Knowledge is power.

Last Sunday I picked up a book about power - not power as in power within, but power as in power over. It's called "The 48 Laws of Power" by Robert Green and is a how-to book on manipulation based on the principals of Machievelli.

These "laws" are actually techniques and the summary for each technique is listed in the front of the book. I was both appalled and fascinated as I read them and recognized many, many of those dynamics in the Forum, Concept Synergy, Jach/Lazaris and Peny.

Robert Green uses the old courts of aristocracy to illustrate how these dynamics work and draws the analogy to present time.

These insights and methods are not new or just political - in fact, any twelve-year old female is already aware of many of these methods, if not well versed, as a result of living in a patriarchal world that denies us direct power in the name of femininity. That issue is of concern to me and one of the things I address in my work as artist, writer and human rights activist.

But I have never seen manipulation, seduction, deceit, and control so clearly delineated before. This book is a real eye opener. Unfortunately, this national bestseller supports this paradigm as the way to live.

I know for myself, and for many others, in dealing with our experiences with Lazaris and coming to our realizations, there is a feeling of despair and self-recrimination we share in varying degrees. I know that I have grappled with the question, "How could I have let this happen???" not so much in asking, but demanding and accusing - not a question but an indictment of my own foolishness and untrustworthiness.

It's not just our feelings, our hearts that are broken when we are betrayed or abused. Self-trust is broken as well, and that is, in my opinion, one of the most devastating effects.

I have felt this way about other situations besides my experience with Lazaris. I know this is a common response when people get hurt, but I also know, for me, this is exacerbated and intensified by my past. Being betrayed or abused is automatically interpreted as a statement of my worth and value. If I were worth being respected, honored, valued then I would be treated as such.

But I know, at least, intellectually, that's not true. As I heal, more and more of that intellectual knowing becomes a part of my emotional knowing as well.

Reading this book and seeing the anatomy of duplicity - what it looks like, how it works and why it works - hit me between the eyes: We are talking about highly skilled manipulation. These techniques and dynamics are rampant in the Forum and Jach/Lazaris and Peny.

Somehow, seeing that has had the curious effect of separating my sense of worth from how others treated me. People take advantage of you not because you don't deserve any better or because you're stupid or somehow flawed or defective, but because they are opportunists and manipulators and some are very, very good at it.

The answer? Beat myself up? Doubt my ability to trust? Look at myself aghast?

How about embrace and comfort myself because someone had hurt me and they are responsible for their actions? Or trust myself that no matter how "deep" in it I am, that there is something so beautiful, so filled with integrity within me that I will start to question, start to seek answers and no matter how painful, I will stand and speak the truth - even if only to myself?

How about look at myself with love?

How about strengthening my power to discern?

This book is valuable to me, because it goes to developing my ability to discern. It could go to my anger. I could use it to feed bitterness and justify my sense of entitlement to "do unto others before they do unto me", but that is not my choice in this matter.

I believe in love and the power of love. I also have a deeper and more profound respect for the words of Jesus, "Be as innocent as doves and as wise as serpents."

I guess for me, I want to be more aware of the full spectrum of how people can relate to one another. Machievielli says, "Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good." I appreciate that sentiment, but I do not agree with his response.

What this says to me is beware of the power of projection - it is not a justification of usury. I have come to respect the power of projection - not just in a negative sense as "Lazaris" has taught - be aware of projecting parent, child, adolescent, negative ego, whatever onto others, but also the folly of projecting your positive qualities, your principals and standard of ethics onto others as well - especially those who do not deserve it.

How many can relate to feeling shock over something because you, yourself, simply cannot imagine doing anything like that? But others can and do.

This is not about being paranoid nor is it about abdicating responsibility for the reality I create or blaming! It's about taking responsibility for my own self, my own sense of safety. It's about being discerning and empowering myself to "read the signs" and to make choices wisely - not perfectly, but with tools I have and acquire along the way - ever sharpening and using them as I grow and always within the parameters of the ideals and principals I hold.

It's about realizing that while I create my reality I also create it with other people who create their own reality - and guess what? They don't all live by the same standards I do - better or worse. It's about respecting that fact.

I'd like to post some of these "laws", these techniques of deception here, one at a time, for those of us inclined to share our thoughts concerning the techniques themselves and how they relate to our experiences with Lazaris, Concept Synergy or anything else.

I do this in the spirit of empowerment and to both honor and develop our capacity to discern. I do this with love.

Respectfully,

Demian,
DreamSinger

Demian thank you for your post. I want to echo what others have written, I find it very inspiring.

you wrote:

"Law 1: Never Outshine the Master
Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite - inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power."

One of the truly horrid things about the forum I think is how the powers of interpretation are owned by only a few individuals. The rest are required to react to those intepretations, not add to or subtract from them. All who attempt to do so are punished.

Granted, this requires the tacit agreement of all those participating. The people that run the forum get their sense of power by requesting that others give up one of the most important powers we have as people.

The ability to interpret.

Ironic, isn't it? because the willingness to interpret reality is really the basis of "reality creation" How can you create the world without being willing to interpret it?

The Jach and Lazaris forum requires people to surrender this essential power as a condition of belonging.

How many of us got involved in metaphysics in the first place because something in us wanted to interpret the world for ourselves?

We intuitively sensed that our interpretation is meaningful and actually changes and forms the world that we know.

How strange to join the forum and learn that our intepretations are not allowed or appreciated. Unless of course, they validate those that run it.

So the quote that you posted here reminds me of this dynamic.

The way I see it the forum management gains its power by pleasing Peny, feeding her huge childish sense of self-importance.

Peny gets her sense of power from sycophantic acceptance of her exalted status.

The glue that holds this unholy alliance together is intolerance of anything that might challenge Penys status as the wisest ball of light in the universe.

These people are so sensitive to the house of cards that they live in that the smallest disagreement or dissent sends them spinning into attack.

If you disagree with them politically, you are branded a liar an adolscent or a savior.

If you ask Peny to walk the walk rather than just talk, you are accused of spewing hatred and labeled an enemey.

Hence the infamous "Shields up we are under attack" post.

Who is "we"? Peny was asked to respond to some reasonable questions about her behaviour and her response was to claim that all 1400 forum members were under "attack".

What a massive statement of this dynamic that Peny could proclaim that because she was challenged the welfare of every forum member was at stake!!!!!

As an aside, I would't be surprised if Concept Synergy started selling "shields" at the workshops for just such occassions. And they would only cost 1000,000,000,000,00

But it all goes to show how the most treasured thing in the forum is not a free exchange of ideas but the preservation of the status of its leader.

Cheers,

Jeremiah

You wrote:

quote:

---

One of the truly horrid things about the forum I think is how the powers of interpretation are owned by only a few individuals. The rest are required to react to those intepretations, not add to or subtract from them. All who attempt to do so are punished.

Granted, this requires the tacit agreement of all those participating. The people that run the forum get their sense of power by requesting that others give up one of the most important powers we have as people.

The ability to interpret.

---

Thank you for this insightful post about interpretation. This does add a new dimension to merely holding differing opinions. It really does go to the heart of one's power, doesn't it? And that is not to just create your reality but to name it, to state your experience of it.

To have that denied is to render the ability to create one's reality useless. This is an insidious form of control and is abuse behind the abuse.

How common is this phenomenon among abused children...to have their ability to interpret what just happened to them taken away along with their awareness of their inherent dignity as human beings.

Not only were members of the forum denied their right to interpret the "outer" world as they saw it, but their "inner world" as well.
"Oh, no, what you just experienced after being ganged up on isn't abuse. Those aren't teeth marks. That isn't blood. It's love. It's honesty, truth, and beauty of the spiritual adult...now apologize...again...now again...and again...and say thank you."

And often, they did.

Demian,
DreamSinger

Aud had tried renewing her Forum membership after it had lapsed for a few months, was permitted access for about 45 minutes, and then she was blocked out with no explanation.
The full story is here in one of the early threads.

One of her thoughts on that is worth mentioning IMO. I'm interested in what others think.

If The Orb is here loving us forever and a day, all of us, by what right does Con:Sin limit anyone's access to them? I know the BS explanations we get from the Greedy Gangstas, one of them being that no one needs a tape or a seminar to access Lazaris, (so why do they offer them?), and then of course there is the "Lazaris didn't come here to talk to YOU!!" bit from Peny, but then who did the Entity come here to talk to, and under what circumstances?

If Lazaris is here loving humanity, providing vital information which will prevent world wars and the invasion of the Orions, why would Jach or Peny or anyone have the right to restrict that information?

When Lazaris came through Jach, was the Unit told that he should pick and choose who can have access to this information? Is that the contract they had with each other.

Even more to the point, if Jachass himself believes that this information is so vital, revolutionary, and important, why would he take it upon himself to decide who should hear it?

Or, are we to believe that the Glowing Elliptic themselves advises J and P on these matters? Why wouldn't the Orb just speak to
individuals about this matter directly, given that we allegedly don't really need Jachall to provide access?

Isn't The Unit just doing a service?

Does any of this alleged arrangement make any sense to anyone? It sure doesn't to me.

Then there is the issue of The Elliptic knowing people's names during the crystal ceremony. If "they" know one person's name, why don't they know everone's name?

Someone said the response given to that is that with some there is "familiar" energy.
Oh, so I get it, even though some of us do all those meditations and blendings where L is surrounding us, filling us, re-working our chakras, placing little crystals in our hearts, reworking our DNA, etc. that isn't quite familiar enough that they would know our names, but they would know someone else's?

This name business is starting to get really creepy. All of a sudden doubters are coming back from seminars saying "He knew my name, He knew my name!!"

Has anyone of these of renewed faith ever wondered why L doesn't know everyone's name, or that they had just made a big purchase from the back table, or just been introduced to a Gangsta, or that their picture appears in the Forum above their name?

This kind of crap is so "sideshow psychic" to me, so Las Vegas! So, Con:Sin uses shills, and cheap illusions to dazzle the audience.

But, again, we have this big set-up for shame, and feelings of unworthiness. How does it feel to the person next in line to hear L speak someone's name, and then not know theirs? I guess all that love, and all those inner workings didn't mean too much, because L never bothered to catch the name.

God, I hate what these bastards are doing!

Just some thoughts I wanted to share today.