International Metaphysical University (Courses in Shamanic Studies)

[BlackWolf]

Looks like the typical bunch of New Age Frauds to me.  What does everyone think?

http://www.intermetu.com/colleges/collegeSS/collegeSS.html

[critter - a white non-ndn person]

I think it's stupid. No one can learn spiritual anything in a 'university' (or teach it).  Get a degree in it yet.. it's laughable if it weren't so sad.

[nemesis]

This is so obviously dodgy that it is hard to know where to even start any kind of critique.

It could be just a bunch of far out wacky people promoting their particular respective fields of woo, however it is important to alway bear in mind (IMO) that distance learning of woo related subjects is an established way for organised criminals to harvest contact information for their suckers lists.

People who believe in astral travel, conspiracies involving aliens, tarot cards, etc. tend to be people who are vulnerable to all kinds of exploitation. 

The organisation calls itself a university so I had a look to see who their courses are accredited with...   

They do have a "Provost and Chief Academic Officer", Dr Steve Russell about whom the following is said...

Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Dr. Steve Russell is the Provost and Chief Academic Officer at the International Metaphysical University. In this capacity he oversees the development of all academic programs and degrees. Dr. Russell previously served as the CEO for the Instructional Technology Solutions and Services Group in Parkersburg, West Virginia where he provided corporate leadership to colleges and universities in the areas of accreditation, distance education, curriculum design and faculty development. He has developed on-line learning accreditation proposals that were approved by the North Central Association’s Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement and also the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.

Which sounds impressive, but at no point anywhere in the site (at least that I could find) was there any indication that any of the courses or modules offered were accredited with any reputable University.

The very high prices for the courses, which are all distance learning, alarms me.

The combination of counselling (which can be a very helpful thing IMO) with hypnotherapy (often a cover for manipulating people) and various nuage stuff concerns me very much as the potential for financial and other abuse is significant.

The 2012 stuff is also very concerning as various nuage con men and women use the collective eschatological anxieties regarding this date as a way of relieving their victims of their worldly goods.  I know of one serious criminal group that has manipulated thousands of people in this way.  People have donated their homes, cars, everything they own to the guru, all because they want to be as spirchul as possible before the word ends in 2012, and they won't need material things any more.

Some very serious criminal groups run online training courses that are not a million miles away from this one as the first step in terms of recruiting and exploiting victims.

It is impossible to say what exactly is going on under the surface of this group without further research but IMO it could be anything from a groups of flaky nuagers out to make a buck through to something extremely serious indeed.

[dabosijigwokush]

it is like the pay too get to be a chief and how to make your self your own nation  (CLUB)
i wonder do these people believe they are healers (doctors)
does there degree have transferable credits , lets say to a real collage

(304) 295-4411   510 18th St,Vienna, WV 26105-1118
304-295-4411 to reserve your time. ... 409 32nd Street, Vienna, WV 26105
3300 Grand Central Avenue, Vienna, WV 26105 ? 304-295-4411
(304) 295-4411; 4702 9th Ave; Vienna, WV 26105

phone number comes up belonging to at least 9 different address

Registrant:
   Deborah Lindsey
   1415 31st Street
   Vienna, West Virginia 26105
   United States

   Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
   Domain Name: INTERMETU.COM
      Created on: 23-Feb-09
      Expires on: 23-Feb-14
      Last Updated on: 23-Feb-09

   Administrative Contact:
      Lindsey, Deborah  deborahlindsey@earthlink.net
      1415 31st Street
      Vienna, West Virginia 26105
      United States
      3042954411      Fax --

   Technical Contact:
      Lindsey, Deborah  deborahlindsey@earthlink.net
      1415 31st Street
      Vienna, West Virginia 26105
      United States
      3042954411      Fax --

   Domain servers in listed order:
      NS19.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
      NS20.DOMAINCONTROL.COM

[nemesis]

They have links to this entity http://www.selfhealthandawarenesscenter.com

The Rev. Randy Hastings is listed as being in charge of their "Introduction to Native American Spirituality" and "Advanced Practical Mayan Astrology" modules

http://www.selfhealthandawarenesscenter.com/hastings.htm

seems like he died recently
http://www.intermetu.com/blog/files/baf6e2069025d211d18311cbebe97a56-3.html

but he was a "pioneer of Native American shamanism".  Apparently.

The module entitled "Advanced Shamanic Journeying and Soul Retrieval" is lead by Sandra Ingerman, whose name comes up a lot here, one example being this thread

http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?action=printpage;topic=1476.0

Someone called Candace Nicholson runs the module called "Shamanic Pathwork and Psychopomp Work".  I can find no mention of this person outside of this course.

"Native American Ceremonies and Rituals" is taught by Jim PathFinder Ewing, there is a thread about him here

http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?action=printpage;topic=1398.0

Magic, Shamanism, and Religion is taught/ run by a Mr Hank Wesselman, who is referenced in a few threads on this site, this one is interesting as it states that he teaches at Esalen
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=1066.0

confirmed here

http://webapp.esalen.org/workshops/8414

I imagine that many here will know this anyway, but Esalen's director and co-founder Richard Price was a Sannyasin (a follower of pimp guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh later known as Osho) and promoted Oshso's work via Esalen.

Read more here:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919277,00.html

this man interests me as he is a Doctor of Anthropology and yet, according to the threads here, he keeps company with known frauds and according to his website here
http://www.sharedwisdom.com/users/hank-wesselman-phd he is also "a shamanic student, practitioner and teacher, now in the 28th year of his apprenticeship."

I'm really concerned by all the extremely dodgy academics involved in "shamanism", there seem to be lots of them here in the UK and abroad.  Apart from anything else this needs to be exposed IMO.

I don't have time now to check out all of  these people but from a brief initial perusal it looks like a lot of highly dubious people to me.

[BlackWolf]

This guy Rainbow Eagle is part of their faculty.  He was also investigated on NAFPS.


http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=404.0
http://www.intermetu.com/instructors/instructors/reagle.html

This other faculty member "Jose Jaramillo" teaches a course on how to use the Mayan Calender as a Hollistic Tool.

http://www.intermetu.com/instructors/jjaramillo/jjaramillo.html
http://www.youtube.com/user/IntlMetaphysicalU#p/a/u/0/SeGMFuyTaQ4

And for 73 bucks he will give you a 20 minute reading complete with DVD and Mayan Calender
http://www.inbetween2worlds.com/reading.html