Hi,
I am writing to assist you in your research of me and my spiritual/business practices. You seem to want to know if I’m a New-Age Fraud. I am here to clear up some misunderstandings, answer questions publicly and hopefully get moved to the “Non-Fraud” category where I believe I belong.
1. Your site seems to take the position that all New-Age spiritual teachers and counselors are frauds. While I would disagree, I would also place myself solidly as part of the New-Thought movement, out of which grew Unity Church, The Church of Religious Science, and the entire “self-help/personal development” movements. And, yes (educatedindian), Napoleon Hill was a New-Thought author.
Fraud requires intentional deception for personal gain. I don’t do that. Please note, I’ve been in practice, helping those who request my help, for over 15 years and
2. there are NO complaints about me on the internet anywhere. None. That’s quite a record. Over 4000 clients, over 500 students and not one person complaining about me on the internet where complaints are free and easy. Please note that I’m not the only ZARA on the internet.
I let everybody know who I am and what I do up front. I came by my beliefs honestly and I am honest with everyone about them. The hourly rates I charge for spiritual counseling are clearly shown on my website. As is my no-risk satisfaction guarantee. No Deception = No Fraud.
3. Growing up in LA, California, many New-Thought/New-Age/Hindu beliefs and practices like yoga, karma, and meditation were taught to me at an early age. I was introduced to the “blended Hinduism & Christianity” of Paramahansa Yogananda (a Swami recognized and honored by the Indian government) by a relative, and through the Self-Realization Fellowship, became a disciple of his for over 20 years. I helped lead the Sunday Meditation Services in Seattle for 10 of those years. For many years I had a daily multi-hour Kriya-Yoga Meditation practice during which I sometimes had visions of Angels. One of Yogananda’s books is “How You Can Talk with God”. I use the same techniques to talk with Angels. I do still have a daily meditation/yoga practice, though I no longer need to practice for multiple hours at a time.
4. Two of the current definitions of shaman are “someone who contacts a spirit world while in an altered state of consciousness” and “someone who contacts a spirit world while in an altered state of consciousness at the behest of others”. These are not be the only definitions but by these definitions, I am a shaman. I’ve been called an “Angel Shaman”, I suppose to differentiate me from the traditional/tribal shamans.
My “hodgepodge” (educatedindian) of beliefs come from a variety of primary sources, from Yogananda and Swedenborg to the New-Thought movement and spiritualism, mixed generously with my own personal experiences.
5. Please note that none of my primary sources pillage indigenous cultural traditions. The shamanism of Michael Harner and the Huna of Max Freedom Long (MFL) were never primary sources for me and I’ve gone out of my way to teach the techniques while avoiding cultural pillaging.
I have NEVER claimed to be an American Indian of any kind or tribe. I do not, nor have I ever led any American Indian ceremonies or rituals. I don’t do that. (epiphany) Elenor Nielsen was an Elder of the Tulalip Tribe who was my student in the full year long series of Hypnotherapy classes at EvCC. After she completed the Metaphysical Trancework class, she wrote that testimonial for me.
I was taught to guide “shamanic journeys” by Dr. Michael Harner - who I recognize is not on your approved list. However it should be said that
7. every time I guided a class through a “shamanic journey”, it was clearly explained that these were the techniques taught by Michael Harner. They were simply taught as the shamanic journey techniques of Michael Harner. I never called them either Siberian or American Indian Shamanism. We also discussed the Hero’s Journey as written about by Joseph Campbell. No Deception = No Fraud.
8. In a similar way, every time I taught a Huna class it was clearly described as information and techniques as taught by Max Freedom Long. While (Pono Aloha) is right that MFL’s theories are New-Age and not truly traditional Hawaiian, no-one denies that he popularized them as being Traditional Hawaiian to the point that if someone is looking for information about Huna on Google they type in the words “Hawaiian Huna”. That simply identifies what they are looking for.
The pendulum techniques MLF taught came straight from the 18th century mesmerist/hypnotist Anton Chevreul, a varietion of which is still taught in the basic hypnosis class of the NGH (National Guild of Hypnotists). The Low-Self he took from Freud and the High-Self he took from the New-Thought movement which took it from Classical Yoga. Pono Aloha’s upsetness at how Huna is taught stems from it being taught as “Genuine Old Traditional Hawaiian”. Pono Aloha acknowledges that the Huna of MFL is NOT a part of his Hawaiian cultural traditions, and yet it IS clearly a part of my New-Thought movement traditions. Indeed, I could even claim that Serge King and the rest are pillaging my New-Thought traditions when they teach Huna as Hawaiian. I wouldn’t of course because the New-Thought movement doesn’t claim property rights to it’s traditions. Which is also why the New-Age movement has borrowed from it so extensively.
There are millions of people who believe in and want to investigate some aspects of the New-Thought/New-Age movements and I feel I should be allowed to teach the beliefs and techniques to those requesting the experiences without being called a fraud. As long as they know what they are asking for and there is no deception, there is no fraud.
Please note that on my new website, AngelReadingsbyZARA.com , I am not promoting any live classes that cost anything this entire year (2013). This entire year, all my monthly webinars are free and next year, 2014, they are all only $5. Go-To-Webinar.com charges me to do these webinars. I really don’t think my asking $5 for attending next year constitutes fraud. The webinars are not rituals or ceremonies. They are me talking about a topic and sometimes doing a guided visualization to assist understanding. This is part of how I tithe my time for those who want greater understanding but cannot afford my one-on-one private rates.
8. As for some of the misunderstandings, (educatedindian): I AM still a member of the NGH. I never left. 1997-2002 were the years I was an officer of the local Washington state chapter of the NGH.
9. The hours in the 300 hour Hypnotherapy Training Program were 300 “contact hours” for which Everett Community College granted CEUs. These are classes I taught through the Continuing Education Dept. of EvCC with Michael Gershman. Continuing Education works on the “contact hour” not the “College Quarter Hour” or “Semester Hour”. When I (and Michael Gershman) stopped teaching there, they stopped offering the advanced hypnotherapy training classes we taught. That’s why you didn’t see them when you looked. We stopped because they wanted to lower our per student reimbursement rates. Then they hired one of our former students to teach the basic classes.
As for the depth and breadth of the variety of classes I’ve taught; for years I used to teach a weekly Wednesday evening class on New-Thought/New-Age Spiritual Topics. I taught what I was interested in and I taught what my students asked about. That list is actually edited down quite a bit. Most ministers, priests, and rabbis who preach and teach on a regular basis will have a similar length to their list of topics taught after more than a decade.
10. As for my “twinkie version” beliefs about Guardian Angels, you (educatedindian) might be surprised how mainstream they are. Over 1/2 of all adults believe in Guardian Angels according to a survey by Baylor U. An August 2007 Pew poll showed that 2/3 of all Americans believe that “angels and demons are active in the world” and 1/5 said they had a personal experience with an angel or demon. You are right about many of the Angels in the bible being “messengers of doom”, but modern America prefers the Guardian Angel concept which is also clearly present in both the Old and New Testament.
And yes (epiphany) I do believe some people are born with an angelic soul.
In the interest of satisfying the “Research Needed”, have I answered all your questions?
Sincerely
ZARA
Ms Bolstad,
Let me commend you for being willing to discuss these matters.
You're under Research in part because we're not certain about you. Frankly you seem to be thrashing around looking desperately for what to believe in and so have dozens of different belief systems and practices you claim to either be part of or expert in. That's about as credible as someone claiming to practice many types of medicine or be a dozen different types of medical specialist. And I honestly don't think anyone can claim to believe in as many different things as you say you do, and truly believe them, or not have the raging contradictions come crashing down at some point.
Again, I wouldn't trust someone who claimed to be ten kinds of a medical specialist. But I don't think you're like the predators we often deal with. If anything, you've been fed a bill of goods by some of those operators, esp Huna and core shamanist types. And you seem to realize at least part of that yourself since you've quit putting Huna on your resume.
A few other points.
1. Actually some scholars such as Wendy Rose and myself argue that the Nuage is primarily a consumer phenomena, not religious but intensely materialistic, people thinking they can purchase enlightenment for a 19.95 book or $2000 seminar, treating spirituality like a shopping spree. I'd also call it part of colonialism.
Calling it new thought is what advertisers call rebranding. Nuage is so discredited in the minds of the public, they turned to calling it shamanism or neo shamanism. New thought is little different.
I also wouldn't brag about being part of the self help movement, which has spawned so many, yes, frauds, including cults and abusers.
2. Actually there's no testimonials in your favor either. None, couldn't find one on the net anywhere. That's pretty unusual too. It suggests either you're exagerrating how many quite a bit, or they generally weren't impressed, treating your service about as seriously as an old coin operated machine that both predicted your future and told your weight.
3. Quite a few Hindus would be offended by slapping together Hinduism with Nuage/new thought. It's inaccurate at best, deceptive at worst, little different than Nuagers who try to pass their stuff off as Native.
I realize there are some mixed Hindu/Christian traditions. What I wonder is why you have to go beyond that and include the hodgepodge. It suggests you're not satisfied and don't really believe in the tradition you'be been with the longest.
Why all the faux angel nonsense? Why the pretend psychic bit? Why NLP, so beloved by cult leaders, pop psychology and even get rich quick nonsense?
4. That's a deceptive definition. I've only heard shaman=altered states as part of a tribal tradition, not separate and divorced from it. And I don't buy it. If you are psychic, why aren't you rich from the stock market?
Or if you speak to spirits, prove it now. Contact a Native ancestor far enough in the past who didn't speak English. Feel free to respond in fluent Cherokee, Lakota, etc. We have members who can understand the answer.
5. Nonsense. Either you don't know, or are not being honest, to not know that both Harner and Long steal shamelessly, do little but steal from indigenous tradition. Where did you think the "techniques" came from, Mars? Thin air?
6. That
is deception, both Harner's and yours. Don't pretend Harner invented what he blatantly and unashamedly stole.
7. Again, deception. Again, fraud. And if they are not, then why did you stop selling them? You seem to recognize the ethical problems yourself.
8. Ok, your own wording caused the confusion.
9. That's even less training than I thought. That's less training than a 2 year Associate's. To be honest you should make it clear that the hours you have aren't equal to college credits.
10. What % of people believe in something inaccurately means little. 2/5 of Americans think global warming is a hoax. 1/6 of them think the president's a Muslim.
In any case, believing in a guardian spirit has little in common with your greeting card/mangled with reincarnation version of the belief. Ask how many of them believe angels are reincarnated, or one can contact them with an online shaman you pay a few bucks to, and watch the numbers drop to almost nothing.
You asked in your next post to be taken off the fraud list. Well you're still under Research for a reason. If you were a clear cut abuser you'd be under Frauds and gotten a much stronger response. I wouldn't spend time with a long response if I thought you could not potentially change your ways.
Here's hoping you drop the Harnerism fraud like you already dropped the Huna fraud.
