[From the New Age Frauds and Plastic Shamans forum, by "Sandy S," August 29, 2015]:
New Age Tea Party, pt. 1
Ever since the American mid-term elections were completed in Nov. 2014, the ultra-conservative Tea Party wing of the Republican Party has been in the US media on a daily basis as they attempt to influence the 2016 Presidential election. In my effort to understand the appeal of the Tea Party, it is striking how much in common this movement and their followers have with Spezzano and Associates Ltd. Psychology of Vision (SALPOV), a for-profit corporation. I suppose this premise could be applied to several of the other New Age frauds highlighted in NAFPS. Not so much in content, but in form.
I am aware the Tea Party and New Age movements are actually decentralized entities and the following characterizations will not apply to all who swear allegiance to their creeds. My subjective impressions are based on the dominant voices of those groups and how I define them. My daily dose of news media includes sources representing the entire American political spectrum and my generalizations about the Tea Party are just that-- generalizations. SALPOV is a much smaller group and easier to define, since it is basically a tightly controlled cult designed exclusively to increase the profit margin of Chuck and Lency Spezzano, two New Age grifters.
Both the Tea Party and SALPOV are supposedly Jesus-based denials of science financially supported by vulnerable, hurt, lonely, angry and frightened people who disdain critical thinking and seek simplistic solutions to complicated problems. Both the Tea Party and SALPOV depend heavily on feeding off of fear, guilt, and greed (i.e., "abundance").
At first blush you would think this sounds crazy. Are not many of the followers of the New Age supposed to be into peace, love, and caring for the environmental and spiritual condition of our planet? Chuck Spezzano himself has endorsed the concept that global warming is real. He also praises President Obama. These are hardly the actions of someone who resembles the Tea Party. Right?
Wrong. At least with the Tea Party, what you see is mostly what you get. SALPOV is more devious.
Somewhere along the line around the start of Reaganism, the Spezzanos sold out their benevolent public/private nonprofit sector motives in exchange for the worship of the coin of the realm. Yes, Reaganomics made people do things they might not have done before. I never saw anyone hold up a cardboard sign asking for money until after Ron the Con was elected in 1980. And it was during the time of Reagan, when greed was openly embraced and celebrated at the expense of working people and those in need, that the Spezzano's dropped their altruistic visions like a hot coal and crossed over to the Dark Side.
In many ways, Psychology of Vision is a child of Reaganism in New Age clothing and exists today as some sort of retro holdover. Nancy Reagan even legitimized the use of a psychic and astrologer in determining her public life and possibly influencing Mr. Reagan. Most Americans today would immediately recognize SALPOV as the hokey scam that it is, which might explain why this organization depends so much on Asian and European consumers who might not be clued in to the cultural and historical red flags that are so obvious to the Spezzano's own countrymen.
I invite you to sit down, get comfortable, and seriously consider my little treatise here. Hopefully anyone thinking about diving into the Spezzano's money trap will read this first and then retreat before investing themselves financially and emotionally into the SALPOV flim-flam.
Jesus:
In the Tea Party, the dividing line between Church and State does not exist. In their view, the United States is a Christian nation with an evangelical Protestant flavor. To them, their interpretation of the Bible is the final word when it comes to law, not the US Constitution.
SALPOV is based on A Course in Miracles (their "greatest inspiration"), which is a text supposedly dictated by Jesus Christ to Helen Schucman from 1965 to 1972. Although SALPOV tries to pass itself off as ecumenical "Oneness," their foundation rests on a copyright free ersatz Christian document of highly doubtful validity. The bottom line is, SALPOV exists on a premise of an interpretation of Jesus via Schucman and as such is a Christian-based cult. Schucman herself supposedly renounced this ACIM nonsense, according to one account. One former SALPOV trainer told me he/she thought the Spezzanos pushed the religion thing too far.
Remember, every time A Course in Miracles is cited by a SALPOV person, they are really, according to their belief, quoting Jesus as channeled by Schucman. Chuck and Lency Spezzano's declarations of allegiance to ACIM is pretty much a house built on sand.
Sciency:
Tea Party activists tend to disdain the reality of human-caused climate change and they reject the theory of evolution in favor of the Biblical explanation of the creation of humankind. Politicians hoping to pander to Tea Party voters will preface their climate change remarks with "I'm not a scientist, but ..."
SALPOV, like a lot of other New Ager commercial profit-oriented businesses, has no problem with the denial of science (as will become more evident in the course of this post). However, they are not above cherry-picking certain terms in the scientific world in order to bamboozle the innocent. They appropriate concepts in science in much the same way they steal sacred beliefs from Hawaiian or First Nations cultures. Any sentence they or their followers use with the word "quantum" is a good example.
The following video really sums it up and is so dead-on when you apply the message to SALPOV and their worshipers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD8HeoZF9cM
Angry, Hurt, Damaged People:
Happy, secure, serene well-adjusted folks do not sign up for the Tea Party or SALPOV. Both entities are fed by pain and unrest. The difference is that the Tea Party blames the outside world (anger), while SALPOV blames the victim (guilt).
Just look at the SALPOV testimonials-- everyone who paid the massive amounts of money required for SALPOV training started off as a self-professed vulnerable and screwed-up person, leading an unhappy existence. They allowed the SALPOV cult to define them, since individualism is considered to be a negative trait in their universe. Both movements invite the emotionally or politically disenfranchised to lose themselves as part of a bigger cause. In SALPOV, the main cause is padding the Spezzano bank account.
2012:
Whether it is the Rapture or the Mayan calendar, both movements bought into the idea that we are in some sort of endtime transition. Some home-schooled Tea Party kids I know told me they would never get a chance to drive a car because the world was going to end before they would have an opportunity to get a driver's license.
OK, I remember being a kid during the Cuban Missile Crisis and thinking the same thing-- but that was over a half century ago. And it wasn't about any "rapture," it was about real Soviet missiles.
Spezzano's little monthly letters, when read back to back, really whip up the fear factor in order to keep the flock in line, much in the same apocalyptic tone of the Tea Party. "Dodged a bullet" was a fave expression of his. Now that we are safely in 2015 I notice he has toned down his act. The predicted 2012 silliness didn't happen, I guess.
Spezzano stopped offering his monthly words of wisdom in English on his own website well over a year ago and now only releases these spiritual tidbits in German, for Central Europe is still proving to be a lucrative hunting ground for this American predator. English speakers have apparently started to wise up about his scam and that market is drying up.
PC Backlash:
Donald Trump has recently been very public in his disapproval of "political correctness." It turns out Chuck Spezzano agrees with him:
Quote
HEALING THE HIEROPHANT is the card for today. The hierophant signifies religiosity and empty form without spirit. As such it is political correctness rather than authentic action or true being. Healing this today helps us act truly rather than just going through the motions. Have a freeing day!
Posted 25th December 2011 by Chuck Spezzano
http://chuckandlencyspezzano.blogspot.com/2011/12/healing-heirophant.html?q=correctness
and
Quote
HEALING THE SHADOW FIGURE OF THE CHARLATAN is the card for today. The feeling of being a fraud is a common experience as one reaches the area of the Dead Zone and we begin to heal the roles in our lives most of which we have been carrying since we were children. This brings authenticity and a new connectedness in relationships. A shadow is a part of us we judged, split off, typically repressed and projected out. The CHARLATAN is an attempt to fool others to get what we want such as sex, money and inclusion but any role can give us this feeling especially political correctness. Have a good day!
Posted 18th January 2013 by Chuck Spezzano
http://chuckandlencyspezzano.blogspot.com/2013/01/healing-shadow-figure-of-charlatan-is.html?q=correctness
and
Chuck Spezzano, April 2004. This one seems a bit discombobulated:
Quote
Fear dictates sameness, a return to routine or a regression. Awareness calls for a significant step forward into a new way, one which naturally generates a new flow. When there is fear at the root, you start living by form instead of the spirit. This is the inauthenticity of political correctness America is so busy being proud of its pioneer roots that it’s stopped being a pioneer. The Republicans that believe the American pioneer spirit will come from building an American Empire are sadly out of step with the times. The pioneering that is to occur now is meant to be a change of consciousness that will reflect new levels of partnership and empowerment worldwide. That is what occurs after the Dead Zone stage if there is success. This alone shows the United States’ regression and move to war under the Republicans as a failure in leadership. It is the same thing a couple does when they fail to make the leap to partnership in the Dead Zone; they regress into fighting to try to bring some aliveness back to the relationship. They are frightened to face the deadness and move through into partnership.
http://www.newciv.org/nl/newslog.php/_v76/__show_article/_a000076-000084.htm
This is so drenched in irony, excuse me while I wipe my glasses.
So what happened to Chuck to make him so reactionary to the concept of political correctness? Certainly even mainstream Americans have a problem with some aspects of how this term has been applied, but Spezzano really goes out of his way to slam it. Interesting.
Us vs. Them:
Both the Tea Party and SALPOV have a strong "us vs. them" mentality and possess strict litmus tests for who is worthy of respect. "Sheeple" and "Libtards" are common dehumanizing terms in the Tea Party to describe those who do not agree with their dogma. SALPOV considers us critics to be cyber-bullies and trolls. Both groups would count me as a "hater," a rather tiresome phrase used to cut off dialogue when uncomfortable facts are raised.
SALPOV divides the world population into the "enlightened" and "unenlightened" according to one SALPOV member who corresponded with me. Since I dared to ask some questions I was obviously unenlightened. But here's the deal on that. I strive to be enlightened in the true sense of the word. In history the Age of Enlightenment was a big party celebrating reason, critical thinking, and creative expression of individualism. These are all traits the Spezzanos look down upon. SALPOV has about as much right to claim "enlightenment" as an exclusive term as the Tea Party does in saying they are the only "patriots."
More detail on this topic:
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=dcd368nll9kh9i4mvokveivv80&topic=4179.msg37731#msg37731
Racism:
That the Tea Party is a racist movement hardly needs any elaboration from me. Donald Trump is doing an effective job of tapping into that xenophobic, nationalistic fear-based part of the American voting public so far. I will give Trump his due. He is saying out loud what most Republicans will only say to each other in private. Tea Party type racism is pretty much out there in the open.
SALPOV's racism is more subtle. They buy into the Louise Hay model of past-life justice, which means entire civilizations, such as Hawaiians, First Nations, and Jews deserved the genocidal treatment they got due to their own past sins. Hay even admitted this during an interview (documented on this forum). We have statements from Lency Spezzano justifying the SALPOV psychocolonization of Haida Gwaii and her description of Asian followers as not advanced enough for her sophisticated Western teachings. Section K of the German language Psychology of Vision Trainers Manual is basically a very condescending and cynical recipe for affinity fraud upon First Nations.
In Lency's "Original Mind" video (now deleted from public view) the manipulation and use of people as props is very evident. Here's a transcript:
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=4179.msg39666#msg39666
The Chuck Spezzano/Janie Ticehurst "Healing Metaphors" (new deleted from online view) has a roundabout relationship here, equating various congenital disorders with being a bad person. Using the Hay model, genetic birth problems such as Down's Syndrome were blamed on unresolved problems from a past life:
Quote
Down's Syndrome
Down’s syndrome is a congenital abnormality (one that is present at birth). It is the result of having an extra chromosome in our genetic make-up, usually number 21 or 22.
Down’s causes moderate to severe mental retardation, oriental appearance of eyes, flat nose or absent bridge of nose, a single palmer [sic] crease on a short broad hand and a dwarfed body.
If we have Down’s syndrome, it means that we have come to learn some lessons at a soul level. We are here to seek soul fulfillment and the completion of a cycle, yet we are stuck in the transition between the old level and the new.
The two main soul lessons of Down’s syndrome are correcting over-willfulness and giving up the ego’s plan in exchange for heaven’s plan.
Notice the use of "oriental." Not the preferred nomenclature. Maybe outside complaints on the "Healing Keys" is one reason why Spezzano hates "political correctness" so much.
New Age Tea Party, pt. 2
Disdained by Peers:
Both the Tea Party and SALPOV do not play well with others.
The Tea Party was given a place at the table in the Republican Party for short-term gains several years ago, but now Republicans are paying a big price for being tied to this extreme out-of-the-mainstream group. Moderate, intelligent Republicans are daily lamenting the fact their party is never going to win a national election as long as their nominee has to pander to the Far Right.
The Tea Party makes no secret that they don't want to compromise or negotiate, in essence acting like an American Taliban. These are zealous puritans and I will give them points for being consistent in this case. You can't say the same for SALPOV.
Here in NAFPS we have documented several instances of other New Age healers expressing negative opinions about the SALPOV operation. In spite of the Spezzano emphasis on "Oneness," you don't really see them reaching out and working with their business competition. A few sporadic and brief partnerships have existed in the Spezzano timeline, but for the most part their corporation has become increasingly isolated and insulated.
It is also interesting that a few of Spezzano's former associates and trainers have attempted to erase their online evidence of having a history with SALPOV.
Anti-Regulation:
Tea Party followers believe government should be dramatically limited and I have the distinct impression many of them would like to see the USA turned back to the fiscal practices of Calvin Coolidge. Never mind that these 1920s economic policies helped lead our country into the Great Depression, Coolidge is their guy. Reagan even dusted off and hung Silent Cal's portrait in the White House in the 1980s.
Needless to say, Tea Party activists bristle at many government regulations. So do the Spezzanos.
The Spezzanos have managed to craft an organization that can pretend to be professional healers, when in fact they are not, and somehow dodge the minefield of consumer-protection regulations and license requirements. Also, from my own experience I can say they picked the right state in which to set up shop. Hawaiian government is notoriously Byzantine and lax. It is sort of a miracle that Chuck Spezzano was actually nailed and fined in 2004 by Hawaii for pretending to be a psychologist. Obviously Hawaii has done a poor job of monitoring SALPOV since 2004.
Individualism:
Both the Tea Party and SALPOV have a paradoxical relationship with the concept of individualism.
In the Tea Party, the idea of individual liberty is a prime directive. Yet politically, if anyone strays from the narrow and rigid Party line they can forget about Tea Party support. Republicans who deviate from their lockstep are called RINOs (Republican in Name Only). I suspect if their God Reagan was alive today, even he might be too liberal for them. The Tea Party strikes me as a Free Speech for Me, But Not for Thee organization. Even a politician like Jeb Bush, who is incredibly conservative by mainstream standards, is booed by Tea Party types at public events.
SALPOV, on the other hand, vilifies the idea of individualism. Yet for a dogma that demands the surrender of the ego, part of their conflicting selling point is to infuse the true believer with the idea that magical thinking (i.e. "manifesting") will circumvent whatever plan God or Fate had in store for you so you can satisfy your own selfish desires-- But only as long as you do this under the strict guidelines and incredibly expensive program as outlined by God's messenger, Chuck Spezzano.
Both organizations make me think of the Guinea Pig Bridge for some reason:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq9ghmgqoyc
We are all subject to having our thoughts trapped in habitrails, I admit. Personal liberation requires constant work. Both the Tea Party and SALPOV want to confine your efforts in this area in order that you'll be a servant for their own interests.
Rewriting History:
Tea Party historiography consists of: If historical facts are too bothersome, just go back and change the facts. I know a home schooling Tea Party family that would not allow their child to read any history book written after the 1950s.
I was politically active before Tea Party darling Ted Cruz was born, and when I hear his interpretation of the history that I lived through I just shake my head at how he is either ignorant or an outrageous liar.
Ever since Reagan, the number of Tea Party types showing up at library boards and demanding that certain titles be removed from the shelves (such as Vonnegut's masterpiece, Slaughterhouse-Five) has risen dramatically. See, here's the irony. They praise individual liberty, but they don't trust you to read whatever you want and come to your own conclusions. Just like they want to impose term limits on elected officials. But we already have term limits, they are called "elections." Apparently the Tea Party does not approve of or trust the democratic process. They want to decide what is best for you. Maybe they only want white male property owners to have the vote, just like the old days.
SALPOV is like the Tea Party in rewriting history, but in a passive/aggressive way. Where the Tea Party will blatantly declare a lie to be a fact, SALPOV simply tries to delete and airbrush all past references of potentially embarrassing connections. For example, Oneness University was once one of their "two greatest inspirations" and celebrated as such on their multiple websites for several years and suddenly it was gone with no explanation. That is a very significant shift. What is the story behind that?
Most of the questions we raised about SALPOV last year still hang out there:
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=4179.345
Both groups are doing their best to create an insulated reality and record of past events.
Shrinking Demographics:
Tea Party membership tends to be older white Protestant-raised conservative males. This is a shrinking demographic in the United States. This generation of white males were raised in their early years to think the world was at their command, but as segregation ended and the feminist movement grew, this group of males saw what they considered to be their entitled birthright evaporate before their eyes. The recent USA legalization of Gay marriage only made them even more pissed off. In their anger, they reach back to the good old days for comfort. Clowns like Donald Trump know how to tap that resentment.
No one has ever performed a scientific study on the demographics of SALPOV, so I'll write from my own observations. The cult appears to be populated by mostly affluent middle-aged women who have hit a crisis in their lives. Where are the men? SALPOV membership has been rapidly declining in the last half-decade. Why? This is a good topic for an academic thesis.
Anti-intellectual Dumbing Down:
The Tea Party's appeal to simplistic and gut-reaction solutions is easily displayed and personified by two of their heroes, Sarah Palin and Donald Trump. Both of these characters appeal to the lowest common denominator in politics. Try to have a reasonable and calm discussion with Tea Party followers about subjects like gun control, abortion, Black Lives Matter, socialized medicine, Islam, Mexican immigrants, feminism, evolution, global warming, President Obama, etc. and see how far you get before the arms cross, the brow furrows, and you make their brain hurt and they reach for a safe mental pre-recorded homily as a reply, or, their firearm.
This is the legacy of Reagan's massive cuts to education. The life of the open mind is not encouraged.
Academia is also rejected in SALPOV. Perhaps this is traced back to Chuck Spezzano's Ph.D. not actually being accredited by the APA, meaning he is not recognized as a professional. So far as I can ascertain, neither of the Spezzanos or any of their followers have submitted their "research" to peer reviewed journals in the field of psychology. Spezzano denigrates critical thinking as "anal lies." I find it interesting he has not been invited to lecture in venues of higher education. If half his claims are true, he should have the Nobel Prize by now. Hmm, yet we have documented a pop culture site like Wikipedia not deeming him worthy enough for inclusion. Go figure.
I am pretty sure sharp-minded university and college students would make mincemeat out of Spezzano's claims had he presented his views in a give and take discussion on an academic stage. His in-person presentations are always on a pay per view basis. It's all about the money.
Anti-Woman:
The Tea Party and SALPOV share a low opinion of women. Oh sure, they put them up on a pedestal, yada yada yada Tiger Woman bla bla bla Sarah Palin oot greet. But in the end, men are still in charge.
I'll just pass over the Tea Party here, except to say-- They are anti-choice on religious grounds. I do not happen to agree with them, but I understand where they are coming from and don't hold them in contempt for it.
In SALPOV the head honcho and CEO is Chuck Spezzano. The head of his UK spinoff is Jeff Allen. Two men. Spezzano's famous use of lewd jokes to mostly female crowds can only be viewed as sexual bullying, or perhaps I am being too "politically correct," eh? What sort of "professional" makes this a staple in his presentations?
We have in this forum documented Spezzano's belief in blaming the victim concerning rape cases in FN.
Meanwhile, Jeff Allen has dug up the 1950s in order to express the official SALPOV of a woman's place:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1039030/Fast-track-femininity-Why-competing-men-left-women-touch-feminine-side.html
I have maintained that SALPOV is actually two cults, the Chuck cult, and the Lency cult. Now that Lency has basically retired from foreign gigs, we have seen a sharp dropoff of SALPOV trainers, particularly in the UK. Perhaps there were a lot of women out there who did not want to deal with Chuck alone. And who can blame them?
Theocracy:
That the Tea Party wants to set up a theocracy is hardly a secret. Unfortunately many of their candidates have been elected to public offices on several levels, including the US House and Senate.
SALPOV has, to my knowledge, only one trainer in a position of public authority-- Babs Stevens on Haida Gwaii. Her abuses of power and desire to force her SALPOV agenda on the rest of the island is well documented here. When she is challenged the cry of religious freedom comes up, just like from the Tea Party! It is a bogus argument used as a cover for her selfish agenda. The sooner she is removed the better off for the people on the Rock.
The division of Church and State is the issue here, not religious freedom.
The Deep End:
Both the Tea Party and SALPOV throw unqualified people into the deep end of the pool.
Sarah Palin serves as the classic example for the Tea Party. No need for me to embellish.
In SALPOV not one single person, including the Spezzanos, is professionally qualified to supply psychological healing services for anyone. Going through all the costly SALPOV training is worth about as much as a rancid bowl of bacon fat in the real world.
The frightening part is that it encourages dozens of unqualified cult followers to set up their own little imitation SALPOV as a New Age cottage industry and spread the damage.
It's All About the Money:
Let's dance!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dndenpP1Ic0
Update 8/8/19: A link worth reading that connects POV to Trumpthink--
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/are-we-becoming-too-stupid-to-govern-ourselves/2019/05/29/2a17a4f6-8233-11e9-95a9-e2c830afe24f_story.html?noredirect=on
Update 10/22/20: A worthy addendum found by a member of our crew--
