If you're interested in this conversation, please see my new thread: Spiritual practice after surviving a cult???
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If you're interested in this conversation, please see my new thread: Spiritual practice after surviving a cult???
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hello Good People, 37 years ago, I escaped the spiritual cult of James Swartz. Swartz called himself Rama (now he is Ramji). In the 70’s and 80’s and currently, Ramji created his cult based on his observations of presentations of authentic Hindu Swamis and Vedanta teachers in India. See my full story on another thread, “James Swartz—my original written account”. After decades of surviv
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thank you Valma for your wise words.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

James Swartz is a false teacher. There are many like him in the world. However, there are true teachers. I believe Swami Shivom Tirth Maharaj was/is a true teacher. True as in...actually a part of a lineage of knowledge and teaching...true as in...being pure of heart and intentions...true as in...being of service to others...true as in...guiding students to turn inward and follow inner wi
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hello, I just posted my writing on my life after I escaped James Swartz's cult. I posted it on the other thread, "James Swartz--my original written account". It's called Shaktipat, Kundalini, and My Escape from the False Guru It starts on page 2 I think...
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

19. False Guru When I met James Swartz, I was not looking for spirituality. I didn’t know what a guru was. I didn’t know what Vedanta was. I walked into a party full of dancers and hippies, in a flat, on California Street in San Francisco. I was immediately hypnotized. It was easy, as I was a vulnerable young teenager, and I had problems in my family. Swartz interviewed me hours after
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

18. Holy Ghost or Seizure? I had a eureka moment. When Swartz first hypnotized, drugged me, and sexually assaulted me, I went into my natural fight/flight response. Because I was immobilized, by hypnosis, then by drugs, my fight/flight response had been interrupted. I couldn’t fight off my attacker or run away. What made it worse is that I had awareness, and my body was immobilized. After
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

17. The Fear Arousal Cycle and Somatic Experiencing I discovered an amazing doctor. His name is Dr. Peter Levine. He developed a healing method called Somatic Experiencing. He helps people with trauma disorders. He teaches war veterans how to heal their nervous systems, via the vagus nerve, and uncouple the trauma response in the brain. Brilliant. He discusses how animals deal with th
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

16. A Shift I still had seizures, but it had lessened, and the panic attacks were greatly diminished. I was curious why I still had the movements. During my somatic movement practice, I began to facilitate a shift in how the seizures and movements (dystonia) expressed in my body. I used breath to relax my abdominal muscles and release the areas of trauma in my body. I let go of my resist
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

15. Truth Telling My CPTSD symptoms, panic attacks, Dystonia, and seizures did not slow down or stop. I sought out a new therapist. I was fortunate to find someone who had knowledge of trauma and dissociative disorders. I made an appointment with her and told her my story from the beginning. I made very good progress. My therapist helped me to deconstruct Swartz’s con game, understan
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

14. Snake Oil Salesman I found this guy, Bradford Keeney. I went to Santa Barbara and attended his workshop. It was like stepping into a scene from Elmer Gantry, or back in time to a performance of a snake oil salesman. He revved up the audience with pounding piano music and drums, he chanted and recited a long free-association monologue, his body convulsed and shook, he put his hands on h
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

13. I Was Still Controlled by His Abuse I was having an existential crisis. I needed to rely upon what I knew would be spiritually good, and helpful in resolving my symptoms. I thought meditation is good, prayer is good, yoga is good…these things will help me to heal. However what I failed to do at that time is recognize the connection between the seizure disorder and the spiritual and se
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

12. Shaktipat, Movement Disorders, and Kundalini Energy My husband took care of me and the kids. He did all the cooking. He helped with homework. I stayed in my bedroom. I laid on my bedroom floor and had seizure after seizure, after seizure. I flopped uncontrollably like a fish. I couldn’t get up off the floor. I was completely overwrought. I felt I was going mad. Through it all
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

11. Seizures I was maniacal. Nighttime vigilance returned; I had no sleep. The buzz in my head returned. I realized I needed help. I sought out a counselor. The counselor interviewed me, and we started at the beginning, my childhood. I told her everything about my upbringing, the unresolved issues and existing problems with familial relationships. We spent a month going over all my “s
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

10. A Face at the End of My Glove When I got my yoga teaching certificates, for a while I was able to manage my CPTSD symptoms. I enjoyed a small bubble of time where it felt like my life was moving in a positive direction. Then, as it happened many times before, the symptoms returned. I realized that, in my entire adult life, I had expressed this pattern whereby I never became healed, or
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

9. Sleep Walking The episodes of dissociation became more frequent. I lost hours in a day. When I dissociated, I would “wake up” in the middle of an action or activity and realize that I had been asleep while walking and talking. I had overwhelming feelings of needing to lie down. This turned into long episodes of half-sleep wherein I had many strange experiences. I had a tremor in by
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

8. Teaching and Learning After my second child was born, I went back to school full time and got my teaching degree. Without the help of my husband, I would’ve never made it. I started teaching and we put all our energies into raising our wonderful family. I loved teaching. My grandmother had been a teacher and a great example for me. I had an amazing time with students and develop
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

7. Couldn’t Be That Person When my first child was over a year old, my chronic pain worsened. I became debilitated. When I had a pelvic exam with my doctor, I had my usual panic attack, I hyperventilated, I wept and wept. Normally I avoided doctor’s exams because it always felt traumatizing and physical touch felt painful. My doctor called in a nurse (university hospital) and asked the n
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

6. Moved to a More Beautiful Place While in Los Angeles I met my husband. He was and is a loving saint. We were able to become close because we developed a true friendship. There was no pressure for me to “perform” or do anything I didn’t want to do. Our intimate life grew very naturally. But it wasn’t without issues. I struggled with two diametrically apposed emotional states. I was
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

5. The Pain I joined a prominent Los Angeles based dance company. It was good training and a lot of work. The company was led by a director, and the work was collaborative. It was an amazing experience. My director provided a higher level of training, and I further perfected my craft. I was very busy with 2 jobs and the dance company; my day started at 5:00 am and ended at 12:00 am. Wo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

4. Dreams Were Doomed to Fail After graduation, I moved to New York city. I wanted to be in the Trisha Brown company. They were the most elegant, cutting edge, innovative, and refined dance company in the world. I had a desire to make my inner vision come true, to be a great athlete, an artist, a be a part of this magnificent scene in NYC. I moved into my friend’s flat on Broadway, uppe
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

3. A New Me, A Better Me At college, I put a great effort into recreating myself. I was very serious about dance and choreography. I took professional level ballet, and contemporary dance classes. I created choreographic works. My studies were interdisciplinary and had academic components. I collaborated with other artists and created evening length works. My schedule was demanding. I h
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

2. I Was Truly Going to Hell I didn’t talk to family or friends or get counselling. I didn’t receive what I really needed: exit counselling for cult victims. I just did what a 17-year-old girl could do at that time. I tried to bury the past and create a whole new identity—a new me. I did very poorly in my classes and my friends graduated without me. As friends applied to Berkeley an
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Shaktipat, Kundalini, and My Escape from the False Guru This next writing is a continuation from my previous writing, “James Swartz—my original written account”. Readers may want to read my original account before embarking on this one, as I may not repeat pertinent details here. Also, it may be useful to read my critique of James Swartz’s “documentary’”. (on the other thread) 1. Wh
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Wake up Everybody...
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hello BeTrue, When you explain concepts in Vedanta, I wish I had met someone like you instead of Swartz when I was younger. A person who truly attains freedom knows that shortcuts take one off the path and offer no benefit. This makes complete sense. I believe there is ancient wisdom, possibly through Vedic text and other sources, that can help guide a human to freedom. There are man
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi Earthquake, I know what you mean by ‘non-duality’ language. And it’s funny because Swartz uses what I call DoubleSpeak all the time…he confuses the listener by saying something, then the opposite. It’s part of his “technique”. The idea of non-duality is an interesting one. I like to contemplate it, while having tea with my loved ones, or while running through the forest…it’s good to que
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi zizlz, Thank you for offering clarity on the timeline…based on his “autobiography”. Swartz can’t help but reveal his narcissistic and controlling personality, even while he attempts to disguise it. I would caution everyone who reads the “autobiography” to understand Swartz is a pathological liar, therefore all scenarios and timelines should be under scrutiny. In regards to the charact
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

James F—ing Swartz and his Revisionist History. I watched the Mystic by Default “documentary”. I haven’t read the book, but I thought it would be useful for me to see what James Swartz is presenting as his narrative. Link: Watching his ugly face wasn’t easy for me. This is the man who raped me. In my quest for some closure, I felt it would be useful to see the video. I imagi
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"