I recently attended Don Hanson’s Bhaktichi workshop in Costa Rica, formerly known as Transforming Cellular Memory. I had attended before and found some wisdom and relief, even though I was left confused by his handling of a woman he had identified with having victim energy. He was very harsh with her. Two years later, he attacked a friend of mine in a similar manner over victim discussion. His whole face and demeanor changed as he was triggered by what she was saying and he continued to verbally abuse her for her POV. She talked back which enraged him more. She said she would just sit there and not say anything. He did my reading. Some was accurate, but half was so off that I stopped him during one piece of it and said “no way”. I let him finish before I told him that the other huge piece was totally inaccurate. the victim discussion continued...victims, in his view, ask for it. The examples given included that an 8 year old girl didn’t mind having sex with her father’s friends and a woman who was gang raped apologized to the head of it, saying she knew that she had teased him in the past. I also listened as two women, clearly devotees, discussed these issues in a way that was meant to support his point of view. At that point, I said we needed to discuss the elephant in the room, which was the way our friend was treated. Followed by the offensiveness of the discussion about sexual assault victims and the fact that my reading was half very off. As I left, my friend left as well.

Given his disdain of victims, the inappropriateness of his examples, his constant reference to his exwife as much younger and a seductress, I wondered if he was a perp. An internet search did indeed turn up that Don has been accused of sexual misconduct with students on more than one occasion.

Note from behavioral psyche, we know that intermittent reinforcement creates the strongest behavioral patterns. In this case, when someone can have good moments, it makes the bad moments confusing. And creates a strong, irrational bond.

Two days later, a person who had been my friend for two years but his devotee for 20, came to my house to first make me see the error of my ways, denying that he said what I heard during my reading, told me I interrupted the process of my friend, rescuing her. When I tried to point out that Don had problematic behaviors and that she must be aware of because of the waiver they make everyone sign (after paying and arriving) that they wouldn’t disparage him or request money back if they left the workshop...that they knew he was a loose cannon. She did not respond to that but instead told me “Clearly, you don’t respect the light” and I responded “how arrogant of you to think that only you and Don have access to the light.” The Manchurian Candidate moment intensified, making this statement by someone else on the internet completely true:
The pattern is for his followers to try and discredit, blame or verbally abuse anyone who challenges Don's behaviour or authority
She attacked me non-stop after that and I got up and walked out of my house so that she would follow. I had to insist that she leave. She even came back after getting to her car to use personal information in an unsuccessful attempt to hurt me. None of it impacted. As someone who has worked in the field of spiritual and mental health for decades, my center is stable and I know when I am observing madness.

My experience of the BhaktiChi workshop lead by Don Hanson was very different from this person calling herself Girija11. Every one has a right to express their own view, so here is mine.

During the workshop uncomfortable feelings and strong reactions rose up. I have experienced this in my self and others many times just before a breakthrough. It is challenging to stay with the process and if you do, a profound transformation occurs and you can heal traumas in deep level.

If you are not willing to look at your own stuff, no healing happens. If you keep pointing a finger to the teacher, how he is doing it all wrong, how the expression on his face apparently is wrong and how he has an issue with victim energy - sure, you can do that, but why to come to a workshop if you don’t want to look at your own issues? The meaning for these kind of workshops is not to have an intellectual debate - which the teacher several times pointed out - but to look deeper, feel energetically what was going on. Supporting victim energy is not something this teacher does. And what kind of a conscious teacher would?

My feeling is that a person got triggered and instead of looking at themselves, they point the finger out.

Now, I am this person who went to her afterwords. I was hoping we can bring through healing and perhaps get past this. It was very obvious she had no willingness to hear what I felt or saw. According to her this is a cult and I am so brainwashed, therefor my insights have no validity. Interesting. In my 55 year life experience and working on my self decades with many teachers and working in the area of health and wellness myself, I would have thought my views do weigh at least a little.

Healing takes vulnerability, openness and willingness. Wanting to demolish a healer and teacher who has dedicated their life to helping others, even if not understanding what they are doing, or how, is just beyond me. I understand that not everything is for every one. But claiming to be an expert in the area of spirituality and healing and consciously wanting to hurt an other person in that field, aiming to destroy them, is traumatic and devastating for all concerned.

I have over my many years attending healing spaces understood the strict confidential nature necessary for people to open up to what they do not even know themselves and can only find through exploration. I personally feel violated on how events have unfolded and how my willingness to attend in my vulnerability, this workshop, has been gone so far past by the public airing of these opinions.

How can Don want people to look at their own issues if he has been dismissing his own? just a though..

Just now saw the response of Don’s devotee to my description of what occurred. She has a tremendous trauma bond with Don. For her to admit that there is any problem with his behavior would create a free-fall feeling that most people can’t tolerate and so they stay in the trauma bonding relationship. No one can do our work for us... only we can do this work. Hitching one’s growth to someone ‘outside of us’ is to ensure that our core issues are never addressed. There was no attempt to discuss anything with me, only impose her version of what occurred, in a raised and angry voice, certain that her version of the truth was the only one that mattered. There is no path of valid help that is so harsh and overwhelming. Helping vulnerable people with a sledge hammer is no help at all. I was very saddened to hear about John of God. I wonder how many of his devotees observed the behaviors that got him arrested and justified the behaviors in their minds instead of insisting that he do his work and get some serious help.

PS. The other person who left that workshop agreed that our former friend needed an intervention, but that we wouldn’t be the ones to give it, since she has been part of his circle for 20 years. I was around her for two years. I have decades of clinical experience and scholarly articles about my non-medical model work that heals PTSD, depression and anxiety. I am truly sorry for my former friend and her inability to see her own behaviors, Don’s behaviors and her unwillingness to truly engage in her deeper work.

Wow I did not realize that Jennifer Millers teacher had so many mixed experiences posted on this site. Don appears to be a predator and takes advantage where ever he can. The apple may not have fallen far from the tree. in my experience when people have brought up issues with Jennifer's behavior that she used these exact tactics to discredit people and attempt to nullify their voice from this pseudo spiritual lens which is the whole issue. It is what she or Don believes that is affirmed in their work.
"You don't want to have sex with me" *the divine speaks to them to vilify that person* "You want to question me" *the divine speaks to vilify that person*

Which, to me, really undermines the basis of their methodology...