To all concerned : Now going by Stace

avraprana.com

This apology he wrote almost sounds like an apology if you insert the word 'abuse' every time he writes 'tough love'.

[www.avraprana.com]

Horrible.

Keywords:

cult abuse Stace Barron Brie Barron daniel Barron Theohumanity avraprana
Sedona Santa Barbara Ashland cult changing names

endcults wrote:

Quote

If I had seen a long thread like this about Stace Barron and Brie Barron before I got involved with him, it might have steered me away.

Even if people choose to participate after reading online survivor descriptions of
abuse perpetrated by a leader and group, they still stand to benefit.

Why?

Because reading online reports of abuse by the leader and group prior to joining will give participants an idea of what to watch out for.

When they run into the same abuses they read in the online warnings, they
will know they're not alone, they are not imagining it.

And -- they will escape that much sooner.

Warning:

Even if you have done online research and read abuse reports before you\
decide to risk it and join the group they've warned about, you are still at
risk.

I spent years in a cultic relationship (no relation to Barron). I was given
4 or 5 clear warnings. It was as though God was bellowing from the clouds
warning me away.

But I was in such bad shape and this guru type gave me so much help and hope
and was recommended by my dearest friend that I found ways to discount all these warnings. I even forgot I had the option to get a second opinion.

It was not that I was dumb. It was because I was a human being who'd been
hit by several tragedies and life changes all at once. The primitive mammalian
part of my brain bonded with the source of immediate relief. My intelligence
was hostage to all this and busied itself writing off and discounting all
those clear warnings.

So please take it seriously if you find warnings online about a group and
the warnings are from many sources, all share similarities, and have been
published over a period of time. Even if you've read all those warnings,
you may, if you go to "check out" the group, be subjected to powerfully
effective seduction techniques that throw your brain chemistry totally
out of whack.

Remember, people who spend years leading a cult have years of experience
manipulating people, just as an old cowboy knows all about lassoing and breaking horses.

In the early stages, you may have such a blissful and seemingly transformative
time in the group that you'll convince yourself that the survivor warnings
were written by malcontents, or that all this happened in the past and that
things are now different.

What if you fall in love and get involved with someone in the group?

Once you're in a relationship, its harder to leave. If you have children,
you're massively stuck. Many people who no longer believe in a cult live in silence because their spouse still believes, they have children and the non believing spouse cannot afford to pay for child custody litigation in case of a divorce.

So disturbing, on so many levels.

Part of what is so damaging about cults in general and my experience in EBE is the feeling of loss of power and voice, or that speaking up will result in abuse. I felt a bit of that powerlessness when I saw the new website... that there is not much I can do to stop this abuser from abusing again.

Of course I can't stop anyone from doing anything... but it occurred to me that another way I can both honor my experience and get the word out there is to go on Amazon and rate and comment on every book you've ever bought from him. If you want to do the same, you can include his new name, website and something about cult abuse in the comment, it will more likely show up in searches, and hopefully decrease his ability to perpetuate this insanity again.

The remorse and change page is interesting:

[www.avraprana.com]

Not a bad attempt at taking ownership, but there are some premises here that one has to accept to make the argument work. Here's one:

If Daniel/Stace were not actually enlightened, which has never been confirmed by any existing and accepted zen teacher, then the whole case falls apart. I don't doubt he experienced a consciousness-altering event, but true enlightenment would not have sealed in the kind of gunk he's talking about, it would have flushed it out. This is what I have learned about enlightenment post-Stace, especially from Adyashanti, who talks about how often altered states of consciousness are declared enlightenment but are not in fact.

Given the gravity of Stace's errors, if he were truly concerned about re-entering the teaching venue, it seems obvious that he would get in front of an Adya, or some other enlightened teacher and get a read.

During the 10+ years I knew him, he always refused to do so because he was so sure his kind of enlightenment was not appreciable by anyone else, nor would he acknowledge another teacher's authority in that way. "They would have to come to me" he would say.

It seems to me a very obvious and easy way to ensure he's healed what he says he's healed would be to get himself checked out by an enlightened person in an actual lineage.

However, if and when it was determined that he actually wasn't enlightened, he would have to face how much of his altered experience of reality is sourced in wound, distortion, and sociopathy, which is exactly why he'll probably never do this. Because he doesn't actually want to know this truth.

I remain impressed as always, though. This page is such a powerful and brilliant example of how ingenious Stace Barron is, and how facile the mind of a sociopath is in twisting reality in such a way that no one ever sees their hollow core.

As long as he continues to hold his enlightenment as true, which has never been verified, it will hold in place all of his other narcissism and excuse away all his other immature behaviors.

I am happy to hear he's given up tough-love though, but he did plenty of other abusive stuff besides that as a teacher and is overly reducing it to just that concept. Another example Stace being the same guy as Daniel.

He also still holds the story of his "Born with a special connection to Divine Being" thing, which is another premise that if you replace with being a sociopath, the whole narrative changes. Occham's razor, Stace.

It is with some reluctance that I choose to write on this specific forum.

I participated in Theohumanity and the EBE process from 2008 until the non-profit's collapse in 2015 (which was legally initiated by the board members when they realized that the founder was not living in alignment with the non-profit's guidelines and mission). I also participated in Avraprana training and received Avraprana healing sessions.

I was a willing participant who knew I was choosing to be part of an untested emoto-spiritual paradigm. On that note, despite many of the dynamics that resemble cult behaviors, in honoring my own choices, it does not live in me that I participated in a cult.

However, I am unaware of any other online formate to share some truthful examples and words of caution to people who might be considering studying or seeking healing from Stace Barron (Daniel Stacey Barron).

I am a huge proponent of peoples' ability to heal and change. When Daniel's unowned abuser came to light in 2015, I hoped that he could find help and heal his own unhealed abused-one. I also hoped he could heal the compensatory abuser dynamic in him that would leak out in his work in the guise of "tough love" and in his marriage in bought of screaming and anger.

Even though Stace believes he has worked and is healing his wounding, to date, in his own Avraprana website he continues to be untruthful and not transparent about his actions. If Stace is either lying about his own abusive actions in the past or is in denial of them, it is a sign that he risks perpetuation of harm again.

I realize that Stace may end up modifying his website to no longer include the untruthful statements after reading my posting, but I wish address the issues of physical abuse and sexual relations with followers with some specific factual examples.

Stace has written the following statement in his "Remorse & Change" section (still posted as of October 19, 2017):
"For me, the combined effects of [my] enlightenment and the toxic childhood thus supported both the lack of impact empathy and tough-love dynamics, albeit far more benignly than other teachers guilty of physical abuse, sexual relations with adherents, or abiding in renunciative-based ashram communities, none of which ever happened in my work."

Stace denies being guilty of physical abuse or having sexual relations with adherents. This is not truthful.

In 2012, Daniel (Stace) physically assaulted me in a group setting with over a dozen witnesses. I had recently had a near death experience and also lost my facilitator of five years, so I was in an extremely open and vulnerable state. Without warning in group, Daniel turned to me and began to aggressively poke my belly, right in the third chakra, at least a half a dozen forceful times. The experience was so shocking and disorienting that I stood up, ready to punch and fight back against Daniel to protect myself from the physical assault. Daniel then prevented me from touching him and let me know that everything was "OK." He explained that he perpetrated this physical aggression to create for me a moment where I could stand up for myself in a way I was not able to do with my childhood aggressors.

Although the context of trying to create on opportunity for me to stand up for myself sounds good in theory, the reality is Daniel's poking created physical harm in my body. I woke up the next day with bruises and my body ached for days. Shortly afterwards, GERD symptoms emerged and eventually I was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia in the area he poked.

Also, the damage that happened energetically during Daniel's poking was quite profound. Daniel dumped an unbelievable amount of his unowned wounding dynamics (and also some of his family mafia lineage) into my third chakra during this incident. I was able to discover this off-loaded energy dynamic during the collapse of Theohumanity in the spring of 2015. I was even able to return some of this displaced energetic wounding back to Daniel when I sat with him during one of his atonement meetings. Even though Daniel admitted, 'due to his enlightenment', he did not recall the assault, the day I returned his energetic wounding back to him he wept when he felt what he did and had offloaded into me. That day I respected Daniel for have the courage to face those he harmed and hear the impact his actions had on them. I had hoped that him becoming more in alignment with the truth of what he did might create space for his own healing.

However, two years later, on his Avraprana website, he denies being guilty any physical abuse.

Although the details of the story are not mine to describe, in another group Daniel also slapped a woman across the face during a moment she was supposedly 'fused' to one of her defense structures.

Daniel/Stace/Stacey also had sexual relations with adherents. Although it was keep a secret for over a decade, he had sexual intercourse with a woman in the program prior to meeting his wife Brie. Besides having relations with this woman and keeping it a secret, Daniel actively boasted to the group that he had not had sex for a full thirteen years prior to meeting Brie. This lie was shared while the woman with whom he had sex was present.

His current wife, Brie, also started out as an adherent.

Whether Stace is actively lying, is in unconscious denial, or blames his non-dual enlightenment on the lack of memory of such events, a teacher who is unable to be truthful about his mistakes and abusive actions, even if done with healing intentions, risks harming again.

My experience with EBE and Theohumanity also had rich moments. Aspects of my gifts and also my woundings were reflected to me in ways that had never been reflected before in my life. However, these reflections came with a price.

For my 'poking' incident alone, I have had to seek both medical intervention for the hiatal hernial and also energetic/spiritual intervention from for some of the residual metaphysical damage left by Daniel.

I also am aware of other participants who have had to seek energetic healing to remove unhelpful and parasitical dynamics placed or seeded by Daniel during Avraprana session and EBE interventions. I do not believe that Daniel/Stace is cognizant of the way he leaves wound-based traces of himself in the people is supposed to be helping.

If you choose to study or receive healing with Mr. Barron, proceed with extreme caution. I believe there are alternate healing modalities that are available that contain less risk and offer a more kind and graceful path to wholeness. Explore well, and trust your moments of dis-trust as much as you doubt your own doubts.

After Daniel Stacy Barron – now going by the name Stace - once again publicly offers his work, I would like to describe my experiences, too. I practiced the former emotional work EBE (Emotional Body Enlightenment) for 10 years and sold his books in Germany.

In the first years the Theohumanity teaching and the EBE practice appeared to me as a revelation. I learned valuable things about spiritual world views and the work with the subpersonas brought real healing. However, the positive aspects were so closely linked with negative influences that this resulted in an overall toxic mixture. I was only able to realize the full extent after the former members of the Board had dissolved the organization.

Only two years later, DS Barron declared on his new website (avraprana.com), he got healed sufficiently by therapy. But when I look at the website, I cannot see any major change in his approach. On one hand, there is still the well-known self-elevation, on the other hand the same judgments on other teachers ("It also must be stressed that all nondual-enlightened gurus are unconsciously narcissisized ...” 09/17).

Hence, I am afraid that many aspects of the former EBE practice will be repeated in a new robe. For sure, ´tough Love´ was a big problem, but only the tip of the iceberg. I therefore would like to describe other aspects of Barron´s attitude and behavior:

1) Totalitarianism: In its perception, Barron is the only one to recognize how mankind is dominated by overtaken paradigms and what the solution is. He takes himself to be the founder of a new age, the Bright Age. By that, he ignores that history of mankind is not based only on errors and mistakes, but also on progress and growth of consciousness.

2) Reduction to the strategic self / shadow: A central premise of EBE was, as a result of our childhood wounds, a strategic self had developed that would take the place of our authentic self and control our lives. In practice, this instance was named Sentinel. Since I could, of course, realize protective patterns in myself, I accepted this view. Gradually, I lost sight of my positive qualities and talents and considered myself mainly as strategic and false.

3) Self-Abandonment: Since I took the Sentinel to possess ultimate authority over my consciousness–as it was handled in EBE most of the time–, I, by myself, had almost no influence on my unconscious aspects and therefore depended on the facilitators and Barron for help. When Barron gave advice - for example, to separate from one´s partner to end codependency - there was no alternative. Not following his "advice" would risk of being cast out of EBE and isolated from friends. And nobody wanted to be in what Barron called a meaningless life.

4) Dependency: Like almost all my friends, I was convinced healing was only available within the EBE community, because Psychology was seen to not recognize and handle emotions properly. I also believed that Barron was the only one to offer real healing and awakening.

5) Promise of salvation: Barron often emphasized it would be a long and protracted way to develop a critical mass of authentic self, to be able to assert oneself against the strategic self, the Sentinel. Even in 10 years of EBE I never got the impression I had developed enough authentic self. I also do not know anyone who has left EBE with this assessment.

6) Gaining trust: Barron often gave his followers the feeling - mostly in private - that they would play a special role in his mission. In this way, he made them dependent to him. Once he told me I would have been the father of the Buddha in a previous life, while he had been this person then. For some time, I was proud of this, without realizing how harmful this assertion was for me.

7) Separation from the family: Another premise was that one would block his/her healing path being in a relationship with one´s family and especially the parents. Unfortunately, I separated not only from my parents, but also from my wife as she left EBE.

8) Contradictory messages/double bind: There was a great gap between words and deeds. On the surface, the speaking was about love and trust, below, however, fear and intimidation dominated. Hence, I often adjusted myself and held back my opinion because I was afraid that the support for my emotional work would end if I didn`t.

9) Financial dependency and arbitrariness: For facilitators there were no binding contracts and securities. At any time, Barron could withdraw their legitimation to work. During the years about a third of the facilitators were affected by this. The training costs, often amounting to five figures, were then lost.

After the dissolution of the organization, I needed more than a year to recognize these connections and dismantle my EBE personality. One reason for this long time was that I lived in Germany and experienced Barron mostly when he came to the retreats. Thus, I initially missed some important information for the bigger picture. In the 10 years I also have made some experiences that were important for me. Therefore, I didn´t see that they came along with forms of abuse.

Above all, I could not imagine that spiritual truths and insights could be embodied and used in such a selfish and manipulative way.

Ultimately, Barron needed us more than we, his students, needed him.


Up to date, I found other teachers and teachings combining awakening and individual consciousness in a practical and human way. In my investigation I am thoughtful and ask immediately if I don´t understand or disagree with certain aspects. If I would suppress my opinions and feelings I were in a cult again.

Therefore, the most important lesson is for me that I will no longer give away my authority to a spiritual teacher.

Thomas



+++++++++++++++++

Nachdem Daniel Stacy Barron, heute unter dem Namen Stace, seine Arbeit erneut öffentlich anbietet, möchte ich ebenfalls meine Erfahrungen schildern. Ich habe 10 Jahre lang die emotionale Arbeit EBE (Emotional Body Enlightenment) praktiziert und verkaufte seine Bücher in Deutschland.

In den ersten Jahren erschienen mir die Theohumanity-Lehre und die EBE-Praxis wie eine Offenbarung. Ich lernte wertvolle Dinge über spirituelle Weltbilder und die Arbeit mit den Subpersonas brachte echte Heilung mit sich. Allerdings waren die positiven Aspekte so eng mit negativen Einflüssen verknüpft, dass daraus eine insgesamt toxische Gemengelage entstand. Das ganze Ausmaß habe ich erst erkannt, nachdem die ehemaligen Vorstandsmitglieder die Organisation aufgelöst hatten.

Nur zwei Jahre später erklärte DS Barron auf seiner neuen Webseite (avraprana.com), durch eine Therapie ausreichend geheilt worden zu sein. Aber wenn ich die Webseite betrachte, kann ich keine große Veränderung in seiner Herangehensweise feststellen. Zum einen finde ich dort erneut die bekannte Selbsterhöhung, zum anderen dieselben Urteile auf andere Lehrer („Es muss betont werden, dass alle nondual erleuchteten Lehrer auf unbewusste Weise narzisstisch sind …“ 09/17).

Daher befürchte ich, dass sich viele Aspekte der ehemaligen EBE-Praxis in neuem Gewand wiederholen werden. Sicherlich war „Tough Love“ ein großes Problem, aber auch nur die Spitze des Eisbergs. Daher schildere ich weitere Aspekte, die sich aus Barrons Einstellung und Verhalten ergeben haben:

1) Totalitarismus: Barron glaubt, als einziger deutlich zu erkennen, wie sehr die Menschheit von überholten Paradigmen beherrscht wird und worin die Lösung besteht. Er wähnt sich als Gründer eines neuen Zeitalters, des Bright Age. Dass die Vergangenheit der Menschheit nicht nur aus Fehlern und Irrtümern besteht, sondern auch aus Fortschritt und Bewusstseinswachstum, blendet er aus.

2) Reduktion auf das strategische Selbst/den Schatten: Eine zentrale Annahme von EBE lautete, dass wir aufgrund unserer Verletzungen in der Kindheit ein strategisches Selbst entwickeln, das an die Stelle unseres authentischen Selbst treten und unser Leben steuern würde. In der Praxis wurde hierfür der Begriff Sentinel verwendet. Da ich natürlich in mir Schutzmechanismen wahrnehmen konnte, übernahm ich diese Sichtweise. Sukzessive verlor ich meine positiven Eigenschaften und Talente aus den Augen und betrachtete mich überwiegend als strategisch und falsch.

3) Selbstentmündigung: Da ich annahm, dass der Sentinel als abgekoppelte Instanz die letztendliche Autorität über mein Bewusstsein besaß – wie es in EBE die meiste Zeit gehandhabt wurde –, hatte ich selbst fast keinen Einfluss mehr auf meine unbewussten Aspekte. Und die einzigen, die mir helfen konnten, waren die Facilitatoren und DS Barron. Wenn Barron Ratschläge gab - etwa sich von seinem Partner zu trennen, um eine Koabhängigkeit zu beenden – gab es keine Alternative. Seinen „Ratschlägen“ nicht zu folgen, hätte riskiert, aus EBE ausgeschlossen zu werden und seine Freunde zu verlieren. Und niemand wollte zurück in ein "bedeutungsloses Leben", wie wir es von Barron übernommen hatten.

4) Abhängigkeit: Wie fast alle meine Freunde war auch ich davon überzeugt, dass ich nur innerhalb der EBE-Gemeinschaft auf Heilung hoffen konnte, weil die Psychologie angeblich Emotionen ausblenden würde. Ich glaubte auch, dass Barron der einzige sei, der wahre Heilung und wahres Erwachen anbieten könnte.

5) Heilsversprechen: DS Barron betonte häufig, dass es ein langwieriger Weg sei, eine kritische Masse an authentischem Selbst zu entwickeln, um sich irgendwann gegenüber dem strategischen Selbst, dem Sentinel, behaupten zu können. Selbst in 10 Jahren EBE wurde mir nie der Eindruck vermittelt, dass ich genug authentisches Selbst entwickelt hätte. Ich kenne auch niemandem, der mit dieser Einschätzung EBE verlassen hat.

6) Vertrauen gewinnen: DS Barron gab seinen Anhängern häufig das Gefühl – meist unter vier Augen -, dass sie eine ganz besondere Rolle in seiner Mission spielen würden. Dadurch band er sie gezielt an sich. Mir erzählte er einmal, dass ich in einem früheren Leben der Vater des Buddha gewesen wäre ¬ den er damals verkörpert hätte. Lange war ich darauf stolz, ohne zu erkennen, wie schädlich diese Behauptung für mich war.

7) Trennung von der Familie: Eine weitere Prämisse bestand darin, dass man in der Beziehung mit seiner Familie und insbesondere den Eltern seinen Heilungsweg blockieren würde. Leider habe ich mich nicht nur von meinen Eltern getrennt, sondern auch von meiner Frau, als sie mit EBE aufgehört hat.

8) Widersprüchliche Botschaften (Double Bind): Zwischen Worten und Taten bestand eine große Kluft. Offen wurde von Liebe und von Vertrauen geredet, unterschwellig dominierten jedoch Angst und Einschüchterung. Daher habe ich mich oft angepasst und meine Meinung zurückgehalten, weil ich Angst hatte, dass sonst die Unterstützung für meine emotionale Arbeit beendet gewesen wäre.

9) Finanzielle Abhängigkeit und Willkür: Für Facilitatoren gab es keine verbindlichen Verträge und Sicherheiten. Barron konnte ihnen nach seinem Ermessen jederzeit die Legitimation, als Facilitator zu arbeiten, aberkennen. Davon war im Verlauf der Jahre ungefähr ein Drittel der Facilitatoren betroffen. Oft lagen die Ausbildungskosten im fünfstelligen Bereich, die dann verloren waren.

Nach der Auflösung der Organisation habe ich mehr als ein Jahr benötigt, um diese Zusammenhänge zu erkennen und meine EBE-Persönlichkeit hinter mir zu lassen. Das lag auch daran, dass ich in Deutschland lebte und Barron fast nur erlebte, wenn er zu den Retreats anreiste. Aus diesem Grund fehlten mir zunächst einige wichtige Informationen für das größere Bild. In den 10 Jahren habe ich auch einige Erfahrungen gemacht, die wichtig für mich waren. Deswegen erkannte ich nicht, dass es auch Formen des Missbrauchs gab.

Vor allem konnte ich mir nicht vorstellen, dass spirituelle Wahrheiten und Einsichten auf eine so selbstbezogene und manipulierende Weise verkörpert und benutzt sein könnten.

Letztendlich hat uns Barron mehr gebraucht, als wir, seine StudentInnen, ihn gebraucht haben.


Mittlerweile habe ich andere Lehrer/innen und Lehren gefunden, die Erwachen und individuelles Bewusstsein auf eine praktikable und menschliche Weise verbinden. In meinem Erforschen bin ich nun zurückhaltend und frage sofort nach, wenn ich bestimmte Aspekte nicht verstehe oder mit ihnen nicht übereinstimme. Denn würde ich meine Meinung und meine Gefühle unterdrücken, wäre ich wieder in einer Sekte.

Aus diesem Grund besteht für mich die wichtigste Lektion darin, dass ich meine Autorität nicht mehr an einen spirituellen Lehrer abgeben werde.

Thomas

Hello,
Many years ago I posted on this group about my experiences with Daniel who now goes by Stace.

I have been in touch with Stace (and Brie)over the last two years and we have repaired a lot from what happened in the past. He has acknowledged and sought to make amends for the ways he was hurtful with me in the past and kicked me out of the community. He’s on the road of recovery for his narcissism and abuse.


In case you are interested and seek reconciliation, here’s a step and avenue towards that: [www.stacebarron.com]…/…/0/98006220/meaculpa.pdf

Wishing you all well,
Eric

Hi.
Thanks for all your post in the past.
Thanks to Endcults for his comments. Also to Eric. Of course one can become at peace with Daniel. Because you are such a being.
Daniel isn’t. At least I am sceptic to my core about him. Because I am about me. It is easy to forgive the other, because we hope that maybe, one day, we will be forgiven for our sins too. Yeah. Peace of mind, we all want.
Because of that we have our image, our ego. Because of that we know and learn how to lie, such that no one will know you are a liar. Daniel is that. That is his human function. Being a fraud and liar.
Today I wrote him this:

Hi Daniel,
How are you now?
It must be, God has some mercy on you.
You took a second change. Damned you did man.
I read your Mea Culpa, but it is not real.
Your still a narcissist. That is okay of course; those kinds of being should be there too.
But as you already know, you will most likely hurt a lot of people again, why don’t you tell it your new scholars and followers?
Still, the idea of EBE is top. Only the teacher sucks. It would be great if you could tell them. That I really hope for you and them.

You know, I have been such an ego-tripper too, and I still am. Because so, I can recognize you.
I think Love urges one to admit and to acknowledge the own ego-shit.
You, and I, will never get rid of it. I think it is inherent to the human being as being in a kind of middle of the descending and ascending force of Being.
That makes it all so difficult and often also a diffi-cult. The latter is an ugly thing. You and I should be aware of it. And you can be. You are. You know yourself well enough to be aware of all deep shit in you. All the lies you tell people to feel yourself a better one and or in order to forget your shit, pain and tears to be such a shit-whole.
Anyway, Daniël, be honest. To me that is what love is all about.

Because I am human ...
... love is my religion,
... truth is my life,
... freedom is my right

Because we are human beings, we learn to understand what it means to change with and through love, to live with truth and to think with freedom.

The essence of life feels like love, looks like beauty and sounds like truth.

Love is not a sudden state that simply arises. Love is a decision. From every single person, extending to all countries.

Like the Christian shit-wholes repent and repent on full stage. That could make us free?

All the best to you, Daniel.

God as Jos. :)

Well I am curious how he will answer, respond, react, expose.
I will let you know.

Best,
Jos

This is his new website: [www.stacebarron.com]