for fear of a long and costly lawsuit.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As part of my research, I sought reactions and statements of verification from former contributors to the WE??! blog, whose accounts of abuse on Cohen’s part had raised the issue in the first place. Some of these appear below. In several cases, I was able to speak with individuals directly involved in incidents described on the blog, who also confirmed the accuracy of accounts that have been denied or disputed by EnlightenNext.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Here then (above), for the benefit and judgment of those who are interested in Andrew Cohen’s standards of integrity, openness, honesty and “soul strength,” are the questions I asked and the answers I received from his organization, EnlightenNext.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Yonatan Levy ~ Tel Aviv, Israel</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">*******************************************************************</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 27px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Selected responses to EnlightenNext's statements </span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 27px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">from former students of Andrew Cohen:</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 27px;"><a href="http://www.myimagehosting.com/13130jfWIQ-100049.pic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Student #1</span></span></a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><a href="http://www.myimagehosting.com/13130jfWIQ-100153.pic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Student #2</span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://www.myimagehosting.com/13130jfWIQ-101428.pic">Student #3</a></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span></span><a href="http://www.myimagehosting.com/13130jfWIQ-100047.pic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Student #4</span></span></a></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 22px;"><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; outline-style: none;"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1240617403_11" style="color:transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; outline-style: none;"><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; outline-style: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">To view readers' comments or to post one, click on the "comments" link below:</span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; outline-style: none;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><!--EndFragment--><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com63tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-32245529625839178502007-04-16T21:58:00.000-07:002016-03-05T02:40:57.382-08:00A Farewell With Deep Gratitude<strong>by Hal</strong><br />
<br />
More than two years ago I decided to write publicly about what I felt had gone seriously wrong with Andrew Z. Cohen's teaching methods and his community. I had received disturbing reports from other former students that eventually compelled me to speak out. I wrote then:<br />
<blockquote>
…A few years ago I began to learn of things that caused me great concern. An old friend who I worked with on <em>What Is Enlightenment? </em>magazine called and told me she had left the community. I told her a little about my thoughts about it—how I had come to see how oppressive life in the community was, how wrong it was that there was no personal freedom or autonomy permitted, how abusive the confrontational methods used to enforce conformity now seemed, how frequently we lived in fear, and how criticism was always forcibly squelched. She interrupted me and said, “Hal, things have gotten a whole lot weirder since you left.” I asked her what she meant, and she told me stories involving the use of physical force and abuse against students. She spoke of being ordered by Andrew to deliver “messages” to fellow students consisting of slapping the student in the face as hard as she could. She told me she had been ordered by Andrew to paint messages in blood-red paint on the walls of a student’s room at Foxhollow. She described to me the conversion of the spa at Foxhollow into a kind of psychological torture chamber.<br />
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As the years passed I spoke to many other former students who confirmed these stories, elaborated upon them, and told me many more. I learned of students having large “contributions” psychologically extorted from them. I heard how a student was required to sign a “gag order” agreement prohibiting him from publicly criticizing Andrew as a condition of having his “contribution” returned. I was told the story of community women prostrating in a freezing cold lake in the winter, some suffering dangerous exposure, as a symbol of their devotion and repentance for “women’s conditioning.” I learned of a student being forced—against his will and his moral compunction—to engage in daily visits to prostitutes in Amsterdam for weeks on end as a kind of penance for past sexual indiscretions. I was told by a student how he was ordered to reveal to his estranged teenage daughter her mother’s infidelity that occurred many years in the past, in order to teach the daughter not to hold her mother, now a critical former student, in such high esteem. I heard these stories and many, many more. As the weight of the awful truth about what Andrew and his community had become accumulated, I began to feel that something must finally be said. People must be warned. At the very least, any prospective student should know what they are signing themselves up for when they join Andrew Cohen’s community.</blockquote>
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In the more than two years since I personally "broke the code of silence," all of these disturbing events, and many more, were documented and corroborated on this blog, over and over again. Three former editors of <em>What Is Enlightenment?</em> magazine, including myself, spoke out strongly here about the abuses in Andrew Cohen's community. Other close students have also put their names on the line to attest to what went wrong with the community's beautiful dream of creating heaven on earth. The woman who financed Cohen's Foxhollow EnlightenNext world center wrote about how he unfairly took advantage of her vulnerability and largesse. Numerous other students have also contributed here, both named and anonymous, shedding light on the authoritarian abuses around Cohen, their causes and their harmful effects. In contrast, not one specific or credible factual denial has emerged from Andrew or anyone associated with him about what has been reported here in great detail and depth. Instead, we have only heard the refrain that we have failed to include the "context," as if any overarching purpose could justify the abuses described here and the pain they caused. No cry of "context" could obscure the devastating truth that the participants in this blog have had the courage to reveal.<br />
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I hope it will not be regarded as overly dramatic if I say that I look back over what has occurred on this blog with awe, gratitude and humility. This blog's truly collaborative, interactive and collective nature makes it, perhaps, unique in the blogosphere, on the Internet, and, perhaps beyond. I haven't seen anything really parallel. I believe that, beyond the collaborative nature of the editorial work here, the collective intelligence, truthfulness and vulnerability of the contributions, responses, arguments and discussions have made this effort at healing and truth-telling unprecedented. I don't think that so many have spoken out before with such rawness and honesty in an attempt to warn the unwary, comfort the injured and understand humbly how something they believed in so totally could go so wrong. For this effort and honesty, on behalf of all of the editors of this blog, I bow to everyone who has participated here, whether anonymously or named, and whether former student, interested observer or friend.<br />
<br />
While what has happened here will always remain, this seems like a good juncture at which to conclude this particular project of honesty and love. So, on behalf of the editors and administrators of this blog, I have been asked to write a kind of farewell. The discussion here could go on endlessly, or as long as authoritarianism hides behind masks of evolution, enlightenment or other ideals. This is not cynicism. I am not saying that evolution or enlightenment do not exist, or are unworthy of a life's dedication. But the capacity for deception is endless, and opportunists and the self-deluded who use and abuse high ideals, whether consciously or unconsciously, will probably always be with us. For this reason, I hope the discussion engaged in here will persist in one form or another.<br />
<br />
But I think that this particular forum has run its natural course. The essence of what needed to be expressed has been said. Most of the former students I know have moved on, or are in the process of doing so—they have regrouped or are regrouping, they value what they learned, both good and bad, and they have ventured into productive new lives. Those lives now may be less filled with drama, buzz and high romanticism, perhaps, than their lives with Andrew Cohen. But they seem, to me, to be lives that are far more genuine, lives that are making, or have the potential to make, greater contributions to this world. The former students I know are, by and large wiser, softer, humbler and happier than they were when in the thrall of the community discussed here. They are professionals, artists, parents, workers in the non-profit sector, and many are actively engaged in working for their own and others' spiritual liberation. I think the healing that was, in part, the purpose of this blog has occurred to a great extent and will continue. And what has been written here will stand as a warning, a cautionary tale for the benefit of those who may consider taking a similar path to the one that went astray, as described here.<br />
<br />
I feel confident that everyone whose life has been touched by this discussion has benefited in some fashion. Even those readers who chose to become involved with Cohen or to continue their involvement with him cannot help but be a bit smarter about it—or at least have an awareness of this resource for helping them pick up the pieces when reality shatters their dream. And we have heard that some of the more extreme abuses of community members have been stopped or moderated in the wake of their being revealed on this blog.<br />
<br />
There is only one person for whom I still have great concern. I fear that he is perhaps the only one who has not been able to learn something of value here and who may be irretrievably committed to a painful and destructive path. That person is Andrew Cohen. I sincerely hope—and I think <em>most</em> ex-students will join me here—that some day our former teacher will find the humility to revise his own idea of himself; that he will demonstrate the vulnerability and lack of pride that he taught us but failed to live; and that he can find a way to recover his balance if and when his bubble implodes. We were mistaken in our assessment of him, but we did recognize his potential, and I think we all would like nothing more than to see that potential fulfilled in truth and humility. But that would require a difficult self-reckoning for him, one for which it is hard to find genuine reason for hope.<br />
<br />
Still, against all reason perhaps, I believe in basic goodness. I have faith in the happy ending. No ending would make Andrew's former students happier than to see him change. And nothing is completely beyond possibility in a world where the courage and honesty demonstrated by all who participated here can manifest.<br />
<br />
For now, <strong>WHAT Enlightenment??! </strong>is signing off. We may create a web site in the future, for the sake of posterity, with some of the articles on this blog. This blog will remain as a resource, but in a few days comment posting will be turned off.<br />
<br />
On behalf of the blog editors, I want to express deep gratitude to everyone who has participated in and contributed to this journey of healing and truth. Best wishes to you all on your path.<br />
<br />
May all beings be happy!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-63612670198879124492007-04-14T10:23:00.000-07:002009-09-11T23:44:45.386-07:00Deja Vu All Over Again<strong>By Anonymous</strong><br /><br />I came across this blog surfing on various spiritual topics. I recently met a creative (and quite successful) entertainer who told me he lives in Andrew's Community. I later recognized Cohen's name from the "What Is Enlightment?" magazine I'd see on the stands.<br /><br />I once belonged to a major meditation sect for nearly a decade, living and working in their largest US community for several years. While followers were never physically violated, the familiar financial, mental and shame pressures were all there. The movement later ventured into politics also (but often with laughable results).<br /><br />After reading just a few cross-postings here, I just got cold shivers of recognition. I recognized the same two roles, played over and over again -- no matter which particular group or leader it is about. I know this since I played both roles over time.<br /><br />I was once the bright, angry apologist whose eager, dismissive counter-attacks barely hid my own insecurity and indignation. I relished jumping on any dissenter to pick apart his story and credibility. After all, I was defending the "perfect." And it is only a doubter's own, personal failure to recognize it as such.<br /><br />Then I became the burnt-out, disoriented, ex-member who was trying to make sense of their positive experience while raising uncomfortable questions about all the logical disconnect. I would come across similar stories on ex-member sites, only to recognize their names as those who once vigorously defended the Movement (and sometimes help keep me in line!). What a shock! And then I'd read the same, predictable, snide responses to them from the faithful.<br /><br />These templates, and the types of people who fall into them, never seem to change -- just the labels.<br /><br />Will we ever learn?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-33555555329557448282007-03-05T19:39:00.000-08:002009-09-11T23:47:58.156-07:00Andrew's Ever-Changing FACE*We received this submission from an anonymous former student of Andrew Cohen, who, having recently left Andrew's tutelage, goes by the name of <a href="http://freeevolutionary.blogspot.com/">freeEvolutionary</a>. He seems to have his finger on the pulse of current changes being made in Andrew Cohen's organization and public presentation:<br /><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">A large part of Andrew's appeal is that he is addressing some of the deepest concerns and yearnings of people today. There's enormous potential here but Andrew has centered it so much on himself and has created an authoritarian organization that directly contradicts his call to autonomy and freedom.<br /><br />Jeff Carreira (Andrew's assistant and Director of Education) is out there creating new ways to push Evolutionary Enlightenment and get new people involved with EN. He's already trained dozens of people to deliver the EE course and hundreds have taken it around the world. After the retreat Andrew's currently giving they will be training many more people at Foxhollow and by teleconference to deliver a 2 hour intro to Evolutionary Enlightenment.<br />For the first time Andrew's students are starting to aggressively go out there to push his message and get more people involved. There is a deliberate strategy to downplay Andrew's role as guru and master so as not to scare people until they are really involved. Did somebody say cult?<br /><br />I would hate to see some of the incredible ideas that have been generated by WIE be destroyed by Andrew's need to control. I'd invite anyone who wants to open the discussion of Evolutionary Enlightenment beyond Andrew to post to my blog.<br /><br /><a href="http://freeevolutionary.blogspot.com/">http://freeevolutionary.blogspot.com/</a></blockquote><br /><br />We thank freeEvolutionary for this recent insider news flash. The point being raised here about the shifting public persona of Andrew Cohen and his <span style="font-style: italic;">sangha</span> is a good one. It seems as if, when the <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20011211124606/www.andrewcohen.org/ief/IEFhome.html">Impersonal Enlightenment Fellowship</a> changed its name to <a href="http://www.enlightennext.org/">EnlightenNext</a>®, along with its new branding came the attempt to present a new and improved <span style="font-style: italic;">guru</span> -- One without the nasty teeth that Andrew had used to bite so many of his students in his constant efforts to maintain complete sway over every aspect of their lives. (One can read on <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/03/shame-guilt-and-gurus-blood.html">this blog</a> in detail about the lengths he’s gone to in this regard, such as slapping and other physical abuse, and numerous other psychologically manipulative boot-camp type tactics). Once proud of his so-called “<a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/03/cruelty-vengeance-and-crazy-wisdom.html">crazy-wisdom</a>” practices, Andrew now avoids any honest and specific accounting of his actions, sticking instead to a spin of generalities and <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/10/response-to-andrew-cohens-declaration.html">angry attacks</a> on those critical ex-students (“failures,” he calls them) who have committed the apparent sacrilege of leaving him. (See his recent <a href="http://www.andrewcohen.org/blog/index.php?/blog/post/declaration-of-integrity/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Declaration of Integrity,</span></a> for example). It seems the former “rude boy” guru is now the “who me?” guru. And his current student-defenders seem to use the same avoidance-by-obfuscation and vicious attacks on critics as their teacher does. This sad trend can clearly be seen on a recent <a href="http://pods.zaadz.com/ii/discussions/view/101992">Zaadz Integral pod</a> thread (more on this troubling phenomenon at a later time)<br /><br />Andrew is now attempting to paint a new picture of his students, too. His more deeply involved devotees are no longer called “formal” or “committed students” -- they are now “Evolutionaries”. These individuals are clearly intelligent, sincere, and dedicated. But the new attempt to create a public impression of them (particularly, his newly-trained "<a href="http://www.eecourse.org/instructors.html">Evolutionary Enlightenment instructors</a>") as autonomous, free thinking, self-directing and in independent control of their lives appears to be more spin than fact. Recent insider reports from <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/12/andrew-cohen-and-corruption-of-power.html">Foxhollow</a> confirm that Andrew is still very much in charge of everything, and that longer-time resident “evolutionaries” still require the approval from Andrew for major life decisions. Cohen has partially adopted and adapted the thinking of people like Ken Wilber (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Wilber#AQAL:_All_Quadrants_All_Levels">AQAL</a>) and Don Beck (<a href="http://www.spiraldynamicsgroup.com/">SD</a>), but as freeEvolutionary has indicated, behind the face of the forward-looking, <a href="http://www.wie.org/j26/higher-we.asp">collectively-conscious </a>WIE magazine is the antiquated and problem-ridden model of <span style="font-style: italic;">one man at the top</span>. Ask any ex-“committed student” and they will likely tell you that life inside Cohen’s community is more like <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.jesuscampthemovie.com/">Jesus Camp</a> than an Integral think-tank.<br /><br />Despite shifting appearances to the contrary, EnlightenNext seems to still be the authoritarian power-locked regime of an old-style autocratic guru with <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/01/either-im-crazyor.html">no external or internal checks</a> on his governance save a growing presence of vocal ex-students. In this light, one can't help but worry about what Cohen’s latest proclaimed interest in providing objectively verifiable <a href="http://www.andrewcohen.org/blog/index.php?/blog/post/making-enlightenment-meaningful/">criteria for enlightened behavior</a> will mean for those under his thumb.<br /><br />But there does seem to be one silver lining here. Recent former insiders report that, since the public disclosures of questionable and abusive conduct emerged on this blog and elsewhere, Andrew seems to have moderated his more aggressive behavior toward his students. And this is a testimony to the value and grass-roots power of the internet, when used by people brave enough to speak out, to expose and bring to awareness the actual non-public practices of misguided spiritual leaders like Andrew Cohen.<br /><br />The <span style="font-style: italic;">WHAT enlightenment??!</span> Editors<br /><br /><br />*<a href="http://www.rickross.com/groups/face.html">FACE</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1166723298450305212006-12-21T09:42:00.000-08:002016-11-06T10:52:00.789-08:00Andrew Cohen and Donations Under Duress<b>By Jane O’Neil</b><br />
<br />
<i>[Editors' Note: This is Jane O'Neil's second feature article on the What Enlightenment??! blog. Her first article was <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/12/andrew-cohen-and-corruption-of-power.html" target="_blank">"Andrew Cohen and the Corruption of Power."</a>]</i><br />
<br />
The article, <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/12/revolution-in-finance.html" target="_blank">"A Revolution in Finance,"</a> is a brilliant and articulate analysis of Andrew Cohen's financial wrongdoing, and a call to action that I sincerely hope Andrew and his students will take to heart. In response, I feel compelled to reveal some more of the details surrounding my donations to Andrew and his organization.<br />
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But first, regarding "A Revolution in Finance", I was unaware and surprised to hear of the teacher training courses that Jeff Carreira is leading. I knew Jeff well while I lived at Foxhollow; he has a heart of gold and I know that left to his own devices he would have tremendous integrity. That said, and having myself been one of Andrew’s personal assistants for more than a year, I can testify that those close to Andrew employ tactics against fellow students in the name of evolution and ego-death that are potentially very damaging. Tough love? The techniques used under Andrew’s direction would not pass the smell test of your average intelligent person in the street, to whom they would appear as damaging as boot camp under the command of a pathological CO. In a similar way, I am sure that those responsible for the tactics used at Guantanamo Bay considered themselves comrades in a fight against evil, trained to use any and all means necessary to destroy it.<br />
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On the subject of Andrew returning donations solicited under duress, I obviously would be profoundly grateful if he would return the $2 million dollars that I gave him toward the purchase of Foxhollow. I have certainly asked, but so far have heard nothing.<br />
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Andrew always tried to maintain a cloak of secrecy around his securing of donations from students. Andrew’s desire for secrecy regarding his strategies to secure donations from students is related to the most critical issue surrounding them: whether the student, under immediate duress or otherwise, has the awareness and the objectivity to say no. In my case, there were tremendous secretive machinations behind Andrew’s solicitation of the largest of my donations (the $2 million for Foxhollow). The worst aspect of the situation was the fact that my communication about this decision was severely restricted in terms of the number of people I was in a position to discuss it with.<br />
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When I met Andrew in 1993, I had been seeing a psychotherapist four times a week for eight years. Andrew and many others in his community knew this. It’s clear to me in retrospect that in making my $2 Million and other donations to Andrew I was acting out some of the self-destructive issues that I had long been in therapy in to deal with. When I told my therapist about meeting Andrew, she warned me I that was vulnerable to potential brainwashing. In contrast, when I revealed to Andrew the insecurity and anxiety I felt about the prospect of joining his community, he told me how intelligent and bright I was, and how fully capable I was of making a mature decision on my own. Who was I going to listen to—someone who told me I was weak (my therapist), or someone who told me I was strong (Andrew)? At the time, the choice seemed clear, however misguided, and I left my therapist and fell deeply into the vortex of Andrew’s community—the amazing people, the happiness, the feeling of belonging.<br />
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Early on in my life as his student, Andrew benefited from my endless and ridiculous need to prove my love for him through gifts, both personal and to his Moksha Foundation. Before the end of my first four months as his student, I had ‘donated’ my house in Mill Valley, California, then worth over $300,000, to his community (after which I felt so sick that I promptly threw up at the Marin County Civic Center). I feared I would not be able to sustain the feelings of happiness I had discovered and remain in my ordinary life. I believed I had to give it all up for his world. During my first two years in his community I showered him with exquisite Tibetan rugs, furniture and clothes (Loro Piani, Armani, any beautiful and expensive Italian clothes that I thought would suit him), none of which he refused or seemed to regard as anything less than his due. I also bought a $4000 display system for trade exhibits of his books and a computer for his Marketing Department. Calculating the receipts over the years, these purchases amounted to well over $150,000 in gifts to Andrew and his Foundation. <br />
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While I cannot hold Andrew responsible for this behavior, I do believe it is reasonable to ask whether a truly enlightened person would have failed to question—<i>rather than perpetuate</i>—the illusion that being showered with extraordinarily expensive gifts was about love and devotion rather than (as would have been obvious to any normal, sensitive human being) a symptom of a personal problem that needed to be addressed. The sad truth is that Andrew didn’t care one iota for my wellbeing, my ambivalence, or the general state of my mental health at the time. He cared for one thing and one thing only: to take advantage of an obvious weakness of mine and a clearly twisted situation. Why address these issues if it might ultimately mean gaining less than every possible advantage from the loyalty of a wealthy and gullible student? Thus the stage was set for the reeling in of the big bucks.<br />
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After learning from his close student Michelle Hemingway, in whom I had confided, of the imminent potential of a large family trust being dissolved and distributed to me five years earlier than scheduled, Andrew quickly communicated through her that he wanted these assets. Michelle, who at that time I regarded as a trusted friend and colleague, knew me well—my doubts, my aspirations, my plentiful neuroses and weaknesses, including my profound fear of being valued, by friends who knew of my wealth, for my money alone. Michelle was well aware of my fear that Andrew, too, valued me more for my money than for anything else. Acting on his orders, she sat me down in an office at the community’s headquarters and, vacillating between a nervous giggle and a serious tone, told me that Andrew needed this money for the purchase of a property in Massachusetts to establish a worldwide center for his teachings. I remember feeling sick again. She told me that she knew this pricked my deepest fears about Andrew ‘wanting me’ only for my money, but that I must ‘trust his vision,’ because it was for ‘the greatest good.’<br />
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By this time I had been a student of Andrew’s for three years and was now a formal student, a status in the community characterized by unconditional commitment and devotion. My life was completely consumed by Andrew and his teaching. His community represented my work, my friendships, my living situation, my inner life and my sense of self-worth. Without the real freedom to deny his request, I was suddenly and profoundly at risk of losing everything that, at that point in my life, I really cared about. Even I knew that Andrew had now gone too far. It was perfectly clear that there was no chance I could stay with him if I were to refuse. I was tormented; I didn’t believe for a second that I could say no and remain his student.<br />
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As I wrestled with this dilemma, the only people authorized by Andrew to speak with me about it were Michelle and Mimi Katz, and I was instructed not to discuss it with anyone else. Mimi was a close friend of mine as well as a Moksha Foundation board member co-responsible for its accounting office. After learning from Andrew that he had had Michelle solicit the donation, Mimi had advised Andrew that he had to be willing to accept no for an answer. I talked through the predicament I was in with Mimi many times. This ultimately led to her receiving a severe dressing-down from Michelle, who believed (along with Andrew) that in these conversations Mimi had given me ‘too much rope’ to indulge my doubts about donating the money. They must have feared that I was close to saying no and, not wanting to risk this, now closely choreographed who got involved. I was coached daily by Michelle, a few others, and on a few occasions Andrew himself, about how to proceed with the manipulation of my uncle, via my sister, to convince them of my urgent need for this money. At that point, the trust had not yet been dissolved; I didn’t have the money, nor had I yet consented to donate it. But the pressure was on because a suitable property, Foxhollow, had been found.<br />
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I couldn’t sleep. I was a mess. The formal students went on a retreat for a weekend in Marin County and I sat in my bed in the middle of the day, crying hysterically. I ran from meetings, unable to complete a thought or find my way. I was desperate. I didn’t know what to do or how I would survive the loss of this life that I’d found, which had brought me my first experience of real happiness, but suddenly none of my community friends seemed even to care enough to ask me how I was doing or why I was so obviously upset. I felt abandoned by them. I learned only this week—ten years later—that everyone had been told to steer clear of me, to refrain from speaking with me about this mysterious ‘personal problem’ I was having. God forbid that someone might actually reinforce my doubts and insecurities, or strengthen my inclination to say no.<br />
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Obviously, I did, in the end, say yes. By the conclusion of the retreat, no longer able to bear the separation and isolation to which I’d been subjected, and feeling so alienated from everyone that I simply wanted to be welcomed back into the arms of the community, I finally consented to the ‘donation’ of my inheritance—which, in case I haven’t made it clear already, had never been my idea in the first place. The condition I made with Andrew, communicated through Michelle and Steve Brett was that it remained anonymous (Andrew, the board of directors and the few responsible for securing the property were the only ones to know). I did not want my peers treating me differently. Andrew personally apologized for having told two editors of his magazine by the time he learned this and promised no one else would know.<br />
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After I consented I was welcomed back with an overwhelming sense of acceptance. And now Andrew himself and a few others carefully coached me in my dealings with my uncle. As the Foxhollow purchase documents were to be signed within weeks, the daily pressure to get the funds released was immense. They were pushing so hard for the liquidation of the trust that my uncle and sister became suspicious and there appeared at one point to be a ‘risk’ that he might change his mind. Once the trust’s assets were released to me, under continuing pressure, I was subsequently forced to sell the underlying assets at a considerable loss, incurring a huge tax liability that fell on my shoulders. Once the Foxhollow purchase had been finalized, Andrew then decided that it would be best for me to move to the London community! Why? So as not to raise suspicion among my family members that the timing of the community’s relocation to a new $3 million property in Massachusetts was in any way connected with the release of my inheritance. <br />
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Despite an overwhelming sense of approval from Andrew and all the thrill that comes with proximity to him, I felt utterly traumatized. I left the community the day after the purchase was complete, until I was manipulated into returning for what turned out to be another two years of community life. A great deal more transpired subsequently in my life with Andrew, much of it no less outrageous, which I intend to document in some other forum. During this time, Andrew continued his careful orchestration of appearances, doing everything he could to prevent my family from discovering his despicable conduct and taking legal action. Details of these efforts will also be fully documented elsewhere. But more to the point of this discussion is the fact that during the remainder of my time in the community I was to witness countless additional demands for money, no longer from me personally (my well having pretty much dried up, providing only what I needed to pay my Foxhollow room and board, student dues and the like) but from groups of students collectively after each alleged ‘screw-up’ that Andrew accused them of.<br />
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Andrew’s words, ‘put your money where your mouth is,’ accurately characterize the venal pattern of manipulation that permeates the culture of his community. Whether to prove one’s love and devotion, or to make up for some individual or collective infraction of the code of guru worship, the injunction is always to ‘pay up’—pay whatever you can, as much and as often as you can—and it has taken me years to see through this. If you are currently in Andrew’s community, then I entreat you to watch out, because it really can take years for the fog to clear. <br />
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And in the meantime Andrew has his arsenal waiting. Whether it is a gag order or multiple copies of devotional letters stored in several places as ‘proof’ of consent, Andrew has covered his bases. Further, he will ensure that his legal counsel (one of whom advocated on behalf of Japanese cult criminal Aum Shinrikyo) also have such letters on file to ‘prove’ in the event of litigation that your donations were given rather than extorted. Because of the devotion expressed in my ambivalent parting letter, written before I fled Foxhollow for the last time, Andrew is known to have had it photocopied and secured at several secret locations as insurance against a lawsuit.<br />
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On the issue of Andrew's promise of confidentiality, as I and others on this blog have described, Andrew spoke publicly of my contribution two days after I left the community for the second and final time. This betrayal of confidentiality burned. But not nearly as painfully as learning from an ex-formal student who told me he had known about the donation within a year of the Foxhollow purchase when Andrew told a large group of men in the sauna at Foxhollow. It was his understanding that all the men had known. Andrew claims in his "Declaration of Integrity" that he has never lied to his students. Really? I consider this a lie; a violation of a clear, perhaps legal, agreement; and generally something a "mensch" would NEVER do. He lied to me and he had a dozen or more men lie to me for many many months. <br />
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When I consider how behavior of this sort appears to the average person, I now have surprisingly little trouble arriving at the conclusion that Andrew is simply clueless as to what this all looks like in the real world, and how staggering, according to any standard other than his own, his compromises of integrity actually are. And I am quite certain that sheer momentum will keep him successfully peddling his teaching to individuals who don’t bother to concern themselves with these issues. A lot of folks can ignore the blatant character flaws of a messenger and listen only to his message, but I for one can not do so.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1166648142015344692006-12-20T12:45:00.000-08:002006-12-23T08:29:12.253-08:00Our Readers Are the Bomb!<em>[Editors' Note: We just received this comment that we thought was so uplifting and fitting for the holiday season, that we thought we'd feature it. You folks are great and we want you to know you shine so bright that people everywhere can see it.]</em><br /><br />The collective dignity of Cohen's students is indeed the most impressive thing that emerges from these pages like sunlight breaking from dark clouds.<br /><br />Given the pressures reported by the many who have borne witness on this blog, let the record reflect that no one could live for years at a time under such reported pressures without having been an unusually strong person, and unless endowed with unusual physical and mental stamina.<br /><br />Persons who get panic attacks when yelled at, who get quickly and seriously ill when suffering chronic anxiety and lack of sleep would not have been able to last longer than a few weeks, possibly a year at most, under the conditions reported on this blog. <br /><br />Those who spent 5 years or more--you're strong, not weak. Your unusual physical and mental stamina probably enabled you stay as long as you did. <br /><br />More sensitive, vata-predominent persons, who quickly generate high levels of adrenaline/cortisol (aka 'yin deficiency) when under ordinary stress--they would not have been able to remain for very long. <br /><br />In hurtful organizations persons in the leader's inner circle may seem enviably privliged but may actualy incur levels of abuse much worse than anything visited upon peripheral members. <br /><br />Those on the periphery are apt to get their bliss experiences and rarely think to ask whether those blis experiences have been purchased at the cost of other people's pain. <br /><br />(In new age circles it is rare to question bliss itself. <br /><br />These days, we are learning to select coffee and chocolate based on whether these have been grown by persons fairly paid and compensated, vs coffee and chocolate grown by persons tormented in slave labor or debt bondage. <br /><br />Its time to educate the new age to ask if its bliss or transformative experiences originate from organizations that are honest and non-coercive)<br /><br />Because peripheral members/bliss beneficiaries never directly witness the abuse meted out to inner circle members, they have no frame of reference when the full news is reported and they go into shock--and hasten to defend their bliss, because the alternative is painful disorientation.<br /><br />Meanwhile abused inner circle members have often been persuaded that they were selected for such treatment because they are tough enough to take it. Americans have a horror of admitting to weakness, so few would say, 'I am too weak to put up with this horror--I'm outta here.'<br /><br />Being sensitive, easily fatigued and requiring lots of sleep may actually be a blessing if it saves a person from being able to endure chronic abuse as an inner circle member. <br /><br />This difference between the segregation of abuse between inner circle members who suffer the leader's shadow side and peripheral members who enjoy only the sunshine of the leader's sunny side is not confined to just one group.<br /><br />A former Morman gave a twenty point list. Here are two:<br /><br />19. Witness and Accept the Leaders' Faults<br /><br />Once they reach the highest levels of the cult pyramid, members are privy to their leaders' darkest actions. Members must also come to terms with the abusive behavior of their leaders.<br /><br />"Mormon missionaries also experience this cult phenomena first hand. True Believing Missionaries in the field think their assignments are inspired and the Mission President is a prophet. <br /><br />"Those who end up working in the office learn the President has a dark side that is petty, arbitrary and cruel. Yet those exposed to this still propagate the myth that the President is divinely-inspired leader. This is also common in ward and stake leadership. <br /><br />20. The Cult Leaders Are Perfection<br /><br />"The final stage of cult indoctrination is to accept the leaders as the perfect center of the universe, from which all else derives. The "fully evolved" cult member thus understands all the pain and suffering as resistance to the cult leaders' divinity. The leader is the single point of entry for God and perfection in the otherwise imperfect universe.<br /><br />....Thwarting one's natural tendency toward self-preservation becomes a pleasurable, almost fetishistic obsession. "<br /><br /><a href="http://www.i4m.com/think/recovery/mormon_indoctrination.htm">http://www.i4m.com/think/recovery/mormon_indoctrination.htm</a><br /><br />Amy Wallace's memoir of her life as a member of Carlos Castaneda's inner circle 'Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life with Carlos Castaneda.' gives a description of her experiences as a member of an abused inner circle who encountered utter incomprehension from those who had been on the periphery of the group.<br /><br />What was good in the organization was your own goodness, in aggregate. There are events, such as the old California AIDS Ride, where that kind of collective goodness, centered on a clear goal, generated that same splendor. <br /><br />Its yours. Its not as obvious when you're at home by yourself, but you each still have that inner pilot light. It is still there. No one can take it away from you. You can be distracted from it if suffering terror, or shame, but your original goodness is still there, waiting for the clouds to pass.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1166196253070792862006-12-15T07:02:00.000-08:002016-11-06T10:50:11.500-08:00A Revolution in Finance<strong>By former student</strong><br />
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<em>[Editors' Introduction: The following piece is by a former Andrew Cohen student and editor of <em>What Is Enlightenment?</em> magazine. This is the former student's third contribution to the <em>What Enlightenment??!</em> blog. His previous articles are "A Response to Andrew Cohen's 'Declaration of Integrity'", <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/10/response-to-andrew-cohens-declaration.html" target="_blank"> part 1</a> and <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/11/part-2-response-to-andrew-cohens.html" target="_blank"> part 2</a>.] </em><br />
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I was very moved by <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/12/andrew-cohen-and-corruption-of-power.html" target="_blank">Jane O’Neil’s post</a>, and would like to follow up with some additional remarks of my own.<br />
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The greatest mystery, for those of us who have embraced an ‘absolute view’ in the context of a relationship with a charismatic teacher, is confronted when we realize a) that its powerful appeal to our idealism is at least partly illusory, and b) that the teacher’s own adherence to such a view is a manifestation not of goodness but of pathology. <br />
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After an investment of years in a spiritual subculture based on an absolutized understanding of human motivation and behavior, these are shocking recognitions that require time to accept, absorb and appreciate. Only with time and distance does it eventually become clear to us what we have gained and lost through submission to a teacher who falsely professes perfect purity, and what the defining dynamics of our relationship with him actually were. But once these questions have been wrestled with, it becomes apparent that a human being who is less than perfect—who has faults and shortcomings—can still be a force for good in the world and make useful contributions to others. At first, it hardly seems possible to us that this could be the case—that the collective evolution of humanity does <em>not</em> depend on the attrition and eventual destruction of one’s ego—but it turns out that in fact it doesn’t, and that the acceptance of our complex wholeness doesn’t remotely resemble the ‘compromise with evil’ that Andrew’s ‘absolute view’ represents it to be. <br />
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Despite all this, the opportunity to strive in an environment that calls for ‘ego-death’ may still prove in retrospect to have been incredibly instructive and useful for our development—but only to the extent that it has not been irremediably damaging; and even so it may appear to have entailed an investment of time far greater than the benefits of such an experience will ever justify. This is the ‘burn’ of re-evaluation, and if in addition to our time and energy we have also been prevailed upon to ‘contribute’ large sums of money, the process is potentially even more infuriating. <br />
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The principal factor in my own decision to undertake a real reckoning with the facts and implications of my involvement with Andrew was the ever-expanding reservoir of evidence (in my own often repressed experience) that his conduct and underlying motivations are in reality far different from his own understanding of them, and that his capacity to comprehend their probable origins and tangible effects is, shall we say, less than adequate. To the extent that Andrew requires an illusory perfection of himself in order to deserve the adulation and respect he seems to crave, he most certainly has my sympathy, and I do mean that sincerely. But to the extent that he is driven to secure the collusion of others in the maintenance of this self-image through physical, emotional and financial abuses that overtly contradict it, I do not see him as entitled to my support or cooperation. Similarly, while Andrew’s deep-rooted discomfort with the status quo also elicits my genuine sympathy, I am viscerally disturbed by the spectacle of someone so busy ‘creating the future’ that he doesn’t care whose pockets he has to pick, in the present, to finance his bringing of ‘heaven to earth.’<br />
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This is not to say that I have no appreciation for the historical significance of figures like Andrew and the opportunity they represent for groups of people to gather together, perhaps at critical evolutionary junctures, for the completion of important individual and collective tasks. However (as Andrew himself points out in his ‘declaration’), the occurrence of this social phenomenon is by no means a guarantee of the ultimate integrity of the individuals involved, and with respect to corruption there have been as many permutations of the leader/follower equation as there have been leaders and followers. To go even a step further and acknowledge that Andrew and his teaching have attracted many good people, and that their engagement with his system—such as it is—has ‘produced’ many inspiring results, still leaves us with no ultimate certainty as to the wholesomeness and authenticity of his own personality and motivations. At the very least, we have to admit that there now exists a substantial body of evidence that calls these into question.<br />
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Like the initial <em>emergence</em> of such groups and leaders, their <em>trajectory over time </em>is also a social (and eventually a public) phenomenon, and to the participants who experience this trajectory in real time—inspired current students and disaffected ex-students alike—it’s something like watching a slow-motion ping-pong match. Even inwardly, emotions and reassessments volley pendulously back and forth, perhaps with somewhat greater intensity now that a public ‘dialogue,’ however dysfunctional, has begun to materialize. <br />
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In this public context, at the same time as there is ostensibly nothing to prevent individuals from drawing their own conclusions as they see fit, it would be foolish to suggest that the views of current students, prospective students and the interested public at large will escape the influence of the media through which this dialogue is taking place—principally this blog and Andrew’s blog, but also, and only somewhat less directly, andrewcohen.org, zaads.com, <em>What Is Enlightenment? </em>magazine, EnlightenNext’s new ‘Evolutionary Enlightenment’ courses, and Andrew’s retreats, interviews, public dialogues and speaking engagements. Andrew has never made a secret of his desire (or responsibility) to create a ‘revolution in culture,’ nor has he ever abjured an opportunity to promote himself (including sharing the stage with public figures that he freely disparages in private). Thus it is only natural that the resolution, or lack thereof, of issues publicly aired will also be publicly witnessed and processed. Undoubtedly, for example, expedient abuses of Spiral Dynamics for the purpose of relegating critics to First Tier and elevating navy seals to Second Tier will continue and perhaps even evolve—though for my part I would echo Jane’s hope that Bill O’Reilly will not be roused from his restless meme to jump on anyone’s bandwagon.<br />
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The vicissitudes of public opinion aside, an area that now cries out for genuinely responsible handling on the part of Andrew and his organization is that of <strong>questionably solicited donations.</strong> It is difficult to imagine that anyone making public ‘declarations of integrity’ would want to have these tainted funds in his organization’s bank account if he could possibly afford to return them. This is after all not only a practical but a moral issue whose relevance is enhanced by the imminent prospect of EnlightenNext offering ‘Evolutionary Enlightenment’ courses to the employees of <a href="http://jeff-wie.zaadz.com/blog" target="_blank"> major banking and financial firms</a>. As if this were not incongruous enough, the creator of these new courses, who has publicly stressed the importance of manifesting a level of <a href="http://jeff-wie.zaadz.com/blog?page=2" target="_blank"> personal integrity far exceeding conventional standards</a>—and who as Andrew’s <a href="http://www.eecourse.org/jeff.html" target="_blank"> longstanding personal assistant</a> has presumably cultivated such himself—was on at least one occasion given the responsibility of ensuring that the details of student donations solicited under pressure remained a <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/05/karma-will-literally-cost-you-and.html" target="_blank"> secret</a> not only to the public at large but to the vast majority of Andrew’s international ‘student body.’ <br />
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In a truly ethical organization, these financial issues could and would be addressed not through legal channels but directly with the parties concerned. As practical matters, they transcend differences of perspective or opinion, and protocol as well as basic gratitude and common sense suggest that donors should be taken at their word with respect to the circumstances surrounding their donations. If dealing forthrightly with such ‘disputes’ represents a threat to the solvency of EnlightenNext, there is nothing in these donors’ histories to suggest that <em>they </em>lack the patience and generosity necessary to negotiate a mature and mutually acceptable compromise. One would also hope that any forthcoming refunds, should they materialize, would not have legalistic, truth-defying <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/05/karma-will-literally-cost-you-and.html" target="_blank">‘gag orders’</a> attached to them as they have previously.<br />
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It hardly seems necessary to point out that when such matters are left to fester, a reasonably perceptive Spiritual Teacher needn’t look very far for explanations of bitterness and ill will among his former devotees. <br />
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A final and extremely pertinent question, given the secretive and coordinated nature of the pressure exerted on Andrew’s highly vulnerable donors, is whether the ‘integrity’ of the vaunted navy seals who colluded with him in his dubious fundraising practices really does dwarf that of the miserable green losers who have left his orbit. Interestingly, everything we know—and we know a lot because <em>we </em>used to be <em>them</em>—suggests that the answer to this question is a resounding no. On the other hand, <em>all</em> of these students (momentarily misguided though they may have been) were simply doing their utmost to live up to a personal standard best served, in their humble estimation, by total submission to their guru. <br />
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Should this be regarded as an invitation to cynicism? Hardly, because what it actually indicates is that the line dividing ex-students from current students is an illusory one that serves no purpose other than to inhibit the very ‘coming together’ that Andrew professes to stand for. And the two-million-dollar question is: Why? Is Andrew so insecure with respect to the efficacy of his own teaching that he believes its effects evaporate into thin air the moment someone has the courage to leave his company? If so, this is a pity for him that may well speak to his own isolation and loneliness, but it doesn’t change the fact that there is an inspiring and indissoluble solidarity between ALL of us who have sought to nourish our idealism at his feet. And the fact that in the end we know our own and each other’s hearts far better than he seems to be capable of is truly a mysterious and fascinating thing to ponder.<br />
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I mean—isn’t it? <br />
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And wouldn’t it be great if somebody at Foxhollow did some meditating on this and then mustered the courage to tell Sri Andrew-ji to get with the program?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1165464008756644822006-12-06T19:52:00.000-08:002009-12-16T09:24:47.505-08:00Andrew Cohen and the Corruption of Power<strong>By Jane O'Neil</strong><br /><br /><em>[Editor's Introduction: The author of this piece, Jane O'Neil, is a former close student of Andrew Cohen. It was her devotion to him and her contribution of $2 Million that made possible the purchase of Foxhollow, Cohen's residence and the headquarters of EnlightenNext in Lenox, Massachusetts. After she left the group, Andrew Cohen betrayed his promise to her to keep her contribution confidential by publicly discussing it while severely disparaging her for leaving him. This part of her story is briefly recounted in Dr. Andre van der Braak's book <a href="http://www.monkfishpublishing.com/books/enlighten.htm"target=”_blank”> Enlightenment Blues </a> (page 210-211):</em><br /><blockquote>"In December 1998, Andrew is in Amsterdam again for his semi-annual visit….During his talk Andrew gives an example of the viciousness of the ego by talking about another student of his that left him a few days before, a rich American woman. He calls her a narcissist and speaks about how she once gave him two million dollars for his Foxhollow center, but was unwilling to give up her ego. I am shocked and upset by his derisive and aggressive tone of voice. He's throwing a tantrum in public at a student who gave him two million dollars! I find the whole thing unbecoming, to say the least. As a matter of fact I know the woman in question, and a few days later I manage to speak with her on the phone. She is devastated and outraged by Andrew's public treatment of her, not only because of the humiliation, but in particular because she had believed and trusted that Andrew would keep the two million dollar donation confidential. Listening to her story, a chilling picture emerges. Andrew had actually solicited the two million dollars from her, which amounted to over 80% of her total assets. She had been deeply upset and confused about what to do because she felt she could no longer continue to be his student if she said no. She loved the community, Andrew, and the spiritual path. Two of Andrew's students had talked to her repeatedly over several weeks. Finally she had given in and promised to donate the money. She believed it would be serving the world, since the estate of Foxhollow would allow others to have access to Andrew's teachings. Complicating matters, the money was not immediately available from a family trust. Andrew exerted pressure on her to rush the donation as he had already proceeded with the purchase of the property. The rushed transaction resulted in a loss of a great deal of money and she seriously risked losing her family relationships. In retrospect she described his request as a corruption of power. It's a story that makes me nauseous."</blockquote><br /><em>This is Jane's first contribution to the What Enlightenment??! blog.]</em><br /><br />A flood of responses to this blog, its articles and to its subject lie inside waiting to explode out of me. <br /><br />It is important to have a venue for individuals like us to express our perspectives on Andrew. It seems this blog has provided a valuable forum for that. However, what has made me reluctant to jump in and join the dialog has been the various personal attacks on the people who chose a life with Andrew. We are all complex individuals with very mixed experiences. It is discouraging to read over-simplified gross generalizations and assumptions about both students of Andrew's and former students. It is also a bit unnerving to hear about the angle of “taking Andrew down” via Bill O’Reilly and Fox News. Why, because it is not a simple matter to understand and dissect the complexity of a situation like this. I think those looking at students or ex-students from the outside need to have a bit more openness and compassion for their experiences. And I am pretty sure the sensational media outlets are not the answer. Looking from the outside, in, the world will have a difficult time understanding or appreciating the context that we lived in.<br /><br />I left Andrew's community over seven years ago. I was a student for only five years. Though I have been gone longer than I participated, I don't think I have really even begun to unravel the complex motivations that led me to him and kept me there for five years. Nor have I unraveled what the truth is about what I discovered and experienced there. I do know that my experience can shed further light on Andrew's corruption of power. <br /><br />I am moved by the courage of those who have written of their experiences in his community. I think it is important for each individual to discover their own path to bear the light of truth on the situation. <br /><br />Andrew is the most masterful individual I have ever known-a master of discerning the hidden and not so hidden weaknesses and character flaws of all those that come to him, and he exploits them, knowingly or not, always and ultimately to his own advantage--serving to feed his endless hunger to perceive himself as a great master. <br /><br /><strong>Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.</strong><br /><br />I look back on my 5 years in his community with mostly shame and regret. I recall the amazing people, some of the most talented and intelligent people I have ever known. Many of whom I miss deeply. It has become very hard for me to maintain any contact with those who are lucky enough to have left. I have wanted to move on with my life, put the past behind me. But the fact is, I really hope that there is some way I can have an impact. I would love to prevent someone from following the path I took. Though, at the time I joined Andrew's community, there was virtually nothing anyone could have said to me that could have moved me away from the momentum I was on. But perhaps as some of you have done, I may be able to reach someone who is not as easily blown away and sold a fantasy of Andrew’s enlightened teaching.<br /><br />I remember when Andrew asked me to read Luna’s book [<a href="http://www.themotherofgod.com/"target=”_blank”>The Mother of God, by Luna Tarlo,</a>] Andrew Cohen's mother, not long after she wrote it and tell him what I genuinely thought. At the time, I was so blinded by his perspective, I am sure I wasn’t particularly objective. But what stayed with me was a moment of clarity I had. He was wondering how she was able to get the media attention with her book at the time. The Boston Globe, LA Times and quite a few London tabloids were writing about him. I sat with him and remember telling him that even <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dahmer"target=”_blank”> Jeffrey Dahmer’s </a> mom stood by him, telling the world she supported him. It was newsworthy that a woman was calling her son a monster, and particularly newsworthy that he is theoretically a spiritual leader. <br /><br />I used to feel ashamed that I fled before any really heavy pressure was put to bear on me. I fled in the darkness of night (a hard thing to do, given I was scheduled to begin my one-thousand daily prostrations to Andrew’s picture followed by 3 hours of meditation with a whole crew of others—mostly women). It was the departure of another Formal Student that influenced me to flee that way. I did not want to go through the humiliation, interrogation and virtual house arrest the other woman had experienced. Not two days after leaving, Andrew attacked me (my name/intentions and motivations) publicly in a 20 minute unleashing of accusations in an Amsterdam teaching calling me the essence of ego, the essence of evil. <br /><br />What is evil is the misogyny and inhumanity that underlies Andrew’s world view. <br /><br /><a href=" http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/02/travesty-of-enlightenmentwendyls-story.html"target=”_blank”>Wendyl’s</a> memory of that Rishikesh retreat is so much fuller than my own. But memories of the endless, obsessive, manic attempts by the group of women to reclaim some approval from Andrew came flooding back to me. And a memory of the special treatment I remember receiving despite the fact that I had committed the same “crime” of apologizing. You see, any woman that said “I’m sorry” to anyone for any reason was kicked out of the retreat to join the other women in the private hell Wendyl described. The women were desperate, doing anything that they could to get out from under the boulder of accusations of being subhuman, and “I’m sorry” is the refrain of individuals who either are wholeheartedly sorry for their behavior, trying to end a personal conflict or, as in our case at the time, in that context, and under those circumstances, profoundly sorry for our own existence. <br /><br />But I was treated differently, I believe because I had given Andrew well over 2 million dollars by then-nearly all of my money.<br /><br />I regret the time I spent with him, ashamed at some of the outrageous competitive behavior I engaged in, vying for proximity to Andrew. But what I regret more than anything is allowing Michelle Hemingway and Steve Brett, among others, to coerce me into giving Andrew my money. It is that act that helped give him a power base and some semblance of legitimacy. It was at the time about two-thirds of the purchase price of Foxhollow. <br /><br />It is all about understanding the context as someone put it. In the context of the world outside Andrew's community or cult, what he did was illegal, something called "undue influence." It is akin to a therapist seeking sexual company from a client or a priest who manipulates a parishioner into donating to the church. I imagine if it wasn’t me, there would be others like me who would have and I am sure continue to give away their money and soul to him as I did. If someone still within the community reads this and considers giving away their wealth, please reconsider. It was the greatest mistake of my life. The genuine human tragedies that have happened in our world since then, 9/11, the human rights abuses throughout the middle east by us and others, the AIDS crisis in Africa and the world, the illiteracy in the world, the Tsunami, the flood in the South, the earthquakes…each would have been an opportunity to give my money to and actually served a greater good. <br /><br />I have spent the last seven and a half years creating a life for myself. I have sought peace and truth in my life as a mom, wife, friend and ordinary person in the world. Since leaving, I considered legal action, I considered drawing the media's attention, and I considered simply writing my story. But what is the ultimate goal? Personally, I am interested primarily in gaining a full perspective on what my experience was, if possible. And I am interested in seeing if my experience could help prevent someone from walking down the same path I did, with the same consequences or perhaps destructive consequences. Even if it is simply helping a family member who has someone they love in Andrew's or any other guru's community to gain understanding and, most critically, compassion for the individuals who choose that spiritual path. But I believe it is deluded to think one can "take someone down." I also believe NO ONE could have stopped me from diving into Andrew's world at the time I did. I only wish I had had the maturity and insight to find a less destructive forum to nurture my spiritual aspirations.<br /><br />I don’t know if I will write again, but thank you for the opportunity to vent.<br /><br />Not as an afterthought, but I am not sure how to even begin to express my sadness at the news of the <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/01/not-forgotten-story-of-caroline.html"target="_blank"> death of Caroline Franklyn</a>. I feared there would be a tragic outcome from Andrew's behavior. <br /><br />Jane<br /><br />oneil.jane@gmail.comUnknownnoreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1162960428155158912006-11-07T20:29:00.000-08:002016-11-07T14:40:40.311-08:00Part 2 – A Response To Andrew Cohen's "Declaration of Integrity"<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Some Personal Recollections </span><br />by – Former Student</span><br />
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<em>[This article</em><em> provides further reflections in response to Andrew Cohen's recent attempt on his blog to explain his conduct which has been the subject of widespread criticism.]</em><br />
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I’d like to add a little personal background to my <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/10/response-to-andrew-cohens-declaration.html">previous post</a> so that readers can understand the kind of perplexity produced in sincere students by some of the situations described in this blog. <br />
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I remember clearly the first time I saw Andrew Cohen instruct one student to hit another. We were seated in a circle talking with him on a beach by the Ganges in Rishikesh. A male student made a remark to which Andrew took exception, and he instructed a female student sitting next to the speaker to punch him in the shoulder. Judging by both the sound produced and the pained expression on the victim’s face, it was clearly a powerful blow. However, the student accepted this ‘gesture’ without protest, and the conversation continued as if nothing had happened. At the time, this did not strike me as so outlandish as to require rationalization, and taking my cues from the group, I allowed myself to accept it. The “contextual” presumption was clearly that the student had benefited from this skillful response to a remark that, in Andrew’s perception, was a manifestation of “ego.” <br />
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I recently recalled this ‘early’ incident while mulling over a couple of later ones that I have always found far more troubling, and the interesting thing about it is that I vividly remember both a) the negative effect it produced in me and b) my willingness to ignore it. Energetically and philosophically, the atmosphere around Andrew is dynamic and charged, and in such an atmosphere it is a given that many accepted conventions of thought and behavior are suspended. Indeed, it is doubtful that many of us would have been with Andrew had this not been the case. Under such circumstances, incidents such as this one evoked in me—simultaneously—contradictory ‘levels’ of internal response, from cognitive dissonance (‘something is wrong here’) to business-as-usual (‘everything here is perfect’).<br />
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A few years later, I was in an evening men’s meeting at Foxhollow at which everyone was supposedly “together” with the exception of one student who was expressing what was consensually interpreted as “doubt.” Andrew’s informer for that evening, having left the room to tell him what was happening in the meeting, returned to ask us if, with the exception of that student, we were all “really together.” We answered yes, then waited while our emissary went back to Andrew for further instructions. These were not long in coming: We were to gather outside, where enough vehicles would arrive to take us all down to the lake. There, we were each to punch the doubter in the right shoulder, after which he was to submerge himself several times in the cold water while shouting “Freedom has no history!” <br />
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As I was riding down to the lake in the moonlight surrounded by my ‘brothers-in-arms’ in the back of a pick-up truck, I asked myself what was really going on here. Was this what I’d signed on for when I’d become a formal student—organized group violence, torture and humiliation? Whatever they were calling it—tough love, purification—my alarm bells were going off and it was suddenly clear to me that I was in the midst of a situation that would probably precipitate my departure from the community. Under the circumstances, (hopefully) needless to say, these were sentiments that produced tremendous confusion and inner conflict given my genuine devotion to the stated principles and aspirations of our communal life. Was I then a hypocrite? And if so, which was the greater hypocrisy: the toleration of violence against a brother, or of my own doubts as to Andrew’s wisdom and purity of motivation? I recognized in this moment that as a so-called ‘spiritual commando’ I was likely to prove utterly inadequate. Should I be more ashamed of this, or of my craven unwillingness to admit it then and there and accept the probable physical consequences? In the end I participated in this ritual without comment. One of the final shoulder blows was so effectively administered by a military-trained member of Andrew’s security team (also a holistic healer!) that it produced a nauseating pop I can still hear and a wince I can still see. After his ordeal was over, however, the student thanked us for helping him to overcome his doubt, and remains (to his credit?) a longstanding member of Andrew’s community. <br />
On another occasion it fell to me to report to Andrew on the progress of a similar ritual <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/03/shame-guilt-and-gurus-blood.html">recounted elsewhere in this blog</a>, that of an editorial colleague (since departed) who’d been required to submerge himself in the frozen lake one hundred times while yelling repeatedly, “I am an asshole!” Entering his office I encountered Andrew with several of his committed students, who laughed derisively at my secondhand account of this student’s ordeal (e.g., having to relocate to less conspicuous waterfront and start over), congratulating Andrew when he asserted proudly that “things like this happen only around me,” and enthusiastically affirming his insistence that no other contemporary teacher had the “outrageous integrity” to prescribe such ruthless austerities. <br />
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Why am I reporting these incidents? For two reasons: First, I am tired of hearing it said that people should simply “get over” the effects of such experiences and carry on with their lives as if nothing had happened. Second and more importantly, both the confusion produced by such incidents, and their legitimacy as facilitators of spiritual development, are crucial topics for discussion. Why? Because they help to explain why so many people who had—and in many cases still have—feelings of incredible respect, gratitude and devotion for Andrew Cohen, have nevertheless felt compelled to move on. It is far less polarizing to approach the issue with this possibility in mind than simply to impugn the integrity of those who dare to speak out. And if a “context” and “practices” of this nature have prompted so many to leave who might otherwise have preferred to stay, it would be well for Andrew and his present community to be humbly aware of that and, as the saying goes, to <span style="font-style: italic;">face into it</span>. <br />
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The imposing infrastructure now at Andrew’s disposal was co-created by him and many students who believed wholeheartedly in his realization and vision for humanity, and who in many cases still share that vision and acknowledge Andrew’s contribution to their development as cosmic citizens. It is high time that Andrew made his peace with these people by acknowledging and accepting their experiences as his students, and by encouraging his present students to do the same rather than inveigling them into a selective public relations campaign that serves his image rather than the whole truth.<em></em><em></em><em></em><em></em><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1161389458724559092006-10-20T16:46:00.000-07:002016-11-07T14:39:26.989-08:00A Response To Andrew Cohen’s “Declaration of Integrity”<span style="font-weight: bold;">By - Former Student</span><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">[Note from the Editors: Apparently attempting to finally give a public statement defending himself against the many allegations of his abuse of students documented previously here (and perhaps also in response to the current heated discussions on the <a href="http://pods.zaadz.com/wie/discussions/view/60278"> Zaadz+WIE </a>online forum), Andrew Cohen recently meticulously crafted and posted a "<a href="http://americanguru.net/news-and-reviews/a-declaration-of-integrity/"> Declaration of Integrity</a>", which in effect avoids the whole thing. Instead of addressing the actual facts, he predictably overwhelms us with his assessment of how great things are in the spiritual boot camp he has created, and why his ego-challenging teachings have proven his ex-student critics to be mere “<span style="font-style: italic;">failures</span>”, or losers whose “<span style="font-style: italic;">life mission is to create and spread a negative picture of who I am...</span>” What Andrew <span style="font-style: italic;">does</span> say about the facts is that the stories have been “<span style="font-style: italic;">misrepresented</span>” and given “<span style="font-style: italic;">out of context</span>”. He never denies the charges, but only provides us with eleven pages of his self-justifying “context”, which is just the standard fare we’ve gotten from him for years now. The article below is a response to Andrew’s “Declaration,” by Former Student, a long-time student of Andrew Cohen.]</span><br />
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I have never until now, with the inaugural posting of Andrew Cohen’s “<span style="font-style: italic;">Declaration of Integrity</span>” on his new blog, felt compelled to participate in discourse critical of his conduct as a “spiritual authority figure.” However, the misrepresentative nature of Andrew’s response to his critics does call for some comment.<br />
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Andrew describes certain former students now publicly critical of his methods as having “turned on him,” but the truth is that he had turned on them long before they ever responded in kind. During my years in his community it was common practice for Andrew to publicly ridicule and vilify students who left, and to encourage others to do the same. There was no possibility of this practice, or the remarks engendered by it, being misinterpreted or “taken out of context.” The message was clear, as well as the mean-spiritedness and vindictiveness behind it, which continues to manifest in Andrew’s present post and will likely animate his future “counteroffensives.” Whatever else Andrew Cohen may be, in this respect he is most definitely not a <span style="font-style: italic;">mensch</span>. He has never personally addressed his own habit of vilification and ridicule, much less the many abuses of power catalogued by his critics, who experienced and/or witnessed them first-hand and either understood what they were seeing or figured it out soon enough—despite constant pressure from Andrew himself to give his motivations the benefit of the doubt.<br />
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The main problem with Andrew’s community is his investment in his perception of himself as a flawless exemplar of his teaching. This is a problem because Andrew is far from flawless, and his actions (ironically) will probably never reflect the genuine nobility of his realization due to his incapacity to see himself and his own baser motivations clearly. None of Andrew’s former followers would have hailed him as a “21st-century Buddha” etc. had they not been encouraged to do so by his own overly generous estimation of himself, and they cannot be faulted for changing their minds even after an extended period of devotion to someone who for a time seemed to them worthy of it. Andrew’s lack of gratitude toward these people, who labored long and selflessly for the advancement of “his” cause and “his” organization (“his” magazine and “his” jazz fusion band etc.), is egregiously autocratic and narcissistic. I know personally several of the people described by Andrew as having “failed miserably” as spiritual practitioners; in addition to being insulting, this characterization of them is both a myopic and self-serving misperception and a public misrepresentation designed to invalidate legitimate grievances. Their lack of “success” is not difficult to understand in a community where self-induced doubtlessness was often a survival strategy and success was so closely correlated with fear-driven conformity. (If this has since changed, I’m glad to hear it but have my doubts.)<br />
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I am concerned that Andrew’s public association with Ken Wilber, in tandem with Wilber’s recent responses to his own critics, has emboldened Andrew in the belief that he is entitled to a form of “score-settling” similar to Wilber’s vibrant and useful “ <a href="http://www.kenwilber.com/blog/show/46"> <span style="font-style: italic;">Wyatt Earpy</span> </a> ” postings. There are, however, several revealing contextual differences between Ken and Andrew’s respective statements. For example, rather than having to defend his ideas or scholarship, or to elucidate the effects of spiritual development (or lack thereof) on perception and worldview, Andrew has been called upon by his critics to justify acts of physical violence, the translation of students’ psychological vulnerability into large cash donations, and apparent mean-spiritedness in the service of the higher evolution of consciousness.<br />
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For both Ken and Andrew, it seems to me, the goal of such public dialogue (evolution, mental perspective, enlightened understanding and action) is ostensibly the same and to that extent equally laudable, feasible and urgent. In Andrew’s case, however, the grandiosity and presumption of infallibility that made his “alleged” abuses of students possible in the first place are similarly evident in his “declaration,” which as a result transmits little of the uplifting inclusiveness and vulnerability to be found even in Wilber’s most caustic and challenging remarks. It’s easy to accuse people of “rewriting history,” but <span style="font-style: italic;">what about</span> that history, i.e., those incidents that witnesses have taken the time and trouble to document? And it’s easy to declare dismissively that such incidents have been “taken out of context,” but <span style="font-style: italic;">what of</span> that context? The bottom line is not that Andrew has never lied to his students, but that his dishonesty with himself has never been offered a place at his table.<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1160391297972037442006-10-09T07:27:00.000-07:002016-03-05T02:42:25.212-08:00<strong><span style="font-size: 130%;">Congratulations to WHAT Enlightenment?!! on its second anniversary!</span></strong><br />
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This two year voyage beginning in October 2004 has been full of discovery, revelation, honest fact reporting, emperor with no clothes stories, sad testimonial, memory and recognition.<br />
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Since I too was there in the Cohen event, and having left with no small amount of anger, confusion, disappointment, and also a raw determination to see myself through this whole issue and prevail – I stand in appreciation, respect and community for all who’ve been here on these pages. The work accomplished by all the writers and commenters, all those who contributed their own biographical stories, and all the honest and heartfelt discussion by so many is truly significant. Sadly our world possesses all too few examples of truth being told to or about over-reaching authority.<br />
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I only wish there was some big banquet table to pass the wine, and share in relief and healing that comes from seeing a clouded and concealed and troubled misuse of spiritual power and authority finally begin to be put to the light of day.<br />
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Some have tried to <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/02/wie-editor-admits-slapping-smeared.html">stop this blog</a>, to <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/01/don-beck-youre-bottom-dwellers.html">derail it with ridicule </a>or with strange and meaningless statements, or to shout it into silence – but the record stands on its own merits and is now available for public inspection by anyone with a computer. This was not possible before now.<br />
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The volume of material posted here is really huge, but some few articles seem to stick out in my mind as particularly poignant and heart rending. Among those, I recall perhaps most of all <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/01/not-forgotten-story-of-caroline.html">Not Forgotten – the Story of Caroline Franklyn</a> by Mario Puljiz, recounting the death by discouragement, heartbreak, and browbeating of a frail elderly and yet very wonderful lady in London.<br />
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Setting out many of the basic historical details and the context for the story of Andrew Cohen and his community, was the <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2004/10/breaking-code-of-silence-series.html">Breaking the Silence</a> series by Hal – a truly clear exposition of a complex story making it simple, readable and understandable.<br />
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Many others shared the excruciating content of many of their experiences with the guru, and here I think of Susan Bridles’ <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/02/legacy-of-scorched-earth.html">A Legacy of Scorched Earth</a>, Stas’ <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/02/letter-from-senior-student.html">Letter from a Senior Student</a>, and <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/02/travesty-of-enlightenmentwendyls-story.html">A Travesty of Enlightenment</a> by Wendyl.<br />
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<a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/02/vimala-thakars-concealed-criticism-and.html">Vimala Thakar’s Concealed Criticism and Andrew Cohen's Treatment of Women</a> is a heartbreaking account of withheld information which covered the guru’s behind, and left many students in the dark.<br />
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There are so many more, but that’s my short list.<br />
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Who imagined that so much would be exposed and discussed?<br />
May <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/">WHAT enlightenment?!!</a> continue the spreading of transparency!<br />
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Peace.<br />
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(a letter from a reader)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1156466855992785992006-08-24T17:46:00.000-07:002006-12-25T18:52:26.376-08:00Some Reflections on Abuse and Uncompleted or “Intermediate” Gurus<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><blockquote>“The Intermediate Zone, in Sri Aurobindo's philosophy, refers to a dangerous and misleading transitional spiritual and pseudo-spiritual region between the ordinary consciousness of the outer being and true spiritual realisation.<br /><br />...the way that the Intermediate zone works is through a sort of psychological contagion. Thus not just the sadhak or yogi or pop guru themselves, but those around them, also experience this, and it is like a drug, a buzz, a high, a thrill, a rush; it is attractive, it draws them in, and together with the misleading information regarding "breaking down the walls of ego", they are able to justify and rationalise any abuse as "for their own good" and "a sign of the Master's fiery love and compassion"</blockquote></span><span style="font-size:85%;">from Alan Kazlev’s article:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Towards a Larger Definition of the Integral, Part 2: The Wilberian Paradigm: A Fourfold Critique, July 2006</span><br /><a href="http://www.integralworld.net/index.html?kazlev2.html">http://www.integralworld.net/index.html?kazlev2.html</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Whatever one might think of Alan Kazlev’s ongoing critiques of Ken Wilber, he does have some very thought provoking reflections on abusive gurus and what is termed the “Intermediate Zone” problem. He gives an interesting perspective for trying to understand the roots of the kind of student abuse that Andrew Cohen and other supposedly “enlightened” teachers like him engage in. He argues that teachers like Andrew fall into an “intermediate zone” of partial realization, which is problematic when such teachers believe and act as if their enlightenment is complete. The inevitable result is some form of spiritual abuse of those who ge</span><span style="font-size:75;"><span style="font-size:100%;">t</span> <span style="font-size:100%;">involved with these gurus.<br /><br />Toward the end of his book, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.monkfishpublishing.com/books/enlighten.htm">Enlightenment Blues</a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">, after describing how hard it was to get free from Andrew's community, Andre van der Braak states that “...Andrew gave me very real and convincing spiritual experiences...”(pg.224).<br /><br />Yet if Andrew's capacity to give such "experiences" came not from full enlightenment, but from a mixed-bag state that despite its apparent power and bliss-bestowing qualities actually falls short of complete realization -- the Intermediate Zone hypothesis might offer a freeing perspective to those persons who otherwise feel obligated to stay loyal to these spiritual experiences created by the same person who harmed them. It might help those who, though knowing in their hearts and bodies that something went very, very wrong, still believe that staying loyal to those memories is the price of remaining “spiritual”.<br /><br />Too often, to heal from an I-Zone guru, the suffering seeker can only get respect for their suffering by submitting to pressure from secular-minded friends and therapists to disown the genuine spiritual experiences that accompanied the abuse, and dismiss these breakthroughs as mere trance or crowd delusion. If the suffering person wants to stay loyal to the spiritual dimension, he or she risks being accused of lingering gullibility or some form of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome">Stockholm syndrome</a>. These secular-minded advisors mean well; with rare exceptions, they are stuck using frameworks that are too narrow to account for the complexities of intermediate zone spirituality/abuse. This leaves the wounded seeker in a very difficult predicament -- If he or she tries to stay true to the complexity and insists that the abuse was accompanied by genuine spiritual breakthroughs he or she risks being accused of remaining duped by the guru.<br /><br />If the person seeks to recognize and process the abuse (which is real) and does so by using one of many secular therapeutic frameworks which misses the spiritual dimension, the person will get grounded, but often at the price of having to disown and perhaps devalue the spiritual dimension that would offer the deepest form of healing.<br /><br />Others may pressure us to only honor the spiritual dimension, implying that feeling abused means we are ungrateful, unworthy and disloyal. This too misses the point, and leaves the wounded seeker with no relief.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">What is needed is a perspective that enables the wounded seeker to recognize that the same teacher can be both abusive and revelatory -- and may even have paranormal abilities that are emancipatory for some aspects of our lives, yet have a deeply degrading and enslaving effect on us elsewhere -- and that a real and integral spirituality would have to be large enough to acknowledge all of this simultaneously!</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />That real sweetness and goodness can at the same time be entangled with ghastly abuse, and that both are real and can come from the same source is a profound spiritual mystery, and one that most therapeutic frameworks cannot yet accommodate.<br /><br />One take-home lesson is that we need to allow room for the varied and often opposing experiences people have of their guru. One lucky experiencer may be going through a phase of being the guru's favorite. Another who winds up being one of his or her many scapegoats will have quite a different set of experiences. Hopefully we can remain altruistic and ask whether one's fellow aspirants are also thriving. We cannot be said to benefit from a guru if we remain cruelly indifferent to the way that guru is harming others. Such an attitude of just-my-bliss-matters is no different from an addict's focus on the next fix and brutal indifference to how friends and family are being harmed in the quest for that next fix.<br /><br />In fact, one implication of moving beyond this indifference may be recognizing the importance of speaking out against such harm and abuse of fellow students at the hands of one's teacher. This is, in effect, one of the primary purposes of <span style="font-style:italic;">this blog</span>. </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight:bold;">(...Note: We've heard from a former student resident of Andrew's Foxhollow headquarters who recently left, that to her knowlege since this blog has started, Andrew hasn't been employing his usual physically harsh “disciplining” methods on students -- which often includes <a href="http://essentialwhatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/06/cruelty-vengeance-and-crazy-wisdom.html">slapping</a> them or having them slapped by others. This was good news, and suggested that this blog may be having some moderating effect on Andrew's behavior with students.</span></span>)</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Offered below are some of Kazlev’s reflections on abusive gurus in general, which were published in a recent online article he wrote about Ken Wilber. We have excerpted specific sections in which he discusses Cohen (and comparisons to Adi Da), and references to cases of his abusiveness documented in this blog.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">The <span style="font-style: italic;">What Enlightenment?!</span> Editors<br />*******************************************************<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >The Problem of Abusive Gurus</span><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">from <a href="http://www.integralworld.net/index.html?kazlev2.html">Alan Kazlev’s article</a>:<br /></span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Towards a Larger Definition of the Integral, Part 2: The Wilberian Paradigm: A Fourfold Critique</span><span style="font-size:80;"><span style="font-size:85%;">, July 2006<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />For whatever reason...[Ken Wilber] cannot recognise that <span style="font-weight:bold;">the most obvious sign of any integral transformation is precisely that the Teacher is never abusive!</span> In fact, Wilber falls into the common trap of seeing abuse at the hands of a guru as somehow necessary for enlightenment. This idea goes back at least as far Medieval Tibetan Buddhism; Naropa, one of the great sages of the Tibetan tradition, suffered greatly at the hands of his guru, Tilopa...<a href="http://www.normaneinsteinbook.com/nechapters/strangecaseofkw.php">Wilber's friend</a> and colleague, self-styled guru Andrew Cohen seems -- if the the harrowing accounts of their experiences by his ex-disciples is anything to go by -- to show very similar behaviour to that of [contemporary Western Guru] Adi Da, and is every bit as abusive towards his followers.<br /><br />With this in mind, let's make a brief checklist of warning that indicate a guru, even a nonduality "enlightened" one, that is an abuser. The following is in no way meant as a complete checklist, but just lists a few common flaws. Note that not all abusive gurus will have all of these flaws, but an abusive guru will at the very least have two or three:<br /><br />• Sexually abusive behaviour<br /><br />• Demanding or requesting large "donations" (to fund an unnecessarily opulent or wealthy lifestyle)<br /><br />• Acting or teaching one way in public and another in private (e.g. celibate gurus justifying sex with female disciples as "Tantric Initiation")<br /><br />• Narcissistic behaviour<br /><br />• Using insulting words or other abusive behaviour to "break down your ego".<br /><br />• Physical abuse, usually by telling devotees to assault other devotees<br /><br />• Taking advantage of the disciples trust; controlling or forcing them to do something they don't want to<br /><br />• Emotionally sadistic (and in extreme cases physically sadistic)<br /><br />• Vindictive attitude towards ex-devotees<br /><br />• Responding to critics with anger, bitterness, hatred, or mockery rather than love<br /><br />And so on. You get the idea. Note also that not having any of the above, or any of the other common pop guru flaws, does not mean a Guru or Teacher is genuine. It simply means it may be okay to be involved with them. Another indicator – uneasy feeling or small voice that says "this is wrong" may not be reliable, as it requires a well-developed spiritual consciousness on the part of the seeker. And feeling drained after some time in the abusive guru's presence is also unreliable; not everyone is emotionally parasitised.<br /><br />Sometimes, as in Da Free John / Adi Da's case, gurus justify their behaviour by saying it represents "crazy wisdom" (another Tibetan theme). So-called "crazy wisdom" gurus, in addition to being abusive, may partake of alcohol or drugs, have lots of (willing) sexual partners, and so on. Chogyam Trungpa is a typical example of a Crazy Wisdom guru, but he does not seem to have been as specifically abusive.<br /><br />But the most common indeed, the standard, excuse abusive gurus use to justify their behaviour is that it is necessary that the disciple be abused and humiliated in order for them to overcome ego and attain enlightenment (although at the same time, no abusive guru ever acknowledges that any of their students have ever attained enlightenment) It is this, more subtle argument, that one finds associated with the Wilberian Integral movement as a whole. According to Andrew Cohen, teachers need to break down one's ego, and this can be a psychologically and emotionally excruciating process. Wilber fully supports this approach. In the Foreword to one of Cohen's books, he says:<br /></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >"When it comes to spiritual teachers, there are those who are safe, gentle, consoling, soothing, caring; and there are the outlaws, the living terrors, the Rude Boys and Nasty Girls of God realization, the men and women who are in your face, disturbing you, terrifying you, until you radically awaken to who and what you really are....<br /><br />If you want encouragement, soft smiles, ego stroking, gentle caresses of your self-contracting ways, pats on the back and sweet words of solace, find yourself a Nice Guy or Good Girl, and hold their hand on the sweet path of stress reduction and egoic comfort. But if you want Enlightenment, if you want to wake up, if you want to get fried in the fire of passionate Infinity, then, I promise you: find yourself a Rude Boy or a Nasty Girl, the ones who make you uncomfortable in their presence, who scare you witless, who will turn on you in a second and hold you up for ridicule, who will make you wish you were never born, who will offer you not sweet comfort but abject terror, not saccharin solace but scorching angst, for then, just then, you might very well be on the path to your own Original Face".</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">from Living Enlightenment by Andrew Cohen</span></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Wilber applauds Cohen as a "rude boy", and offers him (and abusive gurus in general) as the alternative to a ridiculous caricature that does not match the description of any spiritual teacher. He says that the "rude boy" will "hold you up for ridicule" and "will make you wish you were never born". Yes, all out of his boundless love and compassion that you may yourself attain Enlightenment! But let us look at the reality, the mind games and psychological conditioning and abuse; things that Wilber, who has never been a disciple at Cohen's Foxhollow community, has not had to experience.<br />Here is one example (from <span style="font-style: italic;">Enlighten Nixt</span> blog)<br /><blockquote> <span style="font-size:100%;"><span syle="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">At one point, the women as a group got into serious trouble because some women answered back to some men who told them they were not doing their spiritual practice properly. Andrew heard about this and let it be known that their disagreement was "outrageous." The women went into a panic when they heard this. They decided they must do something extreme to prove their penitence.</span></span></span></blockquote></span><span style="font-size:100%;">The tragic nature of this example is shown by the fact that it is the disciples themselves suggested this, as a means of punishment, in order to win Cohen's favour (other methods included giving him huge sums of money, such as twenty-thousand dollars, or even the entire life savings) I will return to this point a little later. In this particular instance, it was decided that they would do prostrations in the freezing cold water of a lake on the property, standing waist deep in water and submerging themselves completely, again and again, for an entire hour.<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Andrew's wife, Alka, was excused from the practice because she had a bad chest cold. But another woman had suffered a concussion and brain injury the year before. Andrew knew this, because she had undergone a lengthy convalescence at Foxhollow. She was not excused. She passed out in the lake's cold waters after about 50 minutes. She was carried out of the lake, unconscious. She came to in a warm shower, with two other women holding her up. Another woman described making it through the hour. She and some others who did so turned blue. They shivered so hard afterwards that they could not stop shaking enough to undo their zippers or buttons so they could take off their clothes. They went in groups into hot showers, where they stood for 45 minutes at a time until they had finally stopped shivering enough to undress. One woman wound up in the hospital some months later with a serious kidney infection, requiring an I.V. drip. She attributes this to her exposure in the lake.<br /><br />Some women did not make it through the practice. The women as group got a message from Andrew that those who did not finish had to go back again and complete it. Some women had to return to the lake and try two or three times before they could do so." </span><br /></blockquote></span><span style="font-size:100%;">The <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/05/karma-will-literally-cost-you-and.html">What Enlightenment?</a></span> and <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://essentialwhatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2005/06/cruelty-vengeance-and-crazy-wisdom.html">EnlightenNixt</a></span> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">blogs are full of cases of unhealthy psychological manipulation like this. On the one hand, one is disgusted by Cohen's willing participation in all this, on the other hand, amazed that these people through lack of self-esteem and ability to claim their own power would put themselves into such a situation in the first place.<br /><br />Of course it goes on and on. The following poignant message is from a post by an 82-year old war veteran to the ex-Cohenist blog <span style="font-style: italic;">What Enlightenment?</span>, regarding his granddaughter:<br /></span> <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote>My grand daughter spent 5 years with Andrew and she never spoke a word to me during that time....Andrew took a beautiful women and turned her into a fearful depressed person, it's like he sucked the spirit out of her and left only a confused shell...<br />I appreciate all of your contributions I have read them all it makes me sad to see what's happened to my grand daughter, really sad that a life has been so destroyed by someone she chose to put trust in. I hope one day someone finds a way of stopping him.<br /><br />...My grand daughter was continuously asked for money, she gave over some $28,000 in the last 2 years.</blockquote></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">This story is by no means unique (in fact it was selected here a random because it happened to be the lead story when I was researching <span style="font-style: italic;">What Enlightenment?</span> for the current essay); and is typical of the sort of emotional, physical, and financial abuse, the human wreckage that these people leave in their wake. One wonders why Wilber himself has not investigated <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2004/10/documentation-of-abuse.html">these claims</a>; as -- his ranting against any criticism of his work aside -- he seems, from his ambivalence regarding Adi Da, to be a decent sort of person. Moreover, when a case of <a href="http://www.kenwilber.com/blog/show/33">sexual abuse by a spiritual teacher</a> in his own Integral Institute movement recently came up, he did act, albeit reluctantly, and with the usual "green bashing".<br /><br />I have dedicated some time to criticising Andrew Cohen, not because he is any worse than other such gurus and cult-leaders (indeed, he may be mild compared to some), but because he is considered by Wilber to be an enlightened being, albeit not as great a realiser as Adi Da. This shows a serious lack of spiritual, but even common sense discrimination among Wilber and those of his followers who also support people like this. It is important to emphasize however that not all Wilberites do go along with this; some at least would seem to be critical of Wilber's association with abusive gurus.<br /><br />In any case, this sort of situation is almost pandemic among a great many pop gurus and teachers. From his magazine, and the talks on his website, I get a decent enough vibe from Andrew Cohen. I certainly think he does do a lot of good work; it is just a question of this other, more negative side to his nature.<br /><br />...The problem is that the current Guru institution, as it has been adopted in the West, is deeply flawed, indeed, it is quite medieval. It may be that these traditional cultures like India, Tibet, and the Far East have their own checks and balances, and since these have been removed in the West, what is left is the abusiveness. Or perhaps the same problems also have occurred and do occur in traditional cultures, and great Gurus and Teachers were great not because of this institution, but in spite of it (in the same manner as with religious institutions everywhere). I certainly am not qualified to say which of these alternatives are correct; perhaps it might be a bit of both.<br /><br />My explanation of how abusiveness works is simple. It has nothing to do with noble motives of helping the disciple work through their ego, progress more swiftly to enlightenment, and all the rest. That is just the rationalization that is at the heart of the pop guru institution, and the reason why this institution is flawed. In other words, the abusive guru is just basically your average emotionally immature and selfish imperfect human being, except that he or she also happens to have some opening to inner and subtle states and powers, up to and including self-realisation. As Wilber himself puts it, these individuals are characterised by "One Taste sufficiency that leaves schmucks as it finds them". Psychologist and participative spirituality advocate John Heron criticises Wilber's conception of spiritual development on that count, but I think what Wilber says is true, although I would strongly disagree with Wilber's assessment that these abusive gurus actually are authentically enlightened (see sect. 2-v). In this instance (and perhaps in all such instances) what Wilber calls "One Taste sufficiency" is simply a lesser experience, not even a spiritual experience. In any case, the argument that "this is good for you, it will help you attain enlightenment" is simply a ploy that the abusive guru uses, a way of manipulating his or her victims, and which he or she can use, precisely because it is part of the whole pop guru mindset. Quite likely the abusive guru genuinely believes his or her own words, because he or she is likewise conditioned by this mindset, just as much as his or her followers are.<br /><br />But it goes beyond just that. Note the story of Cohen's female disciples who themselves offered to submit themselves to "water torture". What it all comes down to is the sadomasochistic co-dependency between abusive guru and dysfunctional disciple. For every sadist there is a victim, who wants to be tortured and hurt, perhaps out of deep self-loathing, or repressed memories of childhood abuse, in order to earn the love of their abuser (who, being an abuser, will never be satisfied, and will always continue to abuse). I tend to see the current pop guru phenomenon as very much like the battered wife attitude; with their followers so used to be abused, and they know nothing else, that they think it is "their fault" and all this is done for "their benefit". And the more abusive the guru is, the more the disciple rationalises the abuse! A classic case, but only one among probably many thousands of such cases, is what happened to Georg Feurestein and his wife at the hands of Da Free John.<br /><br />All this is due to the fact that without doubt the largest number of pop Gurus do not have what I would call an integral awakening (more on this a little later). And because the theme that "being abused is necessary if you want to attain enlightenment" is perpetuated by people like Wilber who are seen as reputable authorities in the New Consciousness movement (e.g. <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2004/12/ken-wilbers-shaky-history-of.html">Wilber's recommendation</a> above that the seeker should choose "the Rude Boys and Nasty Girls of God realization"), susceptible and vulnerable seekers in the "spiritual supermarket", who only know what they read and hear, fall into this whole sadomasochistic relationship and hence serve as a supply of new victims. But as ex-devotees can now use the Internet to expose abusive gurus, John Heron may well be right when he says that the age of authoritarian guru is coming to an end. (there will always be these sorts of gurus, but i think in future they won't have such an easy time of it)<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >The Intermediate Zone<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">How are spiritually realised abusive gurus even possible? Clearly many of the pop gurus have genuine, even profound experiences. Up to and including nondual experiences. How can they be so narcissistic and insensitive to the needs of others, if they have realised non-duality, and that there is no separation between themselves and others?<br /><br />We need here to distinguish genuine Spirituality, and genuine Gurus and Teachers, from those who, while possessing a greater or lesser degree of non-dual realisation, even total self-realisation on the mental or consciousness level, nevertheless retain ego, and can often have a destructive and abusive effect on their disciples and devotees. To understand how this can be so, we need to look at the Intermediate Zone. The Intermediate Zone, in Sri Aurobindo's philosophy, refers to a dangerous and misleading transitional spiritual and pseudo-spiritual region between the ordinary consciousness of the outer being and true spiritual realisation.<br /><br />...the way that the Intermediate Zone works is through a sort of psychological contagion. Thus not just the <span style="font-style: italic;">sadhak</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">yogi</span> or pop guru themselves, but those around them, also experience this, and it is like a drug, a buzz, a high, a thrill, a rush; it is attractive, it draws them in, and together with the misleading information regarding "breaking down the walls of ego", they are able to justify and rationalise any abuse as "for their own good" and "a sign of the Master's fiery love and compassion".<br /><br />Note also that the Intermediate Zone does not mean that you are not enlightened. If that is was the case it would present much less danger, because the Teachers who are stuck at that level would be more easily seen to be fakes. No, it is quite possible, even very common, for the abusive gurus stuck here to be Enlightened, and indeed not only themselves Enlightened, but through their own realisation to transformation others, or rather those lucky few who for whatever reason, perhaps a certain grossness or resilience of nature, are able to ride out the waves of emotional parasitism and sadistic abuse that is tied in with and inseparable from the love and compassion. For it is all part of the ambiguity of the Intermediate Zone that some people can be totally destroyed by its negative energies, and others transformed.<br /><br />And here is where the cultic justification comes in: because ...[if] one person [is] benefited, he assumes that everyone will, if only they will stick at the process. But this conveniently ignores the extent of human wreckage these abusive gurus leave in their wake. The contradiction between the two realities -- that of the devotees who are come through stronger, and of the larger number who are crushed – cannot be surmounted by the rational mind; the situation is fluid; there are no dogmatic answers. But is it really a sensible thing to put your life in the hands of someone who adopts a sadomasochistic attitude towards his or her followers? ( a "rude boy" and "nasty girl" as Wilber euphemistically puts it)<br /><br />The paradox is all the greater when we consider that many of these gurus and teachers genuinely do many good things, alongside the negative things. Thus there seem to be, in addition to the narcissistic and abusive elements, a number of more positive characteristics by which Intermediate zone gurus and teachers, or those that have even a partial development, may be recognised:<br /><br /><br />• A profound manner of writing or speaking, by which one can sense of the Light and consciousness in the words.<br /><br />• A feeling of force or <span style="font-style: italic;">shakti</span> in their presence, which is perceptible to and can even bring about an elevation of consciousness in sensitive observers (even if they are otherwise spiritually undeveloped)<br /><br />• By their own account, they have gone beyond the outer personality and realised a transcendent state of being or reality<br /><br />... If Intermediate Zone gurus were totally of ...[a negative] nature there would be no problem; they would be seen for the ugly pettiness of their egos, and no-one (except psychologically disturbed people and masochists) would be compelled to follow them. But the whole idea of the Intermediate zone is that it is immensely alluring, immensely attractive and powerful and potent.<br /><br />It takes a rare seeker not to be impressed or awed by the powerful charismatic spiritual qualities of Intermediate Zone individuals, and for this reason, if they are naive or susceptible, rationalise the abusive elements, as we have seen...<br /><br />The presence of blogs like "What Enlightenment?" which contain numerous allegations of abusive behaviour by Cohen towards his devotees, indicate that perhaps he does indeed think in that way. This is not to deny that he has had genuine experiences, as has Wilber, as described in his journals in <span style="font-style: italic;">One Taste</span>, but there is absolutely no shortage of such experiences that can be had in the Intermediate Zone.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1151953904904740712006-07-03T12:02:00.000-07:002006-12-21T01:36:52.766-08:00Intersubjective Fictions--Some Cohen Video ReviewsHere are some anonymous reviews of Andrew Cohen's latest web infomercial <a href="http://www.andrewcohen.org/notes/index.php?/weblog/blog/ee_action/"target=”_blank”>Creating the Future</a> culled from some emails we've seen and reproduced (completely without authorization). Many thanks to our astute readers!<br /><br /><blockquote>"it's like he's speaking another<br />language...they even transcibe every word, so we don't<br />miss these gems of wisdom...but I still don't know<br />exactly what the hell he's saying..."<br /><br />"I just watched the video. Painful to see so many former dear friends. I just felt like it was blah blah blah, the same blah blah blah for years and years. Like they're inside a sphere of mirrors reflecting back on themselves the same catchphrases and ideas, over and over again. I didn't find it attractive at all. It really seems more like a mind state now. You can get a buzz from that mind state…I know I did for years, but it doesn’t seem authentic or compelling to me anymore."<br /><br />"After watching this video, which made me want to puke, I think someone should stick their foot up this guy’s ass..... His rhetoric is so seductive, that’s the problem here; so you must continue to expose all his bullshit. What horseshit this guy is peddling. I feel sorry for the people who fall for it."<br /><br />"Wow, just looking at his wardrobe, I got kinda hot. Do the words really matter?<br />Put another way, the presentation is so slick it supersedes the content - a perfect metaphor for our times."<br /><br />"What a load of bollocks!"<br /><br />"Don't take this the wrong way but it's obvious to me that you're not allowing the intersubjective friction of consciousness to create the ecstatic compulsion necessary to create the future in a way that allows a greater uber reality to emerge in you. It's about intersubjectivity, dude. Let it in!"</blockquote><br /><br />What do you think?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1145241217767338272006-04-16T19:31:00.000-07:002006-10-20T15:08:14.116-07:00The Principles of Enslavement<b>by Dragan</b><br /><br /><i>[The following reflections are excerpted from a comment previously submitted by former Andrew Cohen student Dragan]</i><br /><br />How does Andrew do what he does? How is it that no one can tell that the emperor has no clothes?<br /><br />There are several principles that Andrew has become a master of, the principles that have been known and are still known to the brainwashing rulers of the ages past and present.<br /><br />First and most essential of all is the <b>principle of having willing victims.</b> Is there a need for enslavement services, so to speak? The need for the enslavement services is created by suppression of self-confidence (removing true independence), and by creation of fear. The willing victims, once they join, are further kept in line by intentionally created opposing forces, by using alternative punishment and reward, criticism and praise, by setting them against each other so much that those that were once brothers and sisters turn against each other. With constant frictions peace is destroyed, and ultimately, seemingly unbreakable dependence and inhuman isolation are created. <br /><br />The willing victims have to be brought into the New Fold. For this, there is <b>the principle of isolation.</b> Isolation from one’s Old Life, from one’s History, from family and friends (in the community people were kept away from their dying relatives!), isolation from one’s own common sense (you cannot tell black from white, but have to be told what is black, what is white). This is replaced by New Family and New Common Sense that is subjected to new ideology, often based on High Principles, usually running on the lines such as Brotherhood, Equality and Freedom, in Andrew’s case it was Truth and Freedom, that are all good in theory but in practice fail miserably. However for the purpose of the game they never fail, because their function is to enslave – the brighter the principle the darker the blind spots that it creates in its victims. <br /><br />Then, there is the <b>principle of unquestioned authority and rigid hierarchical top-down structure.</b> The power moves from the top down, only! The person on the top has to be an absolute despot, otherwise there is no real authority and no real obedience, at least according to the rules of this particular game. Each higher level within the structure has to rule the lower ones by the superior commitment and morality. The lower levels have a responsibility to admonish each other or report on each other to the higher levels, ensuring cheap and all-covering policing. <br /><br />The <b>principle of bottom-up economy</b> says that the wealth has to flow upward! An absolute ruler on the top has to exploit the slaves below him (Andrew’s students not only give thousands of dollars and pounds but they also give their time and energy worth hundreds of thousands of pounds!) For the ruler’s power to thrive, the richer he is, and the poorer the slaves are, the better.<br /><br />Then there is the <b>principle of secrecy.</b> While information about all of the activities in the structure, accurate or distorted, is programmed to reach the top of the pyramid, nothing of importance should leak downward. Ultimately, the top only knows the real purpose and the final destination. This ensures that power always remains where it should be, at the top. <br /><br />In this Set-Up, it’s <b>the principle that morality and responsibility are relative values, </b> subject to change according to the whim from the top. The end justifies the means. Trauma is used as a tool to create more obedient subjects, all in the name of better future. Fear (terror if need be) and guilt are applied as cohesive elements. Love and Joy are morsels to be fed to the obedient.<br /><br />Going hand in hand with <b>the principle of secrecy is the principle of rampant propaganda.</b> The truth is a commodity in the hands of a few – the top of the structure, the absolute despot(s), is the only possessor of the ultimate truth. The despot uses propaganda to invent New Words and New Meanings. Powerful old words, like “freedom”, “love” etc. are given New Meanings and are installed from the top down to rule over actions of the lower layers. The words become the goals. Through the power of propaganda and inverted meanings human values are turned upside down; blatant truths are shouted down as lies and vice versa, or the truth is given just a lip service. <br /><br />Then there is the <b>‘I’m god’ principle, or the principle of SUPREME CONFIDENCE.</b> The despot has to absolutely believe in himself. Everyone else has to treat the despot as if he was a god. The fear and unquestioning adulation is the most needed food for the ‘great one’ to carry on with his mission.<br /><br />What is the ultimate goal of the ‘great one’, Andrew in this case? Could it be true that he is after the evolution of mankind, as he claims? Or, on the larger scale, could it be that our governments only want us to prosper and grow into happy, proud and strong human beings, as they claim? The situation on the ground testifies that this is not so. It’s again precisely opposite, the ones on the top set things up so that <b>they</b> prosper while the others slave away for them, slaves that have sacrificed their precious freedom for the so called Greater Good.<br /><br />Dragan<br />solray@btopenworld.comUnknownnoreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1143580924874698002006-03-28T13:10:00.000-08:002006-10-25T10:40:47.986-07:00Some Common Misunderstandings of 'Two Truths Doctrine' in Nondual Philosophies that May Impede Recognition and Discussion of Painful Situations<strong>by Anonymous</strong><br /><br /><em>[Note from The Editors: The following remarkably lucid (and scholarly) article was originally posted as a comment to the article </em><a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/02/vimala-thakars-concealed-criticism-and.html">Vimala Thakar’s Concealed Criticism and Andrew Cohen’s Treatment of Women—The Investigation Continues</a>.<em> We thought it might be good at this juncture to quiet the dogs of war, take a deep breath and consider its clarifying wisdom on the relationship between experiences of the absolute and conduct in the relative--often a tricky and confusing matter.]</em><br /><br />1) From a lettery by Tim Conway<br /><br />http://users.snowcrest.net/sunrise/Dv-tim1.htm<br /><br />“…the greatest sages of India have long cautioned that enlightened spiritual vision must function on two levels:<br /><br />the absolute level of (paramarthika satyam) <br />the conventional, "relatively real" level of truth (vyavaharika satyam). <br /><br />(Note: In Buddhadharma this is known as 'Two Truths Doctrine' and an interested reader can find an article about it on Wikipedia)<br /><br />Conway writes: 'Thus, the sages, when speaking from the absolute level of parlance, say that, indeed, everything is Divine, all is Brahman, nothing is wrong (in fact, no-thing is really happening!), it's all the perfect leela of the One. <br /><br />‘But, on the relative or conventional level, the level of earthly conduct, these sages strongly uphold the Dharma of righteous action, ahimsa, purity, and so forth. <br /><br />'Such sages thus say that, in the absolute view, everything is okay, but on the relative level they are quite adamant that certain behaviors are wrong, sinful, or just inappropriate and should be stopped. <br /><br />‘For devotees of the Lord to sit back and just say that "everything is divine," which is certainly true on the absolute level, but then do nothing about evils and injustices that occur within the dream of earthly life because "it is all divine" --is a terrible avoidance of basic duty on behalf of Dharma. With this apathy and flawed attitude, none of the great evils of history would have ever been resisted and overcome.<br /><br />"…one can in fact see everything as Divine leela, but still be quite active in an engaged spirituality on behalf of socio-economic justice issues. (unquote)<br /><br />(from the article by Renard entitled ‘A Hot Potato’) http://www.advaya.nl/<br /><br />2) “I still like the expression ‘Advaita Shuffle’ for what I mean here. It points to secretly (or unconsciously) removing a subject that is experienced as threatening or uneasy to a level where that uneasy matter has ‘dissolved’; in other words dissolved into the very substance it consists of indeed: Consciousness itself, pure Knowing.<br /><br />‘A smuggletrick is used in order not to be accountable as an individual (because ‘the individual’ is seen as unreal). And that accountability is precisely what this is all about.<br /><br />“What actually is accountability? <br /><br />”It means being open to the reality of all levels, no matter how temporal and relative, and being ready to resonate with those levels. It also means a readiness to listen to comments or observations that may refer to a specific attitude which could be a blind spot for us. <br /><br />“Even though one has seen and ‘experienced’ deeply that one is nothing else but undifferentiated, homogeneous Consciousness, one still is, when relating to people, a visual and behaving figure who could be mistaken sometimes. And nothing or no one is getting any benefit from hiding behind ‘Consciousness’ when one is mistaken. (Unquote)<br /><br />3) Over forty years ago, Sanskrit scholar Aghendanda Bharati, an Austrian born Sanyassi monk in India, tartly described a abuse of two truths doctrine-- used by some Indian scripture scholars or religious professionals when they wanted to avoid admitting that they had lost an argument because their logic was flawed or their understanding or use of textual material had been faulty. <br /><br />Bharati reported, ”I learned the stereotypical method of rebuttal common to all traditions of religious doctrine in India: The moment discursive thought (that is, thought that is based on reaching a conclusion through use of reason and verifiable /falsifiable evidence) would jeopardize the axiomatic perfection of the text, the critic is given a simple line: <br /><br />‘Your argument may be intellectually valid but what of it? Only those who have seen the light can see the consistency of the text. Only those who have experienced the truth from within can see that intellectual argument is of no avail in the end.’ <br /><br />"This would hardly be objectionable were the atmosphere among Indian scholastics purely non-discursive. <br /><br />‘But’ wrote Bharati ‘this is not true: the theologians avail themselves of refined scholastic argument all the time, but they jettison all of it the moment their axioms are impugned.’ <br /><br />(Bharati, from his memoir The Ochre Robe pages 132 to 133) <br />The confusion of different levels of reality listed by Tim Conway can be the product of an innocent misunderstanding — a misunderstanding that seems common on the spiritual path and that frequently goes uncorrected. <br /><br />The distortions of two truths doctrine described by Renard as a ‘smuggletrick’ and a 'steoreotypical method of rebuttal' by Bharati are harder to identify and correct. <br /><br />Confrontation is often frowned on in spiritual communities, with the result that problems go undiscussed and uncorrected. <br /><br />It is also quite difficult to identify and rebut this kind of argumentation when one is under severe stress--- often the case when one is undergoing the ordeal of discovering that a beloved spiritual community or teacher has become hurtful.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1143395769301821472006-03-26T09:53:00.000-08:002006-07-20T15:16:17.070-07:00A Call To Action And A Letter To Bill O’Reilly<strong>P.O.’ed Old Man Leads The Way</strong><br /><br />Recently, a new contributor to What Enlightenment??! has been leading a rousing call to action against the authoritarian abuse and exploitation of followers by self-styled "guru" Andrew Cohen. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/20262408"target=”_blank”>P.O.'ed Old Man</a> explained that he is the grandfather of a victim of Cohen's manipulation and abuse. PO'ed felt most of us were making a mistake--we shouldn't just get mad, we should <em>do</em> something about it:<br /><blockquote>My grand daughter spent 5 years with Andrew and she never spoke a word to me during that time. I read some of his stuff and I think you folks miss the point , there is a lot of fancy language around what he says but he seems to me to be simply a fraud who takes advantage of people. My grand daughter now visits me all the time, she’s not very well, though. Andrew took a beautiful women and turned her into a fearful depressed person, it’s like he sucked the spirit out of her and left only a confused shell.<br /><br />I appreciate all of your contributions I have read them all it makes me sad to see what’s happened to my grand daughter, really sad that a life has been so destroyed by someone she chose to put trust in. I hope one day someone finds a way of stopping him. </blockquote><br />P.O.'ed suggested in another comment going after Cohen's "Achilles heel"—his financial exploitation of followers. He explained he would do it himself, but for his advanced age:<br /><blockquote>These kinds of cults always have a shadow side. Some of this shadow is exposed through this blog, I am sure there are more lies and deceit below the surface. People who act like this are usually projecting some hidden truths. My bet is that his financial model is very tightly controlled. No one really knows what’s happening except for a few (probably outside the community), these accountants and lawyers would have created not for profit trusts that are under the control of Andrew, these trusts are the then siphoned by way of special charges for consultancy , dubious outside services .My grand daughter was continuously asked for money, she gave over some $28,000 in the last 2 years. <br /><br />The focus on financial donation I believe shows his weakness. I believe an IRS audit and exposure of how his multi million dollar empire is run would go a long way toward bringing his evil empire down.<br /><br />If I was younger I would do it myself. </blockquote><br />In further posted comments, P.O.'ed got quite specific in his recommendations for how former Cohen followers could empower themselves and stop further abuse by Cohen, suggesting the questions that should be asked, and a course of action to get an investigation started:<br /><blockquote>Does he for instance draw down as a cost of providing leadership services?<br />Does he pay his wife a wage?<br />Are the charges that make up the costs reasonable expenses?<br />Are assets sold to third parties for below market rates ?<br />Are assets bought from third parties at above market rates?<br />Who are the directors of the non profit trust ? What are their fees for such services? <br />The laws and compliance issues around not for profits require substantial paperwork and compliance to federal laws, from what I have told he seems to have an obsession with money so I wouldn’t be surprised that this might be the key to his undoing. <br /><br />all you need is a tenacious accountant most of the stuff you need can be found on the public record.<br /><br />There are other things you could find out as well. there maybe directors who are also benefit from his favor at the magazine. These directors could be targeted (for instance the spiral dynamics guy). If I was younger I would do it myself.<br /><br />I have some experience here and I find it odd that he qualifies under the federal laws required for non profits, in fact I would be amazed if he did. If doesn’t provide any community services of any substance. the fact that he writes books hardly qualifies him under federal law nor does running a commune.<br /><br />So I would be interested in any comments that specifically outline the structure of his organization and financial affairs. I have read back through here and apart from the summary liabilities, income and assets I have not detected a lot of depth in understanding in these issues by the ex members.<br /><br />Does he keep these issues separate?<br /><br />Does he employ outsiders in order to quarantine knowledge of these issues from members?<br /><br />If it’s all been explored before fair enough, my apologies </blockquote><br />And:<br /><blockquote>I think you should all petition the IRS to ask for a full investigation of the activities and accounts of the organization<br /><br />IRS at 1-800-829-0433<br /><br />I think you should also contact the Congressman John Oliver and alert them to this website and request an investigation.<br /><br />http://www.house.gov/olver/welcome.html<br /><br />Those of you who have more serious cases of abuse should take the time make a sworn statement to accompany a personal letter to Congressman Oliver.<br /><br />You should also send sworn statements to Senator John Kerry and Edward Kennedy<br /><br />Folks this is America believe in the system, believe in your cause and make the effort. I will have my granddaughter to do the same.<br /><br />Hal, I would also suggest you print this blog with accompanying financial statements and send to every news organization in the country requesting and investigation .<br /><br />Cohen’s story would make very good press as he is living like a billionaire. The mansions, international travel and cars make good press. 60 minutes would make him look like the greedy cruel man you have all found him to be.<br /><br />Only then will many of you get the peace that you deserve.</blockquote><br />To make it easy for anyone who wants to take P.O.'ed up on his call to action, in a subsequent posted comment, he provided us with more numbers to call:<br /><blockquote>Call the IRS today and request they investigate EnlightenNext Inc for fraud at 1-800-829-0433. <br /><br />Call Congressman John Oliver 202-225-5335 and request he investigate the non profit status on Enlightennext Inc and the fraudulent practices of self proclaimed guru Andrew Cohen. </blockquote><br />But, despite his age, P.O.'ed isn't stopping there. Showing the fortitude, tenacity and just plain guts that must have helped this vet get through many tough scrapes before in his long life—and calling to mind the "we're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore" attitude that it takes to stop a shameless manipulator and abuser like Cohen, now P.O.'ed has written to Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, calling for Cohen's harmful antics to be publicized and the public warned by putting him on O'Reilly's "No Spin Zone." <br /><br />P.O.'ed is an example to all of us of how not to lie down for abusers and exploiters like Cohen, but get up and do something about them. His letter to O'Reilly, which he copied to us and asked me to post, is reproduced below:<br /><br /><strong>Letter To Bill O'Reilly</strong><br /><strong>by P.O.'ed Old Man</strong><br /><br />Dear Bill,<br /><br />I am 81 year old retired war vet I enjoy your show and watch it every day .<br /><br />About 9 years ago my grand daughter joined a cult run by self styled guru Andrew Cohen. During the time she was in the cult she never spoke to myself or her parents. About 4 years ago she eventually realized that the leader was a manipulative and abusive person and left. When she tried to leave she was subject to harassment and physical abuse. Since then she has tried to take her own life but the worst seems to be over. Her doctor attributes her bipolar disorder to the shocking abuse she received directly at the hands of Andrew Cohen.<br /><br />My granddaughter is not alone. Literally hundreds of people have suffered a the hands of this so called guru. A victim’s site called What Enlightenment??! can be found at this URL:<br /> http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com<br /><br />and here<br />http://essentialwhatenlightenment.blogspot.com<br /><br />Please read the stories of these people carefully and you will see a deplorable pattern of abuse that literally goes back 2 decades. Even his mother wrote a damning book on the her son:<br />http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570270430/104-7246142-2626303?v=glance&n=283155<br /><br />and there have been many other books from ex cult members. You can find a good summary of his history here:<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Cohen<br /><br />Cohen travels the world, drives luxury cars and lives on a 220 acre estate in Lenox, MA, all under the umbrella of a non profit organization called Enlightennext Inc. I have provided links to this cult leader’s financial returns below. This guru pays himself exorbitant wages and director’s fees while his followers (volunteers) get paid nothing. This man is laughing at America, he is destroying people’s lives and dodges taxes by abusing the purpose of his non profit tax structure.<br /><br />Bill, I fought for America and this isn’t the America I fought for and its not the America many of my fallen friends fought to protect. This guy is laughing at us all!<br /><br />Please do an old man a favor and put this guy in the “No Spin” zone for me.<br /><br />This guy needs to be stopped and the laws need to be changed so people cannot abuse the non profit protection designed to protect bono fide charities. I am getting a little old to take part but I am sure you can find plenty of ex cult members. I have asked the ones who would like to provide information to email you directly. I think seeing justice done would help my granddaughter heal. Thanks in advance. Put the bastard on full cycle and spin him good.<br /><br />ENLIGHTENNEXT INC<br />P.O. Box 2360<br />Lenox, MA 01240<br />Mission<br />SPIRITUAL TEACHING AND COUNSELING.<br />Programs<br />TO PROVIDE SPIRITUAL SEMINARS, PUBLICATIONS AND COUNSELING.<br /><br />2004<br /><a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2004/222/951/2004-222951275-01ea651a-9.pdf"target=”_blank”>2004 Guidestar Financial Docs</a><br /><br />2003<br /><a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2003/222/951/2003-222951275-1-9.pdf"target=”_blank”>2003 Guidestar Financial Docs</a><br /><br />2002<br /><a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2002/222/951/2002-222951275-1-9.pdf"target=”_blank”>2002 Guidestar Financial Docs</a><br /><br />The following are links to the UK financial reports<br />http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/ScannedAccounts%5CEnds01%5C0001050701_ac_20041231_001_01_e_c.pdf<br /><br /><br />http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/ScannedAccounts%5CEnds01%5C0001050701_AC_20031231_001_01_E_C.pdf<br /><br /><br />http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/showcharity.asp?remchar=&chyno=1050701<br /><br />CC Hal please copy this to the site minus my email address and identification details . I want everyone who wants to participate to email Bill O’Reilly asap. I feel comfortable the Bill will pick this up and run with it and even if he doesn’t somebody at Fox will. I want to put this guy behind bars where he belongs.Halhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06673589586433735208noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1142445166248116002006-03-15T09:45:00.000-08:002006-12-01T11:08:54.613-08:00A Remarkable Consistencyby Aaron<br />(Blogger name <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/18537892"target=”_blank”>gniz</a>)<br /><br />I have read a great deal about the Cohen situation, whether it be the books that are available, WIE magazine itself, blogs on Cohen’s website, and the reports on this blog. There is REMARKABLE consistency in the stories that are recounted about the behavior of this group. If there were a trial, I believe there is simply overwhelming circumstantial evidence as to what has occurred on Cohen’s watch.<br /><br />The similarity of language used by people who are in the fold of Andrew’s group is just astounding. Using those buzzwords (evolution, conditioning, shedding of the ego, the impersonality of enlightenment). It seems to me that anyone using just a bit of discrimination can see that this is a sham. I am sorry to say it that way, to perhaps belittle what is so important to many people in this forum.<br /> <br />Andrew’s new phase seems to be that he is now stating that groups of students are enlightened, but only through their “group mind communication” and only under his direction. Notice his pattern is to make sure that he is the driving force behind everything and that nothing can continue without his help. If he claimed that “individual students” were enlightened, then they could potentially break away and threaten his reign.<br /><br />But this way he gets to have his cake and eat it too. By proclaiming this new version of enlightenment through group communication, he gets to claim victory (like Bush in Iraq) without actually letting anyone move on and become adults. He is still big Daddy, responsible for making sure that people attain this supposed state.<br /><br />What is this big evolution that everyone keeps talking about? Sorry, but it sounds like vague New Age bullshit to me. Being conscious of the moment, being present to my life is the only thing that seems sane to me. I don’t need Andrew Cohen or anyone else to do that. I could sit in a 6 foot by 6 foot box and be present. I can do it while I shop for groceries.<br /><br />The ultimate egotism, it seems to me, is to claim that humans, and particularly this group of humans, are the standard bearers of conscious “evolution” of the universe. Give me a break. It’s just life. Pay attention.<br /><br />Buy your groceries. Watch a movie. Pay attention. Simple.<br />No need for dumb gurus.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Aaron<br /><br />BTW, I actually have a guru and teacher. He lives miles away, doesn’t expect worship or money and doesn’t tell me how to live my life.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1139950746151772622006-02-14T12:45:00.000-08:002006-11-13T11:17:02.426-08:00Vimala Thakar’s Concealed Criticism and Andrew Cohen’s Treatment of Women—The Investigation ContinuesRecently, a comment to an article posted on <em>What Enlightenment??! </em>revealed some very shocking news that few of us who are or were involved with Andrew Cohen knew—Andrew Cohen’s claims that female Indian sage Vimala Thakar supported his harsh treatment of the women in his community—in the name of breaking through “women’s conditioning”—were false. In fact, Vimala strongly criticized Andrew's treatment of the community women in a letter he kept secret from most community members.<br /><br />Most readers know of <a href="http://www.prahlad.org/gallery/vimala_thakar.htm"target=”_blank”> Vimala Thakar </a>, a very inspiring and impressive woman spiritual teacher who became realized after meeting J. Krishnamurti. She and Andrew communicated, she gave an interview to <em>What Is Enlightenment? </em>magazine, and Vimala initially appeared to support Andrew’s exploration of “women’s conditioning.” But her support changed to strong disapproval after she met with Andrew and some of his women students after the 1998 Cohen Rishikesh retreat—the retreat that has been discussed on this blog as a milestone in Cohen’s increasing abuse of female students. Andrew has kept, and continues to keep, Vimala Thakar’s strong criticism of his methods secret from most of the community, misleading the women victims of his abuse into believing that Andrew’s ideas and methods have Vimala’s tacit approval. <br /><br />The shocking news of Vimala Thakar’s strong criticism of Andrew’s treatment of his women was revealed to us by former close “senior” student Stas, in a comment he made to the article on this blog by Wendyl, <a href=" http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/02/travesty-of-enlightenmentwendyls-story.html "target=”_blank”> A Travesty of “Enlightenment”—Wendyl’s Story</a>. Stas wrote:<br /><br /><blockquote>Hi Wendyl. I’m happy to hear you’re doing well. Thank you very much for sharing your experience so fully, clearly and heartfully. I remember the meetings in India you mentioned with Vimala Thakar and Andrew’s “formal” women students. She impressed me too as a deeply awakened, wise and humble soul. It also made me recollect that in the months that followed that visit, Andrew corresponded with Vimala to let her know what was happening with the women. I remember he sent her a letter claiming that although it had been tough going, a “breakthrough” had occurred for the first time with his female students – this of course, was all because of his tireless efforts (sound familiar?). However, he received no response from her. So again he wrote her, this time with more vehemence. It seemed important for Andrew to have Vimala's acknowlegement of this achievement. Well, Vimala did finally write back, but it was a letter that in the end Andrew only showed to a few people. In it, <strong>Vimala told him in no uncertain terms that she thought he was totally off the mark in how he was dealing with his women students, and that she did not support what he was doing because he was harming, not helping them. </strong>Andrew of course was outraged by this criticism, and dismissed her opinion outright.</blockquote><br />Another former close student of Andrew has confirmed to me that Andrew once mentioned to her that Vimala Thakar had written him a critical letter about his treatment of the women, although he made it sound as if her criticisms were relatively mild. He did not show her the letter. Andrew blamed the women who met with Vimala for Vimala’s disapproval. My source, one of the women who met with Vimala after the 1998 Rishikesh retreat, described herself and the other women at that meeting as emotionally “crushed” and like “the walking dead.” She painfully blamed herself—at Cohen’s behest—for Vimala’s disapproval of what Cohen was doing. <br /><br />Since the publication of Mario’s article <a href=" http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/01/not-forgotten-story-of-caroline.html "target=”_blank”> Not Forgotten—The Story of Caroline Franklyn </a> a new level of discussion about abuse in the Andrew Cohen community has ensued on this blog, with more former students contributing to the investigation of this serious matter. This discussion resulted in Wendyl’s last article, an outpouring of her heart entitled <a href=" http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/02/travesty-of-enlightenmentwendyls-story.html "target=”_blank”> A Travesty of “Enlightenment”—Wendyl’s Story</a>, and continued in full force in its comments. The revelation of Vimala’s criticism of Andrew’s treatment of women and Andrew’s concealment of this fact heightened the intensity of the discussion even more. In the article below, Wendyl responds to some of the strong and incisive comments to her article. <br /><br /><br /><strong>Wendyl Responds To Comments About "Wendyl's Story"</strong><br /><br />Dear Friends,<br />I am writing in again to comment on some of the above posts and to add some additional insights I have into the situation with Cohen. Mario, Stas, Karen, Dragan, Heather, Hal those of you who were deeply impacted by the abuse of the women (and men) and commented on it. Let’s keep this issue of women’s conditioning alive here as I think it is essential that we women (and men) share more of our experiences of and insights into this “serial abuse”(right on, Mario).<br /><br />The post by Stas was a shock and the impact of the secrecy a tragedy. A shock because of Cohen deliberately concealing Vimala’s response, not a shock that Vimala would respond this way, as I felt in my heart all along that she would not condone this monstrous behavior. A tragedy because if women had known about this all along things might have been very different for Cohen and the community (which is why he covered it up, or mentioned it to very few).<br /><br />First of all I have to say that I doubt Cohen’s “spiritual” world view – for both men and women - could ever come to anything except “no good” and I will tell you why. A messianic driven world view creates an enemy and delusions of perfection. We were following a man with a mission. Stas comments aptly in his valuable and revealing article (See <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/01/either-im-crazyor.html"><span style="font-style:italic;">Either I’m crazy…or…</span></a> from Jan 11th) “It is exactly this grandiose position that <span style="font-style:italic;">is</span> Andrew’s madness”. Then we have MeroSathi’s brilliant insights into the machinations of Cohen’s and the community’s behavior. At the same time I think her/his? comments here are revealing: “This was no ordinary environment and its many benefits gave us impetus to step apart from and de-prioritize so many of our other relationships, which we now saw as driven by the “status quo” mentality, one that did not support love, intimacy and bold honesty which we seemed to be sharing. It was Andrew’s revolution……….” And we were different,” cutting edge”, and this difference made us and what we were doing more important than all the other “status quo” folks. Merosathi writes from a perspective that something went wrong at some point. To me, nothing WENT wrong. It could never go right as we were a group with a leader on a mission. And this justifies a lot of appalling behaviors especially when over time it doesn’t appear to be working. We just have to look at the history of the world to look at what kinds of outcomes transpire for groups with missions, especially missions to purify peoples. <br /><br />Here is a man with a mission who legitimizes himself through the marketing vehicle of the WIE magazine, sponsoring conferences etc. He gets the “Good Housekeeping stamp of approval” from other prominent folks who have never lived under his bizarre reign– Beck, Wilbur and indirectly by association with those who are willing to be interviewed. I ask ALL of us who have been involved with Cohen, when we joined onto this revolution what exactly were we thinking? What were our motives? As I said earlier, I could see for myself that there was something that resonated for me in the “We’re doing it. We are an elite group who will change the world. We are more advanced, more evolutionary, the chosen disciples”. It wasn’t so obvious to me in the beginning as this was all mixed together with expansive “spiritual” experiences. I say this can never go right and I think we were all starving from the inhumanity and isolation of it all. For me, there is no “spiritual” life separate from Life itself. You live what you realize. And you don’t need to search further than what is in front of you face to realize and manifest your humanity.<br /><br />Mario, you are probably right about Cohen’s relationship with his mother, as his brutal focus on women’s sub humanity seemed to start up when Luna revealed to him she was going to finish writing and publish “<span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.themotherofgod.com/">Mother of God</a></span>”. I agree with Hal that Andrew also did not like women’s brand of imperfection. Karen (thank you!)…..You got the man with the mission, turning his “pure” gaze upon the plight of the world’s women, who are subhuman and manipulative etc and what do you get? Walking behind the men, not speaking until spoken to, leaden self-doubt, physical and emotional abuse, and silence. Hey, this is natural for us women. This is in our genetic memory from millennia of brutality, second in line, rape, beatings, ostracism. And there are millions of women on this planet still suffering hugely – physically, emotionally, psychologically – from our treatment at the hands of those fixing their “pure” gaze upon us. I agree with Karen - “all I can see is that what’s happened to us as women in the community is proof that 40 years of women’s lib are not enough to change a psyche that has gotten used to be abused for millennia.” I have to say that I, like Karen, saw the writing on the wall early on in Cohen’s pogroms against women but in the early days our gaze was still on the loving, compassionate insights of Vimala into those aspects of growing up female that made it difficult for women to deeply relax in life. There was still something that did not seem to harshly single out women as the main perpetrators of evil. There seemed to be something still positive in the very beginning. So, I gave Cohen the benefit of the doubt, for awhile, a very short while. Unlike Cohen’s eventual assessment, Vimala never implied that women were innately evil. More about evil, see Stas’s shocking article <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/01/either-im-crazyor.html">Either I’m Crazy…or…</a></span>)<br /><br />What was painful was that we women were all in cult persona, driven by approval by Cohen. I don’t think we ever really got to be relaxed with one another. You can still see that drive in the sickening, self-preoccupied, bold claims of Women on the Verge (Thanks Karen for the link) - sickening to see that Cohen’s women are still preoccupied with and writing about the same old cult speak, loaded language we were writing about 8 – 10 years ago. “We’re doin’ it. We’re doin’ it. Look Daddy, you were right. Oh, beloved Daddy, thanks for abusing us for so long so we could come to this transcendent collective hallucination!” What Cohen has succeeded in doing is silencing, making still, imprisoning potential for great contribution to life by a group of women who are so preoccupied with their messiah’s concept of “the perfect woman”, and the subsequent drama that continues because of this. Life passes them by. It is a vacuum. The vacuum publishes a slick, topical magazine to draw in more recruits. And the vacuum implodes day by day. I say, Women! Wake Up! leave the monster while you can and find something positive to do that will really help your brothers and sisters. Sisters! Let’s meet up again in a spirit of beautiful positivity.<br /><br />Thank you, Heather, I am with you! So beautiful: “….real Masters and Spiritual Teachers know better than to take power from another. Their Soul purpose is not to interfere but to be an example of human potentiality. Their example is their compassion.”<br /><br />With much love,<br /><br />Wendyl <br />wendylbali@yahoo.comHalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06673589586433735208noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1138906350213750082006-02-02T10:38:00.000-08:002006-02-18T23:22:46.596-08:00A Travesty of “Enlightenment”—Wendyl’s Story<b>A Response to <a href="http://whatenlightenment.blogspot.com/2006/01/not-forgotten-story-of-caroline.html"target=”_blank”><i>The Story of Caroline Franklyn </i></a></b><br /><br />By Wendyl<br /><br /><i>[Wendyl was a formal student in Andrew Cohen’s community. In her words, “I was so blown apart by Mario’s story about Caroline, these words just flowed from me.” She sent this article by e-mail.]</i><br /><br /><br />I lived as a formal student in the US community in California and Foxhollow from 1994 to 1998. My heart ached in reading Mario’s story of what happened to Caroline, whom I knew only from a couple of retreats. Mario’s sensitive and painful rendering also opened deeply an old wound in me. I feel I have to write about my own experience to let potential devotees know that these stories you read about on this blog are not rare, isolated cases. Mario, like Susan, Stas, Hal and others, shows what it is really like to be in the middle to upper echelons of the hierarchy around Cohen and what can happen to your spirit. There was something in the story of Caroline, like others have already said, that disturbed me in a way nothing before on this blog has done, like a dentist drilling and drilling an extremely sensitive tooth and finally hitting a nerve…..maybe because of the cruel tragedy around Caroline’s death. If one multiplies this aggression and bullying of a spirit by a thousand or more, one will get an idea of what goes on behind the scenes of the bright, cheery, interested faces presented to newcomers at the centers, on the Cohen website and behind the scenes of Cohen’s self-aggrandizing, self-promoting marketing vehicle called What is Enlightenment? Magazine. <br /><br />I was in the 1998 India retreat that Mario mentioned “was the first indication for what was to come for Caroline” when Cohen unleashed his “vitriolic attack on formal women students.” When he “accused [us] of being insufficiently devoted to him, manipulative, untrustworthy and therefore in need of deep and complete inner change”. We were also subhuman, lesser than men – in fact we had to be subservient to the men, walk behind them, and not talk to them. The 1998 retreat in Rishikesh was a travesty. Cohen—a self-proclaimed savior of women, in fact according to him the ONLY spiritual teacher in the history of humankind that ever cared about the enlightenment of women—was relentless with his attacks and aggression. We, 40 or 50 formal women who were cramped into about a 150 sq. foot cinderblock cell of an ashram room maybe 50 meters from the holy Ganges, were like deer caught in the headlights, competing for hasty solutions to the attacks, looking for the key to overcome or transcend or see through our subhumaness. Day after day we had fresh bullying from Cohen himself or via the “senior” students—the same Steve Brett who in Cohen’s honor broke Caroline; and we also had Debbie, Michelle, and Chris Parish among others—all sent by Cohen to batter and break us, to make us so terrified and crazy we would become “free.” It was disgusting and pathetic and had no positive results. When has this kind of aggression ever had results except in torture tactics to gain information?<br /><br />Why did I stay? I can say that my already fragile spirit for Cohen and what he had to offer broke completely at that retreat. I thought the whole thing was so spiritually deadly and appalling, but I didn’t know what to do about it. I just went mute. In those days with Cohen in India and afterwards I witnessed and participated in such collective hallucinations induced by him and his puppets—harsh words—terror—then possible solution—then euphoria—all of it washing over us like a drug stupor. We were all insane. When you are so self-preoccupied for so long and so intensely with your womanly “badness” your vision becomes so inverted and leaden. No light shines in you and you become numb and blind. Some, like the senior students and those formal students who rose to the top, got good at parroting Cohen’s techniques; others didn’t have the stomach for it.<br /><br />At the end of that retreat (and in fact this retreat was the apex of an entire year or two of bullying the women with their badness), Cohen went with a group of women to meet Vimala Thakar, who is the spiritual heir to J. Krishnamurti, in Mt Abu in Rajasthan. She is a very beautiful, generous and wise soul who had been featured in an interview in WIE magazine at the beginning of Cohen’s preoccupation with “women’s conditioning.” The women were so self-conscious and flattened after a year or two of intense self-preoccupation with how “bad” women are, and this travesty of a “retreat,” they could barely speak with Vimala. It was just one year earlier, before the women became such “pariahs” in the community, that I had gone with two other “formal” women to meet Vimala and had two beautiful, open, simple and profound meetings with her. In Cohen’s “meeting” everything centered on what was “wrong” with women, all the women being under Cohen’s watchful eye. And of course after this pathetic encounter the women were harshly criticized. I say, what do you expect? <br /><br />We “formal” women paid for our “sins” of being less than human by each being required to pay $750 to Cohen for a Meditation Hall, a hardship for many, and just another insane, desperate idea put forth by one of the women at the end of the retreat and jumped upon in the euphoric promise of possible solution to future attacks. Desperate and insane—just like the woman who suggested that all the women prostrate in a freezing lake in Foxhollow! There were scores and scores of insane ideas coming out of our leaden, inverted, compressed spirits…….<br /><br />“You can die a miserable old woman,” like Steve Brett (almost certainly at Cohen’s behest) said to Caroline, or you can prostrate for hours each morning to Cohen’s picture because you are so miserably inhuman. I ask: WHO is inhuman? As Mario stated, we women were “in for it.” After this retreat we continued endless hours of women’s meetings which were unbearable, as they were poisonous forums for bullying, aggression and self fixation. Any truly transcendent moments—and there were some transcendent moments—were quickly battered and beaten out of recognition—too positive and uplifting (and therefore unreal) in a time of preoccupation with darkness and negativity. We were always paying for our “sins” by “contributing” money to buy Cohen expensive clothes, floral bouquets, whatever, staying up all night writing flowery and sickening apologies to Cohen and his chief puppets for one “transgression” after another, for how awful, inhuman we women were and how grateful we were for their “wisdom.” And we were insane and became more and more insane with this treatment. I am not saying that we women did not have deep conditioning to explore. But Cohen’s methodology is sadistic and had deeply sickened our spirits. WHO, I ask, is insane?<br /><br />Why did I stay? Why did I choose this? Due to community demands, I had by that time (after 4 years in the community and 6 months before I left) cut myself off from friends, family, work possibilities; I was broke, and I doubted myself profoundly and was in a mild stupor most of the time from lack of sleep. It was only a matter of time before I was demoted as my heart had long since fled. Like Caroline I was given cruel and nasty messages from Cohen. And I too was accused by other women of things I never did. I was lucky because when I was demoted I did not have the $2000 required by Cohen to buy my way back into the “formal” students. <br /><br />When you are demoted it becomes a free-for-all. Every Mary, Debbie and Cathy watches you like hawks and vultures; they shun you but also take every opportunity to peck at you, to give you their “opinion” about your behavior, also known as “feedback”. What a horror show in the name of Truth and Freedom. What a dishonor to the words in Enlightenment is a Secret that resonated deep in my heart and experience and made my spirit soar in the early 1990’s when I first read them. I was so dispirited in my last months that when I finally escaped in late 1998 I was in a state of deep traumatic stress for months afterwards. I would wake up every night in terror, with panic attacks and my thoughts were often on suicide. When I left Foxhollow to be “in hell” (according to Cohen) with my family, with the “them” not the “us.” I was humbled by how beautiful and generous my family was/is, how gracious and kind.<br /><br />What makes one student resilient in spite of the severe beating of the spirit “for its own good”? And another student succumb to thoughts of suicide? I have asked myself this many times. Maybe it cannot be answered. My heart aches at the tragic situation with Caroline and her family. We can euphemistically call Cohen’s behavior “lack of skillfulness” or “crazy wisdom” or just simply and transparently call it sadism and potentially deadly terror tactics, in some arenas called “torture.” A woman who had been in the US community wrote in response to Mario’s story “I have no doubt that Andrew had no intention to cause this kind of harm to Caroline.” I don’t believe this. His intention is to break people. <br /><br />So this time with Cohen was “crazed deviation” (thank you, MeroSanthi) but it showed me there had to be something in me that resonated with Cohen’s “them and us” mentality, the “cutting edge” spiritual superiority, and narcissism. And these “concepts” I have left behind in the years since leaving Foxhollow. There is nothing unusual about my experience. The whole thing is so much bigger than Cohen and many have written about this whole phenomenon. When I left, I read everything I could find which explored this kind of group/guru/authority phenomenon. Why do many of us choose these situations, whether in ashrams or corporations or any other group situation? There are a number of books out there which explain cult behavior, many of them already mentioned on this blog. There are psychologists, like <a href=" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lifton "target=”_blank”>Robert J. Lifton</a> who delve deeply into Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and the psychology of traumatized peoples. Other books like <i>Prophetic Charisma</i>, <i>The Guru Papers,</i> <a href="http://www.strippingthegurus.com" target="_blank">Stripping the Gurus</a> and many more explore the actual phenomenon of charismatic figures, authoritarianism etc. I am certain from my own recent experiences that the authoritarian/dominating paradigm is an anachronism. Many of us are finding other ways to experience and express our unity and oneness with our brothers and sisters.<br /><br />When I look at the beautiful sanity and simplicity of my life now I can hardly believe how insane and sick I became in the Cohen community. Living for the last 5 years in Bali, I have moved out of my head and into my heart. After the terrorist bombings here in October 2002, I started some sustainable economic development projects—sewing and agriculture—in a poor mountain village with my close Balinese woman friend, Jero, who is from the village and is a traditional healer and Hindu priest. I fell in love with an amazing group of young people who are a wellspring of positivity, and moved by this love found that I wanted to help them find ways to support themselves, so they could help their families—bring some money in to pay for health care, schooling and food. They have been a force of inspiration and change for their whole village. What an amazing and rich adventure. Every day opportunities and challenges teach me and move me. I meet and work with many who are simple, humble forces of goodness, kindness, generosity and deep wisdom from this little village and from many countries.<br /><br />Thank you very much, Hal, for this forum. Susan, Stas, Mario, Roberta, Richard, Smadar and all my “anonymous” friends……….<br /><br />My love to you all.<br /><br />Wendyl<br /><br /><a href="mailto:wendylbali@yahoo.com"> wendylbali@yahoo.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775078.post-1137688406634042972006-01-19T08:19:00.000-08:002006-12-19T20:46:17.316-08:00Not Forgotten – The Story Of Caroline Franklynby Mario Puljiz<br /><br /><em>[Mario Puljiz was a formal student of Andrew Cohen, in his European community, from 1995-2000. He was a friend of Caroline Franklyn.]</em><br /><br />Caroline Franklyn was in her late seventies at the time of her death and, having been of delicate health for some time, it seemed of little surprise that despite her remarkable spirit she passed away in London just before Christmas 1999. Caroline was also Andrew Cohen’s most elderly formal student in the UK and had been his devoted disciple for the last seven years of her life. <br /><br />Caroline was no ordinary woman. Born in 1920 in the Austrian capital of Vienna, she married at 17 and moved to the then Czechoslovakian capital of Prague where she and her husband ran a perfumery on the main Wenceslas Square. After Czechoslovakia was annexed into the German Reich in early 1939, Caroline and her husband became two of the many Jewish refugees who sought safety and freedom in England. They were granted an entry and eventually settled in Hendon, North London. In 1945 Caroline gave birth to their daughter and she carried on working tirelessly with her husband, rebuilding their life in England. Besides bringing up her daughter, Caroline ran her own interior design business and alongside that she also nursed her ill husband for number of years before his death. Some time after his loss, Caroline learnt by chance about J. Krishnamurti. Through the writings and spoken words of the old master she began pursuing a deep and heartfelt spiritual interest and throughout the 70’s and early 80’s she regularly travelled to see him teach in England and abroad. Krishnaji was undoubtedly the source of tremendous spiritual inspiration for Caroline and someone who she greatly respected. <br /><br />A few years after Krishnamurti’s death in 1986 Caroline came across a young American teacher called Andrew Cohen and soon his passionate call to awaken ignited fire in her heart once more. When he formed his new community in London in the early ’90s Caroline became a member, and soon also one of Cohen’s first formal students in the UK. Caroline’s life was taking yet another unexpected but thrilling turn – now in her early seventies she had a new and inspiring spiritual teacher, she belonged to his close-knit community of students and, perhaps the most important of all, she again felt that tangible promise of waking up in this very life. <br /><br />Caroline dressed well and much younger than her age; she was bright, lively and warm hearted person who was unafraid of speaking her mind even when that meant going against the "party line" in Andrew Cohen’s community. While at times she undoubtedly got things wrong or was overconfident in her ways, she also rarely shied away from being herself, for better or worse. In a community where adopting uniform views on a range of issues - from matters spiritual to one’s taste in films and clothes - was of crucial importance, Caroline’s views were often different and therefore frequently considered unsuitable. Add to this the fact that Caroline, despite her spirit and vitality, was also an elderly person who could not always keep up with the busy and often exhausting lifestyle in the community, and you will get a picture of someone who was a bit different from the majority of Andrew Cohen’s students. <br /><br />Caroline’s sense of independence was most probably the legacy of her extraordinary life; to leave her home under life-threatening circumstances, move to a foreign country and start an altogether new life against the background of a world war she undoubtedly had to be both strong and determined. There was also her long and profound connection with Krishnamurti, who taught the necessity of independence from religious organizations as they inevitably grow to be an obstacle to one’s freedom instead of, as they tend to claim, the entrance gates of it. Caroline never physically moved into Cohen’s community and carried on living in her townhouse in the leafy London suburb of Richmond. She was therefore in many ways out of the reach of the long dictating arm of the community on a day-to-day basis. This also enabled her to regularly see and be in touch with her family who she very much loved and did not want to leave behind; cutting off or reducing contacts with one’s family was one of the prices to pay for physically living in the community, as families were perceived as an obstacle to one’s freedom. However, Caroline was at the same time a very devoted student of Andrew Cohen’s and she regularly made a number of long weekly journeys to the community to attend meetings, events and video showings. Her family confirmed that she always spoke about her teacher and her community with love and pride and that in their eyes her spiritual life gave Caroline a wonderful and invigorating lease of life at her advanced age.<br /><br />The first hint of what was to come for Caroline appeared in January 1998 when, during the Rishikesh Retreat in India, Andrew Cohen unleashed a vitriolic attack on the formal women students in the community. He accused them of being insufficiently devoted to him, manipulative, untrustworthy and therefore in need of a deep and complete inner change. The women were pushed into an endless series of meetings in which they were asked to declare their faithfulness to Cohen, confess to the charges of manipulation and repent their sins in order to come clean. Over the following weeks and months many of the formal female students (including Caroline), verbally battered and emotionally broken as a result of those meetings, were forced to step down and become lay students. Even some of us formal men, well used to intense meetings in which one could be verbally attacked or reprimanded by the group for his perceived egotistical tendencies, privately considered those meetings to be just too severe.<br /><br />While stepping down meant a welcome temporary relief for the demoted female students, it did not mean the end of their suffering. They were still forced to attend a number of weekly meetings with selected formal women who were perceived by Cohen to be in good spiritual shape. In those meetings, whose supposed aim was to "help" those women to "rise up" and become formal students once more, they were again subjected to the same scenario to the one before – forced confessions, verbal abuse and aggression. Looking back it was of no surprise that Caroline, dejected and of delicate health (she had a condition that would at times cause her difficulties in breathing), never "came through" in those meetings and never regained her formal student status.<br /><br />Many of we formal students lost sight of Caroline after that. This was a common though often unspoken practice in the formal community – once someone stepped down to a lower echelon they were practically isolated from their former peers and, while they could still attend public meetings and events, they were considered not to be doing well and consequently not paid much attention to. Only later did I learn of Caroline’s heartache at being cruelly sidelined after so many years of deep involvement in the community. But to Cohen and to us she was just another casualty of "the war against the ego" who in essence deserved what she got, the same as everyone else in her position. <br /><br />Towards the end of 1999 Andrew Cohen came to London to conduct public teachings and, amongst all, Caroline came to see him too. For us students in London it was a rare opportunity to see Cohen in person as he spent most of the year travelling and lecturing around the world. If one wanted to speak to him directly about one’s practice, spiritual development, or any other issue, this was the opportunity. Caroline approached Debbie, one of Cohen’s senior students, after the teaching on Saturday 11 December 1999 and asked if she could see the master privately. Caroline said later that Debbie responded to her in a contemptuous manner, telling her that she was not going to see her teacher that evening. Soon after the exchange was over, Caroline left the teaching venue disheartened and in no doubt that her teacher was not going to see her. <br /><br />Caroline arrived home after a long drive back to Richmond from Central London where the teachings were held. Her home phone rang and on the other end was another senior student of Andrew Cohen’s, Steve Brett, calling to discuss why she had not waited at the venue to see her master. Caroline’s explanation that she had been told by Debbie that she could not see Cohen, fell on deaf ears. Brett strongly reprimanded Caroline for leaving the venue without waiting to be seen by her teacher, particularly as she herself had asked to see him. Caroline nevertheless protested her innocence as she simply did not think that she had done anything wrong. But Caroline’s response here was undoubtedly another clear sign to Andrew Cohen of how independent and egotistical she was in her stubborn refusal to humble herself and admit her “mistake.” To him there was no doubt that it was Caroline who was wrong here and she needed to be told that in no uncertain terms. After the conversation ended Caroline was deeply shaken and upset. She felt wronged and blamed for something that, in her mind, was never true; she was also dismayed by how strongly she was reprimanded by Brett for her apparent mistake.<br /><br />The following day, on Sunday 12 December 1999, her phone rang once more and it was again Steve Brett on the other end of the line. Clearly dissatisfied that in the previous phone call Caroline had not "cracked" under his pressure and "admitted her sin," Steve Brett went on to deliver a renewed but far more devastating attack on Caroline. Caroline said later that the conversation lasted for about forty five minutes and that during it Brett repeatedly insulted her with a ferocity that left her completely traumatized. Caroline said that she had to keep the phone handset away from her ear on many occasions as Brett was literally shouting at her from the other side. She was told that she was going to “die a miserable old woman” and how awful it was on her part that she had dared to leave the venue without waiting to see Cohen. Without any consideration whatsoever for her physical and spiritual frailty, Brett again and again furiously scolded Caroline for her apparent egotistical and independent ways that completely infuriated her teacher. Caroline was told that, instead of surrendering her soul to Andrew Cohen now that she was coming close to dying, she was still holding on to her small life and her ego and would die as such. Caroline also spoke about her intuitive feeling that Cohen was in the room with Brett, listening to the latter delivering his attack. <br /><br />Anyone who has been a student of Andrew Cohen’s will know of his deep need to control all the important aspects of life in his community. Quite literally nothing of significance happened in the community without him either initiating it or giving his clear prior approval. For a senior student to deliver such lengthy and astonishingly brutal feedback to Caroline after her apparent big mistake with her teacher who was also in London at the time, points to only one thing to me. Brett, acting as a mouthpiece, only delivered what Andrew Cohen had instructed him to deliver. This deliberately destructive feedback was clearly aimed at breaking Caroline’s internal defences and getting her to finally realise how detrimental her independent conduct was to her "spiritual progress" and, perhaps even more significantly, how displeased Andrew Cohen was about her "self-willed ways." Disturbingly, Brett was neither the first nor the last to deliver such damaging “feedback.” Many of us were at some point asked by our teacher, himself well-versed in employing righteous anger when giving reflections, to "blast" another student for their apparent egotistical tendencies and we unquestioningly did just that. Made to believe that only complete obedience to Andrew Cohen would bring us enlightenment, we became the clear perpetrators of many devious and dark power games orchestrated by him. Brett in this case was no exception. <br /><br />However, in this particular case the student spoken to was not a typical Andrew Cohen student – the relatively young, enormously devoted and resilient type who could, in spite of all the emotional ache, survive such fierce feedback, admit the alleged “sins” no matter whether they were actually true or not and respond with a bouquet of flowers and a written apology expressing their love for and devotion to the master. Here the person spoken to was an elderly long term student in vulnerable spiritual and physical circumstances who was still reeling after a deeply upsetting first phone call the evening before. Despite her great spirit she was already shaken, clearly unprepared and not expecting yet another, albeit far more devastating, feedback phonecall. Brett, possibly also in order to impress our teacher which we often tried to do when given any sort of tasks personally from him, delivered an exceedingly harsh and unforgiving tirade to someone who was absolutely not in the position to take it. This is why the consequences and the eventual outcome of this incident are particularly ghastly.<br /><br />After the conversation had ended Caroline Franklyn was not the same person anymore. Under Brett’s enormous pressure her spirit was finally broken; bullied into believing that what he’d been telling her was indeed true, she took it all to her heart utterly and completely. She later told her loved ones that the "conversation" had emotionally shattered her and that she did not have any willingness to live anymore. A profound sense of alienation, fear and psychological torment filled her soul and she could see no purpose or way forward anymore, neither in her spiritual pursuit nor in her life as a whole. Her health started worsening and she became bed bound within days, a complete shadow of the person she had always been. Caroline’s family soon came to help, thinking initially that it was just an unusually bad attack coming from her breathing condition. However, they soon realised through talking to Caroline that the predicament here was very different. Having learnt about the disturbing incidents with Steve Brett and seeing the immediate sharp deterioration of Caroline’s health that was the result of it, Caroline’s family understandably felt that they did not want Andrew Cohen’s students around Caroline at all. They were deeply worried that any further direct contact with the community would only aggravate Caroline’s already increasingly fragile condition. What they primarily wanted was to secure a peaceful and healing environment within which their beloved mother and grandmother could recover from this sudden and devastating shock. They remember receiving phonecalls from what they recall to be female formal students from the community enquiring about Caroline’s condition. However, the family was uneasy about these calls - they never felt that this interest in Caroline’s condition was genuine and considered it to be an orchestrated information-gathering and damage limitation exercise on the part of Andrew Cohen and his organization. <br /><br />Caroline’s health kept worsening and on 20 December 1999 she was taken to the Royal Brompton Hospital in London’s Chelsea district, where her family hoped she would have the best chance to recover. Little did they know they were witnessing the last days and hours of Caroline’s life but more than anything it was the state that she was in during this period - haunted, tormented and fearful of further attacks – that shocked them to the core. In spite of the doctor’s and family’s attempts to sooth Caroline’s pain and remedy her spirit back to life, they were now increasingly worried that they were losing her. In their desperation the family decided to contact Andrew Cohen through his London centre and they pleaded to him to send a message to Caroline in hope that a loving word from her teacher could bring her spirit back to life. Andrew Cohen sent a message via phonecall through one of his senior students and his message to Caroline was one of love and forgiveness. By that time Caroline was already largely unconscious although when the message was communicated to her, her eyes opened for a split second and her hand grip became momentarily stronger only to weaken shortly afterwards.<br /><br />Caroline Franklyn died in the Royal Brompton Hospital in London on 23 December 1999 at the age of seventy nine, only eleven days after the second phone conversation with Steve Brett. She died with a broken heart and in a state of absolute inner terror and anguish, a wonderful and brave human spirit who fought against many odds in her life, and was finally destroyed by those that she loved and devoted her spiritual life to. Caroline’s family believe that she would have certainly carried on living had her spirit not been mercilessly crushed to the point that she tragically gave up on life. Her illness, while undoubtedly serious, was still of a periodical and manageable nature and she had successfully kept it under control in the past. <br /><br />During that same time I was a formal student in the London community and the described events that were unfolding around Caroline were initially not known to us. However, the message was soon sent to all formal students directly from Andrew Cohen that none of us must get involved with anything regarding Caroline as she had "blown it with him." We were told that this was a great mistake on Caroline’s part and that, now that her health was rapidly deteriorating, we must leave it to Andrew Cohen only to communicate and deal with her. This directive also meant not speaking to or spreading this story amongst the students from the lower community ranks; this rule indeed applied to all messages we formal students ever received from Andrew Cohen. We were never told about the conversations between Brett and Caroline that initiated Caroline’s rapid health decline and subsequent death. Many of us also sensed from the announcement that Caroline was in psychological pain that was so often the result of making any significant mistake with Cohen. <br /><br />A few days later a message came through that Caroline had died. We were told that her family did not want any of us at her funeral and we, knowing that it had been a process so difficult that our teacher had to personally deal with it, left it at that. Some of us formal students privately felt that at least an announcement should be made to everyone that one of our own had passed away so we could come together as a community in her honour. However, nothing came from our teacher regarding that and, as he had already taken charge of the whole situation and specifically told us not to get involved in anything regarding Caroline, we obediently kept quiet, questioned nothing and in the end did nothing. <br /><br />I was not the only one who felt in shock about Caroline’s death and who had to suppress all the conflicting feelings in order to obey my teacher’s order not to get involved. This was a type of robotic, unreal response that many formal students habitually employed when dealing with our incompatible internal responses which had to be restrained in order to conform to the "party line" or a directive from above. Our silence here, and by our I mean of formal and senior students, was the perfect response from the obedient disciple point of view but absolutely shameful from the human point of view. I know of one case where a lay student, entirely unaware of the imposed ban, brought up the issue of community silence about Caroline’s death and was promptly and strongly reprimanded by a senior student for being suspicious and doubtful of his teacher’s conduct and intentions. This ensured that any other possible questioning voices in the lay community knew what was going to come their way if they were to bring up the issue again.<br /><br />The community announcement about Caroline Franklyn’s death was never made and the whole case was swiftly put behind and quickly forgotten. It was indeed as if Caroline had never existed – her name was rarely if ever mentioned by Cohen or his senior and formal students and the full scale of the events surrounding her death was never exposed within the community. Caroline was cremated in the Hoop Lane Crematorium in Golders Green in London and her ashes are buried in the woodlands near Alsford in Hampshire close to the Brockwood Park Krishnamurti Centre. A wreath ring of white flowers was the only thing that was sent from the community for her funeral. A handful of former Cohen students were the only people from all her years spent with him that came to pay their respects. Caroline’s daughter approached some of them after the funeral and asked: “Why did she have to die like that?” struggling to grasp why her mother had to exit this world haunted and in anguish. The family decided afterwards to take the matters further and wrote a letter personally to Andrew Cohen to obtain explanations about the events preceding the sudden deterioration of Caroline’s health that led to her death. He never answered. <br /><br />Mario Puljiz<br />London UK<br /><a href="mailto:mario.puljiz@gmail.com">mario.puljiz@gmail.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com20