Hello "Heather", welcome here. I am glad you are feeling strong enough to write and share your experiences and feelings on this forum. Your story serves as an eye-opener in many ways about modern gurus in general and JS in particular.

However, i wonder: so far over 4100 views of this thread and only a few contributors. Obviously those who are interested by this thread must be people who have been following James Swartz, otherwise why would they read these posts.

Lets hope, as you say, that more people will come out and share their experience and how they stand after hearing your testimonial or if they can continue with business as usual whatever that means in this context.

For those following this thread, Valma wrote a great post on the Tony Moo
thread.

[forum.culteducation.com]

Quote

Here is an interesting testimonial from an ex-follower of Tony Robbins. Just change name of Tony Robbins in the text below with Moo or any other untrustworthy guru:


I recently had someone ask me whether I had received any benefit from my time in Tony Robbins’ cult.

My response: people don’t get involved in high-demand groups unless there is some perceived benefit. It’s just that it comes with a big cost.

Imagine your friends were talking about this amazing restaurant. You go and eat a delicious 5-course meal. Later you get food poisoning and are sick for 48 hours.

You tell your friends who recommended the place and they say they never got food poisoning there, maybe it was the flu. You doubt your own experience and try the restaurant again.

Again it is delicious. Again you are throwing up sick for 48 hours after.

You don’t know of anything as delicious and amazing in the whole world, so you keep going back. Sometimes you don’t get sick, and so you again doubt yourself. Maybe it’s just me, I have a weak immune system.

You create a community there, all your friends hang out there, so it’s hard to avoid now. It’s just what you do, eating and puking, that’s your new routine. The group says it’s just that the food is so pure you are purging toxins, it’s good for you.

It takes months or years to realize that no, it’s not you. Yes the food tastes great, but it’s also poison, even if it doesn’t poison everyone who tries it. You speak out against the restaurant, try to get health services to investigate, and lose a bunch of your friends in the process. And you have been eating there for so long, you no longer know what to eat.

So yes, of course people like Tony Robbins offer things that are valuable, but they package them with poison, and there is no way to get one without the other.

Below is a personal MESSAGE FROM JAMES SWARTZ

Before going to Swartz’s message, as Heather mentioned in her initial post above, as her accusations were publicized in the winter of 2016-17 at first James Swartz denied her existence. He tried to say that the girl didn’t exist and that the allegations made against him were part of a conspiracy of jealous followers of other, inferior teachers—ones that he had rightly attacked publicly.

That was nonsense (and not just because any teacher did not deserve protecting who could not brush off an attack by a spiritual fraud like James Swartz, as he was already held to to be by many even before Heather “went public”).

The only conspiracy, if it so could be termed, was a group of persons who had decided that “Heather“(we called her “Pepper” then in the articles we published, as is reflected in Swartz’s message below) might well be accurate regarding James Swartz being a sociopath and a rapist. Certainly we believed that her claims merited further investigation.

Swartz’s responses to the articles and queries regarding her claims seemed to all but certify their accuracy and therefore his guilt. As Heather mentioned above, then in one of his messages to me (these are all fully included in the book based upon Heather’s accusations regarding James Swartz, “Guru? The Story Of Heather.”) Swartz admitted that he had indeed known Heather at exactly the times and ages she maintained. As Heather mentioned above, he tried to threaten her into silence. In essence, “You don’t tell about me, and I won’t spill the beans on you.” Problem for James was, the worst things Pepper/ Heather ever did were all experienced with and because of him, and she was already sharing all of it.

And as I pointed out a few posts ago, and as Devon Adler strongly asserted in the book, what the heck was a 40 year-old “Guru” who had named himself Rama doing hanging out with a 14 year-old girl, totally without her parens’or grandmother‘s permission, so much that he knew her “sordid” secrets?

The first part of James Swartz’s message to me sent on February 6, 2017, follows. I have boldfaced the most relevant sentences.


On Monday, February 6, 2017 8:09 AM, James Swartz <swartz.jb@googlemail.com> wrote:

Dear Traveller,

Well, the plot thickens. Thank you so much for your latest email. It turns out that before you cooked up this whole story, I had completely forgotten the details of that time of my life. Now, it seems your posts have jogged my memory a little. I’m sure more revelations are in store. The revelation that I want to share with you is ‘pepper.’ You can share this with the ‘victim.’ And along with this keyword you might be kind enough to tell her that since she doesn’t seem to mind slandering me with her lies, don’t you think it is fair th at when a little more research and a few more Isvara-induced memoy jogs leads me to her real identity, that I share this ‘sordid’ part of her life witkh her family and friends? You are such a sleaze that you probably won’t because when she sees how close I’m getting, she will definitely turn on you. Whether she is using you or you are using her…or both…will soon be known. If it isn’t clear to you that this ridiculous incident is heading to a conclusion in real time and space, you are definitely a dim bulb. Only cowards hide. And while the web does momentarily provide some anonymity, it is connected to the earth.

Two “FYI’s”

FYI #1—
It took me days to publish the post above. Just so you know, if you ever copy another message and do a post on this site, do not repeat do not copy the sentence that says “Original Message.”
It will prevent you from posting the whole thing.

FYI #2–
Some persons have advocated that those of us who know the ugly truths regarding James Swartz (just what he has confessed to and has been caught lying about is damning, even if he hasn’t yet been sentenced to prison in the case of Heather) should take more action. They maintain that a group should get together and send multiple messages to all places and organizations that host or support James Swartz. One of these folks said, “Who would want Swartz to speak if they’d read ‘Guru? The Story Of Heather” and all the posts on the Cult Education site?”

This site, though, is for education. It is not a “vigilante site.” As was pointed out by Valma, over 4000 views shows that almost every person interested in or who follows James Swartz has viewed it. That is “education,” and after reading this site and of Heather, if a person still wishes to listen to Swartz, “That’s on them.”

If you wish to advocate “vigilanteeism” or to argue about it, that should not be done on this site. It would be breaking their rules. You can argue with me about this at Traveler99@protonmail.com if you wish.

Meanwhile, though, for the thousands who have tuned in here, read about Swartz, and not posted, certainly some of you have more experiences and perspectives to share. Please do so— and many thanks to those who already have.

Hi Guys,

The copy of the email from Swartz, that Traveller posted above, is one of the instances where JS attempted to gaslight me. He unintentionally exposed the fact that he did in fact know me...when previous to that email he denied knowing me at all. In that email he sent to Trav, JS attempted to scare me so I would stop speaking out about his abuse. You can read my comments on this in my previous comments on this thread.

"Pepper" was the name we had chosen to be my stripper-performer name. I remember distinctly talking with Marlene & James Swartz about what my name would be (all strippers have stage names). James Swartz sexually assaulted me. He also was grooming me to be in the sex entertainment industry...I was not old enough to do it legally (at that time I was 16)...but he was grooming me. I did do one strip "performance" at his brother's house in Oregon...it was at a house party. I can tell more on that story soon.

Hi Guys,

Writing on this forum is very healing for me. I feel safe to speak the truth here. Truth-telling is an integral part of my therapy.

I would like to respond to the email that James Swartz sent Traveller99 two years ago (see previous comments on that).

Swartz threw out some colorful language in describing Traveller. I would like to share some definitions of my own.

From Google:

coward

a person who lacks the courage to do or endure dangerous or unpleasant things.
antonyms: hero

adjective: coward

LITERARY
excessively afraid of danger or pain.

HERALDRY
(of an animal) depicted with the tail between the hind legs.

MynameisHeather’s definition of a coward

A person who lies about who they are, and what they want from you. A person who hypnotizes, drugs, and sexually assaults a young underaged girl. A person who takes pleasure in harming others. A person (AKA a Pimp) who uses his wife, and female devotees to work in the sex trade industry to make a living. A person who feels gratified by exerting power over others. A person who enjoys demeaning and demoralizing others. A person who is so frightened to see his real self, he suffers from self aggrandizement. A person who discards people as trash. A person who runs away from the scene of his crimes. A person who has no remorse or empathy for the pain he has caused others. James Swartz is a coward.


dim bulb
noun
INFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN
plural noun: dim bulb; plural noun: dim bulbs
a stupid person.
"either she's a dim bulb or she doesn't respect my feelings"


MynameisHeather’s of a “Dim Bulb”

A person who believes he is smarter and more powerful than others. A person who believes his own ridiculous fantasies about his life. A person who spends his whole life pursuing titles of “guru”, “spiritual father”, and “leader”, but tries to trick others by saying that’s not what he’s doing. A person who repeats his criminal and destructive behaviour—never feeling remorse, never learning from past wrong-doing. A person who believes he will always escape justice. A person who believes he is above the law. A person who imagines people will always be gullible to his con-game. A person who assumes he will always be loved by his imaginary audience of dedicated followers. James Swartz is a Dim Bulb.

Hi Guys,

Just doing some research on sadist and psychopaths...since I know from my own experience that Swartz is both a sadist and a psychopath. I'm sharing it here for you guys:

Dr. J. Reid Meloy published (1997) the following, The Psychology of Wickedness: Psychopathy and Sadism.

On the psychopath:

“Some of the psychodynamics of the psychopath bring us closer to what we see as their evil, or their wish to destroy goodness. Psychopaths are aggressively narcissistic, and this aspect of their character pathology is often expressed behaviorally by the repetitive devaluation of others, not predominantly in fantasy, as we see in narcissistic personality disorder but in reality. Psychopaths generally do this for two reasons: first, to maintain grandiosity, or their sense of being larger than life, and second, to repair perceived insults or emotional wounds by retaliating against those they hold responsible. This repetitive devaluation of others, which may range from verbal insults to serial homicide, also serves to diminish envy, an emotion highlighted by Klein13 and recently explored by Berke.14 Envy is the wish to possess the “goodness” perceived in others. If the “good object” cannot be possessed, it must be destroyed or damaged until it is not worth having.”

On Sadism:

“Because the term has multiple meanings and a confusing and speculative literature,23 I will clarify: I am using the term to describe individuals who derive pleasure from the control, domination, and suffering of others. I will treat sexual sadism as a more channeled variant,24 characterized by sexual arousal stimulated by the psychologic or physical suffering of another.”

[drreidmeloy.com]

Swartz's Teachings Examined, and more of the sad plight of some ex-Andrew Cohen followers

From one of the first persons to hear Heather's claims, to think something like, "Oh, Shiva! Based on what I know of James Swartz, she could be telling the truth," and then to have Swartz's own responses to questions about her claims confirm, to her and to many others, his guilt, came this message (copied below in part) regarding Swartz and the veracity of this spiritual teachings:

Trav,
Hey, I just saw on the first page of results from Googling James Swartz's name, this article which came up number 3 on all results on the French search: [christianpaaske.wordpress.com]

This article reveals Swartz in some of his worst, and typical for him, spiritual behaviors. In the article:
--It is discovered that he left out a verse of one of the key chapters of the (incredible, unsurpassable) Bhagavad Gita in one of his translations. The reason? The verse cast doubt on Swartz's own teachings.
--It is discussed that Swartz claims to be the student, indeed, the chosen successor, to a true spiritual teacher he neither seems to understand nor to adhere to.
--It is also discussed that Swartz has a purely mental understanding of moksha. To Swartz, what he calls "enlightenment" is simply a mental understanding of concepts that normally takes two to three years.
--and more.

That James Swartz only has a mental understanding of enlightenment is no surprise. For one thing, it shows that he himself is not enlightened, or he would know better. For another thing, it reveals how the teachings can indeed be misused in terrible ways by a person that Heather, and he himself, have given much evidence towards being a "Sadist, Narcissist, and Psychopath."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

In the same message chain in which my friend informed me of the article about Swartz detailed above, she again lamented the fact that Andrew Cohen people seem especially prone to falling for Swartz's new grandfatherly persona. One letter I read, allegedly to Swartz from an ex-AC person, was so obviously written by Swartz or one of his minions that I had to laugh, but my friend is very correct. Some ex-AC people for some reason seem to have a genetic attraction to frauds. Here is some of what my friend wrote:

Hi Trav,
Okay, I understand, but still, people should be warned about JS, including the naive people who are hosting him, and the naive ex-members of other cults who have fallen prey to him. It just seems like a website should be put up by someone, that is easily findable on Google, that exposes him. As it would be convincing, the old AC students, and others, would have to admit that they fell for another sociopath. It just seems horrific, that teachers who may have slight egos, and have gotten on minor ego trips, and thus hurt a few people when they got carried away by the adulation given them, are tarred and feathered on a mass scale online, whereas evil monsters, whether they are gurus, or politicians, get away with rape and murder.
Why aren't there all the expose articles on James Swartz that there were on Gafni, Cohen, Genpo, Adi Da (Ken Wilber's 'Rude Boys')?

To her last question there are two likely answers. One is that not enough people care about James Swartz. Even at his highest point, he is still small time compared to where Gafni, Cohen, and Adi Da at one time were. Look what happened to John of God when his alleged sexual antics came out. Furthermore, imagine if Mooji had been revealed to be a likely rapist, a trafficker of underage girls, to have had his wife make money for him by performing live, on-stage sex shows, to train two underage female followers to follow her path as soon as they turn 18, to be a poisoner of dogs, and to be a deliberate mis-translator of holy text. That would have made the network news.
In comparison, "James Swartz? Who is he?"

The second reason there's not more about Swartz on the web and the various media regarding his fraudulence and (confessed and alleged) crimes is that the tipping point still has not been reached. People heard about but did not believe the Bill Cosby charges for years, until, one day, suddenly, they were generally accepted. The truths and charges regarding Swartz are still perhaps not widely known enough among the (relatively small) numbers who have been or might choose to be connected to him. Once they reach critical mass, though...

It looks very much like we are moving towards this tipping point. That is, especially if the persons who know Swartz to be a spiritual fraud, a confessed criminal, and (perhaps) a rapist with no conscience, keep sharing this site, the book and allegations behind "Guru? The Story Of Heather", and what they know with others, both in person and in writing.

May the Truth win out.

A couple days ago I sent a message to exactly the same group of persons to whom I sent a message way back in 2017. That message was to persons James Swartz had listed on his website, and were thus likely considered to be his most loyal supporters. In that original message, I listed four articles that detailed the charges made against James Swartz by the woman we now know as Heather, and requested these persons' comments.

The original replies were a very diverse group of messages indeed.

This new message, sent a couple days ago, simply mentioned that the book, "Guru? The Story of Heather," was out there, that it was based on Heather's allegations, and that this Message Board on the Cult Education Site existed, and had much new information of which they might be interested.

The first reply surprised me. Very much. This person, who shall of course remain anonymous, is very obviously now a "former" follower of James Swartz, and, happily, it shows that there is indeed "life" and even "love" after close association with this confessed criminal, accused rapist, and proved mis-translator of sacred texts.

The message from this (former) Swartz-ite follows:


<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<


Hi "Traveler99",

I'm not sure what you want from me? or what type of response you are expecting.

If those allegations are true, then of course, may Ishvara send James to exactly the place where he deserves.

But again, though i know--and have directly experienced--his shitty behaviour, what has been claimed in the forum stretches beyond my evidence.
But nothing will surprise me.

I see that you spend much of your attention and time on this.
If I may ask, were you the victim called "Heather"?

Either way, I hope that this burden lifts off you soon and that you can feel at ease.

As always, I trust that Ishavra will dish-out exactly what needs to be dished.
-
May I suggest something?

Life is short. Dark shit happens---and will continue to happen---all the time. What to do?
But i sincerely pray that you treat your heart with forgiveness, light and joy.

Fuck James and fuck the unstoppable adharma that will forever occur.
Create your own inner-world of peace and joy and do what you can.

This is not a lecture or "teaching share", but simply driven by love from one human to the next.

=)

I respect what the former SW staffer has to say. It's coming from a place of lvoe toward traveller99. And it is valid.

However, it is quite acceptable to have the svadharma of a warrior. Svadharma is one's nature. So it is quite acceptable to challenge wrong behavior.

Everything is Isvara. Which means, that heather's book and traveller99's topic, and both t99 (think terminator, hehe) and heather as well as everyone else supporting this movement, all this is Isvara. It is not seperate nor different from Isvara. So, this situation is existing for a reason. Although one can't see things from the perspective of Isvara, it might be that all this is serving a really valid purpose.

In fact, it is. This movement still has a lot of traction. And people ho were once stalwart supporters of JS are no longer doing so. Or at the least they are seriously questioning things.

Earthquake