Author Topic: John Colbert AKA Pushican AKA Lightning Bear  (Read 48016 times)

Offline educatedindian

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John Colbert AKA Pushican AKA Lightning Bear
« on: March 11, 2006, 05:33:50 pm »
Once again, thanks to Ingeborg. She found this on a German website that puts out warnings on frauds. Be warned, it's gruesome reading.

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www.agpf.de/lightningbear.htm
The site is called AGPF - Action for Mental and Psychic Freedom which sounds a bit off, but it is maintained by one person by the name of Ingo Heinemann who does quite a lot of research re religious frauds and moneymakers, but shamans
are a bit out of his usual path - we get numerous others, persons, cults, sects, etc with which he has more than enough to do.

Here's what he published:

"Re: You Listing of Me!
Date Jan 17, 2002 11:50:26
From: pushican@t-online.de (Lightning Bear)
To: Ingo.Heinemann@t-online.de

Dear Sir,
I have just recently seen your listing of me on your site. I had it translated and must tell you there are many mistakes in the information. If you wish to
be fair and accurate, please feel free to contact me.
I also wish to thank you for thinking that I am worthy enough to be list [sic] on the same page as the Dalai Lama. I have just resently [sic[ return [sic] from a congress with his Holiness. It was a great honor for me to be chose [sic] as a delegate and to meet and work with this great man.
Respectfully
Lightning Bear

Source: Westfalenpost, Nov 6, 2000
by Helmit Ulrich Hagen in Herdecke
They were looking for healing and went through hell. Two women have been sadistically mistreated by an Indian who sometimes callshimself 'Pushican'
and 'Lightning Bear'. The Hagen court therefore sentenced him to one year and six months of prison on probation.
The leaflet at the court's door in factread 'Lightning bear', although the defendant's real name is John Cobbert. The 53-year-old Comanche appeared in
court with a trapper's hat to which he had fitted eagle feathers. Whenever a photographer came too close, he pulled his hat deep over his face.
The accusations against the esoterical shaman were dealt with behind closed doors. The public even was closed out by Judge Michael Braas when reading the accusations. Thus neither the many journalists nor the 'fan community' got to know the details regarding the unsavoury accusations.
As we reported, "Pushican" had whipped and tortured women during shamanic seminars. They were meant to "become one again with Creator". "Lightning Bear" has meanwhile left the esoteric terrain. In the next future, he will apply for social security benefits.

Source: Westfälische Rundschau, Nov 6, 2000
Bodily Injury: Shaman got off with probation
Hagen: A so-called shaman (53) has been sentenced to probation in a trial for dangerous bodily injury in a trial by the court of Hagen yesterday. The man, born as John Colbert in Texas and calling himself "Lightning Bear" or "Pushikan" works as a "spiritual teacher" according to his homepage, in accordance with his Indian descent, he leads workshops with "sweatlodges", on
"female wisdom", on "making shamanic masks" and offers "crystal treatment" and teaches "ways of healing".
Many women accepted the offers of theglobetrotter living in Germany. There were also female fans coming to the trial. Others had brought him there.
"Pushikan" is said to have mistreated them gravely both physically and mentally. This is at least what the judges found to be true in two cases who
closed out the public due to the traumatic nature of the experience for the women involved.
"Sexual motivations were not the subject of this trial and also have not been found", sayd Michael Brass, chief judge at the court. It was just the announcement of the sentence - one year and six months for dangerous bodily injury in two cases on probation - and the explanation of the verdict were allowed to be public. The judge also described the state of health of the man from whom several women hoped to receive healing: the court in Hagen saw a seriously ill man.

Offline educatedindian

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Re: John Colbert AKA Pushican AKA Lightning Bear
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2006, 05:35:26 pm »
Pt 2
Source: Westfälische Rundschau, Nov 7, 2000

Seriously ill man spared victims further pain
Hagen (joe.): No trace of a charisma - far more marked by his severe illness, the "shaman" Lightning Bear appeared in court. He was accused of severe bodily injury in seven cases, for two of them he received one year and six months on probation. The man aged 53 had been kept in detention awaiting trial two years ago.
During this time, doctors found him suffering from several diseases. He had an operation of both lobes of the lung, he has heart problems, and suffers from allergies against many food items. There were infarcts, stroke and breath problems mentioned in court, too.
The Texan, belonging to the Comanche tribe according to his own statement, did not say much. He confessed a great part of the accusations which the judge evaluated as lessening the sentence, because he spared the victims further pain. The public had been closed out right at the beginning of the trial, but even so it was a relief for the female witnesses who did not have to relive their experience once again.
For their experience must have been both extremely painful physically as mentally cruel. The judge mentioned that the court must not forget that the women had agreed to being treated that way by the "shaman" due to the alleged nature of healing that was ascribed to his acts. However, one of the witnesses was a minor at the time the crimes took place in September 1996, and the trust of the women had been abused vastly. Even though no details were revealed in order to protect the victims it was evident that at least one of the women received severe injuries in the genital region by the "healing" from which she is suffering still today.
[...]
The court could not, however, give much hope to the witnesses regarding a compensation, even if they took the defendant to court again. The "shaman" is divorced and has four children aged between 25 years and 13 months and also
according to his statement "does not do anything presently". He said he lived from savings. When these will be used up, he and his fiancee together with their infant must apply for social security benefits, he said. His lawyer immediately reacted to this with the petition to have his bill paid for under
the regulation of a public mandate.

Source: Westfälische Rundschau, Oct 18, 2000

"Shaman" said to have mistreated young woman: sexual motivation? by Dagmar Sticht
Hagen: A trial for bodily injury in several cases with a most unusual and sadistic sounding sexual components will take place at the court of Hagen. An alleged shaman and Comanche is accused of dangerous bodily injury in seven cases.
The man who claims the titles of a reverend and a Doctor is said to have sewed up the vagina of a woman in her early 20ies without anaesthitization. This treatment was said to aim at her being able to become a virgin again, to overcome pain and anguish, and to become a true tool of creator. This the young woman told WR three years ago when she made the case public. In another incident, the 53-year-old man is said to have whipped her in order for her to find herself and overcome pain. The alleged sites of the crime are the towns of Pinneberg [translator's note: about 15 kms from Hamburg] and an esoterica centre in the town of Herdecke, where the man lives in between trips to
Australia.
This centre has also been the site of the "Earth Days" in June 1997 where the 53-year-old shaman was invited to participate by a Working Circle on
Bio-regionalism situated in the town of Hagen for both of which he also did "sweatlodge seminars" for women especially. Still today, the organisation
"Earth Wisdom", for which the man continues to do "teaching events", offers sweatlodges.
[...]"

---     www.paradise-healingproject.com
(site from Germany) mentions an LB "from Hanau", another German town but situated in very good
distance from the towns of Hagen and Herdecke which are in the industrious Rhine region, whereas Hanau is in the south."

Offline educatedindian

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Re: John Colbert AKA Pushican AKA Lightning Bear
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2006, 02:42:10 am »
More on Colbert. Some of this gets so bizarre, you just can't make this up. His yahoo profile.
http://profiles.yahoo.com/pushican
"Yahoo! ID: pushican Real Name: ?  Nickname: ?  Location: ?  Age: 56 Marital Status: No Answer Sex: Male Occupation: Director /Stunt Co-ordinator"

His profile from a nudist dating site:
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:zacHOr1H2E0J:www.nudistfriends.com/user%3Fpushican+pushican&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2
"Username pushican ?
Located in Geissen, NA, Germany
I am Man
I am looking for Friends and more
Prefer my match within United Kingdom
Annual income Please ask me
Last logged in ? visible to gold members only ?
A BRIEF SKETCH OF ME
Age 57
Height 6'5" (195.6 cm)
My ethnicity Native American
Marital status Divorced
Have children? Yes, they live away from home
Body type Average
My hair Black
My eyes Blue
Smoking? Regularly
Drinking? Drink Occasionally
Education PhD./Post Doctoral
My religious beliefs Other
About me I am interested in many of life's great things and making new friends, I am hopeing to make many new friends and exploreing all aspects of life. Though I live in Germany, I speak primarily English as my German is not to good. I have no hangups and I am very uninhibited. I will try anything at least once and if I like it will continue. To me there is nothing wrong between 2 or more people as long as there is no one being forced. There is nothing that can shock me.
MY MATCH/FRIEND - AN OUTLINE
Gender ? Woman
Age ? From 20 to 60 ?
Height ? From 4'5" (134.6 cm) to 6'5" (195.6 cm)"

His profile/resume at a moviemaking site, including photo. My instinct is he's not NDN at all.
http://www.ukscreen.com/crew/pushican
"Lightning Bear ? Assistant Director, Director, Special Effects Co-Ordinator, Stunt Person ?
About: ? I have been in the Industry working on both sides of the Camera. I started doing Stunts on the Virginian and moved to stunt coordinating and then to 2nd Unit Directing. I have also worked as a 1st AD. I enjoy working in the Industry, with all the new innovations and techniques.
eMail: ? [Click to Contact] ?
Mobile: ? 49-175-663-1177 ?
Address: ? Steinheimer Str. 67
Hanau 63450 HessenGermany
Company: ? Freelance ?
Date of Birth: ? 1947-10-07 ?
Experience: ? 35 yrs ?
Languages: ? English, Japanese ?
Training and Skills ?
Formal Training: ? See Resume
Other Skills: ? See Resume ?
Credits ?
Type Production Name Company Role Year
Feature Film ? Search for Spock - Star Trek ? Paramount ? Stunts ? 1984 ?
Feature Film ? Black Rain ? Paramont Pictures ? Stunts ? 1989 ?
Feature Film ? Dust ? ENA Films ? SFX Supervisior-Stunt Double-Stunt Coordinator ? 2000 ?
TV ? Helicops ? Polyphon ? SFX Director-Stand By 2nd Unit Director ? 2000 ?
Feature Film ? Gebuetig ? Cult Films ? Actor ? 2001 ?
Feature Film ? The Pianist ? R.P. Productions ? Special Effects Advisor ? 2002 ?
Feature Film ? Bad Blood ? Small Acorn Productions ? Co-director/Stunt Co-ordinator ? 2003" ?

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:0YAb6-DiOtsJ:www.wolfcrystalspirit.com/Aquietmeditation.pdf+pushican&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=29
His plans for a ceremony selling site in Mexico.
"QUIET MEDITATION CENTRE....TO PARTAKE IN A “VISION QUEST??? TO RELAX & ENJOY A VACATION AWAY FROM CIVILISATION....we can have spirit healing, crystal healing, herbal healing, soul healing, Reiki healing, and psychic guidance on our future path in life. Where we can go to a “sweat lodge??? if we want to and purify our mind, body and spirit....Francis “Grey Wolf??? Billington....THE GATHERING May New Moon 2005 First “sweat lodge??? ceremony. It is hoped to have two Native American Medicine men to perform the ceremonies. We will do four rounds for mind, body and soul purification. We will also have drumming and “Fire Dance??? followed by talking stick....situated near Puerto Escondido approximately 12 hours drive from Mexico City and can be reached by Air or Bus. Nearest airport is Puerto Escondido....I have been contacting friends who I know would share my vision. One such friend is Pushican (Lightning Bear) who is from the Comanche Nation.... THESE ARE LIGHTNING BEARS IDEAS ? (spelling is American English). CENTER for CULTURAL EXCHANGE and COMMUNITY....Living together includes all relationships, those between human beings (both polygamous and monogamous....there will be a forum of music, meditation and other forms of ceremonies and rituals....Solutions for aspect’s of today’s global and human crises are found with ecological research, in the ancient knowledge of all indigenous people, from parts of the New Age movement, from the work of many individual scientists, artists, alternative research project and research laboratories around the world....Teaching circles, workshops, lectures and discussion groups....SPIRIT OF YOUTH FESTIVAL Workshops will include Overtone Chanting, Drumming, Demonstrations of Clairvoyants, Dream Therapy, Complimentary Therapies, Campers and RV’s."

The message board about the center/
http://www.paradise-healingproject.com/2f/modules.php?name=News

And the most interesting find is that Pushican is a Shoshoni name.

Offline Barnaby_McEwan

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Re: John Colbert AKA Pushican AKA Lightning Bear
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2006, 08:08:53 am »
How did this sicko get away with 18 months' probation? In Britain, assuming he wasn't judged by the court to be insane, he'd have been looking at several years inside for sexual assault and grievous bodily harm, segregation from the other prisoners for his own safety, and being listed as a sex offender on release.

Quote
I am looking for Friends and more  
Prefer my match within United Kingdom


Stay away, scumbag!

Photos, including an alarming one of him with his arm around a teenage actress.

Another , older, photo. Silly costume.
« Last Edit: January 01, 1970, 12:00:00 am by Barnaby_McEwan »

Offline sylvia

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Pushican/Lightning Bear and a Plea to Native Americans
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2007, 07:31:06 pm »
Hi everyone,

I hope it's okay for me to post here, even though I'm not Native American. I'm a native German, now living in the US. I found this forum by googling Pushican/Lightning Bear and read about him in your "Frauds" segment (http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=614.0.

I know (or used to know) this man personally and thought you might be interested to learn about the viewpoint from the other side of the fence, from one of the people who believe(d) in him and other fraudulent NA "teachers."

Here's my personal experience with Lightning Bear aka John Colbert:

I met Lightning Bear first at a spiritual conference in Duesseldorf, Germany, where he gave a lecture on NA beliefs and spirituality. Among the other speakers was Craig Carpenter, who professes to be the "ambassador" of the Hopi (I don't know if that's true, but it lent the whole event definite credibility).

I was fascinated by Lightning Bear and his teachings and began attending workshops with him, in which he talked about traditional NA living, women's moontime traditions, etc.

At those workshops, I met some of his German "students"... he said he was a spiritual teacher who was taking on a limited number of students. "Applying" for this involved the traditional gift of tobacco; being a student wouldn't cost anything in itself, but students were expected to attend at least some of his workshops and lectures, which, of course, required a fee.

He handed out papers to his students, with exercises that were supposed to help us connect with nature and the Great Spirit -- e.g., finding your power spot, do a naked full moon walk, etc. He also offered "NA initiation rituals," among them healing ceremonies, a ceremony to make a commitment to serve the Great Spirit, a puberty ceremony, and so forth.

The "commitment ceremony" was the first one (I never got any further). I haven't talked about this with many people, but I figured you should know what was going on in these rituals. He didn't talk about what would be going on in the ceremony ahead of time; he said those ceremonies were sacred (and secret) and should never be divulged to "outsiders."

Per Lightning Bear's instructions, I had to shave off my pubic hair in advance of the ceremony and "purify" myself by fasting for a day and doing a ceremonial bath. When I got to his place, he led me into a room with candles, incense and a blanket on the floor. I had to undress and lie down on the blanket. He smudged the room and both of us with sage and asked the Great Spirit to approve of this ceremony. Then he said he would "mark" me with the marks of the Great Spirit -- which was done by lightly scratching my breasts with an eagle's talon and a bear claw. Thereby, he said, I would be initiated into the Bear Clan (which he supposedly was a part of), and whenever I needed help, I should touch the scratch and call on the bear, my new totem. It hurt a little, but he had talked so much about sacred NA rituals in his workshops (the Sun Dance, etc.), and it seemed many of them involved great pain, so I wasn't too worried about it. He made me speak after him, making a firm commitment to the Great Spirit to serve Him and His cause. And that was pretty much it.

On the way home, I felt strange. On the one hand, I felt elated about my commitment to the Creator, on the other -- due to past experiences with sexual harassment -- I was wondering if this had been a real NA ceremony or if he had just made it up. However, since the whole ritual hadn't felt like there was anything sexual to it (he didn't touch me, except with the talon and bear claw), I consoled myself thinking that it was probably OK. My notion was reinforced when only a few days later, I started receiving prophetic dreams and "messages from Spirit," often concerning total strangers, that proved correct every time.

The atrocities you read about in the German newspaper clippings were part of Lightning Bear's "puberty ceremony," by the way. He said in his teachings that -- unlike indigenous peoples -- white Westerners didn't have any rites of passage anymore, and thus women and men had lost their way, living their whole lives in confusion as to their identity and purpose. Through a puberty ritual, this rite of passage could be regained and positively influence one's life. He didn't say what that ceremony involved, though.

When I heard much later, after he'd been arrested, that he'd pierced his students genitals and sewn shut their vaginas, I was mortified. And that was pretty much the end of my "apprenticeship." End of story.

However, many of his female students actually stuck with him and defended him. They said the "white people" just didn't understand the NA ways, and that the "puberty ceremony" had liberated them and made them feel stronger than ever.

You're probably laughing your butts off about the naivety of the dumb Germans. And rightfully so, at least in part.

But I want to give you an idea how something like this can happen. It is true that Germans (and many white Americans, too) seem to have a strong liking for the Native American belief system, and I'm certainly one of them.

Some posters here seem very frustrated that their faith "is being taken away from them." They suggest that European paganism provides its own versatile belief systems, and people should adhere to one of those instead of NA beliefs.

Frankly, that saddens me. I do understand the bitterness of many NAs due to the past (and ongoing) injustices committed by white people. And I completely agree that NA beliefs have been "adopted" and warped beyond recognition by self-appointed New Age gurus and fraudulent "Native American shamans."

On the other hand, shouldn't everyone be able to choose their own beliefs? Anyone, for example, can convert to Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and so forth. Why shouldn't that be possible with the Native American ways?

Personally, for me European paganism doesn't hold much interest. There are too many gods and goddesses, elaborate rituals with dozens of props (candles, herbs, chalices, cauldrons, ritual knives, etc, etc), and lots of what I would call "ceremonial hocus pocus." In comparison, the Native American way is beautifully simple and straight-forward.

Another thing is that European paganism was almost wiped out through the Inquisition. What you see today in the pagan cults is at the most a couple of hundred years old, and often the invention of "modern people." For example, the principles of Wicca were put down by Gerald Gardner in 1954, and no one has been able to prove that what he established are really traditional teachings. In contrast, again, Native Americans have had their knowledge and ceremonies for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. And even though much of it was suppressed and rooted out by the white settlers, it seems that some or much of the old wisdom is still there.

I think in these times of political and economic unrest and uncertainty, Peak Oil, earth changes, pollution, etc., millions of people are waking up to the fact that our materialistic, capitalist lifestyle is not sustainable in the long run. And they're looking for something better, something that reconnects them with Mother Earth and the simpler life of the ancestors.

I know how you guys feel about this, but when you hear those stories of simpler times, when women were revered as sacred and elders were respected and listened to, when a woman's moontime was viewed as a time of great power instead of a "curse" (as it has been in much of the Western world), when the connection with nature and the Creator were not just reserved for church on Sundays, but an integral part of daily life,  you can't help being intrigued. And I know many, many people who feel the same way.

The only people alive today who still represent this kind of life are the Amish and indigenous peoples. So that's where people look to, to find a new (or old, if you will) identity. And they ARE willing to be taught. Unfortunately, there are so many quacks and charlatans out there, and so little known about the true NA ways, that it's very easy to fall prey to someone like Grey Wolf and Pushican.

I do hope that there might come a time where Native Americans will be able to take the lead and start teaching white people in the old ways -- how to live in community instead of competing in the modern rat race, how to peacefully coexist with nature instead of raping and pillaging her, and how to make the world a better place.

I'm telling you, the time is near, and so many people are ready; they're just confused and don't know whom to believe and whom to listen to. What's lacking is authentic teachings. You NAFPS people could do great things for mankind, if you would only set your pain aside and step up to the plate. The world is ready for you.

Offline debbieredbear

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Re: Pushican/Lightning Bear and a Plea to Native Americans
« Reply #5 on: September 27, 2007, 10:09:33 pm »
Sylvia,

You cannot convert to Native American religions because you have to be a part of the culture to practice them. They are cultural specific. Unlike Wicca and Chrisitianity which can be seperated from culture. Not to hurt nyour feelings but I doubt anyone hear wants to be a grand guru to a bunch of European pagans. Further, I think many, if not most,  Indian  people would find the notion of teaching a bunch of non-Indian people Native spiritual ways offensive. Without the cultural connection, the ceremonies lose much of their meaning.

Offline sylvia

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Re: Pushican/Lightning Bear and a Plea to Native Americans
« Reply #6 on: September 27, 2007, 11:26:45 pm »
Thanks for your reply, Debbie.

I don't know, maybe there's a misunderstanding what I meant, or maybe I just don't get it. I think most people who are looking to Native American traditions are not just interested in the spiritual teachings, but also in the culture and the way of living.

In fact, I think the culture -- even without the spiritual aspects -- is just as fascinating. From what I've heard (correct me if I'm wrong), Natives used to live in very close-knit communities where sharing duties and helping each other was important. An Abenaki woman I know -- Nanatasis Bluto-Delventhal -- mentioned once that such a thing as battered women or child molestation would have been unthinkable in the old days; she said word would have gotten around really fast, and the perp would have been cast out of the tribe or even killed.

I think we need these (cultural) teachings as much as the spiritual ones. IMO, the global economic crash that's in the making, as well as the soon-to-come energy crisis, among other things, will eventually make it necessary that we start living in small "tribes" again, growing vegetables locally and hunting our own meat. And I'm pretty convinced that those natives who still know how to live in the traditional way, will be much better off than the rest of us. I just think that Native Americans could be our greatest teachers, and maybe, in the end when civilization as we know it goes down the drain (I did read the Hopi prophecies), our only salvation. How can they refuse to help? Wouldn't the Creator wish for ALL people to "get back on track" and live in harmony with nature, like they were supposed to?

Offline Kaylee

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Re: Pushican/Lightning Bear and a Plea to Native Americans
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2007, 11:40:06 pm »
Hi Sylvia,

Wow.  It sounds like a lot has happened to you recently.  Congratulations on having the courage to leave when you saw that the leader was a fraud and a criminal.  I've been thinking recently that we could use a separate survivor's forum.  I'll let you know if I actually go through with that.  There's a real and predictable pattern to how we heal as survivors of this kind of mind f@#$.  Its a lot more complex than just recognizing the lie.  Really, I think being ready to take action around stopping these scams is the last step for many people.  I've found this to be true for myself.

I also joined my sham-shaman group/cult because I had a sincere desire for more authentic spirituality.  Like you, I was pre-programed to believe that European religion only had hierarchy and fabrications to offer me.  I was also exposed to images of Native folks being very different than that, so I was cognitively set up to believe that my cult leader was pure in intention and somehow more connected to the earth.

This was/is the hardest part for me:  Through my work with Jasmine, I devoted my life to a Feminine form of God, which I call Mother.  (Mother, BTW is derived from an old German word, maude.  So is earth- from eard.  So these are purely European words.  NA folks have their own words for God.  A lot of these are nearly impossible for us Europeans to pronounce.  I think maybe Mom did that on purpose.  The Christian tradition that I was raised in calls God Father or Abba, which means Daddy.  So calling a feminine God Mother is also from my own European tradition.)  Jasmine was false, but my devotion to Mother was sincere.  Here's the rub.  Although my faith is sincere, everything that I learned about how to express that faith is based in lies.  It was really hard for me to separate those lies from the truth that is my deeper faith.  I was confusing faith with dependancy on false religion.

It is absolutely possible for us to reclaim our rightful heritage as Indigenous Europeans. One of the things that we can learn from our Native American neighbors is how to recognize that real faith can be woven into the fabric of how we live our lives and recognize our heritage.  I agree that Wiccan, an other new-aged-BS-peagan religions, are too full of sh!t to satisfy our need for community.  Modern Christianity is a result of what the rape of our own ancient traditions and is also too patriartical to ring true to me.  But our European traditions never disappeared completely.  A lot of them can be found hiding in Christian disguises. 

Look at how we treat people when they come into our homes.  My family always offered friends "a drink" when they came in the door.  Even if someone was an uneasy friend, offering a drink was my parents way of declaring their intentions to make them welcome.  It was their ritual.  Now its mine, although I tend to offer tea instead of alcohol.  This tradition didn't come from no-where.  It is our heritage, even if no-one talks about it this way.  We don't need to reclaim it because it is already here.

Look at the traditions around how we prepare meals with each other.  In my community, we all know that if we are allowed to help in chopping vegetables or preparing salad at someone else's party, that we are being honored as special friend.  Its an honor to be allowed to complete these menial tasks at a party because it allows us to take part in the ritual of meal preparation.  The only thing keeping this tradition from being sacred is our ability to be intentional in it.  To rephrase, if we recognized that this is our sacred euro-american tradition, we can rediscover our own sacred heritage.

When I take time in nature, and re-discover my own sense of interconnectedness, I am living my faith.  When I take action to right wrongs in my community, even small actions like picking up a piece of litter, I'm living my faith.  I have a deep spiritual life because I recognize my everyday actions to be sacred.

We Europeans buy into the big lie when we think that we have to look outside of our own lives to find spirit.  Our lives are filled with spirit, just as much as those of NA or asian Buddists.  We don't need to borrow from the beliefs of other peoples.  We have our own.

Yes, there are a lot of white folks out there studying Buddhism and Hinduism,  etc...  The truth is that American Yoga is nothing like the Indian practice of Yoga and American meditation is barely similar to Buddism, which is a highly complex religion.  These religions have also been bastardized by American practitioners and people who practice these faiths as part of their heritage are not happy about it.  Look up the Dali Lama's perspective on the issue.  He clearly instructs Americans to follow our own faith practices, not adapt his. 

One thing you cannot ignore is that religions like Buddism and Hinduism have home lands were they are practiced by millions of people.  Because of this, they are not very threatened by us white folks playing make-believe with them.  Its not a threat and they don't need to react defensively.  They have the luxury of allowing things to be as they are and not risking that their faith will be wiped from the face of the earth.  That's not an paranoid statement.  There are dozens, if not hundreds of faith practices that are completely lost today.  That's really sad.

I do hope that we, as Euro-Americans, can learn from the Native folks in our communities, but first we need to lift the veil of thousands of years of hierarchy and SEE clearly the frame from which we view the world.  Then we can have a real conversation.

If you are interested in learning more about this, I would like to suggest reading about the sociological theory behind racism and feminism.  Its really cool stuff.  Also, if you are looking for a safe place to discover a woman's spirituality, I can very enthusiastically suggest the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival or other woman's festivals.  Its a great place to go to heal as a woman and raise your consciousness at the same time.


Edited to add:  I see you posted again while I was writing this.  You should also be aware that fear about the "end of the world" is a very normal part of coming out of cult-think.  I went through it.  My friends went through it.  We are all OK and you will be, too.  I believe this system will let you privet message me if you need to.  Just start to educate yourself about how cults work.  Its all about power and control.
« Last Edit: September 28, 2007, 01:49:03 am by Kaylee »

frederica

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Re: Pushican/Lightning Bear and a Plea to Native Americans
« Reply #8 on: September 28, 2007, 02:30:02 am »
Debbie is correct in all she posted. You cannot just pick up NDN Spirituality in bits and pieces. no more than you can read Hopi Prophecies and apply it to the rest of the world. The Hopi say this only applies to them. But it has been commericalized and sold on coffee mugs by charlatans, All NDN Nations are different and the beliefs shouldn't be mixed. I think the Dali Lama has a good point. That is for people to follow their own faith practices. I dont't see it as threatening, but rather us trying to preserve what we have left. Every culture has its problems. Even the Amish. If everybody worked on their own, maybe there were be no need for frauds, charlatans or cults.

Offline Barnaby_McEwan

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Re: Pushican/Lightning Bear and a Plea to Native Americans
« Reply #9 on: September 28, 2007, 01:10:05 pm »
Hello Sylvia: welcome to the forum.

I'm really sorry that you got involved with that sicko. If you have any information about his current whereabouts, please share it: people need to be warned about him. If I remember correctly he got 18 months' probation (!) in early 2006, so is probably free to move around now.

I'm somewhat disturbed by the tone of much of your post: your desire for the "old wisdom" you believe exists out there somewhere led you into the hands of a pervert who assaulted you, yet you continue to chase will o' wisps into the marsh.

Reading between the lines I see naked primitivism, an idea with a long European history. There's a French phrase for it: nostalgie pour la boue, literally "yearning for the mud" which means "the romanticization of the faraway primitive which is also the equivalent of the lower class close to home." It is a disease of the privileged. The Roman historian Tacitus described German "barbarian" tribes as morally superior to the empire he lived in, believing it had "gone soft". The Greek Herodotus similarly admired the Scythians. Both these writers' opinions had much more to do with contemporary Roman and Greek politics than what German or Scythian society was really like. How ironic that a German projects the same fantasies onto Indians that were once projected onto Germans.

Since you freely dispense advice to us about our "pain", I'm going to give you some advice: forget everything you think you know about Western and non-Western societies. At the moment you seem to be mired in essentially racist ideas about Indians and Westerners alike.

...I can very enthusiastically suggest the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival...Its a great place to go to heal as a woman and raise your consciousness at the same time.

Unless you're an Indian woman: a group of Anishinaabeg women from Michigan, the Red Road Collective, were thrown out of that festival a few years ago for protesting about the abuse of Indian spirituality they saw there. It seems there are some things the 'womyn' didn't want to be conscious of.


I have merged this topic with the original one about Colbert posted last year.
« Last Edit: September 28, 2007, 01:22:04 pm by Barnaby_McEwan »

Offline educatedindian

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Re: John Colbert AKA Pushican AKA Lightning Bear
« Reply #10 on: September 28, 2007, 03:00:36 pm »
Sylvia, I'd also like to thank you for having the courage to tell us about your experience. We always welcome firsthand accounts when trying to figure out if someone is a fraud or an exploiter or not.

Craig Carpenter is also a fraud. The Hopi Nation had warnings on their website about him.

What I told Europeans when I spoke there a few years ago was simple: The fact that alleged Native "shamans" are in Europe looking for followers should be clearest sign that they are frauds.

Why would an alleged Native spiritual leader be in Europe instead of with their own people where they are most needed, unless they were looking for vulnerable people who didn't know any better that they could take advantage of? Not just financially, but also spiritually, and often sexually.

There are some threads under Non Frauds that talk about sources and options and the issues for white pagans.

Also, in much of your posts you speak of A Native culture instead of many Native cultureS. I think like many who've been drawn into Nuage, you probably are fascinated by the image of Native peoples that Europeans/whites have, rather than the cultures themselves.

A final point: It's perfectly possible to learn from a culture its best points without needing to convert to the faith. The Dalai Lama was mentioned. I can admire and learn from Buddhists in their human rights struggles without ever having to go to some self proclaimed guru. 

Offline sylvia

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Re: John Colbert AKA Pushican AKA Lightning Bear
« Reply #11 on: September 28, 2007, 04:21:19 pm »
You guys are right. I really thought I was over my "nuage" gullibility, but then I found the info about Dhyani Ywahoo (and then some, googling her name together with "fraud"). Considering that I went to the Sunray's annual "Elder Gathering" for the last three years, I guess I haven't changed that much. *LOL* What a disappointment.

What I don't understand is that Native Americans -- and other indigenous people -- who seemed to be very sincere to me, can associate with that woman.

At the Elders Gathering, for example, there's always one Abenaki GM, Nanatasis Bluto-Delventhal, who seems very traditional; she usually does moontime teachings for women there. No fancy New Age content... only oral teachings, nothing written down... she says she doesn't take any money for teachings, ever... only asks that participants help to pay her expenses if she has to travel so that she at least doesn't LOSE money.

And I understand what you're saying, in terms of "you have to LIVE the culture to understand the spirituality," but I have to say that N's. moontime teachings have positively affected me, even though I haven't grown up in a tribe. So there definitely ARE some things that can be taught, even if they're just a fragment of the big picture.

Anyway, among the other "regulars" at the Elders Gathering are Mayan elders from Guatemala; a very quirky and childlike GM from Mexico who is just wonderful; Mike Bastine (Iroquois), who spent some time traveling with the late Mad Bear, and GF Warren Ramey (forget what nation he was from).

Both Mike and Warren are very interested in "nuage" stuff as well -- from earth mysteries and earth changes to ascension of consciousness, 2012, etc. Then again, they have never claimed that what they're talking about are pure, traditional Native American teachings, nor have they ever claimed that they are in any way or shape representing their tribes, and I think as long as they don't, it's totally fine. After all, why shouldn't native people have other interests as well; from what I understand, there are many that are also Christians.

Dhyani, on the other hand, is apparently lying about her heritage as well as her Cherokee "Peacekeeper" and pipe bearer status. And that's just disgusting. I'm wondering how these other people got mixed in with her... maybe they don't know of her bad rep with the Cherokee.

Well, I can't make myself stop believing in the basics of Native American spirituality. I guess I'm just gonna call my worldview "pantheistic," and that's that. Still love Native American teachings, but since you're saying that basically everyone who takes money to teach those is and has to be a fraud, I'll definitely be better prepared from now on.

Thanks!

Offline debbieredbear

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Re: John Colbert AKA Pushican AKA Lightning Bear
« Reply #12 on: September 28, 2007, 05:13:44 pm »
Sylvia,

Glad to see you are catching on. One thiong that stood out on Diane Fisher (Ywahoo) was she calls herself a Cherokee Pipekeeper. Ain't no such thing. The Cherokee People's usee of pipes was much different than the plains peoples use of pipes. That is why I refer to Native "religionS" with an s. There are so many different beliefs involved and fruads tend to mix and match like they were at a buffet. Kinda like they are saying "Oh, let's see, I will have a little Lakota here, and maybe some Cherokee there, and gee, how about some Chippewa there..." and so on. But in real life, while some tribal people will participate in anothers ceremonies, they don't mix in their own ways. The reason frauds get away woth so  much is that most non-Indians are very ignorant about Indians. I will give you an example from the brochure of a local fraud. The brochure was broken into sections and one was headed "Pipe Ceremony".  This is what it said "To get a pipe ceremony, the seeker must first potlatch the pipekeeper." Now to you, that could sound reasonable. To all the Indians I know, they are sitting there going "HUH?" and "WHAT?" Or laughingf. Maybe all three. You see, a potlatch is Northwest Coast. It is a huge doings that people save for years to put on. They have a huge feast, they give away piles of things. Maybe spend 100's of dollars on up to 1000's of dollars. So to potlatch someone for  a pipe ceremony is a bit overdone. But this fraud knows nothing of the culture he claims to be from. Because if he did, he wouldn't suggest a potlatch for a pipe ceremony. In addition to the fact that he wouldn't have a pipe as he's coastal.

Offline earthw7

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Re: John Colbert AKA Pushican AKA Lightning Bear
« Reply #13 on: September 29, 2007, 01:21:20 am »
WOW, I am so sorry for what happened to you Sylvia.
As a native person it angrier me to see this happened.
People make up things like the moon time thing. These
people make claims to be from a tribe but in fact they
are not. I would ask for a Tribal ID and the number
of their Tribal nations government. Check out
people before you attend.

Now we as Native people get very offended the
non-indian are in our ceremonies. It is abuse.
In Spirit

frederica

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Re: John Colbert AKA Pushican AKA Lightning Bear
« Reply #14 on: September 29, 2007, 02:25:24 am »
Earth is right, I checked earlier and can only find that Nanatasis Bluto is Abenaki, claims Turtle Clan Mother. But they are only recognized in Canada, as were part of a Confederacy and very few still speak the language, mostly French now. Her background is Massage Therapy, Reiki, Therepeutic Touch, mostly Nuage. Plus she is working with a known fraud. Granted she may have helped. But it is best to be careful if she is passing of nuage theory as Traditiion Abenaki Medicine. It really shouldn't be mixed with Nuage or anything else for that matter.