I ran across this person before but I cannot find the thread again...
However, being a 'pipe carrier' etc isn't Iwaniw's only way to fleece people for money - and everything she does cries "Nuage":
http://www.amazon.com/Mystic-Angels-Empowerment-Denise-Iwaniw/dp/0972200290This is what Amazon says in presenting a 2010 book of Iwaniw:
About the Author
Denise Iwaniw is a Coptic minister, author, and intuitive teacher. As a clairvoyant medium, she conducts readings for men, women, and children from around the world. She lectures and teaches in the United States and abroad in a wide variety of areas, including psychic development, paths to spiritual enlightenment, and Reiki. She has written four books and produced five guided visualization CDs. Her latest book, A Year of Mystic Angels, and the Mystic Angels Empowerment Deck are now available. Each Monday evening at 8:00 PM EST, she hosts a weekly Internet television show entitled Mystic Journeys on the Soul's Journey TV Network: www.SoulsJourney.tv. Wednesday evenings finds Denise hosting her weekly Internet radio show, Balancing Heaven and Earth, on Soul's Journey Radio.
That Coptic business sounds a bit funny at first, but only as long as you don't look too close. Iwaniw has been doing lectures and events from them, but apparently is not doing so presently:
http://thecopticcenter.org/calendar/event/traveling-sacred-pathways-denise-iwaniwhttp://thecopticcenter.org/sites/coptic/files/flyers/Traveling_Sacred_Pathways_2012.pdfhttps://www.facebook.com/events/317208428386321/Denise Iwaniw is an author, Coptic Minister, Sacred Pipe Carrier, and Thunder Dreamer. Denise lectures and teaches in the U.S. and abroad in the areas of spiritual development and balanced living. Denise has written four books and produced five guided visualization CDs, including A Year of Mystic Angels, and the Mystic Angels Empowerment Deck. Dedicated to the preservation of Native American Spirituality and Tradition, Denise is the founder and president of Gathering Thunder Foundation. Denise also hosts an IPAA award winning weekly internet radio show, "Balancing Heaven and Earth" on Soul’s Journey Radio.
http://www.e7thunders.com/documents/2012AshevilleCopticConference.pdfThis is a flyer promoting a Coptic Conference. Iwaniw is one of the speakers, and there's one Marina Raye who plays natice flute: „... Marina has been called a sonic shaman because of her mastery of the native flute“.
The flyer introduces several conference presenters:
- Robert Camp, a „master astrologer“, speaks on „The Science of the Cards and Astrology“
- John Davis - speaks on „How to Fulfill your Aquarian Destiny“
The intro further portrays Davis as "… an esoteric psychologist, counselor, author and numerologist. He is the director of Coptic Fellowship Internation, a philosophy based on the Mystery Schools of ancient Egypt."
Lori France - speaks on „In the footsteps of Hamid Bey“
Her intro claims: "She facilitates a daily study group via email on A Course in Miracles...".
Carl Franklin - speaks on „The Four Steps to Christ Consciousness“
The intro says:
"He channels the Higher Spiritual Realms and receives his information through dowsing. He determines a person's origins as to whether they carry Indigo, Crystal, or New enery... He has done over 3,000 Life Script readings, which allows one to look into their Akashic record... "
Apparently, this Ashland outfit and its fellow organisations aren't truly Coptic to begin with.
They were founded by a person who went by the name of Hamid Bey who allegedly taught them his version of Coptic faith, or probably some BS he made up. This person cannot be verified, as the name is most probably incomplete - Hamid is an Arabic first name (I'm not quite certain whether it is used by both Muslim and Christian Arabs, though), while Bey is a title. However, while we would say "Mr Smith" to one John Smith, in Arabic, this becomes Sayyed John, in Turkish, 'bey' is used and added behind the first name. So Mr Smith in Turkey would be addressed as "John-bey".
This causes several questions regarding the background of this Hamid Bey, and the info given by this 'Coptic' whatever doesn't provide much in the way of information either:
http://thecopticcenter.org/our-founder-%E2%80%94-hamid-beyAfter W.W.I, Hamid decided to go to Italy and publicly demonstrate the powers he had learned in the temple training. He wanted to convince a skeptical world that there is much more to a man than the outer form. His intention was to place himself in a state of suspended animation and be buried alive six feet underground for three days.
In 1927, the magician Houdini, was attracting worldwide attention and announced that he could duplicate by mechanical ,means any so-called spiritual phenomenon ever produced. So Hamid Bey was sent to the United States in 1927 to challenge Houdini. Three weeks after Hamid arrived, Houdini died.
How convenient of Houdini....
Hamid, then not knowing any English or any of the customs, signed up as a vaudeville act under a binding two year contract. He spent the next two years, much to his disdain, doing his "act" on stage three times a day for sometimes heckling audiences. After that experience, he became great friends with Paramhansa Yogananda and traveled with him doing shows and lectures together.
To Maintain his temple rank of seven ring Master, Hamid had to return to Egypt every seven years and go through additional tests and examinations by his Master. In 1936, Hamid returned to Egypt [...]
So he went to the States in 1927, returning to Egypt in 1936. Every seven years?
Then there's this:
http://thecopticcenter.org/history-coptic-fellowshipThe lineage of the Coptic Fellowship goes back thousands of years into unrecorded history. Through the ages the wisdom teachings of the ancient masters have been kept and guarded by secret organizations of the chosen few. The secret order called the White Brotherhood was formed in ancient Egypt to preserve the record of Truth. It was called the White Brotherhood because members wore pure white garments symbolic of the purity of their teachings, and met at the time of the full moon which is white in color. The Master Moses was an initiate of the White Brotherhood, and when the time approached for him to leave his physical body, he called together a chosen few to whom he entrusted the guardianship of the Truth. He gave them secret knowledge that was to be kept pure. Thus arose the secret order known as the Essenes, or the Essaioli. It was their duty to preserve the teaching of Moses through the centuries of turmoil and tempestuous times, and to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah of the Piscean Age, Jesus.
Emphasis mineBS? Well, if it walks like a duck, swims like a duck, quacks like a duck...
Another peculiarity about Coptic faith is that, in Egypt, they use the Coptic language in church. Coptic has ceased to be a spoken language in 17th century and was only preserved in Coptic liturgy, prayers etc. This means that same as in native cultures, a genuine Coptic minister will have to be able to speak the language. If Hamid Bey had no knoledge of Coptic language to pass to his US students, then he wasn't a Copt to begin with.
From the list of presenters at the above conference it also becomes plain that these people have a very limited knowledge of Coptic faith, if any at all, because Coptic faith also does not tolerate astrology, card reading etc.
What I found searching the NAFPS boards is one thread in which Hamid Bey gets mentioned:
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=836.msg4387#msg4387I haven't had a look at the Star Nations' site as of yet, but from what we got here, I'd say it is pretty obvious that Iwaniw is a Nuager employing various Nuage methods/theories/concepts, as long as these seem profitable.
