Regarding the Guruphiliac discussion on Lifewave, Acorn's comments are pretty accurate but they are not the whole story.
Despite all the nonsense we experienced, I have many good memories of my years in Lifewave. It wasn't all bad, and John Yarr was not all bad either. Like all of us, he was a complex personality, and at his best he could be full of kindness and compassion, very solicitous for the well-being of his followers. Unfortunately he also had his own issues and insecurities which manifested in the negative aspects of his teaching and practices.
The reason Lifewave ended was because eventually those closest to him began comparing notes with each other and discovered they were not alone in their experiences and concerns. Together they confronted JY and things began to unravel. Even then, these teachers (or 'adepts') were divided as to how to proceed. Their dilemma was that despite the issues with JY, the meditation itself worked as a means to expanded states of consciousness. Some favoured complete honesty with all the initiates, others wanted to remove JY from an active teaching role while still preserving the organisation and teaching meditation. Gradually over a six month period from late 1986 it all came out and Lifewave was disbanded, leaving everyone free to go their own way and make their own choices. And some chose to remain with JY because they still saw him as the key to spiritual enlightenment.
So out of the ashes of Lifewave rose a new group, which initially at least was less rigid and more open. I don't know how this new group developed over the years, but the few remaining contacts I had informed me that Lifewave Mark II was not without its problems.
A similar process occurred in more recent years with Andrew Cohen, when a group of his senior teachers confronted him about his behaviour and forced him to step down for a year to reflect on himself. This was a few years ago - I don't know how things stand now. Human nature is an interesting thing.
Peace.
Despite all the nonsense we experienced, I have many good memories of my years in Lifewave. It wasn't all bad, and John Yarr was not all bad either. Like all of us, he was a complex personality, and at his best he could be full of kindness and compassion, very solicitous for the well-being of his followers. Unfortunately he also had his own issues and insecurities which manifested in the negative aspects of his teaching and practices.
The reason Lifewave ended was because eventually those closest to him began comparing notes with each other and discovered they were not alone in their experiences and concerns. Together they confronted JY and things began to unravel. Even then, these teachers (or 'adepts') were divided as to how to proceed. Their dilemma was that despite the issues with JY, the meditation itself worked as a means to expanded states of consciousness. Some favoured complete honesty with all the initiates, others wanted to remove JY from an active teaching role while still preserving the organisation and teaching meditation. Gradually over a six month period from late 1986 it all came out and Lifewave was disbanded, leaving everyone free to go their own way and make their own choices. And some chose to remain with JY because they still saw him as the key to spiritual enlightenment.
So out of the ashes of Lifewave rose a new group, which initially at least was less rigid and more open. I don't know how this new group developed over the years, but the few remaining contacts I had informed me that Lifewave Mark II was not without its problems.
A similar process occurred in more recent years with Andrew Cohen, when a group of his senior teachers confronted him about his behaviour and forced him to step down for a year to reflect on himself. This was a few years ago - I don't know how things stand now. Human nature is an interesting thing.
Peace.