Re: Candice O'Denver and Balanced View
Posted by:
Leslie Read
()
Date: March 01, 2022 01:29AM
Thank you for the update on Candice’s name the the new name of their website.
Candice aka Ziji Rinpoche not only changes her name frequently but has been known to, literally, ‘whitewash’ the web (a costly process) in order to avoid being tracked.
“…but the last couple years there was another wave of members leaving as happens now and then.” This was an every-few-years occurrence at SAT (The Society of Abidance in Truth in Santa Cruz, CA) where there would be a wave of folks who would leave.
It was like clockwork.
I am inclined to think that it was the teachers who washed them out…for various reasons.
SAT and (now) ‘Short Moments’ are intrinsically tied.
Nome (the head teacher at SAT) and his brother Russell Smith worked with, then, Candace O’Denver to establish Great Freedom/Balanced View.
It is the for lies and deceptions of those teachers regarding HOW they established the center of GF/BV that I became the holder for and hence their existential controls over this life…and the lives of my family.
Here is only part of the story…additionally Involving Adyashanti and Gangaji in covering for them:
[integrityintruth.com]
Candice aka Ziji Rinpoche not only changes her name frequently but has been known to, literally, ‘whitewash’ the web (a costly process) in order to avoid being tracked.
“…but the last couple years there was another wave of members leaving as happens now and then.” This was an every-few-years occurrence at SAT (The Society of Abidance in Truth in Santa Cruz, CA) where there would be a wave of folks who would leave.
It was like clockwork.
I am inclined to think that it was the teachers who washed them out…for various reasons.
SAT and (now) ‘Short Moments’ are intrinsically tied.
Nome (the head teacher at SAT) and his brother Russell Smith worked with, then, Candace O’Denver to establish Great Freedom/Balanced View.
It is the for lies and deceptions of those teachers regarding HOW they established the center of GF/BV that I became the holder for and hence their existential controls over this life…and the lives of my family.
Here is only part of the story…additionally Involving Adyashanti and Gangaji in covering for them:
[integrityintruth.com]
Re: Candice O'Denver and Balanced View
Posted by:
Leslie Read
()
Date: October 28, 2022 10:19AM
The teaching gs of Candice O’Denver (who goes by a variety of names) and (Great Freedom/Balanced View (which has had their website scrubbed of search details) indeed are high-level teachings which can/do, also, result in the realization of Wholeness or Oneness.
**YET**…Candice *also* operates with significant controlling and manipulative shadow as do my own former teachers: Nome and Russell Smith of SAT in Santa Cruz, CA with whom Candace collaborated on in the early days of establishing Great Freedom.
There are numerous records of Candice’s outright stealing of Dzogchen teachings.
We’ve all seen that one can be awake to wholeness and yet that, in no way, means one is free from shadow or is somehow a balanced and decent human.
One can be awake to the Oneness and still be creating delusions and, worse yet, harming others in the process.
To make matters (even) worse…there is overarching and systemic cover for the lies of these teachers…Candace (Candice) O’Denver, Nome and Russell Smith… in the non-dual community.
Use discernment and your own inner knowing…
[integrityintruth.com]
[integrityintruth.com]
**YET**…Candice *also* operates with significant controlling and manipulative shadow as do my own former teachers: Nome and Russell Smith of SAT in Santa Cruz, CA with whom Candace collaborated on in the early days of establishing Great Freedom.
There are numerous records of Candice’s outright stealing of Dzogchen teachings.
We’ve all seen that one can be awake to wholeness and yet that, in no way, means one is free from shadow or is somehow a balanced and decent human.
One can be awake to the Oneness and still be creating delusions and, worse yet, harming others in the process.
To make matters (even) worse…there is overarching and systemic cover for the lies of these teachers…Candace (Candice) O’Denver, Nome and Russell Smith… in the non-dual community.
Use discernment and your own inner knowing…
[integrityintruth.com]
[integrityintruth.com]
Re: Candice O'Denver and Balanced View
Posted by:
benyamin
()
Date: July 24, 2026 06:43PM
JohnConst Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> now seeing it was maybe some occult spell i didn't know i was participating in
Your words about the mantra feeling like an occult spell really struck me. When someone is asked to repeat a submission ritual again and again - especially one as direct as "I give all my energy to Candice O'Denver" - it makes sense that it later feels like something that bypassed your own will. That feeling of being pulled into something non-rational, almost like a spell or a mental grip, is a real aftereffect of coercive persuasion. And the way you describe your "tattered intuition" fits what many people experience when their inner signals have been overridden for too long. In cult psychology, that loss of inner clarity is linked to narrowing of consciousness and betrayal trauma, and it is valid that you describe it in the way it felt to you.
What you wrote about the demand for purity - being pushed to adopt political or social positions as proof of loyalty - is also a textbook dynamic. When a group tells you what to think, how to interpret events, and which authorities to trust, it slowly replaces your own judgment with theirs. That is how intuition gets shredded. Your experience of being pressured to align with the "right" views, together with the submission rituals you described, shows how doctrine was placed above your own perception. I just want to say that the way you express this is clear and courageous, and very recognizable to anyone who has lived through high-control spirituality. You are not alone in these reactions, and your voice adds something important that others in the forum may not have been able to put into words.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/2026 06:44PM by benyamin.
-------------------------------------------------------
> now seeing it was maybe some occult spell i didn't know i was participating in
Your words about the mantra feeling like an occult spell really struck me. When someone is asked to repeat a submission ritual again and again - especially one as direct as "I give all my energy to Candice O'Denver" - it makes sense that it later feels like something that bypassed your own will. That feeling of being pulled into something non-rational, almost like a spell or a mental grip, is a real aftereffect of coercive persuasion. And the way you describe your "tattered intuition" fits what many people experience when their inner signals have been overridden for too long. In cult psychology, that loss of inner clarity is linked to narrowing of consciousness and betrayal trauma, and it is valid that you describe it in the way it felt to you.
What you wrote about the demand for purity - being pushed to adopt political or social positions as proof of loyalty - is also a textbook dynamic. When a group tells you what to think, how to interpret events, and which authorities to trust, it slowly replaces your own judgment with theirs. That is how intuition gets shredded. Your experience of being pressured to align with the "right" views, together with the submission rituals you described, shows how doctrine was placed above your own perception. I just want to say that the way you express this is clear and courageous, and very recognizable to anyone who has lived through high-control spirituality. You are not alone in these reactions, and your voice adds something important that others in the forum may not have been able to put into words.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/2026 06:44PM by benyamin.
Re: Candice O'Denver and Balanced View
Posted by:
Leslie Read
()
Date: August 10, 2026 08:19AM
I see this is a fairly old post, so I'm sure I'm not posting anything new, but Candace O'Denver had her originations in the organization that I was with for over 20 years: SAT, the Society of Abidance and Truth in Santa Cruz, California. Nome, Russell Smith, and Candace O'Denver all ran large operations which were highly controlling and cultish in nature.
Bentinho Massaro is definitely connected with Candace and learned the 2-3 second method from her. His early videos were strikingly similar to Candace' early videos. I will say upfront that their early videos, which I felt, were brilliant. It was not until later that both of them veered off into the cultic practices of abuse, harm, and control over others.
Best wishes and steer clear...
~Leslie on Substack:
[open.substack] dot com/pub/leslieread
and at Integrity in Truth:
Integrityintruth dot com
The Cult of Radical Non-Duality:
[leslieread.substack] dot com/p/the-cult-of-non-duality
Bentinho Massaro is definitely connected with Candace and learned the 2-3 second method from her. His early videos were strikingly similar to Candace' early videos. I will say upfront that their early videos, which I felt, were brilliant. It was not until later that both of them veered off into the cultic practices of abuse, harm, and control over others.
Best wishes and steer clear...
~Leslie on Substack:
[open.substack] dot com/pub/leslieread
and at Integrity in Truth:
Integrityintruth dot com
The Cult of Radical Non-Duality:
[leslieread.substack] dot com/p/the-cult-of-non-duality
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