Gudni Gudnason & Rocky Mountain/Modern Day Mystery School

[mtf]

Here are some truthful facts about Derek O'Neil,
> his healing systems, his early workshops from over
> a decade ago, and some information regarding his
> original financial supporters—most of who left
> him years ago. This truthful information is for
> anyone wanting to know about Derek O'Neil so
> they can learn for themselves versus all the hype
> from his cult-like followers, as well as Derek's
> own lies. The following is a long read, but
> contains factual information.
> 1- Prema Agni healing modality:
> Derek publicly proclaimed in his early workshops
> (2003 thru 2008), that Sathya Sai Baba was his
> spiritual master-teacher, and that this is how the
> prema angi healing symbol came about. Derek claims
> he was at Sathya Sai Baba's ashram in India and
> that during that time he had dreams of a healing
> system. Derek claims he drew a sketch of this
> symbol he dreamed of (the prema agni) and then
> went to see Baba to ask Baba about the symbol.
> Derek says when Baba came up to him, Baba said
> aloud to everyone there, the words; "Give me
> prema agni!". Derek says he then took the prema
> agni drawing out of his pocket and gave it to Baba
> who then held it up and blessed it, and then gave
> it back to Derek.
> So, is this true about the prema agni healing
> system and what Derek claims Sathya Sai Baba did
> in public at Baba's ashram in India? Here are
> Baba's own words on people who proclaim that
> Baba has endorsed them, or their healing modality,
> or that they have any special relationship with
> Baba, or that they are Baba's direct envoy, or
> that Baba has bestowed upon them any special
> healing gifts or powers.
> Words of God: The Sai Avatar on Himself - Part 8
>
>
> "... I do not use others as My media; I have no
> need to...."
> "...nor do I hand over powers to anyone..."
>
> ?... Talking of faith, I must issue a warning.
> Many people are collecting money in various places
> using My Name for various purposes like arranging
> receptions, building mandirams, doing puja etc.
> That is unauthorized and against My Wish and
> Command. Do not yield to such requests and
> encourage this practice which I condemn. Then
> there is another set of people who trade on your
> faith. They advertise that I have 'possessed'
> them; that I am 'talking' through a medium or a
> stove (!) or some other thing. Treat all such
> people and their agents or brokers as you treat
> cheats; if you do not treat them so, then you are
> also accomplices in the cheating process. ??There
> are others who gather groups of followers and
> admirers and collect money exhibiting some idol or
> image that has been 'given' by Me or advertising
> some other sign of My Grace. Some of them even
> declare, "Sai Baba sent me to you to take from you
> some money" or "Sai Baba has given me this" or
> "Sai Baba blessed me specially thus and thus" and
> then ask for your help or your praise or your
> purse! I ask you to chastise all these types of
> men and turn them away - whoever they are. ??There
> are again some others who are swept off their feet
> by hysterical demonstrations by certain
> weak-minded Individuals, which are described as My
> speaking through them or acting through them! Take
> it from Me, I am not given to such absurdities!
>
> I do not use others as My media; I have no need
> to. I do not swing from side to side and prattle!
> ??.... Their gestures, words and actions are
> hollow and vain; those who burn incense before
> them and revere them are turning away from Me and
> running after Falsehood. ??..... For, how can the
> Full ever dally with the paltry and wear the
> habiliment of the trifling? When God has come
> assuming Form, take it from Me, it will not fill
> inferior vessels or embellish tawdry stuff or
> enter impure bodies .??..... I know there are some
> who proclaim, "Devotees have grown out of all
> proportion in these parts and so, Baba has
> allotted this region to me and directed me to take
> up the work of teaching and guiding you; so,
> admire my acts and adore me". I never allot in
> this manner, nor do I hand over powers to anyone,
> nor can such low minds deserve my Grace. No,
> never, For me who has the burden of the Universe,
> can a region or a few more devotees be too much? I
> am surprised at the stupidity which swallows such
> absurdities and flocks round these pitiable
> quacks.....
> - Sai Baba
> (http://www.saibabaofindia.com/words_of_god_8.htm)
>
>
> The only person Sathya Sai Baba has ever publicly
> endorsed, as well as publicly signed their healing
> teaching book—and this can easily be verified by
> many devotees at Baba's ashram in India, is
> Phyllis Krystal.
> (http://www.phylliskrystal.com/469.html)
> I have not come across nor found one long-time
> Sathya Sai Baba devotee who resides at Baba's
> ashram who has been able to verify Derek's above
> claim.
> Knowing all this, who would you now believe?
> Derek's own spiritual master, Sathya Sai Baba, a
> Being who is globally recognized to be
> God-Realized with over 100million devotees? Or,
> Derek O'Neil, an ordinary person who is a self
> proclaimed master healer, and whom Sathya Sai Baba
> never once publicly declared was Self-Realized,
> let alone a master healer? Common sense, wisdom
> and critical thinking say we believe Sathya Sai
> Baba. So now we know Derek for what he is, a liar
> who was and still is, cashing in on his
> relationship to Sathya Sai Baba for his own
> financial gains.
>
> 2- Rising Star healing:
> Derek claims in his own words: "The Rising Star
> healing symbol incorporates but is separate from
> the Prema Agni symbol. Keeping in mind the Prema
> Agni symbol and adding to it the seal of Solomon
> and the Avatar, brings this healing system to the
> highest vibrational level."
>
> Here again, since we now know the prema agni
> symbol is fake and was never endorsed by Sathya
> Sai Baba as Derek claims, what then does that make
> the rising star healing system? And what exactly
> IS the energy of rising star, and where does it
> originate? Since Derek is lying about the prema
> agni healing modality and his claims of Sathya Sai
> Baba blessing it, how can Derek be trusted?
> Therefore, who in their right mind would want an
> energy healing system of unknown origins placed
> within their energy field that is based on a
> fraudulent lie?
>
> 3- Karnak Initiation into the Great White or Gold
> Brotherhood:
> Here again, Derek publicly claimed (2007-2008) His
> Holiness Sathya Sai Baba gave Derek an updated
> energy ability to give this karnak initiation to
> people completely anew. Derek showed around a
> supposed piece of paper with Baba's supposed
> handwriting on it to everyone as Derek's
> so-called proof. This paper is also what Sondra
> Shaye would show to all who attended her karnak
> initiation(s) workshops.
> Again, this energy cannot be trusted because it
> was not given by Sathya Sai Baba which once again
> begs the important question, just where and what
> IS this energy, and is it really safe to have put
> into your energy field? And once again, why has
> Derek deliberately lied to everyone about it?
> Derek NOW CLAIMS on his own website 2017
> (https://www.derekoneill.com/rising-star-healing-s
> ystem/); "The Rising Star is an extraordinarily
> powerful system sourced from an ancient Tibetan
> lineage."
> So, what are we to believe? First, the rising star
> and prema agni were given to Derek by Sathya Sai
> Baba and blessed by Baba, but currently it is now
> a so-called system sourced from an ancient Tibetan
> lineage? Btw, what Tibetan lineage—he fails to
> state even that, from what lineage of Tibetan
> monks—where's this proof? It seems Mr.
> O'Neil cannot get his story straight about his
> own so-called energy healing systems and where
> they originate. Makes you wonder about him and
> what he is really selling, making him highly
> suspect, dubious in nature and far from
> trustworthy.
>
> 4- Prema Birthing:
> Derek initiated prema birthing to only a few
> people in (2006) in an Ireland Workshop. At that
> workshop, Derek told these few people they could
> practice the healing modality as well initiate
> others into the prema birthing healing modality as
> teachers of that modality. Both Sondra Shaye and
> Brook Still were two of those people from this
> original group. However, by June 2008, Derek
> suddenly announced that only he could initiate
> anyone as a practitioner/teacher, and that prema
> birthing modality had to be re-initiated to
> everyone in a New York City workshop by Derek
> himself, and only then could anyone who attended
> this workshop be a practitioner and/or
> teacher-initiator. Here it seems as though MONEY
> was the IMPORTANT factor, otherwise, why this
> change to what Derek did and said in the Ireland
> Workshop? What excuse did he give to justify this?
> If Derek did it wrong in Ireland, then he had an
> obligation to fix it for free, or refund everyone.
> Same for Sandra Shay and Brook Still, and all the
> others who conducted any prema birthing healings
> or teacher initiations—they should have
> reimbursed everyone they did a prema birthing on
> since Derek declared it null & void. Or, Derek
> should have given the workshop in NYC for free.
> But this did not happen. No one got refunded,
> instead, Derek charged everyone again for what
> they had already paid for—minus a very very
> small discount to those already initiated. But
> everyone had to fly to New York City—spend even
> more money, instead of Derek travelling to at
> least the west coast--LA as well since so many
> people were located there. Obviously there is
> something very wrong going on here. There was zero
> integrity on Mr. O'Neil's part for taking
> responsibility for his obvious screw-up regarding
> prema birthing healing energy and his 'need to
> correct it' at everyone else's expense.
>
> 4- A Healing Car Ride for $10thousand US dollars.
> Derek used to charge people $10,000US dollars for
> a 3-day car ride that he claimed would help them
> awaken to their true self. Derek would openly brag
> to attendees in his workshops that 'most of the
> people who signed up for his three day ride
> healings never lasted all three days', or that
> 'most people who got into the car with him,
> never lasted more than 1 hour'. And he would
> smile and laugh at this.
>
> SOME FACTUAL PAST HISTORY and PAST WORKSHOP NOTES
> 2006 Summer Ireland Workshop:
> It was at this workshop that a majority of the
> people who had been with Derek O'neil from the
> very beginning, and who had financially supported
> him, his prema agni foundation, as well as gave
> huge donations to Derek so he could buy a healing
> center, all left Derek and his organization for
> good. Why? See the first *Note below.
>
> 2006 Fall Spokane WA workshop:
> In this workshop, Derek publicly displayed his
> abuse of his siddhis (supernatural psychic
> abilities) in the workshop in the following two
> ways:
> 1- Jodi, a yoga instructor and follower of
> Derek's, got up and came to the mic and asked
> Derek for a healing. Derek told her to walk to him
> and when she did, Derek hit her with so much
> energy that she collapsed right to the floor.
> Fortunately Jodi was not injured when she fell
> flat on the floor, passing out cold. Derek claimed
> he opened one of Jodi's nadis. Jodi remained out
> cold, lying on the floor for quite some time, and
> no one went to see if she landed ok and had not
> hurt herself in the fall. Not even Derek checked
> on her wellbeing after she fell.
> 2- Amalia Mayita Mendez came up to the mic and
> asked for a healing. What Derek did was
> deliberately shoot a specific energy vibration her
> way that purposely caused Mayita to have an orgasm
> in front of everyone there. Mayita moaned and
> groaned loudly as she put her hands all over her
> body while people simply watched and said
> nothing.
> Immediately after this workshop, many financial
> supporters from Spokane WA who attended this
> workshop, including the Spokane organizers, and
> who from early on, also had financially supported
> Derek and his prema agni foundation, quit
> afterwards and left the organization for good.
> This is understandable after reading about
> Derek's behavior. Derek has been known to slam
> people with energy so that they physically or
> mentally freeze on the spot, at which time Derek
> then verbally chimes in saying what he wants to
> (his agenda) regarding the person he just
> energetically abused.
> *NOTE: The prema agni foundation was founded in
> 2006 and registered not in Derek's name, but in
> Sondra Shaye's name in New York--Sondra's legal
> last name as registered is Shaievitz, see website
> link
> (https://www.corporationwiki.com/p/2d48h0/office-o
> f-the-trustee-of-the-prema-agni-foundation-and-his
> -s) and
> (http://www.trademarkia.com/logo-77162189.html).
> However, the prema agni foundation was quickly
> dissolved in 2008. Now why was that? After all,
> this was the major nonprofit foundation Derek set
> up with his wife Linda with their stated mission,
> purpose, etc.. Might it be because Derek was being
> sued by some of the original people who
> financially supported and funded him, but who
> after his 2006 Summer Ireland Workshop, followed
> by the 2006 Fall Spokane workshop, now wanted
> their money back? Why did they demand a refund?
> They were rightfully angry because Derek lied and
> went back on his public promises to them regarding
> what his healing center would be in Ireland that
> he wanted to buy using their large financial
> funding (Per Derek words, Creacon Lodge cost
> roughly 7.5million Euros), as well as Derek now
> incorporating all the healing modalities and
> changing everything (announced in the 2008 Spring
> NYC Workshop--the prema agni foundation was shut
> down and Born Free Now was set up). It is highly
> probable the PA Foundation was dissolved so that
> Derek could move all his monies out the prema agni
> foundation and either into the Born Free Now
> Organization--this would make it practically
> impossible for anyone suing to collect any monies
> from a non-existant company, or from Derek
> himself. Or, Derek placed the funds someplace
> else, or emptied the account funds into also
> paying for Creacon Lodge.
> NOTE: In the Spring of 2008, Eric, a man from
> Montana, USA, who gave generously to Derek to fund
> Creacon Lodge, and who was a RS teacher, etc, sent
> an open email to everyone involved with Derek at
> the time. This email spelled out what Derek had
> lied about and why so many people who had financed
> Derek and been with Derek from the beginning, had
> since left because they all knew Derek was not
> trustworthy and that Derek had lied to them by
> going back on his word. Many people had been
> approached by Derek into being pressured by him to
> fund him, Creacon Lodge and PA Foundation.
>
>

[Sandy S]

Gudni Gudnason's operation has expanded quite a bit: https://modernmysteryschoolint.com/founder-gudni/

Criticism of the cult:

https://cultpodcasts.com/subject/Modern%20Mystery%20School
https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2023/03/09/modern-mystery-school-on-the-dialogue-ireland-blog-a-brief-history/
https://archive.org/details/true-believers-modern-mystery-school

Hannah Murray's memoir "The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness", about her experience in a destructive cult, is due out soon. She does not name the cult. There is consensus online that she is writing about MMS. This looks like a very very good possibility to me. The behavior of the group and leaders match, including that of Dave Lanyon, one of the top con artists in MMS: https://modernmysteryschoolint.com/sovereign-ipsissimus-dave-lanyon/

[Sandy S]

I watched this documentary "True Believers - The Demon Slayer Academy - Modern Mystery School" https://archive.org/details/true-believers-modern-mystery-school

Gudni Gudnason and his cult fits all these warning signs:

Ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group/leader.

Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.
No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.
No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.
Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.
There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.
Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances.
There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader.
Followers feel they can never be "good enough".
The group/leader is always right.
The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.

https://culteducation.com/warningsigns.html

This is a very active global cult. Intense abuse includes financial and sexual.  Gudni Gudnason, Dave Lanyon, and Hideto Nakagome are predators.

[Sparks]

https://culteducation.com/warningsigns.html

I searched the site for 'Gudni Gudnason'. Seems they lost track of him? I found only one 2-page thread (2007-2010) with the title 'Rocky Mountain Mystery School':

https://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?5,49713
https://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?5,49713,page=2