Kath, I did think of PM-ing you. But I thought I read somewhere that you have to have a certain number of posts under your belt before you can use PM here. (Unless that is from another message board I frequent?!)

Do you know anything about this?

P.S. I believe this will be my tenth post -- in case ten is the number of required posts before PM-ing!

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jeannelucille
P.S. I believe this will be my tenth post -- in case ten is the number of required posts before PM-ing!

I think it is :D send a test one if u like :)

Good information on Doreen! I totally agree that I was weirded by her being 40something and already on husband number 4!!! During my read of Healing with Fairies, I questioned her character when she gave hubby #3 this ultimatum: move to Laguna Beach or get divorced. And then, she "wept" when her husband mowed the lawn without warning the fairies living in the grass. And, I did not believe that it was by some sort of angelic coincidence that she met hubby #4, who also happened to be an old childhood crush. One thing I hate is when healers (of any path) sell this crap to people.

Also, has anyone followed Conversations with God? The very first one had some good insight, but the rest are completely weird. I donated books 2 and 3, never bothered to finish the one about communion with God.

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wildswan
Also, has anyone followed Conversations with God? The very first one had some good insight, but the rest are completely weird. I donated books 2 and 3, never bothered to finish the one about communion with God.

There was a thread a few months ago on here about Neale Donald Walsh, author of CWG, it was about him and another writer, if you do a search of this forum for Walshs' nae it should come up :)

I appreciate all the input I have received! :D

After some consideration, I've decided to share some things about Doreen Virtue that I experienced, for the most part, directly. Here goes...

I became a Certified Spiritual Counselor (aka "CSC") upon completing just three weekends of training with Doreen Virtue in the late 1990's. To say that the training was superficial is an understatement. :lol: Interestingly, after a few years or so, Doreen changed her counselors' label to "Angel Therapy Practitioner", aka "ATP". By that time, I'd already begun my descent into "Doreen disillusionment". For example, I can remember feeling quite turned off by the nagging that went on at Doreen's private message board for her graduates, wherein we were continually reminded for a time that we must properly display our "ATP" designation in ads and so on with the trademark symbol. It just seemed so commercial, so at odds with spirituality. (Alas, not "New Wage" spirituality!)

Very early on I'd felt some twinges re Doreen, though I'd all but ignored those twinges for some time. Now Ms. Virtue claims to base much of her work on the principles of "A Course in Miracles". Although I've never "graduated" from this miracle course, I'm familiar enough with it to know that it says, "There are no laws but God's" and then it goes on to maintain that there are no rules anyone must follow regarding health, diet, etc. Meanwhile Doreen Virtue happens to be very big on leading a "natural" lifestyle and all but insists that the people trained by her be vegan or at least vegetarian in order to receive "clear guidance". (At least that was my experience when I'd received my "training". Maybe things have changed since then?)

When I first heard Doreen promote a special diet, I thought, "But what about Caroline Myss, who says that a person can be eating dog food and still be deeply spiritual?! Who can I believe here?" (Which is not to say that I'm all that much of a Caroline Myss fan these days. For one thing, I've discovered that Ms. Myss has promoted Sai Baba over the years, and there have been numerous reports of him using sleight of hand for his materializations, as well as molesting young boys. But I digress. :lol:)

Another thing about Doreen that had given me pause early on related to her appearance -- which may seem rather shallow, but it's the truth. To be very blunt, one day during my CSC training I can clearly recall looking Doreen over and thinking, "Jeez, she has got SOME set of boobs on her! I wonder if they're real?" Interestingly enough, when I later became friends with someone who'd known Doreen pretty well for an extended period of time, I was told that Doreen had not only sprung for a boob job, but had undergone "other work" as well. Now if that indeed is the case, then Doreen is not exactly following the "natural" lifestyle she preaches about regularly. Hmm...

Back when I was studying with Doreen, and for some time beyond that, I'd basically bought into Doreen's belief system re angels and other spiritual phenomena. However, I've since come to believe that "angelic guidance" and the like are iffy propositions at best. And so I've wondered, how well is Doreen's angelic guidance operating in her own life when, for example, she is on her fourth marriage?! Now I don't mean to judge people who've been with multiple marriages... however, in Doreen's specific case, when she is making the claims she does about the immense benefits of tuning into and following angelic guidance, it really does seem dubious that Doreen's own angels are advising her all that well in her personal life! (Uh, aside from all those $$$ she is able to rake in. On that front, her angels are doing a swell job! But then how many of us agree that "Money isn't everything"?!)

Of course Doreen is free to believe and act as she chooses... but so too are we consumers free to question her beliefs and character, especially when she keeps unloading her teachings on the public in her MANY books, CDs, tarot-like cards, and public appearances and trainings. Why, her strong support of the "Indigo Child" concept alone warrants major scrutiny, imo.

Earlier in this post I mentioned knowing someone who'd been better acquainted with Doreen than I was, and for an extended period of time. Well, this person maintained that Doreen could be incredibly nasty and power-hungry, and moreover that she didn't even believe in much of what she was teaching! Of course this is hearsay. However, from my own close encounter with Doreen during my Angel Therapy training, I am inclined to believe my friend's story. Here's what happened...

When my fellow "CSC" wannabe's and I were given a break during one of our training weekends, I'd decided to scoot over to a nearby juice bar for some nourishment. Well, it turned out that Doreen too had decided to go to that juice bar. However, she was not alone. She was with a man I hadn't seen during the training. It wasn't long before I'd felt stunned to notice that Doreen Virtue displayed a VERY different off-stage persona than the one I'd witnessed on-stage. In the limelight, Doreen was all sweetness and light. On line at the juice place, however, she came across as an absolute bitch on wheels! Imo, she spoke to the man accompanying her quite nastily and abruptly, all the while remaining utterly unsmiling and humorless. Oh heck, maybe her angels were on a break too. Because their alleged omnipresence in Doreen's life sure seemed absent for a spell. :lol:

Doreen's altered manner during the session break had really given me the creeps. Good lord! And yet, back then I'd managed to rationalize it away. Oh, I suppose my rationalizing sprang from getting addicted to all that "love and light" stuff, all those New Age promises I later discovered would rarely pan out...

Amazingly enough, the more I've distanced myself from Doreen and her ilk, and adopted a more "earthbound" approach to living, the better my life has become. How about that?!

Okay, that's my "juicy" story re Doreen Virtue. Thanks for listening, y'all. :)

Wow, jeannelucille, you have some great information. I am glad you found a better lifestyle.

I'm glad too! Thanks for your support!

I'm glad you felt you could post about this jeannelucille. Having seen it from the inside we can seriously mock New Agers :D :D

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[b:41aef9203b]jeannelucille:[/b:41aef9203b]
I feel so much healthier these days, having let go of many of the New Age beliefs and practices I used to cling to so desperately. I think now that much of it was wishful thinking that rarely, if ever, bore fruit.

Owhhh boy!!!! I can totally relate to that and that's my experience too. Not only do I now think it was all wishful thinking, but I also used to think I was either inadequate or lacked some deep spiritual essence.

It seemed as if all these people were having all these wonderful insighful experiences and growing spiritually all over the place, while I seemed to get nowhere and never saw all those 'bright coloured lights' others claimed to.

All I ever seemed to do was end up with one big headache, which naturally meant I was spiritually retarded, closed minded and anal because I didn't set my mind free to believe. I sometimes wonder how many people either pretend or convince themselves they are hitting the required heights when in fact, they feel like they are failing but don't want to say so and appear spiritually defective.

Welf
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