esotericfreedom Blog

NEW BLOG !!

2012-01-29T19:13:00.000-08:00

This blog – the Gentle Souls’ Revolution – is providing the opportunity to reveal a secret: Between August 2006 through August 2011, I fell prey to a cult that presents itself as a “secret esoteric school”. It calls itself “school”.

http://cultconfessions.com/2012/01/29/the-confession-introduction/

The Confession: Chapter 1 – How to Leave a Cult

http://cultconfessions.com/2012/01/27/hello-world/

Congratulations! This is a great blog and a wonderful new addition!

DOSSIER:

2012-01-14T21:22:00.000-08:00

DOSSIER: GRAVES KIELY

(This is the first of a series of profiles about the leaders of the Gans cult.)

Graves Kiely is approximately 56 years old. His family is from Marblehead, Mass. Kiely, raised as "Mark Kiely," attended and graduated from Harvard College. After Harvard, Graves received an MFA in Theater (Acting) from Florida State University at the Asolo Theater in Sarasota. He met Sharon Gans in 1982 when he was cast in Alex Horn's "King Trilogy."

“SCHOOL” HISTORY

Graves has been a "leader" in the Gans group since at least 1990, when he returned to New York from Los Angeles. He regularly led group discussions for the "Monday-Wednesday" New York group for many years. He led the "Country Retreat" "line of work" in the 1990s, during a period when it moved (under outside pressure) from Mahopac, NY, to Bethel, CT. and then Pawling, NY, under the front name of "Hudson Valley Artists Foundation.” In approximately 2001, with the demise of the Pawling enterprise, Graves sharply reduced his involvement in "school" activities; during this decade, one of his primary activities was the development of an annual series of "living tableaux" presentations (based on works of art, literature, politics, and drama) for Christmas classes. He resumed teaching in 2008, for the Monday/Wednesday New York group.

PERSONAL HISTORY

Graves was involved with the actress Sally Kirkland, and moved to Los Angeles to be with her and launch a career as a screenwriter. Kirkland, according to Wikipedia, is a "minister in the Church of The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness." Graves is brother to Leo Kiely III, who from 2008 until mid-2011 served as CEO of MillerCoors, the North American operating subsidiary of SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company. Graves is married to Helena Bacardi, of the Cuban-expatriate family that controls the Bacardi Limited rum and distilled spirits company. Bacardi Limited has global headquarters in Bermuda; Graves and his family vacation there frequently. The primary Kiely family residence is in Weston, Connecticut; the family moved there from Brooklyn Heights in the aftermath of 9/11. Graves is the parent of three children with Helena; who range in age from approximately 18 to 24.

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY:

After giving up his career as an actor, Graves entered the financial services industry, and worked at the brokerage firm of D.W. Blair. He obtained his Series 7 license, moved to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in approximately 1996, and worked there as a financial advisor. During this period, many "students" in the Gans group were strongly encouraged to open investment accounts with him. He gave up his Series 7 license, and is currently employed as a "private investor." In this capacity, he is said to manage the financial affairs of some wealthy "students," among them Andrew Robinson.

2011-12-14T13:16:00.000-08:00

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

The means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Excerpts from Steve Jobs's 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

2011-10-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

TRANSFORMING FEAR INTO LOVE

2011-10-05T05:10:00.000-07:00

You can choose the path of love over fear.

Where are you living your life now? In love or fear?

There are two main emotions that determine our reality: fear-based emotions and love-based emotions.

Fear-based emotions: fear, anger, stress, hate, pride, greed, blame, bitterness, hurt, judgment, misery, sadness, hopelessness, unhappiness, insecurity, lack of faith, lack of self-love, self-destruction, jealousy, competitiveness, control, frustration, selfishness, closeness, guilt, shame, doubt,s uncertainty, negativity and the list is long..

Love-based emotions: love, joy, faith, trust, inner strength, confidence, belief, happiness, caring, sharing, forgiveness, openness, passion, freedom, harmony, honesty, beauty, compassion, self-love, self-appreciation, respect, acceptance, peace, balance between giving and receiving, understanding, positivity and again the list is long.

http://www.channelingerik.com/love-or-fear-which-will-you-choose/

http://www.squidoo.com/transformingfearintolove

2011-06-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends."

"Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right."

- Martin Luther King

2011-03-01T06:39:00.001-08:00

Morality,
like art,
means
drawing a line
someplace.

Oscar Wilde
Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)

2010-07-20T07:05:00.000-07:00

“When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

"Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm... As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others."

-Audre Lord

2009-12-15T09:08:00.000-08:00

"Never be bullied into silence.
Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."
- Harvey Fierstein

2009-11-18T06:38:00.000-08:00

Sharon is now living at The Plaza

768 Fifth Avenue
Purchased on 1/25/2008 for $8,423,402.
2,162 SF
Owner: Unit 405 Plaza LLC
c/o Joseph Stillwell
26 Broadway, 23rd Floor
New York, New York 10004

Sharon finally sold her old condo at
59 West 12th Street!!
It sold for $3,151,000. on 5/21/2010.

2009-05-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any numbers of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles on sleeping men.
-Voltaire

This blog is as alive and as active as ever. I understand that there is some confusion because we have gone over 200 entries so be sure you are not missing anything !!!
Go down to the very bottom of this page and click on the 200+ comments. When you are taken to to next page, click on NEWEST.

Or better still, start adding comments right here on this post. I will repeat my last post here so you don't have to go all the way back.
Keep contributing!! Keep the dialog alive!!

First Amendment Rights: Freedom of Speech

2007-08-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

"The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each other to live as seems good to the rest."
-J S Mill, On Liberty, 1859.

"The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism."
-Wole Soyinka, Nigerian playwright, poet, novelist, and political activist.

"I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it."
-Francois Marie Arouet Voltaire

"I have always been among those who believed that the greatest freedom of speech was the greatest safety, because if a man is a fool the best thing to do is to encourage him to advertise the fact by speaking."
-Woodrow Wilson

Below, you will find a copy of the complaint that was sent to the company that was hosting esotericfreedom.com.

It is this level of intimidation has worked for 40 years and has supported them in style.
Observe for yourself what comes up in you when you read this. For me it was that feeling of being in trouble with them... It is, in fact, a group of mechanical "I"'s that have been carefully planted in us over the years. The fear that rises up when we feel like we have done something "wrong". We were told that we were working so hard AGAINST our mechanicality. One kind of mechanicality was replaced by another. They want us to be afraid. They do not want us to speak out. Silence is complicity. Ask yourself why this fear and paranoia was taught to us so purposefully and carefully.

Please also note, that the law firm that was retained is the same one that represents Scientology.
Go ahead, Google: "Eric Lieberman and Scientology" for yourself and see what comes up.

From: David Goldstein [mailto:dgoldstein@rbskl.com]
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 6:14 AM
To: abuse@isp.time.net.my
Cc: Eric Lieberman
Subject: Abusive Content at www.esotericfreedom.com

Dear Sir or Madam:

Please be advised that this law firm represents Robert M. Klein, Fred Mindel, Sharon Gans, and OSG, LLC. It is our understanding that Time dotNet Berhad is the new internet service provider for the web site, www.esotericfreedom.com. This web site contains substantial personal, false, misleading, defamatory, private, abusive, harassing, threatening, and otherwise tortious material concerning our above-named clients. We emphasize to you that all of the material on the web site is posted anonymously, apparently in an effort to evade legal liability for this improper content. Please be further advised that this web site was previously hosted by a United States company, Homestead Technologies, Inc. Because of the abusive, defamatory, threatening and other improper content on this web site, Homestead removed the content from the web site, and terminated the web site approximately one week ago. However, the operator of that web site has now re-posted all the objectionable content through Time dotNet's internet hosting services.

The web site invades the privacy of our clients by posting personal information, including their photographs, and addresses and photographs of their residences. The web site seeks to incite hatred against our clients through extensive false accusations, and in the context of the content of the web site, the identification of our clients' addresses constitutes harassment, threats and attempts at intimidation. The web site is further pervaded with defamatory attacks against our clients.

As a result, we demand that you remove all objectionable content from this web site, including termination of this web site, as the actionable and abusive information cannot reasonably be separated from the web site in its entirety. We reserve all our rights against the web site owners and Time dotNet in the event that you fail to remove this material. In the event that Time dotNet is not willing at this time to shut down the web site, we insist that Time dotNet take immediate action to remove the following information:

1. The web page http://www.esotericfreedom.com/Properties.html, which publishes the addresses and photographs of residences of our clients, and all links to such pages.

2. The four photos of Sharon Gans and Robert Klein, which appear near the top of the Home page, http://www.esotericfreedom.com/ and the photo of Sharon Gans that appears on the "Lineage" page, http://www.esotericfreedom.com/Lineage.html

3. All references to Sharon Gans, Robert Klein, Fred Mindel (including all references to "Sharon," "Robert," and "Fred"), OSG, LLC., Odyssey, and the "School" (or "school") wherever they appear on any pages of the web site.

4. All identifying information concerning our clients, whether or not their actual names are used, including references to "teachers."

4. The addresses and locations that appear near the top of the Home page, which are locations at which our clients offer classes, but which are falsely and misleadingly suggested to be properties of the operators of the web site.

5. In the left column of the Home page, several private businesses that are associated with our clients are listed, which are falsely and misleadingly associated with other material on the web site. These listings are clearly designed to result in harassment and damage to private business entities, including through web search engines such as Google or Yahoo. These include Taylor Hodson, Inc., KS Designs, Inc., Consolidated Mattress, Amalgamated Mattress, and Xonel Truck Leasing. We demand their immediate removal.

6. The web site is pervaded with false, misleading and defamatory material concerning claims with respect to real or personal property of our clients. We insist that all such information, allegations, or claims be removed from the web site.

7. The section of the web site called "Our Stories," http://www.esotericfreedom.com/ourstories.html, contains approximately a dozen anonymous "stories" that are pervaded with false, misleading, and defamatory statements concerning our clients, which are too numerous to list here. Particularly as the web operators are allowing these "stories" to be posted anonymously (and for all we know were concocted by the web operators themselves), we insist that all these "stories" be removed.

8. All "links" that state, suggest, or infer that our clients participate in or are part of a "cult," or that they are unsafe or dangerous, including at http://www.esotericfreedom.com/books.html and http://www.esotericfreedom.com/links.html

Your expeditious attention and cooperation is appreciated. We look forward to your response.

David B. Goldstein
Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, P.C.
111 Broadway, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10006-1901
212-254-1111 (F) 212-674-4614

For information about protecting your legal rights on the Internet:
Center for Democracy and & Technology
Chilling Effects Website
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Public Citizen

Greetings and Salutations

2007-08-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Esoteric Freedom Blog.
This blog is by and for all present and former students of Sharon Gans, Alex Horn and Robert Klein.
We hope this will enable everyone to speak freely and express themselves without fear of retribution of any sort.
We are only interested in the truth. We are only interested in becoming truly free and supporting our friends in their efforts to become loving and compassionate men and women on their journeys to discover the meaning and purpose of their lives.
We also want to keep you posted on what is happening with the website.
We believe that it is important for everyone to understand that our first amendment right to free speech that is protected under the Constitution is in jeopardy. Although there is nothing illegal on the website, threatening letters from attorneys have harassed the host servers on two occassions to remove the website. This is a very important issue. Freedom of Speech is a dirty business. Here, anyone can log in as "anonymous" and comment on anything they would like.
Silence is complicity. To remain silent is to remain under school rules which are designed to keep us silent and complacent. It's time to regain control over our own lives.
Please do not use any names or identifying information of people who are either present or former students to protect their privacy.

"You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand." --- Woodrow Wilson