If Jacs' behavior wasn't enough to show the org is compromised, which it obviously is, I looked into the 3 other co-founders and seeing major red flags about another co-founder Craig Holliday...


In the description of every one of his youtube videos, he likens himself/his teachings as similar to a list of people that include many teachers that are well-known as dangerously unethical, have well-documented history of manipulation/abusiveness, including known cult leaders!



"Craig's Nondual teachings are similar to those offered by Adyashanti, Sri Aurobindo, A. H. Almaas (The Diamond Approach), Matt Kahn, Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now), Scott Kiloby, Byron Katie, Teal Swan, Deepak Chopra, Jeff Foster, Bentinho Massaro, Eli Jaxon Bear, Matt Kahn, Rupert Spira, Gangaji, Michael Beckwith, Ester Hicks, Mooji, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and other similar teachers found on Buddha at the Gas Pump (batgap.com)."




Most concerningly:


MOOJI Perhaps the MOST well-known cult leader in the nondual scene who has hurt and abused so many people

Inside the Mooji Cult

[bit.ly]



Bentinho Massaro!! A known dangerous cult leader.

https://culteducation.com/group/1289-general-information/36420-massaro-s-organization-is-a-cover-to-give-him-everything-he-craves-power-money-and-women.html



Teal Swan - constantly shown to engage in dangerous cult-like behavior that puts her followers at serious risk of harm, and Rick Archer, another co-founder of ASI even removed Teal Swans' interview on BATGAP because of ethical concerns!



Eli Jaxton Bear - this teacher had a 3-year affair with his student and resigned from his org when it got out (https://bit.ly/3NIOisN)



There have been ongoing discussions here on cult education forum about the unethical, cult-like behavior of several of the other "teachers" Craig is promoting himself as associated with:


Byron Katie https://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?4,9147,page=1



Gangagi & Eli Jaxon Bear https://bit.ly/3PmtiJz

More Gangagi https://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?12,81688


Caroline Myss https://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?3,25144,page=5


A baseline for anyone who wishes to advocate for integrity and ethics, is NOT being associated with known abusers. Besides the obvious implications, it gaslights people who have been harmed by these teachers when an org founded to support ethical teaching supports known abusers. It shows a willingness to enable them, promote them, and that either they lack the ability to discern abusive unethical teaching behavior, or that they know and don't care, both of which are extremely disturbing!


He is also teaching practices on youtube like primal breathwork that are dangerous to teach when not there with the student, and when not specifically trained in it, as well as things as other risky things like opening all of your chakras at once. In the past, you can see he included disclaimers on some of the videos, but he STOPPED including them awhile ago. ??



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2023 09:06AM by granejim.

Thank you!!
ASI is nothing more than a smokescreen for *any* kind of oversight in the non-dual community.

Awakening to the fact of Wholeness, in *NO* way, guarantees the embodiment of the Universal Law of Integrity and Honesty.

It’s a danger to equate “non-duality” with Spirituality and Spiritual Principle.

When ’non-duality’ is the bedrock of spirituality the following abomination of Spiritual Principle can (easily) happen:

[integrityintruth.com]

Warmly,
-Leslie Read
www.integrityintruth.com

Hello...

Denial is an active ingredient in all radical non-duality. It's the very thing that allows for abuse to go on, unhindered...UNLESS what makes a stink about it! Which I am glad to see (finally) happening.

With regard to Jac and the *utter smokescreen* of the ASI:

[integrityintruth.com]

And with regard to denialism and ND'ity:

[integrityintruth.com]

AND Ajata (nothing ever happens)

[integrityintruth.com]

Continue calling out where such hypocrisy occurs at the expense of our Humanness.

Warmly,
-Leslie Read
www.Integrityintruth.com

Today is the first time I've seen any of this. I'm going to be speaking with Jac and the other ASI board members about this and will report back.

I read everything in ths thread. I’ll try to read the 52-page Google doc, but that’s a lot of reading. Maybe I’ll convert it to audio and listen to it while walking. Regarding “nothing ever happened”, that view is characteristic of some schools of Vedanta. Mandukya Upanishad and Ashtavakra Gita emphasize it, for instance. Even some quantum physicists might say similar things. But it’s not a teaching you can live by. I think it’s possibly more useful for recluses than for householders. The old snake and rope analogy illustrates the point. In semi-darkness we thought the rope was a snake. When we realize it was only a rope, it’s not that the snake went away. There never was a snake. I don’t think such teachings should ever be used to ignore people’s suffering or problems. You don’t tell a person who just broke their leg, “Don’t worry, there is really no universe. Nothing ever happened.” You get them to the hospital.

I’m someone who has actually attended several of Jac O’Keeffe’s satsangs mentioned here. 

Jac O’Keeffe is not represented accurately or fairly in your document. She is not at all as you portray her to be. What I see here is inflated and taken out of context. 

I've had nondual, Buddhist, and Sufi teachers in my life. I can recognize (from experience) ethical and unethical teachers. From a content perspective they all say the same—the person you perceive yourself to be doesn’t truly exist. That concept is a foundation of many wisdom traditions. Some Buddhist traditions discuss a state prior to existence and Jac's teachings point there also. 

At every retreat I’ve attended, Jac has consistently emphasized two points:

1. Teachings: There are several lenses of perception: the individual/‘separate me’ perception, the impersonal, the nondual perception, and what's involved in prior to non-duality. It’s important to be able to hold all levels of perception one is aware of at the same time. Don’t hide behind a nondual awareness; do not deny your humanness. She teaches about not sticking to any one lens, but to be wise in how we allow for all viewpoints to operate in the one field of perception.

2. Methodology: What she says to one person applies to that person and might not apply to another. She is providing individual feedback.

You have to also understand that many of these transcripts originate from five-day residential retreats. The conversations tended to deepen over the course of the retreat, as people were more open to exploring and releasing what has been blocking them. The excerpts presented here may reflect the third or fourth conversation Jac had with them on the same topic. I have never witnessed Jac forcing anyone to share. She asks, "Who needs help?" and people bring to her what they cannot free up on their own.

I understand that I may not be able to convince you that Jac is a skilled, highly compassionate, and ethical teacher. You’ve invested a lot of time looking for evidence that would support the false accusations here.

However, as a former student of hers (she’s no longer teaching), I want to clearly state that this has not been my experience.

If you genuinely seek objective truth on this Forum, feel free to contact me. I may even be able to connect you with some of the individuals featured in those excerpts.

Jac has always encouraged feedback, and while there may be a complaint about her in the future, so far, I have not heard anything negative about her from anyone in the sangha. And I think I would have heard as many of us have become trusting friends. Unlike some of my past teachers, Jac has strongly discouraged putting herself (or any other guru) on a pedestal. I've heard her say if we have an alter, to place a mirror on it. If I have learned anything from her, it would be to trust myself and always rely on my own discernment.

P.S. I have not read all the excerpts posted here and do not have knowledge about all of them, but I wanted to share something about the tree.

The idea of releasing suppressed anger by whacking a tree felt weird to me (Jac is a tree hugger), so I asked her about it. She explained that she envisioned a dead tree and assumed that the student would select a dead tree. When she learned the tree was alive she went out later and asked forgiveness for the tree, out of sight of students.

While I agree Jac is a decent person and teacher…she *also* is one who is adamant about protecting the non-dual brand…and the teachers associated with non-duality.

As arguably one who has been one of the most harmed by the systemic collusion of non-dual teachers I had a chance to meet with her over Skype to discuss the existential harm to this life and the lives of 4-generations of my family as described in this letter addressed to her and the others who founded the ASI:
[www.dropbox.com]

She could not offer much support except to awkwardly say “This is the Wild West.”

While it may be the Wild West she was *also* obviously covering for the brands of such as Adyashanti etc.

If one is going to be the founder of a group what the ASI purports to be than it needs to be based on action and not merely a smokescreen for covering for one’s non-dual teacher friends…which is *precisely* what the ASI really is.

Some say self-knowledge is a ‘superpower!’
…only if one embodies humility and integrity. If not, then it is very clearly a large and, oftentimes, narcissistic ego trip.

-Leslie Read
www.integrityintruth.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/29/2024 02:45AM by Leslie Read.