The last couple of weeks I have contacted several people who have worked at Eden asked some fairly probing questions, this has led me to reconsider my position in certain areas. And before some of you start leaping up and down joy at being a convert to the campaign please read on.

It would appear that virtually everything said about Hansards inappropriate behaviour towards clients is true. The man has systematically emotionally, mentally and sexually abused clients on an alarming scale. What has also emerged is that many of the practitioners who worked at the Eden Centre were unaware of this. It would seem that Mr Hansard was very careful who he displayed these forms of activities around. He was consistently foul and abusive to the staff that he employed.

We now come to another area entirely, many of his apprentices were skilled practitioners in their own right in both Oriental and European natural medicine. This body of people who are actually capable of assessing whether the therapy is applied and used by Hansard were effective. To a single individual they all say that when appropriately applied the techniques taught by Christopher Hansard were both therapeutic and effective.

It has been remarked here that one of Christopher Hansard colleagues the chiropractor Stefanie Wright conducted much of the teaching, this is very traditional in an oriental system the senior apprentice does much of the donkey work, and was heard to say ‘accept the teachings but not the teacher’. I think the site is now walking a very tricky line, more and more people are coming forward and expressing their desire to stop Hansard, I am in agreement with this. I think what we should be careful as a unit is dragging others down with him. At the moment criticism is levelled at Stefanie Wright who I suggested and stated was a stabilising influence, I stick by that comment.

I think Stefanie Wright was a very difficult position, when the individual you are working alongside is difficult and destructive what do you do? Do you walk away and ignore it? Or do you try it and stick it out take the good and do something about the bad? It's very easy to say she should have walked away and ignored it but that kind of attitude gives rise to things like fascism and the Nazi party, just turn your back and let it go on behind you. I am still of the opinion that Stefanie Wright was attempting to be a stabilising influence within the clinic. But what off Christopher Hansards other apprentices? Are they to be tarred with the same brush? The apprentices that stayed and worked and studied were they also complicit in this? I do not think so. My personal view is that they came to study in good faith, as did Stefanie when she first met Hansard and that they have taken away with them is very effective therapeutic modalities which will benefit many people in years to come. I feel very strongly that the therapy should remain and under skilled and compassionate hands provide help for those in need.

I have asked people who have been at the clinic whether they would be prepared to go to law and seek legal redress against Christopher Hansard and the answer has always been they want nothing more to do with the individual and they have no desire to remember or be associated with him ever again.
I have no qualms about the group decision or anger towards Christopher Hansard what does concern me is that the anger is spilling over on to other individuals which I feel is entirely unjustified.

James

I stated that CH is aware he is sick and is seeking help for himself merely as information, not to offer him sympathy or to suggest that makes him a man of integrity and honesty or to in any way condone any of the dreadful things he has done.

I myself have been grossly deceived by this man on many levels.

However, the fact that he knows he now needs help and acknowledges his illness is a small start in a long process of possible healing. I personally consider this can only be positive for ALL concerned.

Mr Bowe, you do not know me or have any reason to believe I am genuine or honest. But may I suggest that to try to discredit me or judge me or anyone who has been misled by CH at some time or suffered at this hands due to their vulnerability is not acting with integrity or compassion yourself.

If you want people with real experiences to have the courage to come forward I would suggest that you show support and not try to manipulate our thought processes.

I know that I was put off joining this debate for a long time as I felt that your obsession with CH had a negative energy I did not want to be part of. Sometimes you belittle your own intelligence with the mocked up graphics and dogmatic rants.

This forum has become a place for people to discuss and be open and has been very useful and catalytic in revealing some dark truths, please allow people to express their thoughts, views and stories without your judgement.

I would add that as a human being to direct hatred and anger towards another is never useful. CH is a sick man, he is mentally ill, it would appear that he has probably been sick since childhood and created an illusion for a life to help him cope with this. In this he has deceived and hurt many people, there is no doubt of that. But he has a right to heal, whether he is a psychopath, trickester or abuser, he is still a human soul.

That said, he should not be allowed to practice as he is not in a fit state to do so, he cannot be trusted and is a possible danger to anyone who comes into contact with him, in particular women.

I have heard via a long standing patient of CH that he has now moved from Chelsea and is operating in Richmond, South West London. There are no more details at this time.

Cirrus -- I am much impressed by your most recent post. You articulate a Middle Way with clarity and compassion. There are always pitfalls in a discussion of this nature. One can get carried away by emotions like anger, distress, indignation, disgust....etc: And enthusiasm -- which I think is Jeff's driver. He (and many others) have a profound respect for the cultural and spiritual heritage of Tibet. I share this view. To see it debased and exploited for personal gain is extremely painful. CH is not the only person who is doing this. But to my knowldege he is the worst offender.
Pema

realnamegone,

Were the people you have talked to apprentices or other pratitioners?

There is no doubt that Stephanie Wright is a fine chiroprator. I do not doubt that she became involved with CH and learning medicine from him in good faith. However, somewhere in the process her goodness became distorted and many will confirm they have been at the receiving end of her own abuse.

Unfortunately somewhere along the line CH and SW became quite merged and his illness became her illness, as her illness became his. Perhaps it was due to the sexually entwined nature of their union? She protected him as she was aware for a long time that his actions with patients and students were not always appropriate. In an even more twisted way, her jealousy of others that were perhaps receiving his 'inappropriate attention' caused her to become angry and abusive and throw blame at them. But instead of speaking out and protecting people she allowed it to continue to keep the illlusion of her life at Eden alive... always "for the sake of the teachings"... when it was actually the teacher she wanted for herself as she was in love with him.

She is a fine chiropractor for sure but she was not a stabilising influence at Eden. She was the one holding up the facade with all her might and deceiving the other apprentices who trusted and respected her and CH as Teachers. I therefore personally do not consider she has integrity and compassion. The image of her as a stoic victim is one that one that she has always carried but each individual that was involved in this situation has to take personal responsibility, she chose her path as did we all.

As we desire CH to be accountable for his actions so should Stephanie Wright be accountable for hers.

Real-Name-Gone states that the apprentices were all independently skilled in natural medicine. This is true. The fact is they kept the clinic running and maintained it through their hard work and sincerity. They gave years of their time, love, loyalty and devotion because they believed in the teachings and wanted to help others. They were continually promised teaching that did not materialise. The basis of the apprenticeship was to work in the clinic, in return for receiving teaching, making an exchange of energy. Periodically they would become despondent because the promised teachings did not arrive. They were then treated to a display of seduction and illusion, building up their hopes and making them want to keep working, but the illusory carrot kept receding into the distance. Meanwhile Hansard was off gallivanting and jet-setting, enjoying his gigolo lifestyle, not bothering to put energy into the clinic that was his livelihood. The most thanks they ever got, was to be told they had "lost him patients". Were these the same patients that left after being shouted at by Hansard? Or being continually promised one to ones that never materialised?

The fact is that the apprentices were exploited, because of their good nature. But not only this. They were suddenly made to leave, for the sake of pleasing a new love interest. After all their years of dedication and devotion, they were sacked off for a woman who had nothing to do with the teachings. They deserved better than this. Even if circumstances dictated that they must leave, as the empire was crumbling and things had to change, they should have been given the basics of human respect and decency. Any good therapist or teacher understands the importance of ending a therapeutic relationship correctly. When it is cut off with the cold suddenness of a surgeon's scalpel, it can drive people insane.

There were also, it seems, many women who were romantically involved and then cut in a similar way. Some of them became suicidal. The only reason I am sharing this, is that I believe this trait in itself is highly dangerous, and could realistically cause people to jump off bridges. There is no way that this man can continue to practise. I for one could not live with myself knowing what I know.

I believe it is time for justice. Not punishment, or senseless destruction, but some kind of level headed decision that he cannot practise. People have been pushed out, refused resolution and basic human decency. Isolated and divided, some of us have no recourse but to chat on this site.

It appears that he has tried to avoid responsibility by saying he is in a "dark place". What about the dark places of all the people affected? Surely one of the most basic spiritual lessons, is when you realise you have hurt someone, and they are still available, to try to make up for things and speak to them from the heart, so that they know it and they feel it. I am sure he has lost count and memory of all the people affected by this. But has he actually attempted to devote his energies to some kind of rite of forgiveness and making amends? Surely with all his Bon teachings, he would know the right thing to do in every occasion, and would be able to do the right thing by all those people. To simply run off and disappear, is surely to store up more negative karma for the future. Does he really want this?

What about the story of the man who earned a fortune selling drugs, and was apparently made by Christopher to burn his fortune note by note, causing him extreme emotional and psychic pain? Then the story goes, he turned himself in, served time in prison, and then worked as a drug rehabilitator, so turning his karma around and positively making up for the pain he had caused. I wonder what remedy Christopher would prescribe for himself? It would be very interesting to know, and I am sure a lot of people are interested to know.

What is the right course of action to make amends?

Kurukulla

I am regularly touched by the sense of integrity and intelligence that shines from contributors to this forum. So many people I’d like to meet!

James raises some important points regarding Hansard’s apprentices. There is no doubt that some of the treatments taught by Hansard were of value and why should they not be? There is plenty of material publicly available on Tibetan and Chinese medicine that Hansard had access to. He would not have been able to keep going for so long if he had been teaching nothing of value. However do not for a moment imagine that it came from the sources he claims. Hansard was always quite masterly at picking other people’s brains for knowledge and then selling it back repackaged in the Hansard brand.

I know of some very talented people who worked in his centre and then began to doubt their own talents. But this was part of the effect of being around him – the arising of confusion and uncertainty and, ultimately, dependency that he engendered in others. Sorry to bang on about this but it is a state well recognised by psychoanalysts in the company of psychotics.

That said I have no doubt that all of them, were well aware of the harm that Hansard was doing to some patients and apprentices. I have no doubt that all of them thought many times of leaving but were caught in the web of his lies and fantasies and the promises of superior powers and knowledge. All will have to come to terms with that and help repair the damage. As for what they learned from him it will be fairly worthless out of context but if they see value in Tibetan Medicine there are respectable schools in which to study.

As for Christopher, it is unlikely that he will find a cure and unlikely that he will attempt to make amends for all the harm he has done. In the past when accusations of sexual abuse were made he resorted to the paranoid invention of dark forces out to destroy his good work. Perhaps he should head for the hills. Perhaps he’ll find a Lha Khu to wake him from his dreams.

I have to add that infact CH's acknowledgement of his illness, the dark place he is in and his seeking help is too to please and keep hold of the woman he desires to entrap and keep in his life. It does not appear to be to make amends to the people that that he has betrayed the trust of, who gave their time, love and devotion to the clinic and his workshops over many years or any one of the many who have suffered, felt desperate, confused, isolated, traumatised and suicidal after being abused and mistreated by him.

Kurukulla, thank you for speaking out, as you say this a time to come together to seek justice, to ensure this can not ever happen again at the hands of this delusional Master of Deceit.

Cirrus, I am a little disappointed, and genuinely surprised, at the nature of your rather personal comments. I can only conclude you have completely misread my previous contribution.

Actually Dorje, I think for the most part the apprentices were genuinely not aware of the harm that was being done. As I said, they were people of integrity. The whole place was run with so much secrecy, so many closed doors, and a personal illusion for each individual. It would have taken a genius psychic not to be fooled. Also most people bought into the collective illusion that if someone was to be shouted at, admonished or treated harshly, it was for their own good, and some kind of wrathful medicine.

Once you have seen enough to make you believe in something, and place your trust in someone, it is natural to want to overlook little discrepancies and give them the benefit of the doubt. Also it is a very human trait to ignore anomalies which do not fit into your world view. I believe we should all be alert to this.

What is extremely dangerous, is a renegade individual who is answerable to no-one. History has illustrated this on many occasions. The personal flaws of individuals are normally balanced out and smoothed off, when we come into contact with others in the course of our daily lives. We all need feedback, conflict and challenge to grow in a healthy way. When there is an individual who will not take the smallest amount of feedback or criticism from anyone, and who happens to be in a position of power - well, we can all imagine what this can lead to. Unfortunately followers of this get caught up in the imbalance of it all.

It would seem that balance is now attempting to restore itself.