How Not To Argue Against LSD

How Not To Argue Against LSD - The Amusing Case Of Kevin R.D. Shepherd And Robert Priddy

Kevin R.D. Shepherd attempted to defend LSD advocate Robert Priddy on his citizeninitiative.com domain. Needless to say, it can be thoroughly proven that Robert Priddy’s pseudo-criticism of LSD was nothing more than a shameless attempt to cover-up and blur his decades-long praise of mind-altering drugs. Kevin Shepherd said (underlined emphasis added by Moreno):

citizeninitiative.com/sathya_sai_and_wikipedia.htm
Kevin R.D. Shepherd:

That was a long time ago, though Priddy did subsequently compose three documents describing his LSD experiences, and which he placed on the web in the 1980s. These writings remained on the web while he was a devotee of Sathya Sai, though he deleted them at the end of his devotee phase.

As a critic of LSD, I questioned the relevance of these writings, though Priddy told me in 2007 that he had long outgrown the eulogies, to which he had added cautions. In The Psychedelic Experience, Priddy says that he did not become addicted and that his disillusionment with LSD led to his conclusion that "all psycho-chemicals of this nature should be avoided." He stresses instead the "gradual evolution of the psyche by controlled moral and mental discipline."

I do not myself agree with promotions of psychedelic experimentation. In fact, I can present strong arguments against that option. However, in cases where there is clear denial of the "spiritual enlightenment" syndrome, extenuating factors should be acknowledged by critics. Retrospective accounts of this nature are deemed relevant by some academic analysts, in that these accounts serve to offset the exuberant and misleading conclusions found elsewhere. It is apparent that Priddy does not believe in "LSD spirituality," unlike many other writers on the subject of psychedelic experience. The intensity of LSD experiences is not denied by critical analysts. It is the psychoactive context of these experiences that is in dispute...

One should respect the warning of Priddy in the same document abovecited that:

"The use of biochemicals like LSD-25 to alter consciousness is like reaching for 'plastic grapes.' They do not allay one's hunger. They can also create an illusion of knowledge and power, and that can be harmful."

The Priddy version of LSD is thus very different to that of Stanislav Grof and other psychedelic enthusiasts, who interpret the "illusion of knowledge and power" in terms of an LSD "therapy" amounting to a "spiritual path" of neoshamanism. Those enthusiasts have an extension in MAPS (Multidisciplinary Assn for Psychedelic Studies), the controversial American organisation influenced by Grof, and which ingeniously includes data on the "risks and benefits" of drugs, though the underlying motivation is clearly one of drug promotion converging with the Grof paradigm.

Robert Priddy’s Denial: LSD-Visions Were Not Hallucinations:

On Robert Priddy’s Anti-Baba blog, he said the following about his LSD-induced hallucinations:

Robert Priddy: On LSD-25 and alleged “drug-induced hallucinations” Moreno makes false assumptions in dismissing LSD-25 experiences merely as induced hallucinations - it is very far from being so simple. Hallucinations can occur as a result of LSD, but they did not in my case. I was a student interested in psychiatry and psychology and my dose of LSD-25 was actually provided by the Norwegian Minister of Health explicitly for experimental purposes! Only one who has experienced it can have any idea at all of what inner clarity and scope of the mind may be released, if one is well-balanced and fortunate in the circumstances. In that I was in company with many well-known writers and hands-on researchers on the subject (egs. Aldous Huxley, Gerald Heard, Professor Susan Blackmore etc.) The dangers are considerable for borderline psychotics and others, so experiments are definitely not to be recommended to the public.

In Robert Priddy’s detailed LSD articles (and in a subsequent update added by him after a Pro-Sai Activist found the LSD-related webpages), he never stated that his LSD-25 was “provided by the Norwegian Minister of Health explicitly for experimental purposes”. Robert Priddy specifically stated he first experimented with cannabis then later experimented with LSD when he was 26 years old in 1963 with his friend Eric Steadman (with whom he shared a “perfect unspoken telepathic awareness”) and the entire episode was saved on a tape-recorder he turned on.

Although Robert Priddy wrote about his LSD experiences in depth, he never mentioned anything about any University officials, volunteer testing, Karl Evang or that the LSD-25 he took was “provided by the Norwegian Minister of Health explicitly for experimental purposes”. Furthermore, Robert Priddy admitted he experimented with cannabis before he experimented with LSD in 1963, experimented with “strong bio-chemicals” and LSD years after he experimented with LSD in 1963 and even wrote about another LSD-induced hallucination in 1965. Therefore, Robert Priddy fully acknowledged he experimented with drugs prior to and after his initial LSD trip in 1963. Was Robert Priddy also using cannabis and other “strong bio-chemicals” for “experimental purposes”? Although Robert Priddy whined that his druggy years are “outdated” and “ancient”, it is amusing to note the he eulogized his “outdated” and “ancient” druggy years:

1. In 1988 (25 years later) in his LSD article entitled “TRUTH, BEING AND BLISS - AN AMAZING PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCE - Described By Robert C. Priddy - British author & ret’d researcher and teacher in philosophy and sociology, University of Oslo, Norway”: “I try here to give as truthful an account as I can of what befell me in 1963. In the intervening 25 years I have continually been returning to that experience as as source of inspiration and in the hope that the fullest possible light may be shed on it for me.” (LSD Reference).


2. In 1994 (31 years later) in his book “Source Of The Dream”, pg: 16-7, Chapter 2: ‘When the Soil is Ready’: “A totally mind-shattering and subsequently most wonderful and intensely ecstatic experience befell me one day, as if from out of the blue. Much could be said on the subject, as it is an almost entirely misunderstood one and thus very controversial, but I do not believe doing so would appreciably enlighten anyone who has not actually had the very same experience. I am certain that no words can capture the vital nature and truth of such an experience of transcendental consciousness. I mention it because, without its having befallen me, I cannot guess how I might otherwise have been able to realize the value of pursuing spiritual development and exerting any measure of the determination, and one-pointedness that such a course eventually requires. The experience probably did not improve me much outwardly, if at all, but inwardly it altered my life in various quite crucial ways. I could simply no longer manage to regard normal worldly experience as the be-all and end-all of life. Having been forced to see my usual self and the mind literally from outside, with merciless clarity, through knowing and temporarily becoming the sheer all-pervasiveness of a sanctified joy, peace, and unrestricted awareness that underlies everything, I later came to know how that experience both consoled me and yet set me apart. Like a two-edged sword, it strengthened my insight, yet isolated me for many years in lonliness, for I had the burden of both incommunicable experience and a certain spiritual pride.” (LSD Reference).


3. In 2009 (46 years later) on his Anti-Baba blog in an article entitled “Copyright Infringement By SathyaSaiBaba”.

In the referenced quote above, Robert Priddy claimed “I was a student interested in psychiatry and psychology”. Robert Priddy told a different story in his LSD article entitled “The Psychedelic Experience - On how I came to psychedelic experiences By Robert C. Priddy”. In that article, Robert Priddy said he was a student of philosophy and sociology (not “psychiatry and psychology”) and that he considered psychology “mostly irrelevant to understanding people, myself or anything remotely like the psyche”!

It is also significant to point out that the scientific community (contrary to Robert Priddy’s layman claims) unanimously agrees that LSD is a hallucinogenic drug and is commonly referred to as a “hallucinogen” (Refs: LSD 01 - LSD 02 - LSD 03 - LSD 04).

When Sai Devotees attribute extraordinary experiences, dreams or visions to Sathya Sai Baba (without the aid of drugs), Robert Priddy bashes those experiences as mere flights of fantasy, imagination, mental disorder and/or projection. However, when it comes to Robert Priddy’s LSD experiences (induced with the aid of drugs), he proudly proclaims them as genuine and bona-fide! This is the type of Anti-Guru / Pro-LSD weirdo who continually attempts to invalidate Sai devotees for their spiritual experiences! If a person claimed a spiritual experience, who would you be more inclined to believe:

1. A person who never used drugs?


2. A person tripping on LSD?

And let us not forget what exactly Robert Priddy claimed was revealed to him when he tripped on LSD. Robert Priddy claimed he saw (amidst lots of fluff and airy-fairy scenes) his wrist break with the bones sticking out of his flesh, compared the experience to what “schizophrenics may experience with intensity”, that his mind was ”deranged” and that his mind was “shattered into pieces again and again”. Gee, that doesn’t sound “hallucinatory” at all, does it? (sarcasm implied)

Finally, let us take a look at the three people that Robert Priddy cited to support and defend his views on LSD. I wonder what Kevin R.D. Shepherd would say:

• Susan Blackmore: “I hope that one day soon it will be; that as a society we will prove wise enough to use LSD for its highest potential, not its worst. And for purely selfish reasons, I hope this will happen in time for me to take LSD again in my lifetime and that, like Huxley, I may be able to take it on my deathbed.” (Ref)


• Aldous Huxley was a humanist and pacifist, and he was latterly interested in spiritual subjects such as parapsychology, Human Potential Movement, Vedanta and philosophical mysticism. He is also well known for advocating and taking psychedelics. Aldous Huxley took LSD on his deathbed and referred to LSD as “a mystical, religious experience”.


• Gerald Heard was a historian, science writer, educator, LSD advocate, philosopher and friend of Aldous Huxley.

Therefore, Robert Priddy’s current views on LSD are based on the views of LSD advocates he considered authorities on the subject!

LSD Advocate Robert Priddy Refers Readers To A Pro-Drug Website:

Attempting to bolster the case for his experimentation with LSD, Robert Priddy posted the following link on his Anti-Baba blog:

Robert Priddy: For objective source materials and intelligent discussions of LSD-25, see this major Forum

Since “scholar” Robert Priddy (who always boasts how thorough his research is) provided a link to drugs-forum.com (and described it as being “objective” and providing “intelligent discussions of LSD-25”), he apparently researched the site thoroughly and approved of its contents.

Let us take a closer look at drugs-forum.com, a website Robert Priddy described as “objective” and providing “intelligent discussions of LSD-25”.

First and foremost, drugs-forum.com is an international Pro-Drug website where users can request and/or share information on how to take, grow, purchase, make and use all types of illegal drugs, including LSD-25 (Refs: 01 - 02 - 03 or View Entire LSD Threads). All of these LSD-related threads prove that the discussions therein are far removed from being “objective” and do not provide “intelligent discussions on LSD-25” (unless you happen to be a drug addict).

Drugs-forum.com provides numerous threads advocating for legalizing all types of drugs (Ref) and even provides threads about which drugs maximize sexual experiences (Ref). Drugs-forum.com also provides picture galleries so that users can identify hallucinogenic mushrooms, peyote, opiods, hallucinogenic cacti and hallucinogenic plants (Ref). A majority of the posts on the drugs-forum.com domain are chock full of invectives and graphic language. This is the type of Pro-Drug forum that “scholar” Robert Priddy described as being “objective” and providing “intelligent discussions on LSD-25”! Perhaps Robert Priddy posts on that Pro-Drug forum since he claims to know it so well, he actually provided a link to it on his Anti-Baba blog.

Robert Priddy revealed his drug advocacy and revealed his standards for “objectivity” and “intelligent discussion” by citing a Pro-Drug forum full of invectives that is intended for drug users! Thank you, Mr. Priddles for coming clean once again!

Robert Priddy’s defense of LSD is in severe conflict with Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s Anti-LSD / Anti-Drug position.

Robert Priddy, Kevin Shepherd, Drugs-Forum.com & Stanislav Grof:

It is also amusing to note that the drugs-forum.com webpage that Robert Priddy linked to (which he described as being “objective” and providing “intelligent discussions of LSD-25”), linked directly to another drugs-forum.com LSD webpage that strongly advocated for Stanislav Grof’s book “History Of LSD Therapy” (Ref). The drugs-forum.com website provides over 120 pro-articles on Stanislav Grof, holotropic breathwork and Pro-LSD research (Ref). The reason why this is so amusing is because Robert Priddy professes friendship and alliance with Kevin Shepherd, a staunch Anti-Drug, Anti-LSD and Anti-Grof critic! Isn’t it ironic that Kevin R.D. Shepherd professes friendship and alliance with Robert Priddy although:

1. Robert Priddy eulogized and promoted LSD for those who are “well-balanced and fortunate in the circumstances”?


2. Robert Priddy eulogized his LSD-induced experiences as bona fide revelations and not as the result of hallucinations (an absurd and dubious claim at best)?


3. Robert Priddy solicited the objectivity and intelligent discussions of a Pro-Drug forum intended for drug users?


4. Robert Priddy solicited the objectivity and intelligent discussions of a Pro-Drug forum intended for drug users that strongly advocates for Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the benefits of LSD?

What more can I say more about Robert Priddy and his laughable views, absurd arguments and clown-like antics about LSD? This is the guy who is attempting to “expose” Sathya Sai Baba. Well, the truth is now out about Robert Priddy (direct from his personal blog) and there is no stopping it! Expect Robert Priddy to do damage control, offer no apologies, deflect from the issue and bore everyone with his mindless prattle. Afterall, that is what he does best.

Predictable Update:

After publishing this article about Robert Priddy’s loud endorsement of drugs-forum.com, a Pro-Drug Forum intended for drug users (which he described as containing “objective source materials and intelligent discussions of LSD-25”), Robert Priddy rushed to do damage control (just as Moreno predicted he would) and removed the link to drugs-forum.com by saying:

Robert Priddy: “Please note: Having looked more closely at the web pages on LSD-25 I had first linked to here I found them partly very misleading and that there was an overall bias towards possibly dangerous viewpoints, though there was also nonetheless a good deal of accurate historical and other materials in them and/or linked to them. As a whole those pages do not represent my standpoint, therefore the link is deleted”

“Scholar” Robert Priddy (who constantly claims he conducts thorough research) argued that drugs-forum.com (a Pro-Drug Forum intended for drug users) contained “objective source materials and intelligent discussions of LSD-25”). Now, however, Robert Priddy is claiming that his initial assessement of drugs-forum.com was wrong and the website is not as “objective” or as ”intelligent” as he first assessed it to be.

Why doesn’t Robert Priddy specifically tell us which webpages on drugs-forum.com (a Pro-Drug Forum intended for drug users) contained a “good deal of accurate historical and other materials in them and/or linked to them”?

Perhaps Robert Priddy’s change of heart was prompted by an email I sent to Kevin Shepherd about Priddy’s Pro-Drug advocacy? Kevin Shepherd is a notorious critic of the Findhorn Foundation, Stanislav Grof and LSD. Kevin Shepherd has a lot of face to lose by allying himself with LSD-advocate Robert Priddy. Well, for interested Findhorn Foundation members, Stanislav Grof advocates and LSD critics, Robert Priddy still believes that there is absolutely nothing wrong with using LSD and that his LSD trips were not hallucinatory in nature (although LSD is a hallucinogen)!

Rather, Robert Priddy would have the world believe that LSD is simply a great “mind clearer” that produces out-of-body experiences that result in enlightenment and visions of broken bones sticking out of bloody flesh! What more can one do but laugh out loud at Kevin Shepherd and his LSD-advocating friend, Robert Priddy?

LSD advocate Robert Priddy is the person with whom Kevin R.D. Shepherd openly professes alliance. Consequently, Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s Anti-LSD rants are to be considered diluted, self-serving, hypocritical and selective. Kevin Shepherd’s defense of LSD advocate Robert Priddy is akin to his defense of Pyschic Trance Medium Conny Larsson.

Findhorn Foundation

Findhorn Foundation

The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest of the communes in Britain, has been home to thousands of residents from more than 40 countries. The Foundation runs various educational programmes for the Findhorn community; it also houses about 40 community businesses like the Findhorn Press, and an alternative medicine centre.

Starting as commune in 1962, from a caravan park, and founded by Eileen Caddy, Peter Caddy and Dorothy Maclean, the Findhorn Foundation and surrounding Findhorn Ecovillage community at The Park, Findhorn, a village in Moray, Scotland, and at Cluny Hill College in Forres, is a home to more than 400 people. The community has no formal doctrine or creed. It also offers a range of workshops, programmes and events in the environment of a working ecovillage. The programmes are intended to give participants practical experience of how to apply spiritual values in daily life. There are approximately 3000 residential participants from around the world taking part in programmes each year.

Findhorn Ecovillage, has been awarded UN Habitat Best Practice designation from the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT), and regularly hold seminars of 'CIFAL Findhorn', a United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), affiliated training centre for Northern Europe.

A Growing Ecovillage
Findhorn Ecovillage is based at The Park, in Moray, Scotland near the village of Findhorn. Within the Findhorn Ecovillage at The Park, sustainable values are expressed in the built environment with 'ecological' houses, innovative use of building materials such as local stone and straw bales, and applied technology in the Living Machine sewage treatment facility and electricity-generating wind turbines.

The Findhorn Ecovillage is intended to be a tangible demonstration of the links between the spiritual, social, ecological and economic aspects of life. It is a constantly evolving model used as a teaching resource by a number of university and school groups as well as by professional organisations and municipalities worldwide. It is a founder member of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) a non-profit organisation that links together a diverse worldwide movement of autonomous ecovillages and related projects.

The Findhorn Foundation Ecovillage Project has received Best Practice designation from the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat).

Since the 1980s numerous organisations have started up in the vicinity of Findhorn which have an affiliation of some kind with the Findhorn Foundation. These include Ekopia, Moray Steiner School, the Phoenix Community Store, Trees for Life (Scotland) & The Isle of Erraid. Collectively they now form an ecovillage which aims to demonstrate a positive model of a viable, sustainable human and planetary future. As of 2005, Findhorn Ecovillage has around 450 resident members, and its residents have the lowest recorded ecological footprint of any community in the industrialised or the developed world, and also half of the UK average.

Organisation Of The Community
The community includes an arts centre, shop, pottery, bakery, publishing company, printing company and other charitable organisations. All aim to practice the founding principles of the community and together make up the New Findhorn Association (NFA).

In 1999 a community association, the New Findhorn Association or NFA, was formed to provide a structure for all the people and organisations in the community. It includes people from within a 50-mile radius of The Park, at Findhorn. Each year a council and two listener-conveners are elected by the membership of the NFA, who organise monthly community meetings to decide upon community-wide issues.

Individulas Connected With The Findhorn Foundation
Individuals with past or present connections to the Findhorn Foundation include celtic art author Aidan Meehan, Waterboys songwriter and singer Mike Scott, sports psychologists John Syer and Chris Connolly, authors William Irwin Thompson, Caroline Myss, William Bloom, Sir George Trevelyan, Marko Pogacnik and Paul Hawken, Scottish novelist Margaret Elphinstone. motivational writer Carol A. O'Connor, activists May East and Vance Martin, Australian singer Hans Poulsen, Trees for Life (Scotland) founder Alan Watson and naturalist Richard St Barbe Baker.

The following have given lectures, workshops or presentations at the Findhorn Foundation: Eckhart Tolle, Neale Donald Walsch, Caroline Myss, E.F. Schumacher, Ervin Laszlo, Geoffrey Ashe, Paul Horn (jazz musician), James T. Hubbell, Paul Winter, Laurens Van Der Post, Jonathon Porritt, Satish Kumar, Joanna Macy, Peter Russell, Anita Roddick, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Petra Kelly, Matthew Fox (priest), Patch Adams, John and Caitlin Matthews, Robert John Stewart, Peter Dawkins (FBRT), Robert Muller, Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Danah Zohar, Machaelle Small Wright, Lynne Franks, Hazel Henderson, James Twyman, Jane Goodall, Aubrey Manning, David Bellamy, Miranda Holden, Sandra Ingerman.

Links with the United Nations
In December 1997 the Findhorn Foundation was approved for formal Association with the UN Department of Public Information as an NGO. The Findhorn Foundation is a member of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO), attends the Sustainable Development Committee meetings and is a founding member of the following NGO groups active at the UN Headquarters in New York: The Earth Values Caucus The Spiritual Caucus and the The NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns In September 2006 a new sustainable development training facility, CIFAL Findhorn was launched. This is a joint initiative between The Moray Council, the Global Ecovillage Network, the Findhorn Foundation and UNITAR.

Relevant Links:
The Findhorn Foundation's website
Ecovillage Project - overview and background
New Findhorn Association - website for the community association.
Wikipedia Reference For Findhorn Foundation

Kevin Shepherd & Psychic Medium Conny Larsson

Kevin Shepherd & Psychic Medium Conny Larsson

Kevin R.D. Shepherd is a staunch Anti-New Age, Anti-Psychic, Anti-Superstition, Anti-Guru activist who believes that self-professed psychic channelers, spirit mediums, gurus and/or New Age practitioners are misled, brainwashed, fraudulent and deficient. Nevertheless, when it comes to agendas that Kevin R.D. Shepherd supports, he will cite an entire slew of New Age practitioners, self-professed psychics and/or Guru promoters to support his agendas.

This article will document Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s shameless attempt to defend and cover-up for Psychic Medium Conny Larsson. Although Kevin R.D. Shepherd gave a few tongue-in-cheek criticisms about Conny Larsson’s self-professed psychic abilities, Shepherd actually defended Larsson and claimed that since Larsson gave a talk at FECRIS, Larsson is thereby a credible and reliable reference against Sathya Sai Baba.

What Kevin Shepherd forgot to mention, however, is that Psychotherapist Conny Larsson purposely suppressed his psychic medium claims from FECRIS because FECRIS would never allow a self-professed Psychic Medium to talk at their conferences. FECRIS is extremely critical of alleged “psychic” psychotherapists (like Conny Larsson) who use their training and skills to manipulate, mislead and brainwash others. See: FECRIS: Psychotherapeutic Deviation: The Use Of Psychotherapy In The Case Of Cult Influence. Obviously, Conny Larsson’s training as a psychotherapist has enabled him to con many people, including Kevin R.D. Shepherd.

Kevin R.D. Shepherd cited the following email quote in defense of Conny Larsson:

Conny Larsson: “I could keep on interpreting the texts for hours, and in that sense people sometimes make their own opinion that I’m channelling, but in fact it is only me speaking out what is in my own intuitional knowledge.”
(Kevin R.D. Shepherd: This quote appeared in an email to myself from ex-devotee Robert Priddy dated December 2008.)

It has long been Moreno’s personal opinion that Conny Larsson is a bold-faced and pathological liar. Conny Larsson’s explicit and documented denial of being a Trance Channel & Psychic Medium is more proof of his repeated attempts to mislead through prevarication and deceit.

This article will provide verifiable information that proves that Conny Larsson solicited himself as a Trance Channel & Psychic Medium, which was even documented in a national Swedish newspaper!

It is an irrefutable fact that Conny Larsson was solicited twice on his official website at vedicmasterclass.org as being a psychic “trance channel” for the immortal sage, rishi & chiranjeevin Vyasa. After Joe Moreno (a Pro-Sai Activist) exposed Conny Larsson’s psychic claims on SaiSathyaSai.com, Conny Larsson rushed to do damage control by changing his profile and by changing the written testimony of Judith Bourque (essentially falsifying her first-hand testimony as originally published on the vedicmasterclass.org domain since mid to late 2006 - February 2009). See the ‘before’ and ‘after’ screencaps:

BEFORE (relevant text is highlighted) →

“Conny Larsson, Sweden/Cyprus - Founder of Vedic Mantra Meditation school in Europe. - Author and psychotherapist. Transchannel for ‘Vyaasa, the first Rishi’ During the Master Class Conny guided participants in the knowledge of the Vedic Mantra systems with regard to the 7 chakras of the nervous system. As Vyaasa he channeled 4000 year old knowledge for the group as a whole and at times for us as individuals. He also took us through processes to expand our levels of consciousness. conny@email.com”

AFTER (note that the relevant text was removed) →

“Conny Larsson, Sweden/Cyprus Founder of Vedic Mantra Meditation school in Europe. - Author and psychotherapist. During the Master Class Conny guided participants in the knowledge of the Vedic Mantra systems with regard to the 7 chakras of the nervous system. He took us through processes to expand our levels of consciousness. conny@email.com”

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BEFORE (relevant text is highlighted) →

“Meeting for the Masters’ Class in Cypress was truly inspiring and an excellent example of how to spend a meaningful holiday. We were a group of teachers from several different countries, each bringing to the class an area of acquired knowledge and experience...Conny spoke about the seven different states of consciousness and also did some trance channeling of Vyaasa, ‘the first Rishi, or Seer’. That, for sure was an extra bonus at the seminar...I really look forward to the next event of this kind that Conny organises! Judith Bourque, Holistic Therapist and Independent Filmmaker”

AFTER (note that the relevant text was changed) →

“Meeting for the Masters’ Class in Cypress was truly inspiring and an excellent example of how to spend a meaningful holiday. We were a group of teachers from several different countries, each bringing to the class an area of acquired knowledge and experience...Conny spoke about the seven different states of consciousness and also did some interpretations from Vyaasa, ‘the first Rishi, or Seer’. That, for sure was an extra bonus at the seminar...I really look forward to the next event of this kind that Conny organises! Judith Bourque, Holistic Therapist and Independent Filmmaker”

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Click Here to view the archive.org results for Judith Bourque’s original testimony as published on the vedicmasterclass.org domain (archive.org results are still available as of September 8th 2009). Archive.org has four results (from July 4th 2007 to February 13th 2008) for the webpage that contained Judith Bourque’s original testimony. It is important to note that archive.org only indexes webpages after a period of 6 - 12 months. Therefore, Judith Bourque’s testimony was published on the vedicmasterclass.org domain sometime in mid to late 2006 and remained there until February 2009 when it was altered. The following screencap shows the archive.org results for the webpage containing Judith Bourque’s first-hand testimony about Conny Larsson’s “trance channeling” of Vyasa:

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Further strengthening the fact that Conny Larsson posed as a psychic healer are pictures of him giving “trance healings” that were originally released on the joga harmonia website (which were subsequently deleted at Conny Larsson’s request). If Conny gets this intimate and physical with women while in public, one can only wonder how intimate and physical he gets with women during his “private” psychic consultations. As they say, “seeing is believing” & “a picture is worth a thousand words”:

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The screencap above specifically states the following about Conny Larsson:

1. Conny Larsson will give private consultations for psychic trance healings.


2. Conny Larsson will give a demonstration of his trance healing to the audience.


3. Conny Larsson is a trance healer.


4. Conny Larsson diagnoses the aura.


5. Conny Larsson promotes and endorses the power of Vedic mantras.


6. Conny Larsson will perform a séance.


7. Conny Larsson will sell and autograph his new book that speaks against Sathya Sai Baba.


8. Conny Larsson charged members 80 kroner (US $12) and non-members 120 kroner (US $17) for a talk on trance healing and aura diagnosis.

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The screencap above specifically states the following about Conny Larsson (Original Reference):

1. Conny Larsson will solicit his book “Behind The Clown’s Mask”.


2. Conny Larsson will channel his spirit guide to help diagnose people’s medical problems


3. Conny Larsson will talk about trance healing and will demonstrate his trance healings on various members of the audience.


4. Conny Larsson offers private trance healing consultations


5. Conny Larsson is a life philosopher.


6. Conny Larsson is a psychotherapist.


7. Conny Larsson will teach the healing benefits of meditation and how it can increase life-force and well-being.


8. Conny Larsson is on the Swedish board for Neal Donald Walsh’s “Humanity Team”.


9. Conny Larsson teaches the TM method of meditation.


10. Conny Larsson will channel a banshee (ghost / spirit) that transfers healing energies.


11. In private consultations, Conny Larsson will perform aura cleansing and trance healing.


12. Conny Larsson will demonstrate trance channeling in front of the audience and on a few volunteers.


13. In private consultations and with the guidance of his spirit guides, Conny Larsson will diagnose the real causes of problems in a person’s life.


14. Conny Larsson will use a crystal pendulum to analyze the aura and chakras.


15. Apparently fearing a public exposure from critics, not everyone can book a private trance healing session with Conny Larsson. Private trance healing consultations are made exclusively at Conny Larsson’s sole discretion and he filters and chooses who he will perform his healings on in private.


16. Conny Larsson charged members 60 kroner (US $9) and non-members 100 kroner (US $14) for a trance healing demonstration. Charges 500 (US $72) kroner for a meditation workshop and charges 600 (US $87) kroner for a private psychic medium consultation.

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The screencap above was taken from a national Swedish newspaper (Norrland Social Democrat aka Norrlandska Socialdemokraten) entitled “Medium Draws Full House”, which specifically stated the following about Conny Larsson (Original Reference):

1. Conny Larsson personally claimed he is a psychic trance medium.


2. Conny Larsson gives spirit seances.


3. Conny Larsson personally talked about “protective spirits” on the Astral Realms and claimed he was protected by them.


4. Conny Larsson went into a trance and channeled the dead dog of a woman in the audience, claiming the dog still barks and stands at her house.


5. Conny Larsson channeled an astral message for Gun Isaxon (a Communist party leader in Sweden) from her deceased father, warning of health problems and not to take any office.


6. Conny Larsson gave a demonstration of aura cleansing on an elderly woman in the audience by using a crystal pendulum.


7. Conny Larsson claimed that body piercings affect acupuncture and meridian points and are harmful on the “cellular level”.


8. Conny Larsson claimed he has 10,000 devotees / students in Sweden and around the world.


9. Conny Larsson attracted “large numbers” of women (judging from the picture in the article, 100% were women).


10. Many people remember Conny Larsson as the clown “Beppo”.


11. Conny Larsson claimed that “Words have power. Together we can bring peace and love.”


12. Conny Larsson warned his audience about “charlatans” who charge money for their services. Nevertheless, participants paid 100 kronor (US $14) as an entry fee (the article claimed over a hundred women were present, meaning that Conny Larsson grossed US $1,400+ just on admission fees). The weekend meditation fee is 400 kronor (US $58) and individual psychic healing sessions are 500 kronor (US $72). The article also claimed that over 400 people were learning meditation from Conny Larsson (meaning that he grossed US $23,200+ on his meditation classes alone).


13. Conny Larsson also sold books and CDs about himself at the lecture (notice the money-making trend?).

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The screencap above proves that Conny Larsson is devoted to the Indian Guru Shankaracharya Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (the guru of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi) and posed in front of his pictures between 1998 (while still a Sai Devotee) to 2005 (five years after leaving Sai Baba and several years after accusing Maharishi of having sex with women).

---

The screencap above specifically states the following about Conny Larsson (Original Reference):

1. Conny Larsson conducts trance healing “séances”.


2. Conny Larsson can contact the dead.


3. Conny Larsson teaches others how to use crystal pendulums.


4. Conny Larsson teaches others how to “diagnose” blockages in auras.


5. Conny Larsson will demonstrate his trance healings on “selected individuals” in the audience and at his discretion.


6. Conny Larsson claims we all possess a “cosmic reality”.


7. Conny Larsson teaches a nine-step meditation program in which students must pass lower steps in order to advance to higher steps using the TM (Transcendental Meditation) technique.


8. Conny Larsson is on the Swedish board for Neal Donald Walsh’s “Humanity Team”.


9. Conny Larsson conducts private trance healing sessions in which Spirit Guides helps him diagnose the real problems in a person’s life.


10. Conny Larsson analyzes chakras for blockages.


11. Conny Larsson is an internationally renowned psychic trance medium.


12. Conny Larsson claims crystal pendulums help amplify the real causes to problems in a person’s life.


13. Conny Larsson charged 500 kroner (US $72) for the meditation, aura cleansing and crystal pendulum workshop.


14. Conny Larsson charged 600 kroner (US $87) for a private trance healing in which he channels spirit guides.


15. Conny Larsson charged members 60 kroner (US $9) and non-members 100 kroner (US $14) for a public demonstration of a trance medium séance.

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The screencap above specifically states the following about Conny Larsson (Original Reference):

1. Conny Larsson is teaching a meditation class on February 6th 2009


2. Conny Larsson is a life philosopher.


3. Conny Larsson is a psychotherapist.


4. Conny Larsson spent a year in silence meditating in a cave.


5. Conny Larsson teaches meditation from the beginning phase to the most advanced techniques.


6. Conny Larsson is on the Swedish board for Neal Donald Walsh’s “Humanity Team”.


7. Conny Larsson is also known as “God’s Little Clown” (from his devotee phase).


8. Conny Larsson will teach the healing benefits of meditation and how it can increase life-force and well-being.


9. Conny Larsson teaches a nine-step meditation program in which students must pass lower steps in order to advance to higher steps using the TM (Transcendental Meditation) technique.


10. Conny Larsson charged 600 kroner (US $87) for the meditation classes.

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The screencap above specifically states the following about Conny Larsson (Original References: 01 - 02 - 03):

1. Conny Larsson is one of two International Coordinators for the Heart And Soul Exposition (the other International Coordinator is Judith Bourque).


2. The “Heart And Soul Exposition” is a website for: “Many, Local and International workshop leaders and Inspirational speakers plus: Acupressure, Angel therapy, Aura photography, Breath Work, Clairvoyance, Crystal Healing, Crystal Bowl Therapy, Diana Cooper School of Angel Healing, Energy Biofeedback Therapy, Environmental issues, Esoteric teachings, Feldenkreis therapy, Indian Head Massage Practitioner, Life Counsellor, Meditation, Oriental Dance Teachers, Pranic Healing, Psychic Medium, Reflexology, Reiki Practitioners/Masters, Shamanism, Tai Chi, Vedic Meditation Master, Yoga Teachers.”


3. Conny Larsson was a former actor educated at the Royal Sate School of acting in Malmo, Sweden.


4. Conny Larsson became a meditation teacher under the “auspicious guidance of Maharshi Mahesh Yogi” (notice how the wording is positive although Conny Larsson is Anti-Mahesh-Yogi).


5. Conny Larsson teaches his own meditation class free of charge (although the February 2009 program stated he charged 600 kroner for his meditation classes).


6. Conny Larsson is a Vedic Mantra meditation teacher.


7. Conny Larsson founded the Vedic Mantra school of meditation.


8. Conny Larsson founded The Master Class in North Cyprus.


9. For many years Conny Larsson acted as Chairman for the Karnan Institute for criminal and drug abusers in Sweden.


10. Conny Larsson will lecture on the “Sixth Sense”.


11. Eileen August (an aura photographer and reader) will be present.

Kevin R.D. Shepherd & Psychic Medium Conny Larsson - In Conclusion

Despite Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s desperate and shameless justifications and cover-ups for Psychic Medium Conny Larsson, the numerous references provided in this article irrefutably prove that Conny Larsson widely solicited himself as a psychic, trance medium, spirit guide channeler, Vyasa channeler, aura reader, aura cleanser, crystal pendulum reader, chakra reader, chakra aligner, Vedic Mantra acharya, séance conductor, meditation master and spiritual healer. Conny Larsson also promotes himself in direct association with other New Age practitioners, psychics, mediums, channelers and healers on his vedicmasterclass.org and heartandsoulexpo.com domains.

When Conny Larsson purposely and knowingly lied about his well-documented Trance Channel & Psychic Medium claims, how can anyone believe anything he has to say, especially in relation to Sathya Sai Baba?

Apparently, Kevin R.D. Shepherd thinks that Conny Larsson (a person who hears voices in his head and who claims to see and converse with dead people) is a credible voice against Sathya Sai Baba! Even more disturbing is the fact that Conny Larsson self-disclosed his psychiatric diagnosis (made by a psychiatrist) of him being “psychoinfantile”, which is also known as Histrionic Personality Disorder.

If you hear voices in your head, channel Vyasa, perform trance healings, converse with dead people, channel the spirits of dead animals, hold negative views about Sathya Sai Baba and have been officially diagnosed with a psychiatric personality disorder, give Kevin R.D. Shepherd a call because you might be his next credible reference against Sai Baba.

KRD Shepherd Is NOT An Academic

KRD Shepherd Is NOT An Academic

Ex-Devotees Take Note (underlined emphasis added by Moreno):

kevinrdshepherd.info/internet_terrorist_gerald_joe_moreno.html
Kevin R.D. Shepherd: “The misconstruction imposed by web harassment takes extreme liberties with basic formats. Moreno even describes me as an alleged ‘academic’ author, which is flagrantly untrue. I have never described myself as an academic, as informed readers well know, and my own basic description of my career is completely ignored by the harasser. The role of a citizen philosopher is distinct from sectarian polemic, it may here be emphasised.”

Thank you, Kevin R.D. Shepherd!

Kevin Shepherd’s statement should set to rest Ex-Devotee’s misrepresentation of him as being an academic or scholar. He is neither. Rather, Kevin R.D. Shepherd is a sectarian bigot who obsessively, unremittingly and fanatically attacks and stalks everything and everyone affiliated with the Findhorn Foundation. Kevin R.D. Shepherd even goes to the extent of vanity self-publishing because respectable and notable publishers do not wish to be affiliated with his non-academic “sectarian polemic” publications and viewpoints.

Needless to say, Moreno does not believe that Kevin R.D. Shepherd is an academic or scholar, which Moreno made abundantly clear on his webpages about Shepherd. Apparently, Ex-Devotees of Sathya Sai Baba need to take note as they constantly refer to Kevin R.D. Shepherd as a “scholar” whose writings are comparable to those of bona-fide academics.

Although Kevin R.D. Shepherd described himself as having “no academic role”, he praised his own writings as following “academic rules in citing sources to a greater extent than many academic philosophers” (a self-laudatory comment unsupported by other academic philosophers)!

Amusingly, Kevin R.D. Shepherd often points out other’s lack of academic credentials as something compromising their credibility, as he did with Craig Gibsone (a vocal member of the Findhorn Foundation) and others. If a lack of academic credentials is a negative, then Kevin R.D. Shepherd just shot himself in the foot! The only thing that trumps Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s non-academic role is his big ego.

Kate Thomas aka Jean Shepherd

COPYRIGHT ISSUE:
Kate Thomas aka Jean Shepherd & Kevin R.D. Shepherd



Kevin R.D. Shepherd (a vanity self-publisher, Anti-Findhorn-Foundation fanatic and pseudo-intellectual) foamed-at-the-mouth, gnashed his teeth and raised a huge wail about Joe Moreno violating his copyrights for duplicating pictures of himself and his mother Jean Shepherd (aka “Kate Thomas”) on his (Moreno’s) website. Kevin R.D. Shepherd implied he may take legal action against Moreno for duplicating his and his mother’s public domain internet pictures.

Putting aside the disturbing fact that Jean Shepherd anonymously attacked the Findhorn Foundation for many years under the pseudonym “Kate Thomas”, Jean Shepherd is a widely solicitied (albeit exclusively through her son and self-publisher Kevin R.D. Shepherd) public figure and critic in regards to the Findhorn Foundation.

What is so blatantly hypocritical about Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s copyright blathering is that he published Moreno’s copyright protected picture (several times) on his business and personal websites without obtaining Moreno’s permission to do so. Moreno emailed and requested Kevin R.D. Shepherd to remove his copyright protected picture from his websites. Kevin R.D. Shepherd refused to comply with Moreno’s request and forwarded Moreno’s email to Robert Priddy & Co so they could attack him. As a result, Moreno duplicated relevant pictures by following Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s ethical example.


Therefore, it can be factually documented that Kevin R.D. Shepherd not only received Moreno’s email request, he also refused to comply with it. Consequently, any legal action taken by Kevin R.D. Shepherd against Moreno will be greeted with a swift countersuit.

Let Kevin R.D. Shepherd be informed that Moreno is ready, able and prepared to prove that his picture is copyright protected. As a matter of fact, Robert Priddy (Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s LSD advocating friend) similarly published Moreno’s picture on his Anti-Baba Wordpress blog and Priddy was forced to remove Moreno’s pictures (although Moreno was not forced to remove Priddy’s picture). Read The Full Story Here.

Kevin R.D. Shepherd is a self-serving hypocrite whose ‘holier-than-thou’ rants expose his biased and bitter mindset. Far be it for Kevin R.D. Shepherd to complain about the publication of his and his mother’s pictures when he published pictures of Robert Walter, Angus Robertson, Stanislav Grof, David Lorimer, Janice Dolley, Dr. Christopher Bache, Eileen Caddy, Alex Walker, Mary Inglis, Craig Gibsone, Judy McAllister, Dorothy Maclean, Marcel Boisard, Michael Russell, May East, Jonathan Dawson, Michael Shaw, Andrew Cohen, Ken Wilber, Frank Visser, Don Beck, Michel Bauwens, among numerous others (all without obtaining their permission).

Before Kevin R.D. Shepherd throws his childish temper tantrums on the internet, he should first put into practice what he preaches and he should abide by the standards he expects others to follow.

Consequently, using Kevin R.D. Shepherd’s standards, he is an “internet terrorist” and a “sectarian cyberstalker” who has “abused and pirated” Moreno’s picture (whose copyright he does not possess).

Kevin Shepherd And The 'SheilaWaring' Lie

Kevin Shepherd And The 'SheilaWaring' Lie


About the pseudonym “sheilawaring”, Kevin Shepherd said of Moreno:

kevinrdshepherd.net/html/23___sathya_sai_baba__problems.html
“His many blogs are often registered anonymously. He has resorted to many web pseudonyms such as Equalizer, vishvarupa108, and sheilawaring.”

About the pseudonym “sheilawaring”, Psychic Medium Conny Larsson said of Moreno:

saibabaexpose.com/sheilawaring.html
“Someone using the name ‘sheilawaring’ reposted Moreno’s deleted postings on Netscape on July 9 2007- very soon after they had been banned and removed by Netscape. The identity of sheilawaring was concealed, but it is not hard to understad that this was either Moreno himself, or one of his proxies - it makes no real difference. That he must have had a hand in it is beyond doubt. The links are all to his defamatory website at saisathyasai.com Here are screenshots of the pages posted by sheilawaring on Netscape, also subsequently deleted by the netscape administration.”

About the pseudonym “sheilawaring”, Robert Priddy said of Moreno:

robertpriddy.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/sathyasaibaba-in-the-shadows/
“He has often avoided using his most known username (joe108) in favour of unidentifiable ones like Equalizer, sheilawaring, or - for most people less identifiable ones like visvarupa 108, SSS108 (on Wikipedia) GM, JM, GJM with or without the 108 suffix and so on All were gradually identified as being his. He has also used diverse IPs in his e-mails and comments, as has been documented on various occasions, though he tries to deny it, the proofs are there for any eventual further use. He denied he was equaliser until exposed definitively as such, and he denies that he posted on Netscape under the username sheilawaring - but he is exposed as having done that just after he had been banned under a previous pseudonym like JM108).”

Let it go on record that Moreno has never (ever), at any time, used the name “sheilawaring” on digg.com, netscape.com (now propeller.com) or anywhere else for that matter. Contrary to Robert Priddy’s senile claims (which he has been spewing all over his blog in recent weeks), Moreno never “denied” using the name “Equalizer” on his blogs. Once again, Robert Priddy makes unsupported, unsubstantiated and un-referenced claims against Moreno.

In an attempt to bolster their absurd claims that Moreno used the “sheilawaring” pseudonym, several screencaps were published on Conny Larsson’s website. And thank goodness they did! After seeing the screencaps, Moreno nearly fell out of his chair laughing because Ex-Devotee’s apparently confused “sheilawaring” as a Pro-Moreno Activist when in fact “sheilawaring” was an Anti-Sai Activist hiding under a fake name! “Sheilawaring” went through all of Moreno’s posts on Netscape and “sunk” all of them (meaning that “sheilawaring” casted votes against all of Moreno’s articles). This is why Moreno’s articles showed up under “sheilawaring’s” Netscape history. One can clearly see the text saying “Sunk On July 09, 2007 07:49pm” below Moreno’s posts. One can also see the text that says “This story has mostly negative ratings” on top of Moreno’s posts with the number of “sinks” made against his articles. Critics used numerous fake names on Netscape to “sink” Moreno’s articles and all of their fake names were banned, including Robert Priddy, Barry Pittard and Brian Steel’s accounts.


The screencaps provided on Psychic Medium Conny Larsson’s website (which was referenced by True Believer Robert Priddy and others) are provided below:



That’s right, Kevin Shepherd, Conny Larsson and Robert Priddy (all claiming a “scholar” or “professional” status) are too idiotic to read posts correctly (akin to their idiotic inability to read IP headers correctly, even attributing IPs generated by their own computers to Moreno).

What a bunch of pathetic and laughable stooges and loons!

Although Ex-Devotees whine and snivel about Moreno's alleged “pseudonyms”, one will not find a single complaint from any of them about the numerous incognito web identities used by Robert Priddy, Sanjay Dadlani, Tony O’Clery, UsedByBaba, Barbara Dent and R.F.J. Sandt. Ex-Devotees even attempted to pass themselves off as various individuals (including Pro-Sai Activists and Moreno himself). This type of very disturbing online behavior has been fully documented by Moreno (Refs: 01 - 02).

Expect more spin, deflection and cover-ups from Ex-Devotees, who can’t even identify their own acts of subterfuge in action. Yes, this is exactly the type of shabby “research” and laughable “exposés” that Ex-Devotees typically peddle as the “irrefutable truth” to unsuspecting readers. They do the exact same thing in relation to Sathya Sai Baba as well.

Kevin Shepherd Murder?

Kevin Shepherd Murder?
Kevin R.D. Shepherd (exhibiting the symptoms of a person afflicted with paranoia) accused Joe Moreno of being part of some sort of covert internet plot and conspiracy to influence “uncritical devotees” that he was involved in some sort of “murder”, basing his argument on a wordpress tag that he erroneously accused Moreno of creating. Kevin Shepherd said:

“His more recent attempt to undermine my Google Search name listing includes tagged entries of no effective content, using my name and publishing imprints as tags calculated to draw hostile attention. One entry that has aroused strong comment is the item on my Google Search name listing which tags my name with ‘Kevin Shepherd murder.’ This refers to an actual murder which has nothing to do with me. See the very misleading ‘Kevin Shepherd murder 8/11/07 Copperton, UT... Kevin Shepherd and Robert Priddy... Find other items tagged with kevin-shepherd’ at wordpress.com/tag/kevin-shepherd/ Observers have deduced that the multiple blog and tag tactic intruding upon my Google Search name listing amounts to a form of internet harassment. Joe Moreno is clearly attempting to influence uncritical devotees via his websites and blogs and tagging system. The strong conclusion follows that he is an obsessive internet ‘hit man’ as ex-devotees have been urging.”

Obviously, Kevin Shepherd does not know how to use the internet, does not know how wordpress tags work and thinks he is the only ‘Kevin Shepherd’ on the planet (there are actually around 600,000 Google results for the name Kevin Shepherd).

Notable “Kevin Shepherd’s” not associated with Kevin R.D. Shepherd:

1. Kevin W. Shepherd, lawyers in Maryville, TN, Tennessee


2. Kevin Shepherd, Lawyer in Topeka Kansas (numerous listings)


3. Kevin Shepherd Comedian (numerous listings)


4. Kevin Shepherd - Plumbing And Tiling Services


5. Kevin L. Shepherd - Co-chair of the Real Estate Group of Venable LLP


6. Dr. Kevin P. Shepherd


7. Kevin Shepherd - Original Vegemite Boy


8. Kevin Shepherd - Radio Technical Officer Who Served In The Antartic Region


9. Kevin P. Shepherd - NASA Researcher


10. Sergeant Kevin ‘Condor’ Shepherd - “Detroit SWAT”

There is only one article resolving to the "murder" listing under the wordpress tag for “Kevin Shepherd” (Ref). This wordpress tag lists an article entitled “Kevin Shepherd murder 8/11/07 Copperton, UT” (Ref). Click on the link and it resolves to this wordpress webpage. The original article is located on this ksl.com webpage. Ksl.com reported a story about a man named “Steven Lovendahl” who had an argument with a man named “Kevin Shepherd”. Lovendahl shot Shepherd in the arm and he died as a result. This incident occurred in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Needless to say, Moreno did not write the wordpress article in question, the relevant wordpress blog does not belong to Moreno and Moreno did not create the wordpress tag that resolved to the “Kevin Shepherd Murder” article. Since Mr. Kevin Shepherd does not know how to conduct even the most elementary of research, he jumped to his extreme and irrational conclusion that Moreno was somehow involved with the wordpress tag for “Kevin Shepherd Murder”. Consequently, Mr. Shepherd’s asinine arguments against Moreno are without credible or factual basis (as are most of his arguments against Moreno and Sathya Sai Baba).

These types of conspiratorial and puerile accusations argue more that Kevin Shepherd is an “internet hit man” who assaults others with his formidable ignorance about the internet.

Kevin Shepherd Cites Anonymous Scholars

Kevin R. D. Shepherd’s Comical Citations To Anonymous Scholars
Kevin Shepherd displayed amazing naiveté and gullibility when he claimed matter-of-factly that an anonymous Wikipedia editor named Jedermann was an editor with “Ph.D status”. Kevin Shepherd cannot back up this claim with any sort of verifiable sources. As a matter of fact, “Jedermann” (who is no longer a Wikipedia editor) never made any comment about himself being of “Ph.D status” on his userpage (Jedermann Reference).

Kevin Shepherd again displayed amazing naiveté and gullibility when he claimed matter-of-factly that an anonymous Wikipedia editor named The Communicator (IP 203.59.51.58) was “An academic assessor in an Australian University”. Once again, Kevin Shepherd cannot back up this claim with any sort of verifiable sources. Even on his userpage, “The Communicator” never claimed he worked at an Australian University. The quote that Kevin Shepherd cited from “The Communicator” stated:

“Shepherd’s case is unusual. He is an atypical writer, a non-academic who has researched in Cambridge University Library and published a number of scholarly books. His Mind and Sociocultures Vol. One is over 1000 pages long, has maps, appendices, notes and an index. There are 461 notes to the main text (with a further 280 notes to the introduction), and the index alone is 43 pages long. His other books are similar with respect to the quality of scholarly apparatus. It is unlikely in the extreme that any publisher would have taken on such a book, especially from a non-academic. Shepherd is realistic about his abilities, and prefers to be regarded as a scholarly amateur. He is scrupulous in his use of (citations of) specialist scholars, though he is occasionally critical of academics (and academic publishers) when they endorse what he regards as dubious persons and practices. By self-publishing, he maintains his authorial independence, although he suffers from the lack of resources provided by commercial and academic publishing houses. His books have high production values (I speak here as a professional bookseller) and are presumably expensive to produce. He does not seem to gain financially from their sale, nor in any other way as far as I can see. He does not promote any organisation or religious persuasion.” (Reference)

It is apparent that Kevin Shepherd is unaware of the Essjay Wikipedia Controversy in which a well-known Wikipedia Administrator blatantly lied about his credentials on Wikipedia. Essjay claimed he was a tenured Professor of religion at a private University with expertise in canon law. As it turned out, Essjay was really a 24-year-old college drop out named Ryan Jordan. So when Kevin Shepherd attempted to cite anonymous Wikipedia editors (“Jedermann” and “The Communicator”) on his behalf, he attempted to con the general public with anonymous and alleged “scholarly” references (whose credentials he exaggerated and embellished) that cannot be verified whatsoever. Anyone can anonymously claim to be a “scholar” under a pseudonym on a website.

It is also important to point out that “The Communicator” has very close ties to Kevin Shepherd. This opinion is supported by the fact that “The Communicator” mostly edited articles (view contributions) that Kevin Shepherd is deeply involved with (i.e., Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the Findhorn Foundation). “The Communicator” added links to Kevin Shepherd’s Citizen Initiative website (Refs: 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05) and continually cited Kevin Shepherd, Stephen Castro and Kate Thomas (all affiliated with each other and the Citizen Initiative website) as sources on articles and on talk pages (Refs: 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21). Kevin Shepherd is also intimately aware of “The Communicator’s” activity on Wikipedia and even discussed him on his Citizen Initiative website (Ref). Kevin Shepherd’s references to “The Communicator” (and vice-versa) indicate some sort of collaborated scheming on Wikipedia against Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the Findhorn Foundation. Therefore, The Communicator’s comments about Kevin Shepherd are inherently slanted, subjective and defensive and cannot be considered neutral or unbiased.

Update: October 6th 2007: After publishing this webpage, Kevin Shepherd attempted to do damage control and had “The Communicator” update his Wikipedia page. “The Communicator” now claims (when formerly he did not) he works at an Australian University (Ref). Since “The Communicator” did not divulge this information on Wikipedia prior to October 6th 2007, one is left to wonder how Kevin Shepherd knew this information about him if they are not collaborators. Just because “The Communicator” claimed he works at an Australian University does not make his comment factual. He is still anonymous and his alleged credentials cannot be verified whatsoever.

Kevin Shepherd (who can often been seen advocating against Stanislav Grof, Holotropic Breathwork and the Findhorn Foundation) publishes the writings of Stephen J. Castro and Kate Thomas through Citizen Initiative Publishing. Stephen Castro and his ex-housemate “Kate Thomas” (real name ‘Jean Shepherd’, Kevin Shepherd’s mother) lived down the road from the Findhorn Foundation’s Cluny Hill College and were in constant conflict with the Foundation for many years. This would explain why Kevin Shepherd is involved in these controversial issues and why he constantly cites Stephen J. Castro and his mother Kate Thomas (aka “Jean Shepherd”) in his writings.

Kevin Shepherd And The Wikipedia ArbCom Bans

Kevin Shepherd And The Wikipedia ArbCom Bans
In another Wikipedia related issue, Kevin Shepherd correctly stated that Joe Moreno (aka “SSS108”) and
Andries Krugers Dagneaux were banned from editing the Sathya Sai Baba-related Wikipedia articles (as were “freelanceresearcher” and “wikisunn”: Ref). Of course, Kevin Shepherd praised the arbitration committee when it came to Moreno's ban but was “disconcerted” with (and made excuses for) the same arbitration committee that banned Andries. It is also important to point out that that Andries was formerly banned on the Robert Priddy Wikipedia Article (Ref) due to violating the ArbCom ruling and two warnings from Wikipedia Administrators (Refs: 01 - 02). Moreno was never banned from editing the Robert Priddy Wikipedia Article. Enough said.

In his typically inaccurate ways, Kevin Shepherd had the audacity to say that Andries “had originally established the Sathya Sai Baba entry in Wikipedia on the basis of both pro- and contra- views being represented”. This is an absurd and total untruth. Andries included voluminous amounts of non-reputable and non-reliable sources in violation of NPOV, WP:BLP, WP:V and WP:RS and it was all removed in accordance with the First Mediation With BostonMA. For once, get your facts right, Mr. Kevin Shepherd.

Andries is a known POV pusher (Refs: 01 - 02 - 03 - 04) and other Wikipedia editors have accused him of the same bias and POV pushing that Moreno has. Andries was uncooperative and his failure to accept a second mediation attempt (Ref) pushed the issue into an ArbCom case (which he tried to escape). As a matter of fact, the First ArbCom Case fully acknowledged the problems with the Sathya Sai Baba Wikipedia Article and ruled (due to Moreno's thorough documentation about Andries Anti-Sai agenda):

“Negative information in an article or on a talk page regarding Sathya Sai Baba or organizations affiliated with him which is poorly sourced may be removed without discussion. The three revert rule shall not apply to such removal. This includes links to critical websites which contain original research or which consist of personal accounts of negative experiences with Sathya Sai Baba or organizations affiliated with him. It is inappropriate for a user to insert a link to a website maintained by the user (or in which the user plays an important role).”

Needless to say, this was a huge blow to Andries and Anti-Sai Activists (and they whined and hissed about it on their own Anti-Sai Websites). Don’t expect Kevin Shepherd to mention any any of these pertinent facts, which he lamentably failed to obtain despite his alleged in-depth research into this topic.

The Kevin Shepherd Citation On Wikipedia

The Kevin Shepherd Citation On Wikipedia
In Kevin Shepherd's article against Joe Moreno, he repeatedly whined and sniveled about Moreno's objection on Wikipedia to the inclusion of a quote from his self-published book, "Investigating the Sai Baba Movement: A Clarification of Misrepresented Saints and Opportunism".

Andries Krugers Dagneaux (an ex-devotee and Anti-Sai Activist) was the only person arguing for the inclusion of the Shepherd citation in the Sathya Sai Baba Wikipedia Article. Jossie, Alecmconroy (a non-involved party who answered Andries Request For Comment) and Moreno (SSS108) all disagreed with Andries.

Wikipedia generally does not allow self-published material to be used as sources in Biographies of Living People (Refs: Self Published Sources - Verifiable Sources - BLP - Reliable Sources). Even more so when the self-published work in question makes derogatory and highly questionable hearsay allegations that have never been referenced in reliable or reputable sources (Ref: Reliable Sources). Kevin Shepherd’s book and citation fell into this category of self-published material.

After Moreno revealed the truth about Kevin Shepherd’s self-published book, Andries Krugers Dagneaux reconsidered his opinion (because he was under the impression that Shepherd’s book was not self-published) and he promptly dropped his complaint and consensus was obtained (Reference).

Although Kevin Shepherd would like to make it appear that Moreno was alone in his grievance, he was not. As a matter of fact, after Andries Krugers Dagneaux realized that Kevin Shepherd’s book was self-published and the citation did not comply with Wikipedia policy, he no longer sought its inclusion. These are the facts of the matter. Don’t expect Kevin Shepherd to accurately relate these facts without his typical spin, paranoia and “cult” accusations.