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jeannelucille
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. :)

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pauliztarza
Isn' t she the lady married to this shaman fella :

www.poweranimals.com


If you have a dog, this fella shall tell you how you can spiritually connect to it.

I expected to find out how to ask German Shepard lady out for a date but then realized it's just the devil doing his stuff.

Louise Hay is allright for self-help and support. I was surprised to see she had this animal priest in her stock.

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jeannelucille
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. :)

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shannon

I am a Social Worker and as time wore on on the "spiritual journey", I, like one other poster here, was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the fact that many of the New Age practitioners I was meeting were not qualified to be dealing with some of the folks coming to them for help. At some Reiki courses, I wanted to shout out "At least have a community services resource book in your practice rooms so that you can refer folks to appropriate services!!". It drove me crazy. While I don't necessarily believe that talk therapy is the only answer for people and I feel our Mental Health/Health Care systems are completely flawed (I do see the benefits of alternative practices for people), going in for an Angel Reading is not going to cut it for someone with serious issues! It's just entirely irresponsible for Virtue to be spawning all these psuedo "counsellors" or whatever she calls them. I have often wondered how much damage they have caused people. Scary.

Ok- if you never allow yourself exposure to the "negative", Doreen, then how do you know where your "lightwork" is needed??? It just irks me to no end. Where is the social responsibility? I think this positive-focused b.s is dangerous and breeds serious apathy among us.

It is price gouging and it is shameful. Oh- but, if I say this, then suddenly I am the one who is "blocking money" or has "poverty mind" or has "subconscious fears about money"! Yikes.

My thoughts.