Pretend Spiritual Gurus and Energy Vampires

Latest Revision: 12/19/15

Just because someone is considered a spiritual guru, shaman, or medicine man (woman), does not make them automatically someone to be trusted or sought out for healing and advice. Energy vampires and pretend spiritual gurus are much more common than most people think.

Money Pyramid Schemes

My friend, Ilona Selke, shared the following words on Facebook (shared here with permission):

“Money Pyramid Schemes … They have been traveling the alternative circles for decades…and I would like to post this as it puts the feelings a lot of people have at the bottom of such pyramid schemes.

To blame the elders for not doing the research? Usually no one wants to listen… I have shared my views…but in then..whether it is about the ‘woman’s circle’ or even on not picking bad guys, lessons seem to have to be learned. Advice seems to work on those that almost have the wisdom already.
But there is a good thing: “Lessons learned are like bridges burnt you only have to cross them but once.” (hopefully)”

She shared that along with an article by a woman that had been “taken in” by the Women’s Circle Pyramid Scheme.

These are my thoughts on this topic …So sorry she had this experience … and yet I know that every moment of every day is on purpose.

Sadly, some lessons are extremely hard.

I’ve been approached many times by very dear friends, spiritual women, who believe strongly in the possibility promised by the Women’s Circles. Despite their enthusiasm and great salesmanship and even the potential for guilt for letting down a friend, I have always felt it was not for me and said “no.”

Pretend Spiritual Gurus and Energy Vampires

I did not follow my inner voice about getting involved in a business deal long ago and I ended up literally suicidal. The woman in question was a master manipulator both psychologically and energetically. She was a sorceress charading as a wise one or shaman. She kept me up until 3 a.m. many nights convincing me of how truly pathetic and “wrong” I was. I later discovered that she used many cult-like tactics and that I had been brain washed and energetically manipulated into believing her nonsense.

Having gone down that road of being the right hand gal for a personal growth / spiritual guru-type, and being confused the whole time about the magic of what they said to an audience and the selfish maniacal way they manipulate energy and people behind the scenes, I am now able to spot inauthentic people running hidden agendas a mile away. I can literally feel the “icky” energy just by hearing their name or seeing their image.

Now if there is the least little glimmer of “something not quite right” about an opportunity or person, I am outta there!

Not all spiritual teachers are bad and manipulative.

Not all teachings are cult like.

Once the wounds have healed, I am confident that the woman who got suckered into the pyramid scheme above will have a very finely-tuned radar about such things.

I watch so many people follow this or that leader and I just shake my head. One day some day they will wake up and see how truly “grungy” the person’s energy is. My personal motto is … if the teaching and the interaction with the leadership is not empowering … RUN! LOL

Famous Shaman and Spiritual Teachers

I’ve met quite a few people who studied with a very well known shamanic teacher and the thing I notice most about all of them is that they are completely lacking in joy. Many people have written entire books about this person and their time studying with him. I had the opportunity to meet him once. My internal guidance was to not even walk into the same room with the man. I mean literally I was in the dining room and just around the corner in the living room was this famous spiritual teacher.

The ability to “see in the dark” – what shamans can do as a metaphor for navigate in the unseen – depends on their own level of clarity, wholeness, and their level of consciousness / awareness / vibration. Where they are on the spectrum of vibration and clarity determines who and what they are accessing and channeling or connecting with.

Manipulating and stealing of energy is commonplace. I had a Native American Medicine Man (called Shaman in some traditions) say to me, “Never go to a medicine man for healing. He will steal your energy.” This was a medicine man advising me not to go to a medicine man. This was specifically in reference to being a woman. I have many Native American friends, so I asked one of my female Native American friends about this and she looked at me like I was nuts for even asking and said, “Yes, they will steal your energy.”

I am NOT saying that all shaman are bad or all medicine men are vampires.

I’m saying follow your own inner guidance about who to go to for guidance and energetic support and when dealing with those who work with energy, be ever vigilant about how you feel. The moment you feel chaos, confusion, or self doubt, get the hell out of there pronto and get cleared immediately.

Darkness is often shrouded in light, so how things appear at first can be misleading. When you walk the conscious path, the job is to become as clear as possible and to continuously rise in consciousness and awareness without becoming an egomaniac (tough for most people).

Much of the work I do is to help people heal their emotional wounds from the past, rise in consciousness and awareness, and get clear enough that they can see for themselves (can “tune in” and intuitively know) the benefit or detriment of every situation and opportunity that they face, including the people they encounter. It is a fine tuning for higher wisdom. For more information about my work, get the 7 Secrets eBook,

My reason for sharing this message is to let people know that just because someone calls them self spiritual, a shaman, or a particular religion, or whatever, does not mean that you should automatically trust them.

It doesn’t mean that you should not trust them either.

It just means that people are people and they come in all varieties … the good, the bad, and the very very ugly (mean / manipulative / dangerous). Use discernment and don’t be like Bambi in the headlights.

Walk through the world with your eyes wide open, constantly watching the signs and red flags, and tuned in to your intuition.

[bctt tweet=”Walk through the world with your eyes wide open, constantly watching the signs and red flags ..”]

Have a magnificent day,

Bestselling author Debbie Takara Shelor signature

Return to the Energy Vampires and the Stench of Pretend Spiritual Guru’s Page to the Magnificent U Home Page

*** I have no knowledge about who any of the leaders are at the top of the various Women’s Circles. Perhaps there are ones that actually work – I have absolutely no idea. So this is not intended to point fingers or accuse anyone of being inauthentic. My own inner wisdom has said it is a “no” for me every time I have been approached.

2 replies
  1. AnnaMariah
    AnnaMariah says:

    Great article Takara. I think it’s almost impossible to be on a spiritual path and not get taken in at some point. If you’re smart, you learn from it and don’t let it keep you from ever trusting again.

    I also want to comment on something that’s happened to me a few times. I start working with a teacher who is really on point and everything feels good, no ickyness, no red flags at all. Then a year or two or three down the line something in them changes, almost like a god complex. Suddenly the energy not only feels icky, but it feels like something Rose Rosetree calls a Spiritual Energy Ponzi Scheme, they are pulling on your energy and draining you dry in order to energize themselves and their work.

    This can be especially difficult if you are also part of a group. As you mentioned, it’s hard to cut those ties, friendships have been formed, plus not wanting to let other people down. I had something similar happen this past year. A relationship/group/teacher that had felt absolutely wonderful started feeling less and less positive, to the point that I began to feel like I was being sucked dry. I was able to honor my own inner knowing and cut those ties and regained my energy. Although as I write this, I am hearing that I need to do a little deeper “cutting” than what I did. In this particular case, I am in hopes that the situation with this particular teacher will come back around and there will be a time in the future when it feels right to be with her again.

    Reply
    • Takara
      Takara says:

      Thanks for sharing AnnaMariah! I call this phenomena the “honeymoon.” Sometimes we get so caught up in how cool it all sounds, or how we want it to be, that we are not seeing clearly. Or they are pretending in order to suck us in and then we get to see the real deal later on. It happens in dating. It happens in all sorts of relationships. It happens in business and career choices and everywhere in our life. They have done studies and the average dating relationship takes 1.5 years before the rosy-colored glasses come off and the hormones die down enough to see the truth. I think the same is true of all relationships. It had a similar deal long ago with a spiritual teacher/guru type. She took it much further than just feeling icky and stealing energy. She went into psychological manipulation and emotional abuse. These were some very hard lessons.

      Another potential cause is that the person truly was overshadowed somewhere along the way by something icky sticky.

      When I tune in to your situation though, it feels like how you felt in the beginning was a facade she put up, I call it “the clamor” (no idea why I call it that). It appears and feels one way, when underneath it is something else entirely. Illusions can’t be kept up forever though – they take took much energy – so eventually you get to see the real deal.

      Reply

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Takara Shelor
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