Well, Dear Ones, I think it's high time for us to revisit one of the best-kept secrets in New-Wage cultdom (or should that be "cultdumb"?): ACCESS Consciousness, formerly known as ACCESS Energy Transformation.* I've written about this relatively obscure but nevertheless steadily expanding group a few times previously: on June 6 and June 12 of 2007; in May of 2008 (scroll down to the second item, "Warning: ACCESSories on the loose"); and then again the following July (scroll down to second item, "ACCESS: It just gets worse").
For those of you who aren't familiar with ACCESS or simply want a brief refresher, and don't feel like following all of those links above, allow me to quote from my own May 2008 blog post:
ACCESS, according to a tale that seems to be strangely absent from the current official ACCESS sites (but can be found here and here), was founded in the early 1990s. It all started when a "being of light" (or, alternatively, "beings of light") called Novian used the late Russian faux-monk/Whirled-class charlatan Grigori Rasputin to channel an "energy transformation technique" to a Santa Barbara, California realtor named Gary Douglas. Gary decided to call the technique ACCESS, and it now has followers all over the world. But he seems to be concentrating on the US, Australia, and New Zealand. And what's really scary, in my view, is that Gary and gang want to ACCESSorize the younger generation with their ACCESS kids' camps...A few years ago Gary Douglas took Cali chiropractor Dain Heer under his wing, and now ACCESS is, for all practical purposes, The Gary & Dain Show. Actually, to hear some disgruntled followers tell it, it's more like The Gary & Dain Get Laid Show, but apparently Gary and Dain are not the only ones using ACCESS to get a lot of "free" sex. We'll get into that more in a moment.
From time to time I receive emails from people who say they have firsthand information about the damage that ACCESS's wacky teachings can do. Some have experienced ACCESS themselves and became disgruntled, but more often I've heard from people worried about siblings, in-laws, cousins, and colleagues who have been sucked into the ACCESS vortex and whose family lives are now in shambles. "Well, jeez, Cosmic Connie, isn't that what transformation (or elevated consciousness, or salvation, for that matter) is supposed to be all about?" you may be asking. "Isn't it all about being shaken up and spit out as a brand new person with a brand new way of looking at things? Isn't it all about escaping the same-old same-old and re-creating your life?"
Yeah, well, it can be, and maybe it should be, if your life completely sucks. But what if you're living a fairly happy life that, hey, could stand some improvements here and there, but doesn't really suck? Perhaps more importantly, what if there are people in your life who love and depend upon you, and then, after just one "life-changing" weekend, you just suddenly decide to dump them, or you try to make them agree to outrageous new terms for your relationship?
Or, to look at it from the other side of the situation... What if, for example, you're a baffled husband, struggling with the normal problems of a midlife marriage, and your wife suddenly goes off the deep end?
Last week I heard from a man who wants to shield his identity but said he wants his story told here. "Stephen"** is in his forties and has been married for twenty years. He says that overall, his has been a solid marriage with a limited number of truly difficult times, and the usual types of fights – money problems, in-laws, and the like. "Like many people at this age, mid-life can be a tough transition," he wrote. "My wife and I had some problems in the marriage develop after many many good years."
Then, Stephen says, his wife went to an ACCESS workshop last January. When she came home she was beyond excited, and of course Stephen was interested in knowing what had gone on in the class. "She proceeded to tell me that the presenter was this older woman who looked so much younger than her real age, and was married, but had had sex with hundreds of people over the years," Stephen wrote. According to his wife, the presenter told the class that having sex just one time with a new partner was perfectly okay because it "expanded" you and made you a "lighter being." When Stephen wanted to know what the rationale was for the just-one-time bit, his wife explained that if you do it more than once, you create a relationship, and that can cause problems.
Indeed, this would seem to be in keeping with one of Gary and Dain's many books, Sex Is Not A Four-Letter Word, But Relationship Often Times Is.
Stephen continues:
My wife than asked me curiously what I thought about an "open marriage." At that very moment a huge red flag went up for me. This was...not like her at all. I knew at this moment that my wife was at a pivotal point in her life, that something had developed in her and that a serious change [in] her was likely coming down the pike. I said I didn't think that open marriage was a good idea and that it would complicate our marriage. Besides, if I liked someone that much, I wouldn't just want to sleep with them one time. I said, " We aren't that type of people; we care about people, not use them."At that point Stephen's wife became more insistent with her inquiries about the open-marriage idea, and Stephen knew she had someone specific in mind; otherwise she wouldn't have been so persistent. Stephen let her know there was no way he would even consider an open-marriage arrangement.
Two weeks later my wife had a mysterious new person in her life. A patient of hers. My wife is in the health field, is licensed and touches people to heal their bodies. I could be more specific but let's just leave it at that.
And that, he said, was the beginning of the breakdown of their marriage. His wife got angry, and before he knew it, the two were sleeping in separate bedrooms. Stephen's wife asked him to start reading her ACCESS books so he could try to understand. She wanted to reassure him that he too could also enjoy expanding as a person with new sex partners. So he began reading one of the books and "quickly realized it was totally crazy," as he put it. "The sentence structure of much of the key writing is designed to be inaccessible." (Which is a bit ironic, considering the name, ACCESS.)
To Stephen, the writing actually made no sense at all, but his wife explained that it was meant to be that way because it was intended to bypass the part of our minds that puts limitations on us.
For my own part, I have to say that what I've read and heard from Gary and Dain and various ACCESS enthusiasts has certainly bypassed the part of my mind dedicated to logic, sense, and anything remotely resembling comprehension. (Be sure to follow the video links in the PS below, and read the PPS for additional insight on ACCESS wackiness.)
Stephen wrote that from late spring to the present, his marriage has slowly been disintegrating.
My wife not only seems to have a new sex partner (whom she also got into Access) but she no longer wants to be constrained by marriage. She wants to be like Gary and Dain, she says. She believes they are truly happy infinite beings and she wants hideous amounts of money too because Access teaches you that if you cannot accept money the Universe will never give you money. If you cannot accept abundance of money you will have problems getting abundance of love, joy and ease in your life.Stephen says his heart is completely broken and that his life has been "semi-destroyed" by Access. He qualifies: "I say 'semi' because it takes a hurt or struggling person to get snared in these scams in the first place, and our mid-life woes are partly to blame for that." I think that what sets Stephen apart from many other disillusioned followers, or loved ones of followers, of New-Wage scams is that he doesn't completely blame the scam. He realizes that it takes two (or more) to tango, as it were.
In Access everything is suppose to come with ease, joy and glory.
In just six short months there is a new being possessing my wife's body. She is a totally different person. We have two kids and it seems divorce is going to follow a separation that she feels she really needs so she can pursue her Access teachings. Apparently my reaction to her falling for another person, leaving our marriage bedroom, and wanting to sleep with multiple people has made me "heavy" and she wants to be a "light being" in full awareness and consciousness so that the Universe can provide her infinite possibilities. She wants to be BIG she says, truly conscious like Gary and Dain.
Stephen wrote that he believes his wife is actually just confused and depressed about her life, but that instead of facing her pain and disappointments honestly, she is, as he put it, "reconstructing a new type of reality to live by. One where she needs nobody to make her happy and complete. One where the model of Access is the way to a life of abundant joy and love."
His own heartbreak would be bad enough, but it seems that Stephen's wife also wants to get their preteen son involved with ACCESS (as mentioned above, they do have numerous programs for kids, and are apparently even setting up ACCESS-based schools). Stephen writes that the prospect of his son getting involved with ACCESS "just terrifies me."
He adds:
I would love to help you in any way to bring to light what a scam ACCESS really is. My wife has really gone off the deep end with this. Access gave my wife the justification to explore, which led to another person who happens to be into New Age stuff as well. This person turned my wife against me in a very slow and methodical way. I had a honeymoon like experience with my wife (which she planned and paid for) back in February, and by late May my marriage was in shambles and I never did anything different as a person between those times.Stephen has tried to reach a popular news-magazine TV show to try to persuade them to do an expose on ACCESS, but he hasn't had any luck so far. And he may have a challenge ahead of him there, since awareness of ACCESS hasn't yet reached critical mass. Unlike celebrity-infested Scientology, ACCESS so far appears to be just another pale imitation of Scientology and other higher-profile groups. But Stephen firmly believes a prime-time story on Gary Douglas and Dr. Dain Heer is in order. "Pushing people to believe this sh-t about multiple sex partners, about relationships being limited and bad unless they're based on complete 'allowance,' is personally and socially destructive," he says.
I am trying my best to save it but Access-based thinking is making it pretty much impossible. They don't believe in relationships unless they are based on complete "allowance." Everything about Access has to based around complete allowance for yourself. Otherwise you cannot be open to the "infinite" possibilities which the Universe may send to you based on your consciousness. My wife and her new lover are all into this now, together. The other person is also destroying their marriage. So my story is one about two marriages linked together, each with kids, being destroyed because two vulnerable people found each other around new age thinking and Access Consciousness thought.
It is totally ridiculous and destructive.
And I have to agree. In an earlier post on ACCESS I speculated that perhaps some of the free-sex stuff supposedly being taught was open to interpretation. But the more I hear from people who have more "inside" information, the more I'm inclined to believe that ACCESS is little more than a glorified moneymaking and seduction scheme by a couple of two-bit California hustlers who have somehow convinced thousands of gullible people that their crap actually makes sense.
And it's people such as Stephen who really pay the price.***
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PS ~ If you want to "experience" a little bit o'ACCESS for yourself, here is some bloody marvelous video entertainment:First, here's Dain with some gorgeous blonde babes, Rikka and Summer (it really starts to get good at about 6:53, when chiro Dain has one of the girls on his table for what looks like a little quasi-orgasmic "bars"**** action, while the other watches lustfully in the background):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fthvy7T_uW0&feature=related
And here's the link to the main page of one of the ACCESS YouTube Channels:
http://www.youtube.com/user/accessconsciousness
And there's plenty more where that came from. Just don't expect any of it to make sense. It's not supposed to, you see.
PPS ~ If you think you'd like to take the next step with sex expert Dr. Dain, there's always the 7 Steps To Orgasm teleclass:
This 6 week teleclass will cover the 7 steps to orgasm and an orgasmic life. What if you were willing to ask anything? What if your life could be a walking, talking orgasm? Would you like to uncover the possibilities of full body orgasm? Have you always known so much more was possible with sex? "Dain Heer creates an environment on the phone where nothing is too personal to ask." "My life and has expanded a thousand time beyond what I thought was possible." "My body is so grateful we took this course!"
And this group phone sex will only set you back $485 USD. No word on whether or not Rikka and Summer will be participating.
PPPS ~ Regarding ACCESS-followers' beliefs, or lack thereof, as well as their penchant for obscurantism, another correspondent of mine has written to me on several occasions about ACCESS. This person, who also wishes to remain anonymous and whom I shall simply call "R," has a close relative who is deeply into ACCESS, as is the relative's spouse and child. "R" shared these thoughts with me:
You wrote that it is not clear what, exactly, [ACCESS followers] believe, and in fact they make it particularly difficult to figure that out. (One of their sayings is that they can't explain it and when they can, they will quit. 'Every class is different depending on who shows up,' etc. etc. Much of it does appear to be basically Scientology Lite, using many, but not all, new names for familiar concepts. Some terms are Scientology hold overs like "clearing.")
If you want to take the really long view of it, and I generally do, this is essentially a support group for narcissists; i.e., You really ARE special. People don't like you because you ARE so special and talented and extraordinary. (It can't be because you are an interminably self-centered pain in the ass who uses people every chance you get....)
Well, not being one to be so quickly put off about the core beliefs/concepts of this group I have been trying nevertheless to figure that out. [Gary Douglas and various ACCESS followers] have appeared for several years as guests on a [local] radio program and I have collected the broadcasts as they appear (briefly) in their archives. Much of this has been numbingly repetitive and vague but eventually you do get a handle on the core concepts, which are often more bizarre than anything suggested so far on your blog, with the exception of the Rasputin business that they seem to be burying pretty deep these days. Beyond that, there are threads of a political/revolutionary aspect to the movement, which is supposed to transform the world when they hit a certain round number (of course) of adherents...
They believe that Gary D. can control the weather, for example, which makes [his] horse whispering look pretty tame.They believe that their adherents will (by staying in the group, of course) live to be oh, say, 800 years old or older. (But if you leave, you throw all that away, of course. And it does appear that [my relative who is into ACCESS] is aging at the usual rate, based on the photos on the website).
[ACCESS adherents] claim to cure diseases like cancer, though the statements are unsupported and artfully phrased. He "turned that around," for example. Or "there were no signs of cancer," with no explanation of what the previous "signs" were or how someone looked for them to establish the cure. My relative's vagueness in such boasts is surprising given how much science s/he had to study in order to become a [health care professional].
[ACCESS followers also] believe that the earth is populated by two "species," humans and humanoids, in a ratio of 49% to 51%, with all of business and government being controlled by the boring, non-creative species...
...And Gary and Dain claim they can perform essentially what is alchemy, using the energy of the universe to transform one object into another. This is supported by anecdotes that are pretty lame and unconvincing, naturally.
* As of July 2009, Access is no longer officially Access Energy Transformation; it is now Access Consciousness, since they now deem that more descriptive of what they are about.
** Not his real name, of course.
*** Some critics might point out that I am only presenting one side of the story, and I acknowledge this. If this were a piece of "real" journalism, I would certainly attempt to contact the other parties and get their viewpoints, as Steve Salerno (to name but one example) tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to do when writing his "collateral damage" series on SHAMblog a couple of years ago. (Here's a link to the first post in the series.) That said, I welcome comments from people who are fans of ACCESS and who feel it has enriched their lives, and/or who feel their spouses or other loved ones just don't "get it."
**** If you're curious about ACCESS "bars," here's a page that 'splains it all. The site on which this page appears is not ACCESS's official site but apparently belongs to an ACCESS facilitator. The "bars" session, normally free for newcomers, is most people's initial introduction to ACCESS; as my correspondent "R" wrote, "I think they use 'the bars' as a not-too-crazy way to get people in the door, kind of like the free 'personality' or 'IQ Test' offered by Scientology for the same purpose."
"R" also points out the similarity to Scientology terminology such as "implants." There's no denying ACCESS is derivative; of course, ACCESS is far from the only New-Wage scheme to draw inspiration from Scientology. By the way, the site I linked to above makes reference to another site, accessraz.com, which no longer seems to be valid. "R" speculates that this was an old site making a sly reference to Rasputin (hence, "Raz"), whom ACCESS founder Gary Douglas once claimed was instrumental in revealing the secret of "the bars" and other ACCESS info to him back in the early 1990s. As mentioned above, however, ACCESS principals seem to have distanced themselves from the Rasputin connection, perhaps thinking it sounded a little too crazy for everyday folks. Actually, though, I would think Rasputin could add a bit of color and historical flavor to the ACCESS scam. Besides, New-Wage followers have shown their willingness to embrace imaginary friends such as Esther and Jerry Hicks' "Abraham"; why wouldn't they be equally willing to embrace a departed historical figure, particularly a mystic such as "Raz"?
***** Enlightened promiscuity isn't just an ACCESS phenomenon, of course. Consider, for example, Steve Pavlina of the "Personal Development for Smart People" site and forum. (Steve, as you may recall, made an appearance on my Whirled last July while he was hobnobbing with the big-name hustledorks in Bermuda.) My new friend, and fellow blogger, Duff McDuffee, who runs the excellent Beyond Growth blog, wrote an interesting post mentioning Steve in September of this year, "The Unquestioned Gurus of the Religion of the Self." At the time Duff wrote this post, Steve had recently announced his own affiliation with and promotion of a fairly pricey DVD set, Eben Pagan's "Man Transformation," which pretty much seems to be one of those pseudo-sophisticated how-to-pick-up-and-pork-as-many-wimmin-as-possible guides for the horny but enlightened male consumer. Duff writes, "Pavlina seems to have become interested in dating advice right around the time he announced that he and his wife decided to have an open marriage and explore polyamory." Here's the link to Steve's first blog post on the polyamory experiment. And here's his follow-up post. Perhaps the Pavlinas should look into ACCESS Consciousness.
* * * * *
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99 comments:
Makes you think, doesn't it...
Yes, Anon, and the cure for thinking is...you guessed it...ACCESS. This is from the ACCESS web site:
"At the end of most workshops, the facilitator usually asks the audience if they have any thoughts or activity in their head. The participants of the class are often surprised to realize that they not only have no thoughts in their heads, they can't easily form any. From that place of no thought, they can create from infinite possibility. And that is the aim of ACCESS: to give you the freedom and the awareness AND THE TOOLS to be the infinite you."
Food for thoughtlessness, eh?
Have you ever felt like you are infinite, CC?
hhh said...
"Have you ever felt like you are infinite, CC?"
Yes, but it was many years ago. Mushrooms were involved.
I'm actually wondering if this is behind John Edwards' cheating.
The thing that always struck me about his affair is how he seemed to forget everything about who he was and what was important to him.
Remember that the mistress was heavily into the New Wage. Her website, beingisfree.org, is defunct now, but I would have loved to have seen your take on it.
It's my contention that she presented herself as her counselor and solace in his time of sorrow, and conducted ACCESS-like workshops with him, though she wasn't certified (though we don't know that). That would certainly explain Edwards' acting as if "a new being had possessed his body".
Frances, your guess is as good as mine. But to tell the truth, there are so many wacko New-Wagey things out there that Edwards' mistress could have been into any number of things. Here's a link to one article that hints about her New-Age beliefs (or lack thereof):
http://www.jossip.com/the-crazy-mystic-writings-of-john-edwards-mistress-rielle-hunter-20080808/
I do hope the rumors about him marrying her later are not true. Because having your life, your career, and your ability to be an effective political voice destroyed should be enough to convince even an idiot that your Prince(ss) Charming is not worthy to be the life partner of a cane toad. And he's no idiot.
But he will be the biggest one on earth if by now, he hasn't seen her for who she really is.
A person who's in the middle of a sexual "spiritual ritual" or "workshop" is not going to see what they're doing as extramarital sex. They're going to see it as going to a therapy session. That's one possible way someone could mentally distance themselves if they're married and doing ACCESS or some other sex ritual.
Rumors or no, I think the day has passed when anyone really cares about what John Edwards does or doesn't do. To me, the Edwards incidents are of interest mainly because the right has so loved to use Edwards as an example of the moral laxity of the left, conveniently overlooking all of the guys on *their* side of the aisle who had/have extramarital affairs (of both the hetero and homosexual variety). In fairness, I should add that those on the left gleefully focus on the profligacy of the right-wing politicos who are caught with their pants down, pointing to them as examples not of immorality but of right-wing moral hypocrisy. And so it goes, as the (leftish) journo Linda Ellerbee used to say.
But you are exactly right, Frances, regarding the many ways the New-Wage workshop junkies find to rationalize their behavior, sexual or otherwise. Whether they indulge themselves in the name of "therapy" or "enlightenment" or "enlightened self-interest" or "spiritual/emotional evolution" or whatever, they seem to have no shortage of excuses. And there seems to be a workshop or path or technique to suit every variety of self-indulgence.
Of course this rationalization phenomenon isn't just confined to the New-Wage world; there's plenty of it in traditional organized religion, as well as in politics and other secular arenas. But the New-Wagers seem to be the most poetic and creative in their rationalizations.
And for the most part I still find their creative obscurantism humorous and silly. But when people such as "Stephen" get hurt by this crap, it reminds me that there's a dark side too.
It is amazing how people take one peice of information from observers and draw conclusions and not know what they are talking about, which is you Connie.
Well 'cosmicconnie' my relationship was pretty fantastic, we have had our ups and downs and we have been through quite a bit and we still adored each other. This is until my partner discovered your blogspot about 'Access' and since then we have been fighting and he making me wrong for choosing what I choose.
The story you wrote from 'Stephen' is where I have seen people like his wife, take the tools and used them against themselves and the people that care for them. Sounds to me like she is someone who is cruel, mean and unaware of how much her husband adores her. Her actions are nothing short of a total lack of awareness, unless of course ending her relationship is what she truly wanted. That would be my question to her, and if this is the case, when did she decide that? Before Access came along or after? And my dear, only she can answer that. So many of the comments you have on there are taken way out of context and have a 'wee' bit of truth with many lies attached to them.
Have you read the thousands of other stories about how these tools have taken 'not so great relationships' to fantastic?
Have you read how much change has occurred in peoples bodies?
Have you seen for yourself how quickly and rapidly an animals body can change by usineg these tools?
Have you discovered for yourself how many childrens grades have improved dramatically by having their Bars run?
Have you read how many children with AHHD, Autism etc, how their lives have been greater by applying simple tools?
Have you even picked up one tool and used it for yourself?
This is the thing you more than likely havn't. If you really wish to investigate and write a 'blogspot' that is accurate, ring Gary and ask him for an interview, thats if you are brave enough. Seems like throwing stones from a glass house is more your style.
Now after my gorgeous partner reading your blog, from someone a very 'ill-informed' person who has not even gone and found out personally for themselves more about 'Access' is destroying my relationship. Thanks 'cosmicconnie' you are just like anybody else who shoots first and asks questions later.
You can add the depletion and destruction of a fantastic relationship to your accomplishments, keep up the good work.
I would leave my name but you would more than likely post an untrue blogspot about me in what is obvious to an informed reader, a blogspot with 'very little truth and many lies attached'.
To readers of this blog post on ACCESS...
You may find it very interesting to note that there are many many ACCESS videos up on YouTube. However, none of them have "Comments" turned on, which I believe it a default setting. In other words, the ACCESS series videos have "turned off" the possibility for genuine open discourse on what ACCESS is all about. Viewers of the YouTube videos cannot:
- praise the videos
- praise Gary and Dain
- talk about their own positive experiences
- recommend Gary and Dain (ACCESS)
- tell how ACCESS has helped them
- etc etc.
A sharp minded person would have to ask themselves "why turn 'comments' off when having numerous positive comments about how great ACCESS is could only drive more folks to discover ACCESS for themselves?"
Why do that?
The short answer is likely, because Gary and Dain fear they will have many negative comments about ACCESS and they would rather have NO independent feedback relayed than take the chance of a mixture of positive and negative feedback.
Compare this behavior with most companies selling something. Take software companies for example. People are often very attached and bias to software. Yet software companies show lots of videos about their software in action on YouTube and they allow open comments so people can share their story about using their software--the good and the bad.
ACCESS cost as much as expensive software. Yet people refuse to be "savvy spiritual consumers" with this kind of stuff, even though they will spend hours reading and posting comments on YouTube about high-priced software before opening their wallet. Why?
The short answer is because there is a sucker born every day and Gary Douglas and Dr. Dain Heer and people like them are ready to take advantage of them, selling them spiritual bogusness.
Good for you, Anon 2:43 PM, for pointing out that commenting seems to be disabled on numerous ACCESS videos. Ya have to wonder why...and the answer seems kind of obvious.
I really like your software analogy too. It's amazing how people will do their homework so thoroughly on so many pricey consumer products, but when it comes to "spiritual shopping," they throw all caution to the winds.
We are a puzzling species, to be sure.
Stephen's account certainly rings true for anyone knowing much of anything about access. The 'lightness' vs. 'heaviness' business is the access 'tool' for determining what is the right thing to do. (You know, what others call character or judgment or ethics.)
You think about your choices; does one seem 'heavy' and the other 'light'? The light one is the universe answering your question. Brilliant. You won't ever have to take the tough path -- that will always feel 'heavy' because it is hard. If your marriage has some issues, of course sleeping with somebody else is going to seem 'lighter' than facing the music and working out problems with the person you promised you would love for the rest of your life. (78 year life? 800 year life? Whatever.)
Ask a 10 year old if dessert feels 'lighter' than green beans. Most 10 year olds would know how silly this is as a basis for decisions. And they would probably get really fat and then they could go to the Right Body for You class.
GD actually claims he can with the help of the universe speak to molecules and cause one object or substance to turn into something else. Adults are buying this? Put him to the test, why not? (Note how many questions I am asking? I'm really 'living in the question' you access fans.) Can he turn a six pack into a car? If he can, he should accept the Randi Foundation challenge and collect the $1,000,000. He would be an easy winner. And then he could say 'how can it get any better than that?' He thinks he can decide what to do in commodities investment by asking the commodities what they are going to do. Are you pork bellies going to go up or down? 'The gold knows what it is going to do,' ask the gold, he has said. (What gold? The gold in the ground? Your jewelry? Does the gold speak to him and tell him 'I think we're going to crack that $1000 barrier at last'?) He must have a terrific track record in his portfolio if this works -- has he demonstrated it?
The profound hypocrisy of the group astounds me. Members are 'living without judgment,' living in the question, etc. But 51% of the human race is labeled dullards without a creative bone in their body. If you are a family member whou doubts this, you are put in the 51% group. Because you disagree, of course. But there is no judgement here.
People who cause them trouble are given the cute title "ELF." That stands for 'evil little fuck,' by the way. If you only give them trouble when provoked you are a "rattlesnake." But we are living without judgment, oh yes we are.
The one access-supporting comment here is non-judgmental of the blog author? Oooops. Now you are in trouble. Remember you were supposed to be saying just "well that is an interesting point of view, Connie." I guess you need more classwork or maybe your hard drive (I'm sorry, the bars, as channeled from Rasputin) need to be rebooted for a small fee.
Thank you, Anon 9:04 AM. You seem to have some inside info about ACCESS, though I am guessing your info is from the perspective of one of those dullards in the 51% group. :-) (And yes, I noticed that the pro-ACCESS person who wrote to me was being a tad judgmental about yours truly.)
I don't know whether to be seriously amused, saddened, or a little frightened by the fact that supposedly reasonable adults can actually believe that Gary Douglas can manipulate molecules the way you describe -- not to mention the other crap they believe. Rasputin must be laughing up his etheric arse.
I can only shudder at the prospect of ACCESS becoming as successful as Scientology.
I think it is interesting that the pro-Access comment claims just a "wee" bit of truth in the blog post, while the rest is all lies. But doesn't actually identify any of the "lies."
Anon 10:05 PM: I have heard from numerous people who have either been involved in ACCESS or who are worried sick about loved ones involved in ACCESS. Some have asked me to tell their stories, and I have. However, since this blog is a hobby for me and is not my full-time job, I rarely take the time to do an in-depth investigation -- which means I do not normally attempt to talk to every party involved in a story.
However, I do what I believe to be the next-best thing -- perhaps a poor second choice, but better than nothing: I always provide numerous links to the official sites of the parties being criticized or complained about, as well as, in many cases, links to the sites of some of their followers or admirers. That way my readers can see or hear the people speak for themselves, and can draw their own conclusions.
I have also always said that I welcome comments and stories from the "other side" too -- in this case, from fans or followers of ACCESS or even from the ACCESS principals themselves. Yours is the first pro-ACCESS story I've heard in the nearly two and a half years I have been posting about ACCESS.
I shared "Stephen's" story the way he told it. And he told it as he said he experienced it with his wife, a new ACCESS enthusiast who had apparently used ACCESS teachings as license to take on a new lover. Granted, he was hearing about ACCESS mainly through her, and through the way she interpreted what she heard at the workshop. He did try to read some of the ACCESS books but had a lot of difficulty making sense of them. Was it because he wasn't "ready", not evolved enough? Or was it because the books were deliberately written in such a confusing, nonsensical fashion that most folks would find them all but unreadable? Stephen tends to think the latter is the case (and in fact he said his wife explained to him that the books were deliberately written so as not to make logical sense at all).
In any case, many of the things Stephen's wife said to him are reflected in various ACCESS writings and videos I have seen, which is why it seemed to me that Stephen's take on ACCESS teachings and practices was pretty accurate.
As it happens, and contrary to what you seemed to be implying, I HAVE read numerous positive testimonials about ACCESS. I've read of people who claimed to have undergone marvelous changes in their relationships or their bodies, people who saw some of their kids' problems dramatically turned around, people who allegedly cured their own cancer or other serious ailments... and on and on and on. Not surprisingly, virtually all of these testimonials appear on ACCESS official sites or ACCESS-related sites, backed by lame anecdotes from often giddy, giggling ACCESS followers or leaders. But there doesn't seem to be any legitimate INDEPENDENT scientific work to back up ACCESS claims, and in view of this lack, I have to say that I find the testimonials suspect at best.
I understand why you didn't leave your name, and I seriously doubt it was because you were afraid I would blog about you. You have already revealed as much about yourself as anyone needs to know at this point. But if you think I have "depleted and destroyed" your "fantastic relationship," Anon, you are definitely barking up the wrong tree. Perhaps you should look closer to home for the real cause of your relationship going south.
And forgive me for saying so, but ACCESS still sounds wacko to me, its founders seem exploitative on many levels, and frankly, I believe the burden of proof is on ACCESS to prove it's NOT just a jumbled mess of nonsensical New-Wage mumbo-jumbo.
Anonymous 7:54 AM wrote:
"I think it is interesting that the pro-Access comment claims just a 'wee' bit of truth in the blog post, while the rest is all lies. But doesn't actually identify any of the 'lies.'"
Now, that's a good point, Anon. But I have a feeling that a detailed analysis of my blog post would require thought, and ACCESS people do not like to think. Hey, they've said so themselves.
You can find the god and bad in everything. And the thign witht the tools of Access as Connie has clearly pointed out "well you are not IPOV and need more teachings," is the ill-informed and people who take the tools and use them against others and themselves. Not to forget to mention those who sit at home, do all their research via other peoples points of views and do not interact and choose things to have their own awareness. Yes keep on buying everything you read, hear, especially from the government and doctors because they know right? QUestion everythign and know that only you know what is right for you, nobody else does, you do. Question Gary, Dain, Connie, myself and eveything don't believe everything you read and hear because that is where you get sucked in everytime. This is exactly what is said in every Access class. Quite clearly the Access tools are great and I highly recommend it to anyone and if it makes them feel lighter or you want to know more find out for you. Just know that everything is possible and everything can change - its all choice and whatever you choose is your choice. Live the life you would like for you.
Thanks for weighing in, Anon 7:24 AM. But you sort of make it sound as if I'm coming out on the side of ACCESS -- twisting my own words, it seems. And I couldn't help but notice what seems to be a faintly passive-aggressive mention of people who sit at home and do research via other folks' opinions.
You wrote:
"Yes keep on buying everything you read, hear, especially from the government and doctors because they know right?"
Are you being any more open-minded, or exercising free choice, by swallowing everything Gary Douglas and Dain Heer say? Do you believe you will live 800 years or more if you stay in the ACCESS fold? Do you believe Gary Douglas can manipulate molecules and turn objects into other objects? Do you believe promiscuous sex can make you a "lighter" being?
My understanding is that many ACCESS followers believe these very things.
Or am I wrong about that?
Two more questions: Are you really living the life YOU choose? And what do your family and friends think about the life you have "chosen?"
Wow Cosmic Connie...great Blogspot! I confess I was laughing out loud at many of the items posted here. I can’t recall when I was last so entertained. I was glad to read that this is just a hobby for you and you don’t actually believe or take anything you write seriously. I imagine some people think you are doing “the right thing” and keeping us informed of what’s really going on but I get that you are more like an internet version of Jerry Springer! It’s not often you find someone so gifted at stirring the pot and soliciting all kinds of outrage and righteousness from the stupids of the world. Thank you. You are doing a great job!
Laughing on the outside but fuming on the inside, eh, Sabrina? Don't worry; Gary and Dain will cure what ails you. Meanwhile, I'm glad to keep you "entertained."
Hi Connie,
I was going to post some information on Access for you but after reading your posts I have changed my mind. I will say thank you though. Thank you for being so interested as to read all the information about Access and post your comments on it. Thank you for directing people to the Access Website where they can choose for themselves. Thank you for keeping the conversation about Access alive for over 2 years. And thank you for caring enough to have a voice. You know there’s no such thing as bad press and you have generated an amazing amount of curiosity about Access for people who might never have heard of it otherwise. Those of us who are Access facilitators are very grateful.
Hey, Justine, don't thank me. Thank the people who told me horror stories about ACCESS. I wouldn't have ever heard of it if not for them.
Thanks for reporting on this Connie.
Granted, lots of people have problems in their marriage when one partner joins a religious group, but this particular group seems quite irresponsible.
The video seems to be of a kind of violent energy work. Having someone jump around the table like that woman is almost certainly not a useful thing. Even subtle energy work should be done with caution. Especially combined with the sex stories, it seems to me that this group lacks boundaries and pushes too hard for openness, a common problem.
Hey, Duff, and thanks for your insight. It's true that marriages and close relationships are often compromised when one person gets heavily into anything (religion or anything else) that the other person is not into. But as you said, ACCESS seems to be even more destructive because of the emphasis on sexual openness, etc.
I don't know much about energy work, but my first thought was much simpler and more mundane: The girl on the table could have just been faking or exaggerating her responses. She sort of looks like the type who's used to performing before the camera, if you know what I mean. In fact, the whole video looked like a setup for a third-rate porn movie. It does, however, point to a possibly under-served market: New-Wage porn consumers. :-)
Hmmm... interesting comment about “laughing on the outside and fuming on the inside”. Who are you talking about? You or me? I am a little surprised that you took offence at my calling your blog entertaining. Does it truly exist for any other purpose? Do you not write it because it’s fun and entertaining for YOU? I read what you said to Justine about thanking the people who sent you their “horror stories” and that comment really only proves the point. Those kinds of stories are stock in trade for tabloid magazines and tattle-tale newspaper the world over. No one really believes all the stuff they print... at least I hope they don’t! That’s not to say I think it’s bad or wrong. It is what it is and it contributes to the mix of what is wonderful about this crazy, insane world we live in. Do you think I am discounting people’s experiences? No. Absolutely not. I just know that some people LIKE horror stories. They can turn any experience into a drama if you give them the opportunity. And for some people, horror stories are the only kind they listen to or tell. It’s still just a story.
Hmmm....interesting comment about my taking offense at your calling my blog entertaining. Who are you referring to as being offended -- you or me?
I am not offended that you called my blog entertaining and never said or implied I was. FYI, you are not the first person to compare "Whirled Musings" to a tabloid paper, a gossip sheet, TMZ, or something similar. If it makes you feel better to do this, go ahead.
The fact is that I do write my blog primarily for my own entertainment, and have said as much on numerous occasions. But I also like to think that some of the information and some of the "stories" that I share are helpful to some people.
My point to Justine was that I probably would never have heard of ACCESS were it not for the accounts of negative stories that people sent to me about their own or loved ones' experience with ACCESS.
It is true that some people can turn any experience into a drama. But the question is: Are the people who have shared their ACCESS experiences with me doing this? You're certainly free to believe they are. You're free to say that "Stephen's" story of his own heartbreak is "just a story." You're free to believe that the experiences he shared with me are on a par with the fabricated stuff in tabloids.
For that matter, you're also free to believe that ACCESS practitioners can manipulate molecules in such a way as to turn some objects into completely different objects, or that ACCESS people can live to be 800. Some of the things ACCESS followers claim to believe make the tabloids look credible by comparison.
Or do you not literally believe those things, and just look upon the wild claims as more entertaining "stories?"
I'm sorry, let's go back to basics. The core "energy" practices that gave us Access were supposedly channeled from Rasputin by a Santa Barbara realtor. Can we just stop there?
If that doesn't end the discussion of the merits of it for you.....
There surely is a reason, after all, that the organization seems to be burying that bit of their history.
Thank you, Anon, 9:40 AM. The Rasputin angle was the very first red flag for me. However, as you noted, ACCESS has buried that pretty deeply now. The current story is that the teachings (e.g., the "bars" and such) started "coming through" to Gary Douglas in the early 1990s. Not that it matters, particularly since I imagine that for many of ACCESS's youngest followers, the early 1990s seem oh, so long ago. I imagine Rikka and Summer (Dr. Dain's giggly co-stars in one of the videos I linked to in my post) were mere tots when the Mad Monk of Russia began sharing his wisdom with the Ridiculous Realtor of Santa Barbara. (And then there's that "Novian" character, a being of light who was somehow involved in the exchange between Rasputin and Gary.What's that all about?)
When cornered, I surmise that faithful ACCESS followers would say that the various accounts are just "stories" or that the critics are quibbling over details.
As I've noted previously, though, I don't think ACCESS would have lost anything by keeping ol' Raspy and the mysterious Novian. Think of the outrageous success Jerry and Esther Hicks have had with their imaginary "Abraham" -- success that Gary and Dain can only dream of at this point. And, returning to Russia for a moment, think of Vlad Megre and his fabricated woman of the woods, Anastasia. Thar's gold in them thar imaginary friends, podner!
yoiks. Like Friday night fright movies...lotsa good gooey psychic gore!
Some teenagers unfortunately turn into human adults who never appear to outgrow the need to scam and spam the population - just to get laid, don'tcha know.
- although I'd rather not get too entertained by the unfortunate dusfunction of other people's love lives. That's just too sad an outcome.
I recall the dim and distant past escapades of Moonies and such - and even from those barren beginnings, it always struck me (at a young and tender state in life's journey) that tickets to heaven are, well, um....scalped, so to speak.
I remember delighful fools who'd offer up a slice of heaven for a song (literally) and that was nice, yuss..........
but I guess these days, yer booty or yer boody is just too, ah, ENTERPRIZED. (hardly free)
What really seems to tickle the innards on this one though - is the bald-faced (and bare-assed) focus in on the scammed wham bam and thank you ma'am! oh my.
I mean.................
isn't that just so pathetically adolescent? hoo!
pizza paradise
Hey Connie,
Curious why you started painting people blue years ago? With Avatar such a box office hit, it now seems curiously fitting that people like Gary Douglas and yourself would be blue in pictures. Thanks for spreading consciousness across the planet and highlighting the people who are part of the conversation!
littleplanet lyrically wrote:
"What really seems to tickle the innards on this one though - is the bald-faced (and bare-assed) focus in on the scammed wham bam and thank you ma'am! oh my.
I mean.................
isn't that just so pathetically adolescent? hoo!"
Yeah, it is, lp. Adolescent of ACCESS and, I have no doubt, adolescent of me to focus on the boinking bit. I got that. As I noted on a later blog post (the Jan. 21, 2010 "D/s I love you" piece about Steve "Pervlina"), WM isn't normally a sex blog. But sometimes when people make the sex aspect so public, and it dribbles over into my territory (so to speak), I'll blog about it.
In the case of ACCESS, the promiscuous-sex aspect came to my attention because it seems to be the focal point of people's complaints about ACCESS. Adolescent as it is, I thought it worth a mention.
Anonymous 9:49 AM wrote..
"Curious why you started painting people blue years ago? With Avatar such a box office hit, it now seems curiously fitting that people like Gary Douglas and yourself would be blue in pictures. Thanks for spreading consciousness across the planet and highlighting the people who are part of the conversation!"
.....
Bus-ted! Gary Douglas and I have been in cahoots with James Cameron for YEARS.
But seriously. Ever since I can remember I have always loved the color blue. I used to want to wear blue tights to kindergarten every day, and got petulant when my mom nixed that idea. Years later, when I was in Eckankar (which rhymes with "Avatar"...ooo, spooky), I loved their focus on blue lights and such. I learned some great meditations using blue lights and the color blue. I grew out of the Eckankar phase but not my love for the color blue, and for blue lights.
Even today, there's a bright blue light on my porch to guide me home, and at night you can see it from a mile away on the dark country road.
When I started my blog in July of 2006 I only had a few templates to choose from on Blogger, and I chose the ugly one I did for various reasons. (Lord, I'm sick of this template.) A few years before that I had discovered a cheap trick on a shareware bitmap-preview-and-modification program called ThumbsPlus. It's in the "Image" menu: "Swap red and blue." A simple click of the mouse and you've turned everyone blue, like a night shot in movies. It kind of fits in with the color scheme on my blog. (Note: Remember that swapping red and blue makes blue-ish things reddish, so the effect on ocean scenes is rather disconcerting.)
When people ask me why everything's blue here, I sometimes like to say that it's because the lighting on my Whirled is so bad. Other times I say it's because I'm so spiritual, but we all know better than that.
That was probably way more of an explanation than you wanted, but there you are. Thanks for asking!
PS ~ Neat song by Mazzy Star, with Hope Sandoval doing vocals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkm1Mp5Uyrc&NR=1
or if you want more blue...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IruAwkSAEgc
Hi Cosmic Connie, great blog and very informative!
If you want to access the old web pages for the Access group, try using the wayback machine which has cached pages from 1999. Very interesting!
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://accessraz.com
If the link doesn't work, type wayback machine into google and then typr accessraz.com into the search field. Then have fun!
I just heard this bullshit today at a metaphysical fair. The teacher, Rikka Zimmerman, was talking some stupid language that made no sense and never stopped laughing. I thought she was on drugs,seriously. What a bunch of cosmic crap
Well Cosmic Connie,how can you judge something that you've never really tried or experienced. Is it really rewarding to judge things in life like that? What would it be like if you lived your life with no points of views or judgments? Everything is just an interesting point of view. What else is possible for you to choose in life? Choose for you, not anyone else.
Anon, April 8: I have chosen for me. I've chosen not to get involved in ACCESS. People who read this are free to choose for themselves.
I was a facilitator for several years.... if you notice nobody on their site now has been around very long... they go through a new group of 'sheeple' every few years.... and tell the newbies the old ones weren't willing to be really conscious so they left (that's what they said to us when I was new about all of the people who had just left.)
When actually anyone creating a life for themselves will eventually leave. It attracts people who are weak and needy and have never generated much of a life for themselves before .... or had very much sex for that matter.... this makes them feel special and that they belong. Notice they are esp nice and lovey to older woman with money (who are needy in some way too -never powerful ones- and they are smart enough to give them exactly what they require to keep the money flowing) You will only remain in if you continue to feel you are less than in some way.
I do not believe the intent has ever been malicious but certainly misguided. Even Gary says if you are stupid enough to keep paying me and not change your life I will keep taking your money! How does it get any clearer than that?
It is like a drug where people feel good while they are there ... so they keep paying to get that high again but are really not changing much in their life. And somehow they have certainly related consciousness in direct proportion to sex and money.... now that is funny!
I could go on but I will not. Just think for yourselves people!!! What would that be like??
Anon 5-22-10 wrote:
"Even Gary [Douglas] says if you are stupid enough to keep paying me and not change your life I will keep taking your money! How does it get any clearer than that?"
Refreshing honesty... up to a certain point, anyway. What Gary doesn't mention is that he's not really providing any useful tools for "change." Rather, he seems to be providing a drug to make people feel good while they're there, as you noted. I appreciate your sharing your insights.
Any one know of a 'survivors of access' group? I would like to make contact with former members.
Hey Connie. Thanks so much for posting this. I see you have almost 1/4 million hits. Maybe that is because there is just not much online that is telling people about Access, other than Access itself. I wonder why more people aren't writing about their experiences. Are they embarrassed or what?
Anyhow, I like to read negative reviews, they tell me more than the positive ones and often the negative movie reviews on rottentomatoes convince me to go see it!
So, I was a bit curious and intrigued by what you wrote. I do think that society is messed up and that people are enslaved by their fears. I do believe that there must be an escape from societal brainwashing through some kind of enlightened consciousness and that that consciousness will feel free and joyful. So I was wondering...
Stephen's story did not dissuade me because marriages break up all the time anyhow. If his broke up because his wife was getting enlightened, well, I can't think of a better reason.
I also believe that we can be more open and loving toward each other. I might not want to have sex with everyone, but the deeper the connection through open-heartedness, the better.
I must admit that Access's videos gave me the assumption that Gary and Dain weren't just boinking the pretty women, but each other as well. Don't you think? OK, I've never tried it myself, but I'm open to the possibility...
Anyhow, what finally got to me was the comment by anonymous May 22 in which she said new people are always coming on as the old ones quit. That is so common. None of these so-called enlightened teachers produce any enlightened students! wtf?
I do want to believe that there is someone who knows the true way to joy and freedom and I know that the way is not by conforming to societal norms. Look how much suffering that is creating.
I would like to believe that there is a true version of Access, so I guess I am prime recruitment material for them. So, I wonder, Connie, have you found anything that works? Or is life just a futile endless series of hoping followed by disappointment?
Thanks for your input, JJ. My nearly 250,000 unique hits aren't all for ACCESS; I blog about many things. But you're right; there's precious little about ACCESS on the Web, except for the pro-ACCESS propaganda.
You ask if I've found something that "works," or if, alternatively, life is just an endless series of futile hopes and disappointments. I have to ask you: Why does it have to be either/or? Why can't life just be life, lived and enjoyed without a gimmicky self-help method or pseudo-spiritual path?
The guy "Stephen" in my post acknowledged that his marriage had the usual set of problems and that it wasn't all ACCESS. But ACCESS teaches stuff that is apparently destructive of many relationships. And whether or not Stephen's wife was actually getting "enlightened" is a matter of debate.
Besides Stephen's story, I have heard many others from people who are either ex-ACCESS members or whose loved ones are currently ACCESS members. These stories all present strong evidence that ACCESS is far from a path to joy, even for many of those who so vehemently proclaim it so.
Google a Houston socialite named Curry Glassell, f'rinstance. More to the point, Google "Curry Glassell lawsuits."
That's just one example.
I presented these blog to my wife. She's attending a Bars class tomorrow. I can only present other points of view and hope she makes informed decisions. I can not , nor would not try to make choices for her. regardless thanks for your insight. I think it struck a little chime with in her. She was at the very least tad creeped out by the Rikka, Summer and Dr Dain you tube vid. And thanks for the term 'New Wage'. Whether you coined it or not, it's a perfect description for what has always resonated as total bunk to me.
Thanks for your reply Connie.
You said: "You ask if I've found something that 'works,' or if, alternatively, life is just an endless series of futile hopes and disappointments. I have to ask you: Why does it have to be either/or? Why can't life just be life, lived and enjoyed without a gimmicky self-help method or pseudo-spiritual path?"
Hoping that your question wasn't rhetorical, my answer is that I find it hard to just enjoy life. Most people do. Over 40% are taking anti-depressants! And the rest are just undiagnosed!
I can feel a deep joy within me, but I do not find it in the world. People are often angry (when they are not depressed, I guess), they can petty, and mean and dishonest. And as far as I can tell, in the end we all die.
So how do I reconcile the feeling inside of a joyous me with the experience of a largely harsh and uncaring world? It feels like I do not belong here or want to be here.
I have met and studied with many teachers who speak about this inner joy, but none of them have a formula for finding happiness in life, even one that works for themselves.
So I am with you about all the scams out there, but the reason the scams work is that so many people do not feel that life is working for them. The teachers sense this widespread feeling and I think many of them genuinely think they can help. But as you observe, most just get lost in the money making game and do no good at all.
So, I appreciate the cynicism, but really it does not seem an adequate answer to say "just live life". So much of life just sucks! We work and work at a job with petty people and then we die. What is the point?
Anon October 28 2010: Thank you for your comment. I wish you luck in dealing with whatever results from your wife's attendance of the Bars class. Maybe sanity will prevail.
As for the term "New-Wage," as far as I know I did indeed coin it. At least I had never previously seen or heard it when I first began using it:
http://home.swbell.net/moonshad/new-wage.html
I wrote that piece in 1994. In many respects very little has changed since then.
But I'm not asking for royalties or anything. :-) I'm glad to see that the term is in much wider use today, at least on the critical forums.
JJ, I'm sorry if I wasn't taking your more serious questions seriously enough. You do raise some good points. Life can indeed seem futile and pointless, or it can seem like an incredible gift. Most people vacillate between those views to a greater or lesser degree. I guess the point I was trying to make is that there's no one thing that "works," no simple formula -- but that pretty much seems to be the conclusion you've reached too.
I agree with you that most people don't seem to be able to just "enjoy" life on a consistent basis. Most people have to put up with a lot of stress in their day-to-day lives, and for many there is a continual sense of discontent that is nurtured by the whole culture of expectations in which we live -- a culture that seems to have been created in large part by manufacturers and marketers of consumer goods, although *we* feed into it.
I haven't found a magic pill or magic button, but I have gotten pretty good at figuring out what *doesn't* work, and that's a start.
In short, I don't have any answers, or at least not many. I do like to explore the questions, though. You might be interested in reading this month's issue of "Skeptic" Magazine (the one with the smiley faces on the cover); the cover story on "Happyism," by SHAMblog's Steve Salerno, explores some of these questions in a particularly engaging way.
Thanks, Connie. I did not think you were not taking me seriously enough. I like the way you engage topics. Its very refreshing.
I looked at the magazine website you mentioned, but couldn't read the article online. But I don't really believe in the pursuit of happiness, which is what the article seems to be about. I believe that we are already infinite happiness. I have seen this in myself. As far as I can tell it is my deepest essence.
The problem seems to be behaviors and situations that seem incompatible with my deepest essence. So beliefs are a big one: "I need money to survive" for example, or even more basic: "I must survive." When the beliefs float by I try to ignore them, but so many other people believe them that it is hard to resist completely. The more I follow my inner happiness, the more separated I seem to become, not just from the misery of humanity, but from humanity itself or "culture" as you say.
So yes the new wage charlatans need to make money, but is what they are doing any different than the marketers of consumer waste, the billions spent on video games, or the pharmaceutical purveyors of erection pills? They are all trying to sell happiness. If you shut them all down we would have to find something else to do than shop, watch TV and pursue sex. Whatever would that be?
It's not enough to just attack what is not true, is it? What is an appropriate positive affirmation?
Wow, I remember when I commented on this. The guy who was an ACCESS facilitator is known as Q-Mars Imandel (he's on Facebook too). Thank the stars for better men...at least my current guy is sooo NOT into this New Agey scam crap. ^_^
Hi, Id. I'm so glad to hear from you; I've thought of you every time I have written anything about ACCESS, because you were the one that got the ACCESS ball rolling on my Whirled. I'm very happy that you're hanging around better guys now!
You should be on Facebook...or at least have a "Like" page. ^_^
The ACCESSory's page is here: www.facebook.com/theviberider
This ACCESSory has a FREAKIN' Youtube channel! www.youtube.com/theviberider
Seriously, I'd rather date a drug addict than some New Wagey prick!!
hahahahahaha i feel so sorry for you, you'll never know what is truly out there!! :) :L
Oh, Anon, don't waste your pity on me. Save it instead for some of the people who have truly been sucked into Access. People like Houston heiress Curry Glassell, for example... Now, there's a sad story if I ever saw one.
Oh, and Connie, this exact ACCESSory that scammed $150 from me opened a non-profit organization:
www.thegiveproject.org
If you do a WhoIs search on this domain, you can find this guy's mailing address and exact location.
I wish the hackers that took down Visa and Mastercard in retailiation for shutting down WikiLeaks could wreak havoc on such New Wagey bullshit!
Hmmm, Id, let me guess: The Give Project was set up for the sole purpose of allowing folks to GIVE to the Access scammer. You were smart to get away from that joker.
Hey, everyone: In case you are wondering about the blurb above, "This post has been removed by a blog administrator"...
I am said administrator. I published a post sent in by someone who, I am pretty certain, has some inside information about Access, having once been deeply involved with the organization. I have no trouble believing the accusations leveled in that comment, but some of them were pretty serious and I thought I might be putting myself on shaky ground, legally, if I were to publish the comment. So pending further research, thought, and perhaps consultation with a qualified professional, I have deleted the comment for the time being, with apologies to the individual who took the time to write it. (Your contributions and support are appreciated, Anon.)
Do they really tell that Gary D can change weahter? In what level is that discussed. Any that know? I have a few friends in this association and are curious.
Samething that they do talk about is that if you die from a disease
that is something you did chose. Am I right about this?
Please help.
Curious: I don't know at which level Gary's alleged weather-changing capability is discussed, or if it is even a part of the "official" Access curriculum (or ridiculum), which is constantly changing. The weather belief could just be part of the package deal that comes with guru-worship. New-Wage gurus need a mystique, after all, which is generally a group effort undertaken by the gurus and their followers. A mystique is kind of like a makeshift memorial; people just keep adding stuff to it as it suits them.
[Speaking of makeshift memorials, here's a very old Whirled Musings piece... http://cosmicconnie.blogspot.com/2006/12/more-new-wage-opportunists.html ]
But I digress.
As for the idea that one's mode of death is a conscious choice, that belief, or a variation thereof, seems to be pretty standard among a lot of New-Wage groups.
Do only Gary and Dain do money? Or is there a few more that can be in the organisation and earn money? Who?
Do only Gary and Dain do money in this organization? Or is there other. Who?
About sex. The do no sex at al in the classes but a lot of talk about sex. In the evenings everybody is rather active in the higher classes, level 2 and 3. Intresting but, it is not bad as I see it. Do you? This is what my sources told me... correct?
Hi, Curious: I'm sure that some Access facilitators manage to make some money; the organization seems to be grooming a few "stars" such as Rikka Zimmerman (she of the weird hand gestures) and Steve Comer (the guy with the hypnotic eyelids). But Gary and Dain are the main money makers, and I've heard from "inside sources" that very few Access facilitators can actually make a living from Access alone.
There's more info about the money-making potential, or lack thereof, of being an Access facilitator on this blog post of mine:
http://cosmicconnie.blogspot.com/2010/06/now-heer-this-top-accessory-woos-oprah.html
It seems that like most New-Wage bidness schemes, the odds are piled up (or, given Access' cleavage obsession, stacked) in favor of the house.
Now, regarding the sex thing: I've never said that Access folks actually have sex in the classes, though I can see how some might interpret it that way. But Access seems to be very much into encouraging people to experiment sexually with many partners, regardless of marital status (and, some have told me, regardless of age).
And Access does not hesitate to use sexuality as a selling point to attract more followers. I have no doubt that Gary and Dain and other Access "leaders" exploit their positions (so to speak) in order to get laid.
I don't criticize Accessories or anyone else merely for having recreational sex. That would be narrow-minded and hypocritical. My criticism of Access -- or one of my criticisms, apart from the general silliness and the fact that it was a gimmick dreamed up by a New-Wage con artist who pretended to channel Rasputin -- is that it encourages people to drop ALL judgment about right or wrong behavior. Instead they are encouraged to just do whatever feels right to them -- damn the collateral damage (which Accessories seem wont to dismiss as just "stories" or "another interesting point of view"). As one of my commenters said recently, the sex angle, in this context, is just another level of exploitation.
Those are my opinions as an outsider who has heard from numerous Access insiders and former insiders. YMMV, of course.
I do agree. The sex thing is not stupid, to explore one of the gift nature gave to us is a good thing. Too many of us have limited knowledge about sex and many stupid points of views about sex. For example old and sick does not get sex as they need. This can make me furious, good sex is healing often better than medicine!! And it does not have bad side effects, only good!!
I also agree “Drop ALL judgment about right or wrong behavior”, This will as I see it hit back on the Access people. As they apply this behavior many of their old friends will leave and after this they are even more stuck in the organization. As I see it, many organization like this does have I way to push old friends away. And the demand to “Drop ALL judgment about right or wrong behavior” will make this process a lot faster than their competitors.
I did ask about this permission to do whatever I like. And their point of view is VERY extreme. If I want to rape I girl I´m should feel free to do so. Are they dangerous? I don´t think they are, rater harmless… If you can accept that they have a lot of sex and spend a lot of money on whatever they are harmless.
Thanks for your response, Curious. But some of the points you mention about Access' teachings would actually lend credence to the idea that they are dangerous. Your example of rape is a case in point. I'm sure you wouldn't consider rape to be right, and no doubt most Accessories are not rapists, but can't you see the potential danger in the very idea of removing moral judgment from acts such as rape?
Ever mindful of the potential for a critic to sound like an alarmist or conspiracy theorist, I always try to take a more moderate view about whether or not a given New-Wage group or leader is "dangerous." As is my usual practice on this blog, I generally focus more on the silly side of Access than the potential darker side. Still, while I wouldn't go so far as to deem Access dangerous, I do feel their teachings can have a deleterious influence on Access followers and the people in their lives.
I can see the potential danger. From the raped girls view it is even more extreme. If you chose to be raped and are dissatisfied about the sex you had, that’s only your point of view.
The sympathy for the poor people is almost zero, since they did chose to be poor and their sadness is only a point of view etc. And I can understand that this type of thinking is relaxing, just focus on yourself and be happy!
But many of us need to relax and be happy just to spread joy. So a little piece of Garys ideas can do good and make this planet a little bit better. I like to think like this: “I can not save the planet but I´d better do my best”. The best I can do is to be happy and in order to be happy I need same of Garys idea that I´m not responsible. Strange? I´m really confused!!!
I think I read that you did pull same from organization, how? Guess their lack of money was a help, but how do I do before the money is gone?
And, thanks a lot Cosmic Connie. This conversation helped me a lot!!! Big hug to you.
"But many of us need to relax and be happy just to spread joy," you say. Agreed, Curious. Of course there are plenty of ways to learn to relax, to increase your happiness, and to cultivate the art of appreciating life as the gift that it is -- without buying into Gary Douglas' and Dain Heer's proprietary brand of narcissism.
Certainly there is plenty of inspiration to be found for much less than the thousands upon thousands of dollars that Access ends up costing you if you go through all the recommended classes.
Inspiration is everywhere. In music, for instance.
Like here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-7yjMLNops&feature=related
Or here, from the same singer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMg5EuT3WuQ&feature=related
(What can I say... just in a Cris Williamson mood today. :-))
The songs are circa 1975, and they are the product of a singer who was trying to make music that really made a difference -- back when Gary Douglas was still selling real estate in California and Dane was still in elementary school.
For that matter, Cris was inviting people to "Come to your life like a warrior" when James Arthur Ray, of Spiritual Warrior/Death Lodge infamy, was still in high school.
Anyway. I've enjoyed our conversation too, Curious. However, at the risk of sounding dense, I don't understand this question you wrote:
"I think I read that you did pull same from organization, how? Guess their lack of money was a help, but how do I do before the money is gone?"
Assuming the question isn't rhetorical, I'll try to answer it if I understand it. Enlighten, please.
I'll try to clarify:
Have you been able to help someone from the organization? How?
OK, got it, Curious. I like to think I have been able to help both ex-Accessories and some of those who love them by providing information, comic relief, and moral support. I have never attempted to pull anyone from the organization or to rescue them in any way. But my blog is here when and if they feel a need to read it.
Thanks for your info -- I actually had a "bars" session and found it to feel quite amazing. Than I watched the Youtube videos with all the Tom Cruz'est jumping up and down behavior and I smelled cult!!! I was still conflicted because I know what I felt after receiving the bars treatment(and I've had a lot of energy and body work done in the past) and I am a body and light worker myself. So I thought I'd dig a little deeper. Thank you for your postings and allowing others to post. I now think I've done enough research and seen enough commentary to know that its not a very good idea to revisit Access. I will be doing more research and I think I'll stick to Reiki. Thanks Miss Cosmic girl
Very interessing point of view. But why all this critisizing, why not appreciate someone is actually changing the conformity. I have been meditating daily for 30 years, currently The Ishayas Ascension, now also somewhat into ACCESS, has benefit a lot from BARS discovering a new perspective to life and my meditations. Been on Foundation and question many things if they may be true or not. Wondering a bit why people in general are so busy analyzing, brain twisting finding things they don't like about other spiritual systems. Is'nt it about finding tools that benefit you, and maybe others may benefit from other things than what seems to be the ultimate truth for you, and maybe in a year it will be something different. Else we are talking about being religious here.
Very interessing point of views. We all like to critisize and analyze, why not appreciate someone is actually not just talking about making our world a better place. I have been meditating daily for more than 30 years, currently The Ishayas Ascension, now also somewhat into ACCESS, has benefit a lot from BARS discovering a new perspective to life and my meditations. Been on Foundation and question many things if they may be true or not for me. Most of us are so busy analyzing, brain twisting finding things we don't like about other spiritual systems. I know I have found tools that benefit me, and maybe others may benefit from other things than what seems to be the ultimate truth for me, and maybe in a year it will be something different. Smells a bit like for and against, being religious.
JørgenRvid: Thank you for your perspective(s). I realize you probably thought there was a Blogger glitch when you submitted your first comment so you probably felt it necessary to write a second one. Nevertheless I published both of them.
I'm glad Access is working for you here and now, though I am curious about what your friends and family think about it (or do you share it with them?). In any case my snarking and criticism can't really be considered "religious" because my purpose isn't to steer people away from Access in order to steer them into my own religion or belief system. Mostly it's for entertainment and information purposes. If by sharing my (hopefully) entertaining information I can help keep someone from wasting large amounts of money they can't really afford on Access, and/or from destroying their own close relationships and possibly ruining their lives, that's just icing on the cake.
As for finding tools that benefit you, my strong sense is that the tools of Access exist mainly to benefit Gary Douglas and Dain Heer, and perhaps a select few others who have been deemed by the fearless leaders to be an attractive public face (and/or cleavage, as the case may be) for Access. My opinion is that when you pay for an Access class you're just putting money in the coffers of charlatans. But hey, that's just my opinion. It works for me, and seems to work for quite a few others as well.
Good luck.
Well thanks Connie for fast reply and honest thoughts and advise. I have also experienced several people believing in their own "inate" or intuition, and it showed out to be way out in the woods and misleading them. So I googled all I could find about ACCESS before even trying Bars. Now you got sharing from at least two insiders here. Else what I read here is good debate, but also much guessing.
The ACCESS thing, beside bars seems for me to be effectful for many, the teachers seem honest and very humourous. I got Foundation, and sure that's enough clearing statements for now. I agree the ACCESS thing is a bit sharp and may be seperating people more than neccesary. But I'm also from the scool of The Ishayas Ascension appreciating/atonement attitudes, which smoothes things a lot more between people. With a thing like ACCESS it is of course best to bable about it to every human, they would compare it to Scientology. I have a job in the local church choir, I love the music and friendship there, and accepting every statement from ACCESS and asking things like "would an infinite being choose this" could lead to some breaking up that is not neccesary and what I like to happen now.
[And thanks, but could you delete the first comment and leave the last, it was doubble posting.]
Well, I've been into Access for a few months now. I've not done any of the courses or bought any of the books, but I have had my Bars run ~ that's basically an energy releasing process.
I have to say, that my experience, thus far has been completely opposite to What this guy in your blog went through. I've not heard anything about "free love" or "free sex" from any of my consciousness friends.
In fact, my bars facilitator sensed that I was having trouble in my marriage & adviced me that if I didn't let go of or release my judgements on my wife, then I would have relationship problems with whoever else I ended up with. The conversation went deeper than that, but that's the gist of the conversation on sexuality that I had with my bars facilitator, in a nutshell.
Anyways, my point is that my experience of Access has been quite the opposite of what this guy's experience was or that of his wife, for that matter. In fact, my life is generally improving on the whole, since I started looking into Access.
One thing that Access teaches is that, "You reality is created by your point of view." And this is something that I've come across in principle in other teachings I've looked into, such as Law of Attraction. So I wonder if this guy's point of view about his life both before & after his wife got involved with Access had something to do with how his reality turned out for him.
I know that even before learning about Law of Attraction or Access, etc. that my life has changed quite dramatically & almost miraculously when I changed my point of view. For example, like how I had been bullied @ work in one job, after another & then as soon as I made a conscious decision that I would never again be bullied, my next job I couldn't put a foot wrong with the bosses & I could never work out why they saw me as anything "special". I now realise that it was the energy I was giving off.
I realise that many people might be sceptics about anything that is in anyway different from what they perceive to be "normal", and that's their choice. I've for a long time had the view, "don't knock it until you've tried it." I find that some people can be so closed-minded that they will end up energetically seeing or experiencing a negative where there could've otherwise be a positive.
One thing I know is that in my experience, in my reality, Access has been a completely different ball game. My wife has been a lot more affectionate towards me since having my bars run & we do get on a lot better. Also other aspects of my life are improving, such has healthy issues, etc. So for me, possibly because I had a positive point of view towards these things, it's been a very positive & beneficial experience all round.
I am new to access consciousness so I am pretty objective when reading what you wrote on your blog. Re what you wrote that Summer was lustily looking while Dain was working on Rikka. I didn't see that at all when I watched the video, so who was it who saw the "lust" had "lust" in her eyes. And re the access bars, I bought the dvd where Gary and Dain were demonstrating how to do the access bars. I was curious as to whether it did work or not so I worked on a friend while watching the dvd. Well, she said that she felt like her head cleared up. She said she was feeling confused before I worked on her. Then she worked on her roommate and the roommate said that she was having a stomachache before and it disappeared when my friend worked on her. SO the 3 of us was completely neutral about the access bars and we found that it did work. Sorry to say that I found most of your comments were pretty subjective. I think the best way to see if something is a scam is to try it yourself. Then you would be talking from first hand experience. As it is, it looks like what you wrote down is mostly "heresay".
Call me prejudiced, Anon (Friday, November 11, 2011 3:45:00 AM), but when someone claims an idea was "channeled" from a dead guy, Rasputin -- which is what Access founder Gary Douglas originally claimed -- my b.s. detector goes on full alert. And when the person making that claim also writes about how he used to envy people who made a living channeling, and how he used to wish he too could do it, that adds credence to the theory that Access is a contrived scam.
Granted, these days you'll probably be hard-pressed to see or hear anything about Rasputin in Access classes or products. Gary himself told me on another thread that Rasputin "went away" a few years ago. But that history is still there. You can read about it in my post titled, "Mad Monk makes eyes at riled realtor, and the rest, as they say, is history."
You may ask, "What does it matter how Gary 'received' the material if stuff like The Bars actually work?" My sense is that any beneficial effects from The Bars can be easily explained by the placebo effect. In the case of you and your friends, the experience of being with people whom you care about and who care about you can increase the levels of serotonin or perhaps even oxytocin and/or other feel-good brain chemicals -- and that goes a long way towards making anyone feel better.
That said, if running The Bars makes you and your pals feel good, more power to all of you. But I would ask you to consider that any good feelings resulting from having people run their fingers over your noggin simply aren't sufficient to disprove the notion that Access is a scam run by horny, money-hungry narcissists. I can only hope for your sake that you don't end up blowing thousands of dollars on Access classes, or making other decisions that you might later come to regret.
Harrison Klein has Rikka Zimmerman of Access on his 2012 whatever...and I just listened to some recorded interviews with her...and then a few more, she says the same thing in all of them, never shares more info, I checked into the classes etc...it's all quite expensive....listening to her stuff, at first it sounded good, but after a while it just sounded like so much flim-flam...that clearing statement...please...right, wrong, good, bad, poc, pod, all 9, boys, beyonds...okay..whatever...and then I googled her name and she has all of the pages into infinity taken up ....no room for anyone else to say anything....surprised to find your's..(googled rz scam)
I think it's all a bunch of hooey. Sure there are some little tidbits of good things...but when it's served up with a load of hogwash....at a hefty price..I will pass. I have noticed there is a proliferation of this kind of thing these days...all of this stuff, everyone raving about everyone else..and it's all a bunch of overpriced hooey.
Well said, OmTigress!
Well? I will still say that theese folks are relatively very honest about what they are doing. As I wrote, I am happy for the Bars treatments. The forundation course was plenty enough clearings about dropping beliefs in sciense, religion and many things. I am not just into dropping the value of theese things. And I would generally recommend trying things before judging too much. Just have a look at the stuff I'm doing, you will see that it is easy to judge: thesevenstar.com
Thank you for your input, JørgenRvid. It's very possible that some of the lower-level Access facilitators (those with whom you have come in contact) are indeed honest and well-meaning, and that you will not suffer any emotional or financial harm from your limited involvement with Access. (On the other hand, it is very easy for skilled marketers and manipulators to come across as being "relatively very honest.")
But even the most sincere and well-meaning Access facilitators are, in my opinion, supporting a big smarmy machine that is run by people who are only out for their own self-gratification, be it financial or sexual.
OK Connie, you wrote an interresting sceptical article, but can you be sure you are right about theese people? Making the world a better place fighting people we think are frauds may not be worth it. Seems to me more wisdom in "turning on the light if we are in a dark place" :)
JørgenRvid: Perhaps in a sense I am "turning on the light" by presenting my opinions and views about Access. People are free to accept or reject those opinions.
And as for wisdom, I question the wisdom of accepting life advice from a guy (Gary Douglas) who originally claimed to have channeled his info from Rasputin.
http://cosmicconnie.blogspot.com/2010/06/mad-monk-makes-eyes-at-riled-realtorand_29.html
Access Consciousness is a form of spirituality. It taps into a combination of ancient techniques as well as structured questioning of the consciousness. A bit like NLP and hypnotism combined, however it does also take into account the use of some ancient energy transformation techniques as well. The idea is to draw on these tools to manifest results for human desires. However the results of Access Consciousness are short term. This is because the manifestations of human desires do not put an end to desire itself. We are all changing beings and as a result what we desired now or in the future are all open to change. Therefore we keep on desiring endlessly and so the techniques thought by Gary fail in the long term.
There is one other issue here. Desires and manifestations initiate causal reactions. Better known by the New Age and more profoundly understood by the ancient spiritualists as ‘Karma’. What one desires by mind, speech or actions initiate a causal reaction. The fruits of these reactions cause other actions. It is never ending—infinite.
Clearing statements:
The clearing statements taught by Garry help the consciousness to erase energy formations that effect ones actions. This again is temporary. Even though one’s consciousness erases past energy, by which I mean thoughts, words and actions that are of a defiled nature, (Or any nature for that matter) the causal effects do not get erased. (In ancient terms it is known as being retained in Mother Consciousness—Universe—and in Christianity it is referred to as Christ Consciousness) But there is a whole science behind it that is in-depth and will require years of study and practice. However it is again temporary as we are all changing beings. The cause and effect cannot be erased by a process of simple clearing. This is a fact and even though scientists have known this for centuries they have not obtained empirical evidence that supports its proof.
Now! If it is stated that Gray can manifest, materialize and dematerialize, then it may be correct. Hard as it may be for you to believe there are people in this world who can achieve such feats without trickery. However again there is a causal effect on such actions and the Tibetans refer to such individuals who indulge in showmanship as ‘subjects of their compassion’. It is a Buddhist school of thought that such people one day through causal effects will exhaust such abilities and will experience a reactive process. They refer to it as ‘samsara’ i.e. Cycle of suffering. Now we come to this difficult phenomenon of understanding the effects of consciousness beyond one’s lifetime. So let’s not get into that.
The problem with Gary and the Doctor is that in the euphoria of their success they allowed themselves into a cult like behavior with an emphasis on sex. This is not surprising as their intentions to spread the secret techniques of spirituality to a modern generation needed a direction in marketing. These are good tools used incorrectly bringing the very causal effect we discussed earlier. On realization remedial actions have been taken by Gary. The Doctor, I am not sure as he is in for a good time. This remedial action is also short term and Gary seems to have to keep explaining of his past actions such as the Rasputin saga.
But one thing is for sure. We all know where it’s heading! It is a recipe for disaster! The warnings of ancient Gurus are clear. ‘Do not mess with cosmic powers for inappropriate gain’.
For those who follow Access Consciousness I have the following message. Clearing a statement such as Good or Bad, Right or wrong, All nines, POD, POC and shorts boys… This will clear all consciousness of past energy in the short run. But there are clearly actions of defilements and actions of purifications. One must understand the real meaning of having no effect of good or bad actions. Do not take it literarily to mean that there is no such thing as good or bad.
Take what you must from Gary and swiftly move into understanding better things. Do not get bogged down in Access Consciousness. All that is likely to happen is that Gary’s wealth will be made permanent and your life’s changes as change goes will be impermanent.
Finally, instead of spending so much money on Gary learn the techniques correctly by following a path of learning one of the ancient spiritual techniques. They all come to the same conclusion which is the right one. Incidentally, Gary does not touch on it at all as it will be a rather bad marketing strategy for him. Buddhism, Hinduism or Shamanism will teach you all these techniques for you to live abundantly in this life. And what more they are virtually free. It is a path—follow it. Find a verbal instructor, a true guru who is an authentic spiritual master.
Also finally note that what spirituality is about is to understand the labyrinth of the mind and to gain wisdom. It is harder than words can describe and yet so simple.
Thank you for your input, Anon Feb. 20 (8:36 and 8:37 PM). Blogger's character limit for comments is a bitch, isn't it? But thanks for taking the time to do a two-parter.
I'm not so much into spirituality myself these days but I recognize that Access borrows heavily from several spiritual (and McSpirituality) traditions as well as pop-psychology constructs and other mind control/hypnosis stuff. However, I'm prolly not quite as willing to give Gary Douglas any benefit of the doubt as you seem to be (unless I'm misreading your comment). Gary was perhaps revealing more than he'd intended when he first told the story of how he got into channeling and eventually ran into Rasputin (or vice versa). The whole thing was pretty contrived, and you don't really have to read between the lines to come to that conclusion, any more than you have to read between the lines in the tale that Jerry and Esther Hicks used to tell about how they became involved with their imaginary friends Abraham.
In both cases, it was because they had seen other channelers and wondered why they couldn't do the same thing. Jerry, a lifelong serial con artist, pushed Esther into the channeling gig. And Gary was kinda envious of the attention that some other local channelers were getting. He set out to start "receiving" something. (If you are not familiar with the story, you can read it on this blog. http://cosmicconnie.blogspot.com/2010/06/mad-monk-makes-eyes-at-riled-realtorand_29.html )
In any case, despite the claims that some Accessories make about the wonderful changes Access created in their lives, Access seems to be all about short-term results -- living in ten-second increments and the like. And Dain and Gary both seem to freely admit that they're constantly making up new "tools." But this is precisely how they keep many people hooked for the long term: offering an ever-changing array of short-term BSO's (bright shiny objects) for free or cheap.
CC, appreciating the read.
While taking the hype, handsome Dain and cutesy Rikka with a grain of salt, I'm also looking for the grain of truth, as often one exists.
I wish you had tried out "the bars" so we could have had an objective opinion on what it felt like.
Here's my interest. My partner has Parkinson's and the Western meds do not heal, but begin to kill within a few years.
This does not make me an overly trusting under-educated fool seeking miracles, but has caused both of us (him, a straight-laced, very traditional professor), to look at alternatives that have helped other people with PD, including nutrition/change of thought, and yes, massage/touch.
The touching of point on the head appear in at least 4 other diverse schools of thought including, Qigong, Acupuncture, Donna Eden's energy work and Healing Touch therapy. Non-invasive, placebo, maybe, but in experimenting on my own with touch therapy on his back, legs etc, when working around partner's head, his tremors have been settled so he can sleep.
He did NOT believe this would happen, but invariably it has helped him whereas touching his back, etc, simply felt very nice. What if "running the bars" hits the same meridians?
Stranger things? Hey, I figure if it's not illegal, immoral, expensive or fattening, why not give it a try?
As far as the expense, I've spent zero on AC, but have picked up a lot of their ideas that have been useful, just from reading website info. I'm sure random sex is on a lot of people's agenda, but not everyone's.
Is it possible there's some grain in the chaff?
Anon, if your partner is being helped by "the bars," whether it's a placebo or not, more power to both of you. However, I strongly recommend that you continue to only avail yourself of "free" ideas and that you not waste ANY money on Access.
Grain in the chaff? Maybe. But if the grain contains a lot of toxic mold, it's all too easy to get some of that mold on you, while wiping out your bank account and/or ruining your most important relationships in the process. So again, be careful.
As for trying the bars, I haven't, as you indicated. And I've never claimed to be objective here. However, I don't think it is really possible to be objective about whether things such as "the bars" actually work. It's all based on anecdotal evidence, until and unless someone actually does a scientific study about it, and even then there would no doubt be people questioning the objectivity of the researchers.
For now, this is one of those cases where one really should consider the source, even if it raises the possibility that one is engaging in ad hominem arguments (in this case, accusing Gary and Dain and even sweet Rikka of being, shall we say, less than credible).
Look, I am aware that various forms of "energy" therapies and "healing touch" therapies have been around for many, many years, some of which are supposedly based on ancient practices. I myself have been helped by acupuncture, though I've never looked at it as a magickal cure-all.
My point is that there have been countless modern-day "practitioners" who are all too willing to put their own proprietary stamp on these therapies. Whether the modern proprietary or ancient/traditional therapies "work" or not -- and I am not scientifically trained enough to judge, or enough of a hardcore skeptic to dismiss all of them outright -- the fact remains that there is a LOT of publicity about all of them. And I know from many years of observation that the various practitioners borrow shamelessly from each other.
As I've noted in numerous Access posts on this blog, as well as in some of my comments above, Gary Douglas, by his own admission, studied many metaphysical/new-age/healing subjects for years. Reportedly he was involved in Scientology for a time. He observed so-called channelers and envied them.
It doesn't take too fine a deductive skill to make a connection between Gary's years of study and observation, and the fact that when he first started pushing "the bars," he made up a whole story about how Rasputin and a few other disembodied entities had revealed the bars to him. This story was told for many years in Access classes and was even part of the class material. Rasputin even "showed up" in the early classes.
Finally, though, Gary apparently decided this backstory wouldn't serve his agenda if he wanted to go more mainstream. So Raz got booted to the curb.
Point being that, as noted above, this is definitely one of those cases where it really is wise to consider the source.
That said, I wish you and your partner the best. And if some Accessory tries to convince you that you're a member of a brilliant humanoid species -- a cut above mere humanity -- feel free to laugh in his or her face.
Hi again. I'll just say good luck too. I think it is definately worth trying out more things. They do not need to cost much. As for Bars, in our country Denmark, we have a FB group for the exchange of giving Bars. Many have been on the one day course and are able to give Bars right, does not neccesaryly have to cost other than a cup of coffee. Does it work? I felt it was a great breakthrough one year ago when I started. Have been to busy since to do it. Now I am opening a clinic combining this with other things. So far I can say I am one of the lucky ones, who benefittet a lot from Bars. It seems that it helps many some and the few a lot. There may be some sort of placebo, but who cares?-)) Life would be missarable without placebo anyway.
Thank you, JørgenRvid (and by the way, I am sorry about the confusion with your comment; I rarely publish them right away because I have to be signed into Blogger to do that, and I only sign in a couple of times a day).
You say you have benefited a lot from the bars since you started the technique last year, and yet you say you have been too busy to do it for the past year or so. Perhaps you mean that you may benefit financially from the bars when you open your clinic?
What kind of clinic are you opening? Just curious.
At any rate, I'd say that as long as the bars aren't a "gateway drug" to investing a lot more money and emotional energy in Access, they're probably relatively harmless. Unfortunately, however, those "free or cheap" things seem to suck a lot of folks in pretty quickly, till they're in over their head.
Well, I know some who do the Access courses, seems they do not complain of the price, that is priced like a business course. I am still not planning go further into AC. I like the people in AC, but Dain dissapointed me when he showed off his new car on Youtube, many would like one like that. Maybe Dain is just more honest than many other leaders in that country.
For the curiosity:
I redesigned my Sevenstar last summer, and just finished 6 month developing a software/addon to the Aura Video Station. This is what I use in my clinic. Time will tell what value Bars will have to my clients. I have 30 years experience with The Sevenstar, that is the main thing healing tool. Have been on many fairs and testet about 50 people holding The Sevenstar. The AuraStatus do show an effect of The sevenstar in most cases when testing before and after. No science proof, and there will be some placebo in any clinic scenario. But I think the Aura Video documentation makes it more fair to clients, than without that.
Money is of little interrest to me, I prefer working with what I love just a simple life, money is second. I won't get rich by the things I am doing. But story tell it is possible to get high on ego and the taste for the sweet life :)
I don't know about the money thing and how much bogus it is, and if I ever want to go further than Foundation, but the thing I always liked about Access, is the humor and openness. Try to listen (without too much prejudgement) to this recording from an Access class about the clearing statement, Layed out IN PUBLIC: http://www.accessconsciousness.com/content60.asp
Thanks to Access Conciousness and three sessions with a male facilitator from Access, I am a HAPPY NON-SMOKER.
I smoked for over thirty years.
I am beyond happy to not smoke any longer. Thank you Gary Douglas!
The best part is, it only cost me a couple hundred bucks to get this result and it was not what I went to an Access session for. It happened as a side bonus.
HOW DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS?!!!
Thanks for posting Cosmis Connie!!!
Anon Tuesday, May 08, 2012 5:31:00 PM, I published your comment here even though you had already made a similar comment on one of my other Access posts. I'm happy for you that whatever you tried, and credited to Access, helped you quit smoking. Good for you. However, spamming this blog isn't going to convince anyone -- particularly me -- that Access is anything more than a cultish scam.
JørgenRvid: I had already read the explanation of the Access "clearing statement," and I outlined it on one of my blog posts from early 2011:
http://cosmicconnie.blogspot.com/2011/01/snippets-for-monday-afternoon.html
[Scroll down to "Accessories on the loose: monkeys and typewriters"]
I've also heard both Gary and Dain talk about it in various videos and radio show appearances. Basically they seem to be saying that even if you don't believe in the clearing statement, just saying the words will magically make things better for you. Sorry for being judgmental, but I think they're full of crap, and people who robotically repeat the clearing statement at the drop of a hat sound like hypnotized, brainwashed cult members.
Well, aren't we all cult members as long our ego's prevail? According to Eckhard Tolle, that is 99% of world population. A war against this and that is a game of the ego and will only solidify it. Of course it may be scam, but I find it likely to be true from what my own experience. I just take what I need from Access. Interresting to see how they evolve with all their tele seminars and tele talks they offer in newslettes.
Hey, Connie, nice work! I have studied cults and written much about them for many years. The main linking factor between all these groups is the process of suggestion. That video of the twitching woman contains stuff I've seen replicated in numerous cult meetings, ranging from the Rajneesh lot to holy roller charismatic church gatherings. They call it "energy" or "the Spirit" but it's just the result of acute suggestibility. Once a group leader gets a handle on that he/she can get anyone to do it and thereby think that something huge has happened to them. And of course it's necessary to use the bait and switch method of getting people into the groups for real. One of the biggest European centres for such activity is Sweden, where the people seem to be hyper-gullible. They're all over Facebook and other social sites with the "do not judge" line. (Although these folks are the most judgemental you could meet! :-) In my view, real judgement is exactly what IS needed in these deceptive times. It's almost like some wicked fairy wrote to script which tells you to leave your mind at the door with your shoes when you go in their meetings! Anyway, kudos to you, Connie. Keep it up...
The wife of 23 years or so is into this and I've become a Bars something or another after completing a Bars course. So, I've looked at it as entertainment so I've been ok with it. I wasn't really interested in what Access teaches. I liked the naps I would take when Bars was done on me. That all being said, I've realized how much all this stuff costs and I'm looking into just what the hell is going on here. Everything from Access that i've read pretty much makes no sense. And everyone that I've met who does Access all seem to be fairly normal people. If someone asked me what Access is, I couldn't explain it. So I've pulled the money plug and if she wants to take more classes she has to come up with the money on her own. She never mentioned the have sex with other people thing either, or I didn't get that far in the book. So, Connie, it's good to read your blog. I'm not alone in this. I'll see what happens next, or as they say "what else is possible.." Grrrr cutting off the money is what's possible!
Thanks for having this blog. I heard Dain Heer speak on one of Harrison Klein's infomercials last night. I was curious which column to place him in, and was looking for more material. It's easy to emulate the patter, but more difficult to walk the talk.
I stopped listening when he was describing how Gary Douglas wondered if there was a way to fix the problem before it happened in the past. I know that there is, and was, at the time he was wondering. It is called Timeline Therapy, a derivative of Timelines from NLP developed by Tad James. There are also *many* other effective techniques for doing this: EFT, Sedona method, The Work, hypnotherapy, NLP, Core Transformation, clean language, matrix reimprinting (EFT with timeline therapy), and more.
To the unitiated, these can seem like magic because they are so fast and effective. Which it seems these guys are exploiting.
For the guy who wondered a long time ago if there is a legitimate path. Yes, there is. In general, if it doesn't happen to you spontaneously, it takes an enlightened being to bring you to enlightenment. You sound like you have what would be called 'good fundamentals', but while that is valuable, and can take you far, it isn't enough to give enlightenment. If you meditate, and practice mindfulness, you can get to a place where you can evaluate teachers. You need a teacher that can transmit the kundalini, and can see the awareness of their students (or anyone, for that matter). Vedanta, the various yogas (jnani, bahkti, karma), buddhism (mahayana, ch'an, zen, dzog-chen, vajrayana). Read 'The Gospel of Ramakrishna' on the web for the teachings of an enlightened bahkti teacher in the 19th century. Or Ramana Maharshi for an enlightened jnana teacher in the 20th. Buddhism? Read the Lankatavara Sutra, or Diamond Sutra. Actually, there are so many writings by amazing enlightened Buddhist teachers, it's hard to pick and choose. That's a pun, 'The way is easy, just avoid picking and choosing' is from a famous ch'an poem about the way.
An interesting factoid. Did you know that Mohammed was a channeler? In many ways, Islam is designed as a cult, and could be considered the first spiritual scam (not by its adherents if they want to live, of course). Mohammed prescribed killing for leaving Islam. L Ron Hubbard was a piker in comparison. :-) And he taught that his was the final and complete and only legitimate religious practice. So Gary Douglas and Dain Heer are just following a long and illustrious tradition. ;-)
Of course, that is possible because there are legitimate paths. But those paths take effort, and usually involve forsaking sense indulgence. People being people, they want a fast, easy, comfortable way. And so there is someone to provide it for them. For you, today, a low, low price.
Thanks for being a voice of reason..access is a total scam, my wife got involved in it last year..I was not sure what was taking place..as she works in the alternative health care field and is always trying new things.Things really went south for our marriage after she went to Toronto and attended an access weekend with Dain and Gary..she returned spaced out..and not caring anything about us or our child.she told me about holding Dain's crotch and wanting to have sex with him.There were many other stories she related to me about sex and access and the people in access.She paid $2000 for this weekend.Now,our marriage is in the toilet. I am scared to leave my daughter with her after learning about how screwed up access is. I think it's time that Gary, Dain and access were exposed for the evil they represent!
hi everyone!! i just started my last semester at my massage therapy school, and my new instructor is a access consciousness wacko!she makes us meditate like they do and it's killing me because i know the bullshit behind it.. must suffer for the next seven weeks, but only two days a week, hopefully i don't through something at her...i was thinking of talking to student services, but now i am afraid they are all brainwashed over there.
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