Category: 2 Star

“I’ve been looking for a way to link my interest in Buddhism to my fascination with women, and it looks like he’s the guy.” ~ Comment regarding David Deida.

David Deida likes to be the radical; to appear edgy and provocative. Every teacher has a personality and some learn to use it to reinforce their message. Others learn to assume personalities and increase the breadth of their message. The personality is a wrapper and what we really need to intuit is how deep the teacher can go. What is their level of understanding and being? Continue reading “David Deida: Sex and God”

My knowledge of Bob Adamson is gleaned from the book Living Reality by James Braha. It is comprised of transcripts of talks from Sailor Bob’s 2004 visit to the United States, as well as personal observations by James Braha. Mr. Braha was kind enough to send me a copy to review.

These days, when I hear of a Westerner teaching under the banner of Advaita, I prepare myself to experience another helping of neo-Advaita pablum: you already are that which you seek, just stop seeking and see, there is only now, etc. I do not dispute the fundamental truth of such statements — I dispute their application. A quick look at Sailor Bob’s talks revealed nothing surprising: lots of talk about awareness being the answer. I wavered on wading into the 322 pages of Braha’s book, then took the plunge. Continue reading “Sailor Bob Adamson”

Nick Roach lives near London, England and claims to have achieved Self-Realization with the help of Barry Long’s teachings. He emailed me a note about his site and we subsequently exchanged several emails. I was impressed with Nick Roach’s sincerity and willingness to answer my, at times, confrontational questions. While I don’t agree with all his views, I feel he is worth checking into if you are in the area. Here is a sample of our dialogue: Continue reading “Nick Roach: An evolving teacher”

Jed McKenna is a spiritual dude. He plays video games, he rides a mountain bike, he skydives, he reads Walt Whitman. Jed McKenna is an enlightened teacher. He had an ashram in Iowa, numerous students (several of whom became enlightened), and has several books to his name: Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing, Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment, Spiritual Warfare, and Jed McKenna’s Theory of Everything.

A lot of folks criticize Jed McKenna because he doesn’t fit their image of a spiritual teacher. Fortunately, Jed likes to talk about himself, so we can see he’s not such a bad guy: Continue reading “Jed McKenna: I am not Jed McKenna”

Melvyn Wartella passed away in May 2011, but I was fortunate enough to make contact with him before then.  “There’s a fellow you might want to look into,” said my friend Bob, “He lives somewhat like a hermit and claims to have had an awakening. His name is Mel. He’s seems quite a gentleman.” A little investigating on my part revealed that Melvyn Wartella was truly a gentleman, remarkably sincere, and definitely profound. Here is an excerpt from our first email exchange: Continue reading “Melvyn Wartella: The gentleman spiritual teacher”