----- Original Message -----

From: Name hidden to avoid reprisals

To: John

Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 11:30 AM

Subject: The Strange Case of Devra West

Hi John, 

Thanks for exposing D and warning everyone about her. 

I already heard the recordings of D going nutso while they were still available on your site, but just saw your note about having to remove them.  Do you have the right to transcribe them and put the transcripts on your site?  If you need to, could you just say D "allegedly" said these things...??    

Also, followed link to D's site registrar to make complaint, but found it a bit confusing.  It may be obvious to others, but I couldn't figure out which link or tab to use to send a communication about D's site. 

Re:  Susannah Felder -- Here's what I was told years ago by two eye witnesses right after the incident.  Susannah and Devra didn't "get into a physical fight."  D assaulted Susannah.  Susannah had disagreed with D about something and D was screaming at her.  Susannah then got up to leave while D was still shrieking.  As Susannah was walking away, D grabbed her by the hair and pulled a big chunk, along with some scalp, right off her head.

BTW -- Re:  D's education and titles -- she used to openly and regularly mention in front of all of us at events (a couple of hundred people -- yes, there used to be that many of us in the early years!) how she'd dropped out of high school (she was pregnant with her first son) and years later got her GED.  She never went to college.  She suddenly started putting Ph.D. and later added D.D. after her name around 2001.  When asked where she obtained these degrees, she said Christ had awarded them to her.  It's around that time I decided to leave.  Now she's apparently told the person who wrote the Whitefish article (July '07) she's a grad of some college in Redlands!

Also, re:  D's alleged healing abilities -- I've never been able to find a single individual whom D healed of any physical ailment, condition, disease, etc.  Not one!  I'd be amazed if you can actually find someone who was healed her/himself or knows someone who was healed.  I never could.  At gatherings, D used to create a big drama around working with someone in front of the room -- and, yes, it was such a drama, the person might very well have "cried like a friggin' baby," as she asserts  -- BUT WAS THE PERSON ACTUALLY HEALED?  NOOOOO!!!  Sometimes, D would announce the person was now healed -- or healed by 70%, or whatever number she pulled out of a hat!  So I started asking these individuals months later if they had, in fact, been healed.  The answer was inevitably "No."  Needless to say, that's when I started getting very suspicious (around the same time as the phony titles)! 

Then I questioned her about one of the Masters (Ramana Maharshi, who died in the early part of the 20th century).  D had been telling us all that Ramana had been appearing to her in the middle of the night to give her his teachings.  Well, I happened to have read all of Ramana Maharshi's works and to have studied with people who knew his teachings intimately.  And I kept noticing that D never mentioned anything about the core message (somewhat esoteric) of Ramana's teachings.  So during one of the group sessions, I finally asked her what she thought about it.  I wasn't trying to trip her up -- I was just puzzled that she'd never talked about the most important aspect of Ramana's teaching.  It hadn't occurred to me she might be lying about the whole thing!  I was startled by her response -- she made a scornful face at me and waved her hand dismissively like my question was ridculous!  I knew instantly, of course, she didn't have a clue what I was talking about and was just trying to cover up her ignorance. That was the clincher for me because then I knew she'd been lying about Ramana, which meant she'd been lying about the other experiences, too.  Or at least there was no way to discern which things were true and which were lies.  Since I've had mystical experiences myself, I'd simply trusted D when she reported she was having these experiences.  From what I know of her, I believe that at one time, she may well have had some authentic mystical experiences and then -- given her psychological problems, including grandiosity -- she began embellishing ... and embellishing... and embellishing ... and getting more and more greedy for power and money, etc. until there was no end in sight.

Which brings me to my last point.  I believe you're helping prevent many people from falling into D's trap and I commend you for all the time and energy and resources you've put into this effort.  I hope and believe you're saving many folks from a lot of grief.  At the same time, I'd like to offer you a piece of feedback if I may -- I believe some former (and maybe even current) students/members would be more inclined to assist in these efforts if you'd please stop disparaging and dismissing us as "the spiritually confused."  This flippant characterization seriously misses the mark in terms of what took place when I was participating in DU/SAI.  I understand your disdain for D and those who insist on continuing to support her (tho' I'm not sure her current supporters are as much "spiritually confused" as they are either terrorized or brainwashed).  I speak for myself and my fellow students when I tell you we were not a bunch of mindless idiots.  And very few among us were neophytes -- Anandra and Eric were the only two I can think of.  It may surprise you to know that originally, there was a great deal of substance to D's teaching work that I and many others benefitted from.  She was an extraordinary catalyst for many of us.  Can I explain this in light of the evidence that she is obviously insane?  No, I can't.  I only know it's so.  She was also very generous -- only charging $300 for 10-14 day events and allowing many people to come for less or for free.  In addition, she used her clairvoyance to help me in two very personally challenging situations in my life and I know she did this with many others, too. 

And, yes, she had a humungous ego that got a bit weird now and then, but nothing violent or abusive or out and out bizarre, like what started happening around 2000/2001.  I know she didn't just suddenly lose her conscience and become a sociopath overnite.  She had to have been this way to some extent before.  But it really was not obvious in the way that it is now.  Ask anyone who was with her in the early years and I think you'll get a similar take -- D deteriorated quite dramatically over a period of years and the worse she got, the worse she got -- the snowball effect.  It seems the more she got away with, the more she upped the ante.  The more she upped the ante, the more desperate she apparently became to maintain the facade and the more rapidly she went on her downward spiral.  I believe one of the reasons she's so convincing is that SHE believes all the self-aggrandizement and the story she's made up about herself.  In any case, being disrespectful of us isn't going to help your work and I'd like to see D put out of business -- and all children kept at a serious distance from her -- once and for all.  I wish you and everyone who's suing her and pursuing/fighting her through the legal system great success.       

And finally -- a question -- who on earth is Phaedra (Che's sister)?  Did Anna change her name?  I hope she's not going off the deep end with her mother.  Where's Jack West in all this?  I hope he's protecting Anna from D and I hope Anna 's getting serious professional help and support.  and if Jack's no longer supporting and defending D, I hope he's getting serious help, too.   

Thanks, John, for taking the time to read all this.  I know it's not the super-dirt that'll stop D in her tracks, but I hope it's useful

Regards,
Name hidden to avoid reprisals

Copyright 2007. John Watson. All rights reserved.