The 'fuck your feelings' 'teaching' is another example of modern, whatever. He is not a tradtional teacher. How can vedanta sustain teaching grihasta, householders, parents, husbands/wives, etc, to 'fuck your feelings'?

At no time whatsoever does vedanta say there is no utilty for kama and prema. Sexual/Romantic and parental love/emotions.

Complete nonsense.

Of course it gives him carte blanche to abuse anyone he chooses.

It is okay for him not to forget HIS feelings, when he is abusing his teacher students, along with his wife, just cause she flutters her lashes. He has actual said, and I direct quote, "she is my wife". When he takes her word and side.

I mean, I actually find it hard to get the words for how wrong he is in all this. The lineage between teacher and student is sacred. She hates anyone close to him. Always poisoning. And the current Shiningworld teachers reading this, I know some of you know this already. I won't say anything else. Save for history has shown it is only a matter of time.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2020 07:51AM by earthquake.

James Swartz--
The Abusive Gift
That Keeps on Giving.


I thought that I was done with Swartz for the day, but...

Just as I published my last Post less than an hour ago, new information was posted by Sahara7, accurately commented upon by ziziz, and spiritually dissected by Earthquake. There's not much to be added to their excellent comments on (copied below) Swartz's words. Please view them if you haven't.

Quote
James Swartz
“You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Jane. It’s time to quit whining and grow up. But you don’t want to do that, because you would have to abandon shagging the exciting young counterculture guys with stiff dicks who don’t know what they want and knock about working for 300 dollars a month, sleeping on couches in communal flats and having their way with hippie babes. Think John and Frank, etc.”

Along with the absolute inappropriateness of a spiritual teacher communicating this way with a student, either in a public forum or in private, the jealousy Swartz displays for the "exciting young counterculture guys with stiff dicks" stands out. Dicks and such have always been a preoccupation of Swartz's. Now elderly, his wistfulness for the underage girls and impoverished widows he won't be able to abuse shines, or slimes, forth. (Yes, the 'ShiningWorld' pun was deliberate. And the 'slimes' is a hint to what some of my associates refer to as 'SlimingWorld,' as in, "Anything Swartz touches...")

On this matter Heather herself has weighed in. She messaged me, with her words paraphrased here: "As I've pointed out before, Swartz often uses 'You can't have your cake and eat it, too.' It's been one of his favorite expressions forever. This 'teaching,' with its obvious empathy and compassion oozing from this self-proclaimed enlightened one, is quintessential Swartz."

James, James, James... You're the Energizer Bunny of Abuse and Lies.

At least you're being seen for what you are now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2020 08:13AM by Traveler99.

Wisdom words from the Man In Black:

Hurt


[www.youtube.com]

Thinking about James's sense of humor a bit more: it always seems to involve putting other people down. It can be directly targeted at other teachers, or more generally at people who have different opinions than him or doubt his teachings. This creates the in-group/out-group dichotomy, which is typical for cultish manipulation.

As much as I appreciate jokes about "Fuck Your Feelings Yoga" and such (since I have a penchant for provocative humor), I agree with Earthquake that jokes like these have no place in a satsang. Satsang (the word satsang literally meaning "association with the good," according to Jiddu Krishnamurti) should be a place of letting go of lower tendencies, profane judgements and polarizing ridicule, and opening up to the higher truth.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2020 03:46PM by zizlz.

It has been clearly seen that some of the teaching « methods » used by JS give more information about his character than about quality teaching methods of Vedanta. Those people who stumble on the Shiningworld website have usually only vague ideas about Vedanta and/or have been conditioned by other teachers and methodologies found in the modern spiritual supermarket. If you were never taught properly Vedanta or are not well-versed in its age-old tradition, you will find what you discover on this website extraordinary at first, until your critical radar picks up things that don’t ring true.

It takes a while, especially if you are on your own with no support of a forum like this one or if your critical thinking has been already severely eroded by your time with other questionable gurus.

Another issue mentioned by zizl : “because it can also be admirable qualities like loyalty and gratefulness that compel his students not to believe the allegations.” Indeed, that is what happens inevitably, even more so for those who have been appointed teachers by JS. It binds those mostly good and good-intentioned people to him in a subtle way which will be extremely hard to break, unless you are kicked out by him - a blessing in disguise. Otherwise loyalty and gratitude will keep them bound to him for better or worse, as well as for those who embark on that same spiritual boat.

Others leave the Shiningworld community because they did have issues with Vedanta as taught or transmitted by JS, but they won’t go public about it, so they just disappear and go their own way out of an attitude that discussing the matter with him would not bring anything good, which can amount to throwing the baby with the water, which is a shame because if the teaching had been done properly, they could have discussed their doubts openly and view Advaita Vedanta very differently. But that it is the way of things; each attracts whatever is meant for them to experience.

Finally to add to the entanglement of the situation, I wonder how someone whose first encounter with Vedanta is Shiningworld cannot but feel bound from the start when he hears that he has to pay a “donation which is not voluntary”! What a strange way to introduce a student to a teaching supposedly meant to take you to real Freedom! Only a qualified enlightened teacher would know that this creates a subtle bond that obscures slightly the mind of a new seeker, even more directly when made feel guilty by the teacher telling publicly in a group that some have not donated enough (according to JS’s opinion & expectation, such that should never exist in the mind of a qualified Vedanta teacher) all the more so when the teaching had not yet been completed!

Caution is really the order of the day, as has been said over and over again on this thread!

One way domineering people elicit loyalty is to use pathos.

These types often have a lot of self pity and in very confusing ways
combine arrogance with the pitifulness of a small, sad wounded child - that
sad child is really a true part of themselves, but usually split off.

People also make friends or become partnered while in communities focused on such domineering types. Its hard to leave when you consider the pain of ending friendships (often intense due to trauma bonding) formed while loyal to a demanding leader.

Finally, to leave means being alone. There was companionship when under the leader's thumb. When leaving, you feel alone and face the things you've witnessed, things you've done that are humiliating and painful.

Friends all Corboy can offer is this:

You'll no longer be a divided soul. Coherance brings its own reward.

Two, look for people who have made the same journey.

That is why message boards like this one are so helpful.

And this is why trolls arrive.

Yes, Shiningworld are like this. If the person does not do what James and Isabella Swartz say, they will become a target. This is not just in the spiritual field. It is even in their own personal lives, that they are forced to do what both of them want. Invariably there will be a campaign of public humiliation, and ostracization within the shiningworld cult.

Those freinds, that one found, through pre-shiningworld trauma, they are manipulated so that the person is left alone. It is here that the person starts to question even their ability to stand up for themselves.

They are told they should accept whatever treatment James and Isabella dish out to them. This will include making false accusations. If these accusations are challenged, then the next stage of the campaign against the victim is to make them believe their is something wrong with their own mental processing.

Deep seeds of doubts will be sown, using platforms such as social, and spiritual manipulation.


They will want the person to not be wanted by the community, and they damage this person's psyche as much as possible.


If James and Isabella assert anything I have said here is lies, PM me, with appropriate legal action. I will interact legally off site.

I have verbatim documented proof from them themselves. On how they have done this repeatedly.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2020 11:47PM by earthquake.

A note to ziziz
and to anyone else who may have been offended
by my statement regarding

'Only a stupid, ignorant, or Masochistic person
could choose James Swartz as a teacher."

My full paragraph was:

Quote
Traveler
In the Forum, and in and by his entire life, Swartz has been shown to teach others to and himself behave as a Sociopath, using his distorted versions of Advaita Vedanta to promote his "I can't sin, since you don't exist," philosophy. To the question, "How could anyone even consider such a person as a teacher?" the only possibility can be terrible stupidity or blind ignorance. That, or a masochistic nature

'

Just to be very clear, as I hope the paragraph shows, I was talking about NOW. Certainly by the end of 2019 and going into 2020, only someone stupid or masochistic could choose a criminal fraud like James Swartz to be their spiritual Teacher. That, or someone who has somehow remained totally ignorant of Heather, the book "Guru? The Story of Heather", and the contents of the "James Swartz -- What Is the Truth?" thread here on Cult Ed Forum.

Conversely, any person new to Advaita Vedanta who came to Swartz before 2017 simply suffered from bad luck. (As I wrote before, I myself experienced such bad luck with a cult a few decades back. It wasn't Swartz's, but it might as well have been. Thankfully, I escaped it, as have EQ, ziziz, and others from Swartz's.)

The "tweener group" consists of those who came to Swartz in 2017 or 2018. By mid-2017 Heather's claims were well known. Did some just not hear, or choose not to believe? Yes. But then the Cult Ed Forum 'Swartz topic' started, and more and more evidence piled up regarding Swartz being:

1. A criminal narcissist
2. A liar about his spiritual background and 'credentials.'
3. A teacher of false and distorted Advaita Vedanta, and more.

I do wonder what the people new to Swartz in 2017 and 2018 are thinking and doing now.

In fact, more and more, I believe that the (hopefully) few who remain with James Swartz now, in 2020, have NO EXCUSE for doing so, no matter when they came to him. As has been conclusively proved, James Swartz has nothing for anybody besides lies, 'half-assed' teachings, pain, and abuse, and by staying with him a person passively, if not actively, encourages others to do so.

I stayed with a teacher for too long. I knew things had gone bad but I wanted to "help" or "save" this teacher. This teacher had charm, charisma, and "siddhis" (powers), but fell hard to Sex, Drugs, and Money, and would not have minded more Fame and Power. It was only when I realized that my efforts were hopeless that I left.

If you're trying to "save" Swartz, please reconsider. Ramana Maharshi (always) gave great advice. Paraphrased, it's "Fix yourself first. Then you can help others." (I didn't hear about Ramana until after my time in the "group." At least Swartz mentions him, even as he distorts what Ramana shared.)

In other words, don't let yourself go down the drain trying to "help," "save," or "change" Swartz. And if you still believe he can "help" or "save" you, please read the posts on this topic completely, and read Heather's book.

Then, if you still think Swartz is a worthy teacher or a person you want in your life in any way, please see the three words I used above, but take out "ignorant." (And good luck.)

Traveler99,

the problem is that very few people go looking for a lot of information about a group when they first become interested in it. This is what happened to me. I briefly became involved with a guru and his followers and it all looked very innocent from the outside.

I didn't have any prior experience with cults, wasn't aware of cult dynamics and wasn't even particularly aware that people can be super-manipulative and dishonest. Of course, we are all aware that their are evil criminals "out there" somewhere, but we don't expect such people to be involved in some kind of esoteric spiritual practices, or head up a registered charity, or build a spiritual community, It seems completely implausible.

To this day, my involvement with the false guru Tony Moo-Young and his crew remains the single most inconceivable thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I wont say it is the worst thing, as plenty of unfortunate things have happened to me- but it is the strangest, most unbelievable thing and other people find it difficult to comprehend.

A quote from Earthquake about the followers of Swartz:


"They are told they should accept whatever treatment James and Isabella dish out to them. This will include making false accusations. If these accusations are challenged, then the next stage of the campaign against the victim is to make them believe their is something wrong with their own mental processing.

Deep seeds of doubts will be sown, using platforms such as social, and spiritual manipulation.

They will want the person to not be wanted by the community, and they damage this person's psyche as much as possible."

Earthquake describes here the process of psychological gas-lighting. This is where someone is deliberately led to question their own reality. Gas-lighting is common in abusive interpersonal relationships - especially in family violence situations. It is one of the benchmarks of cult dynamics and is used to precision in Tony Moo's community and no doubt it is used extensively in Swartz's group.

People undergoing this kind of cult programming are seldom aware of it. It is not obvious in the beginning, in fact, it is extremely subtle. It does not matter how intelligent or educated you are. These techniques can work on intelligent people because they cause you to by-pass critical thinking.

By the time the cult recruit has undergone the beginnings of psychological manipulation and gas-lighting, it is probably too late for them to begin looking for information about what is happening to them. Sadly, they may even mistake the confusion and disorientation they feel for some kind of spiritual experience. Of course, other members of the cult will confirm that they are indeed in some kind of "altered state" and that this is a good thing.

So you can see, you do not need to be especially ignorant, stupid, uneducated or masochistic to become involved in a cult.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED.
Nowadays, to do anything
without a simple "web search"
is... Not Intelligent

If the internet and web had been around so hugely when I found "my" cult, I might have been spared a lot of trouble.

Sahara71, I can only assume you went into your "bad" group under similar circumstances.

Today, in 2020, to do anything from buy a car, look for a new bed, or, goodness knows, choose a spiritual teacher, meditation group, yoga class, or whatever, it is "SOP," Standard Operating Procedure, to "google" the potential choice.

You put in the name, and results show up. I just put in "James Swartz," and the fifth item listed on the page, under some Swartz YouTube clips and links to the Sliming World site and similar bunk, is this site on the Cult Education Forum. To me, if someone reads this thread, and takes a look at "Guru? The Story of Heather," and still becomes a member of Swartz's Sliming World, then that's on them. Similarly, if they're so lazy and careless they don't bother to take this (now) normal and simple step, it's on them, too.

Going back to normal 2020 SOP, if you only get 'good results' in a search, it is another quite usual practice to type in the name of the item, person, class, or whatever and add a word like 'problems,' 'reviews,' critiques,' or something similar. I typed in "James Swartz problems," "James Swartz good or bad," and James Swartz reviews," and this site showed up on the first page, usually at the top.

My point is that, today, in 2020, every person has a way to research and to validate (or not) important decisions that was not available a generation ago.

Now, in 2020, this thread in the Cult Education Forum, along with Heather's book on www.reallyguru.com, are out there, easy to find, and totally available. With this being the case, nobody from (at the latest) mid-2019 and after should reasonably be able to claim "ignorance" regarding the dangers of getting ensnared into the Sliming World of James Swartz.