7. PLAGIARISM & COPYRIGHT
In an interview with Sam Keen in 1973 (Republished in Interviews, 1982) Oscar Ichazo says : “The disciplines we teach are very old. Many of them are adapted from traditional Buddhist, Taoist, Islamic, or Christian sources.” What is very unsatisfactory about this, is that manuals from the Arica school, which lay out the techniques of the school, very rarely acknowledge the sources of the material either in terms of the teacher or school from whom Oscar Ichazo originally learned the technique. This lack of attribution is made worse by the fact that Oscar Ichazo then copyrights the techniques as his own work. Surely this is unethical? Where Oscar Ichazo has made alterations to a traditional technique surely he should just copyright the alterations (if he feels the need to) rather than the whole thing? An example would be the Kath Generation exercises. These appear in the “Opening the Rainbow Eye” manual. There is an introduction to the exercises which says nothing about the origins of the exercises and the exercises are copyrighted as Arica’s, 1974. This is the usual pattern for the way Arica exercises are published. In fact, unusually, we do know something more about the origins of Kath Generation. In the Winter 1990 Arican (P57) Oscar Ichazo writes : “I had already based the Arica kath generation exercises on the original movements of classical Daoyin-Mugay, exercises of the whole circulation of chi, which I had known since 1960 but actually started cultivating in 1941 under the tutelage of Sensei Kentaro Ohara (1896-1978), and from which was derived the supreme sophistication of T’ai Chi Chuan.” Leaving aside the novel suggestion that T’ai Chi is of Japanese origin, if Oscar Ichazo is writing the truth in 1990, why was he passing off (and copyrighting) the kath generation work as his own in the 1970s? This problem is endemic throughout the Arica material. What is so laughable in retrospect, is how jealously Oscar Ichazo defends his own copyright (e.g. the legal disputes over the enneagrams/enneagons) when being so free with what he himself has learned elsewhere.
[The School of T’ai Chi Chuan (STCC) might have a similar problem in this direction. I understand Patrick Watson imitated his teacher, Oscar Ichazo, and copyrighted the choreography of Professor Cheng’s shortened version of the Yang family form. As Professor Cheng taught this form to many people in mainland China and then in exile on Taiwan and in the US, it is very difficult to see why STCC should assert ownership of the form. If the facts are as I suggest, STCC should give up this copyright claim.]
8. THE EIGHTH LEVEL GOES ON AND ON
The reason I was happy to believe in the claims of Oscar Ichazo was the huge impact on my psyche of doing the old group trainings (Hypergnostic, Domains, Protoanalysis, Mentations, Doors and Levels). When, for example, I was given my fixation, I was astonished that someone could know so much about me from a photograph of my face. The karma cleaning process was also extremely valuable. Later on teaching Arica work (I am certified to teach 9HS, Levels of Consciousness, Psychocalisthenics & Zhikr) helped me to develop my ability to express my self and to participate more fully. The individual meditation through the seventh level of Arica work was useful for maturing the level of self observation obtained. The wheels dropped off for me when I reached the eighth level work. I have done all the eighth level work so far published up to the third session of the last limb of Divine Nature, Divine Union. I can say categorically that there is no lasting benefit (in terms of increased “level” obtained) from going through the eighth level work. The only benefit obtained from doing the eighth level is that which might accrue from participation in a regular routine of daily meditation (though clearly if this was one’s purpose, considerable time and money could be saved by picking out some meditations from the Hypergnostic training or the Arica Daily Routine itself). There is now (by my calculation) three and a half times as much work in the eighth level as in levels one to seven combined. Of course, we have no idea where the end of the eighth level is, except that we know there will be many more parts. It seems to me obvious that the eighth level goes on and on and cannot be brought to a close because there are no enlightened students. Similarly, the long awaited Arica theory cannot be published because it does not exist.
In 1995 I attended the Arica Reunion on Maui, Hawaii. This training was billed as the Arica “Velocity Method of Sudden Enlightenment”. For me the most interesting part of the training was Oscar Ichazo’s historical lectures on classical western philosophy and mysticism. As I am not knowledgeable in this field it is impossible for me to say whether what we were told was accurate or original material. No written version of these lectures has ever been produced so a critical appraisal of their value is not possible.
The practical meditation work on Hawaii was certainly disappointing. Basically the student was directed to look closely at brightly colored diagrams (called yantras). The yantras were held so that they were illuminated by bright sunlight. The student was then directed to close his eyes. The student was then supposed to see “lights” appear in a certain order. Well, I did see some colors when I shut my eyes. This is hardly surprising after staring in intense sunlight. I never saw the sequence of colors I was supposed to see. Nor did anybody else I spoke to. Seeing these lights was supposed to amount to sudden enlightenment.
Also on this training course, we were told we were ready for dream yoga. That is we were ready to wake up in our dreams and go on fantastic journeys. Needless to say, I never had this experience. Nor, to my knowledge, has anybody else in Arica.
9. MIND CONTROL IN ARICA
a) It’s All In The Mind.
Roger Zim, in his letter to me dated December 17, 1998 (see above), says “The insights of pillars 10 and 11 of the Fourteen Pillars of Perfect Recognition seem particularly germane to this process and I would recommend them to you for your own self-observation.” In other words, the things you are worrying about are not real. They are all in your mind. A subject for self-observation but not for action in the world.
Well, I no longer accept this approach. For example, its not just in my mind that Oscar Ichazo said one thing to Sam Keen in one interview and then completely contradicted himself to Michael Goldberg later. It’s not just in my mind that Oscar Ichazo was accused by his own daughter of incest. It’s not just in my mind that, despite all its claims, Arica has failed to come up with an enlightened student.
b) “Just do the Work.”
The standard admonition in Arica when anybody has doubts about what’s going on is to “just do the work”. This means get your head down, blinker yourself to the problems and lose yourself in the endless Arica meditations.
c) Intimidation. Look at what happened to Pauli Halstead when she raised financial matters with Oscar Ichazo. She was immediately kicked out of the school. See the Spring 1990 Arica P9. For this reason few Arica students ever ask any awkward questions. Also because of the training Aricans have been through, many of them have few friends outside of Arica. This means stepping out of line can have a very high social price as well being the more obvious one of being cut off from the source of the fantasy of enlightenment.
d) Enemy of Humanity/Totalitarianism
After Betsy Ross (sp?)posted information concerning the allegation of incest against Oscar Ichazo, she received the following from the Ethics Council : -
“COPY OF LETTER FROM ETHICS COUNCIL DATED 11/29/98 Subj: Postings on Aricalist From: freeman@rosenet.net (Freeman and Freeman) To: saloon@aob.com CC: claudio@well.com (Claudio Foncea), stentzel@dcn.davis.ca.us (Larry Stenzel), treharne@compuserve.com (Nancy Treharne), rzim@sfsu.edu (Roger Zim)
Dear Betsy, Your postings of October 25, October 31, and November 8, 1998 on the 'aricalist ' raise the question of whether or not you wish to continue to be associated with the Arica School. In order to process this question with you, the Ethics Council would like to offer the following feedback concerning your 'aricalist'postings: Regarding the posting of October 25, which gave Sarah's telephone number on Maui; Oscar has repeatedly asked that Aricans respect his privacy and allow him to work without disturbance. Your posting undermines that request and shows a lack of understanding about Oscar's work, as well as being irresponsible to your fellow School members. In terms of the Arica Ethos, your action shows a lack of self-responsibility, commitment, and integrity. On October 31, you posted Sterling Doughty's newsletter, a long diatribe that questions Oscar's work, the operation of the school, and the integrity of those involved in the School. Do you think that publishing Sterling's newsletter is a positive contribution to the goal of the Arica School, the realization of Humanity-One? In terms of the Arica Ethos, you action shows a lack of brotherhood and dedication.
Finally on November 8, after a meeting with Carolina O'Connor, you posted a scurrilous comment about Oscar and seperately, Carolina's accusations. In the spirit of justice and impartiality, shouldn't her account have been processed before publishing it as fact? As in your other two postings, your desire for sensationalism seems to have outweighed the demands of prudence and fairness. In terms of the Arica Ethos, instead of loyalty, unity and integrity, you display the immoral force or betrayal and alienation.
The Ethics Council would like to suggest that you purposefully take some time away from Arica, by placing yourself 'in the water' to reconsider if you wish to maintain a connection with the Arica School. We would appreciate a reply, and will be glad to process this matter with you. Please contact the Ethics Council by E-mail at freeman@rosenet.net, by mail c/o Lincoln Freeman - 5233 Melqua Rd., Roseburg, OR 97470 or by telephone at 541/672-2125 We offer this in the spirit of the Arica Ethos.
Toham Kum Rah
Lincoln Freeman
Secretary, The Ethics Council
AH’s Comment : One doesn’t quite know where to begin. In this email, Betsy Ross is accused of showing a lack of “ self-responsibility, commitment, and integrity”, “brotherhood and dedication” and “loyalty, unity and integrity”. She is accused of displaying “the immoral force or betrayal and alienation”. To me this reads like naked totalitarianism – Betsy Ross has acted against Oscar Ichazo so she must be an enemy of humanity. Those who don’t agree with us are enemies because they are acting against “the realization of Humanity-One”. Betsy Ross is chided for not processing Carolina’s account before publishing it. Of course, if Carolina’s account had been given to the Ethics Council for processing, the allegation would never have seen the light of day. Betsy Ross’ instinct to publish first was clearly the correct one, the Ethics Council having taken no action in this matter beyond publishing Oscar Ichazo’s denial and sending this absurd email.
Also note that to be a member of Ethics Council, one has to be “current with the work” i.e. have completed all the Arica trainings published to date. So the members of the Ethics Council represent the top product of the Arica School in terms of proximity to (Arica’s version of) enlightenment. Does the behavior of the Ethics Council in relation to the allegations against Oscar Ichazo strike you as being particularly enlightened? If the conduct of the Ethics Council is the best result of decades of Arica work, then Arica work is something the world can do without.
The Letter the Ethics Council Could Not Write : -
Dear Betsy,
Thank you for drawing the attention of the School to the allegations of Carolina Ichazo O’Connor against Oscar Ichazo. Of course, the Ethics Council takes very seriously any sexual misconduct by people in positions of authority within the Arica. Therefore, the Ethics Council intends to look into the allegations and will report to the School within three months of today’s date. We are pleased to inform you that Reverend John Smith (a retired clergyman and non-Arican) has agreed to chair the Ethics Council during this process. Also, to further avoid any allegations of bias, the Aricans on the Ethics Council who were present in Chile at the time of the alleged incest, will step down from the Ethics Council for the duration of the investigation. The Ethics Council intends to publish the transcripts of any interviews with the parties involved. We hope this letter answers any concerns you have and if new information becomes available to you, please pass it on to us.
Yours sincerely,
XYZ, on behalf of the Ethics Council.
e) Brainwashing. In the last ten years or so, newly published Arica ‘meditations’ have often ceased to be like meditation at all but rather an attempt to induce a state of belief in the practitioner by repetition. For example, see the following steps from the Arica Tuning Ritual, The Arican, Spring/Summer 1989, P35-39 : -
Step 33 “Feel that the immense violet halo is filled with the awakened and enlightened consciousnesses of millions upon millions of Aricans.”
Step 60 “Close your eyes and imagine yourself in the future, living in the perfection of the Metasociety.”
Step 74 “Feel yourself as all of future humanity achieving true enlightenment in the Metasociety.”
At the monthly Arican Day of Unity, many ‘meditations’ with steps like these are practiced for four or five hours. It is an unsurprising result of this process that members of the Arica school are happy to believe there will be millions upon millions of Aricans and that the Arica Metasociety will come to pass. The effect of this process helps to explain the vehemence with which an Arican like Betsy Ross is attacked because she is seen to be endangering (the fantasy of) the arrival of the Metasociety.
10. AN HYPOTHESIS
The best hypothesis as to how Aricans have arrived in this situation goes as follows. First, there is no doubt that Oscar Ichazo has in his hands some brilliant work, e.g. the old Protoanalysis training. Exactly what part of this was taught to Oscar Ichazo by his teachers (who have never been acknowledged) and what he devised himself, we do not know. However, by the end of sixties he did have tremendously powerful work to offer. If he had chosen to teach this work to the public as something that could help people in their lives, he could have had a happy and fulfilled life. Unfortunately, he chose not to do this. He was tempted by the position he found himself. To increase his fame, he started to claim that the different techniques he had learnt and developed were not separate islands from different traditions but instead amounted to an integrated curriculum that would lead to individual and ultimately general enlightenment. Also he added the claim that the trainings were really just the tip of the iceberg and behind them (soon to be published) was a very comprehensive theory. The most powerful work in Arica is the material that comes near the beginning (both in terms of historical date of production and in terms of level of the school). The later stuff is simply being invented for the purposes of generating more trainings. The endless eighth level work cannot come to a conclusion because the students are no more enlightened than when they started it. The latest output, the protoanalytical work, is so dreadful because it is both a dilution and an incomprehensible complication of what went before. Oscar Ichazo simply has nothing useful more to add.
11. FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETY?
The Arica Day of Unity Report for December 1998 page six states : “We have expended a good deal of effort this year on the ongoing accounting and legal process, which is intended to bring the Institute into full compliance with IRS regulations for non-profit organizations.” So we know that the Arica Institute has not been complying with taxation law for not-for-profit companies. The Report continues : - “When completed, this process will have the result of protecting the Institute’s non-profit status by improving our internal accounting practices, and by clarifying the financial relationship which the Institute has with Oscar and the Oscar Ichazo Company.” The Arica Day of Unity Report for May 1999 noted : “A recent independent auditor's analysis and review, conducted by the firm of Strauss, Rosen, Comas & Modansky, LLP, concluded that "... the financial statements ... present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Arica Institute, Inc. as of June 30, 1998, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles." The legal process is proceeding apace, and we expect it will be concluded soon with an agreement that will establish a working and financial relationship between Oscar and the Institute that will be fair and just to all parties, as well as in compliance with IRS standards.” These statements have appeared as an indirect response to various criticisms which have been made of financial affairs of the Arica Institute and its relationship with the Oscar Ichazo Company. The statement of the auditors can hardly be conclusive in this respect. Generally speaking, financial audits are number checking exercises and not serious investigations into financial wrongdoing. For example, here in the UK, the largest corporate fraud in the last decade was carried out by the well-known media tycoon (and eventual suicide) Robert Maxwell. When the balloon finally burst, the fact that Maxwell Communications had been audited every year by extremely well known auditors was of no comfort to shareholders, creditors or the beneficiaries of the employee pension funds. Therefore, the mere fact of audit alone does not mean that the financial criticisms which have been made of Arica are in anyway invalid.
The fundamental problem of the relationship of the Arica Institute and the Oscar Ichazo Company is this : The “educational” not-for-profit Arica Institute is used to attract members who, if they wish to continue with their training program, have to buy training products from the private (for profit) Oscar Ichazo Company.
A secondary issue question is : While Oscar Ichazo has been using the not-for-profit Arica Institute to advertise and promote the products of his private (for profit) company, the Oscar Ichazo Company, has the Arica Institute ever been adequately compensated for the work it has done? Has the Arica Institute ever produced and distributed products on behalf of the Oscar Ichazo Company? The January 1999 Arican contained the statement that “AN ARICAN FOR 1999. A new Arican is in the process of being published by the Oscar Ichazo Company and distributed by the Institute…” This strongly suggests that prior to that date, the Institute had been distributing products for the Oscar Ichazo Company. Has the Arica Institute ever been compensated for this? If not, this amounts to an abuse of the Arica Institute’s not-for-profit status.
The trainings which the Arica Institute promotes and distributes for the Oscar Ichazo Company are all the eighth level trainings. These are Introduction to the Eighth Level, The Golden Eye Parts 1 and 2, MS1, The Telegnostic Guardian, and the nine parts of Divine Nature. The trainings are not cheap, most cost hundreds of dollars each. In February 1990, Pauli Halstead wrote to Oscar Ichazo complaining about the expense of the (then) new meditations. For her letter she was thrown out of the Arica School. The episode is covered in a report by Oscar Ichazo called “The Oscar Ichazo Company” which appeared in the Spring 1990 Arican, P9. The report states that the Oscar Ichazo Company “has not been a vehicle to supply Oscar with personal income or financial security, nor was this ever his intention”, P10. The report also gives a reason for the setting up of the Oscar Ichazo Company, on P9 : “I organized the Oscar Ichazo Company to ensure that funds received for new trainings and materials for the School were directed solely to their development and production, and not diverted to the every day overhead of the Institute.” A number of points spring to mind :
1) First, if as claimed, the aims of the Oscar Ichazo Company were truly not for profit, it seems extraordinary to take activities away from a tax free Institute and put them into a taxable private company. Surely, if any number of these trainings had been sold this would have been a very tax inefficient thing to do.
2) The reason given for the move also seems strange. If the reason for the move to a new operation is that the Institute was too inefficient (money being “diverted into everyday overhead”) it seems extraordinary to decamp to Hawaii with the new eighth level trainings and leave the Institute to go on making a financial mess of levels one to seven? Surely, if the Institute was the problem, these problems needed sorting for levels one to seven and not just for the new level eight work? Also was not even more “overhead” created by setting up a new business in Hawaii?
3) Lastly, the extraordinary vehemence of Oscar Ichazo’s response to Pauli Halstead’s seemingly polite and respectful letter. Perhaps the vehemence of the response can be explained as deterrence to any student ever raising financial questions in Arica again. It does seem possible that there might be another explanation to the setting up of the Oscar Ichazo Company beyond the authorized version.
One can hypothesize that by the early 1980s Oscar Ichazo realized that Arica was never going to catch on in the USA and that no fame or glory was going to be earned by being the founder of the Arica Institute. The death of a student, John Bleibtreu, provided the Ichazos with the capital for their 1983 move to Hawaii. This still left them with a need for income. Although the Arica School was not growing, thankfully there were enough brainwashed Arica students who were still anxious to complete the work of the school and become enlightened. It appears the Oscar Ichazo Company was founded to provide Oscar Ichazo with an annuity (an income for life) from these deluded people. The plan started to fall apart because the new eighth level trainings were so unattractive that most Aricans gave up doing them. There are perhaps less than 100 people who have kept going and bought all the trainings. I know because I am one of them. That Oscar Ichazo’s motivation is now financial can be seen from the last part of denial of his daughter Carolina’s allegations : “It is such a shame that Carolina has to make her accusations at the point when my work is coming to fruition and it will produce an enormous revenue for the School, the promotion of the work, and a more comfortable lifestyle for Sarah, my family and me, especially my grandchildren.” Oscar Ichazo’s comments to Roger Zim, Speaker of the Ethics Council, November 11, 1998.
The Jim Burns View, from the Metalist.
The key points are highlighted.
--------------- MESSAGE metalist.v002.n016.7 ---------------
From: James Burns [metaton Editor: Burns was recently (2003) ejected from the Arica/Oscar Cult for attempting to exercise the right of free speech.]
“It is significant that despite the incredible generosity of many Aricans that the school finds itself yet again in a state of financial crisis. The school will never expand or even sustain itself without a proper financial basis. The repeated calls for fund raising have been well met in the past. The recent rallying of some individuals within the school is also testament to the good will that exists. However the point has been well made that funds are more easily raised if people know what they are being raised for. Raising money for unquantified and arbitrary overhead expenses is not going to be enough to motivate many people. For those who are faced with hard, known and concrete pressures on their limited resources the appeal needs to be far more concrete.
The information in the Institutes Financial Report of the 5th Of December 98 was quite concerting. From the information provided the following tables can be constructed:-
ARICA MEMBERSHIP AND BUDGETED INCOME
1998-99 1997-98 MEMBERS 614 672
Income 98-99 Budget Estimate Previous Year Fund Raising $88,000.00 $100,000.00 Membership $183,000.00 $189,000.00
Products/ Sponsors Product Income $35,000.00 $53,846.15 Sponsors Income $48,000.00 $89,000.00 Misc. $6,000.00 $6,000.00
Total Income $360,000.00 $437,846.15 Excess/ (Shortfall) -$49,000.00 $45,164.34 Projected Expenditure $409,000.00 $392,681.82
ARICA BUDGETED EXPENDITURE 1998-99
Expenditure 98-99 Init Estimate Revised Est. Previous Year
New York Expenses $203,000.00 $199,500.00 Hawaii $203,000.00 $167,000.00 $143,000.00 OI Royalty Payments $21,000.00 $21,000.00 $38,181.82 Loan Repayment $12,000.00 $12,000.00 Accounting Software $6,000.00 0 Unmentioned Costs
Total Expenditure $409,000.00 $392,681.82 Sub-Total to Hawaii $188,000.00 $181,181.82
OIC Income Est. 8th Level Trg's. 60 @ $500 $30,000.00 Tot Hawaii Income $218,000.00
The first issue of concern is the way that Expenditure for Hawaii has been estimated. The Financial Report says this about Hawaii costs:-
" The Hawaii office shares many of the same types of basic overhead expenses as the New York office."
Now this sounds like a general kind of statement that barely seems worth commenting about until you look at the figures themselves and find that they turn out to be EXACTLY the same! How can that be?
The implication is that both centres are running parallel operations with the same functions and costs. However it is admitted that this is not the case:-
"The Hawaii office shares many of the same types of basic overhead expenses as the New York office, which are largely covered by the Oscar Ichazo Company, but Arica pays for half the expenses for training development, production, and revision costs."
It looks very much as if Hawaii has no set pre-determined financial figures and have 'arbitrarily' assigned a value to them based on the more detailed accounts from New York
In other words the Arica Institute expenditure budget ($203,000) includes half the overhead cost of the Oscar Ichazo Co. Apart from asking the obvious question of why it is doing so, one may also ask why the Oscar Ichazo company in that case needs the same kind of money spent on it as the Institute? (See Below). There is no mention in the financial statement that the Oscar Ichazo Company picks up a corresponding proportion of the Arica Institute overhead. If Arica is paying for half the expenses for training development, production, and revision costs, of the Oscar Ichazo company then surely it is also due an income from its investment on the revenue raised by that company? The Income from the Oscar Ichazo company must be significant if one is to believe the current enrolement figures to eighth level trainings. In other words what we seem to have here is a case of 'double accounting'.
The predominant financial function of the Arica Institute would then seem to be the channelling of funds into the Oscar Ichazo Co. The great concern is that if there is 'double accounting' the Institute may in fact be in violation of it's 'not for profit' status. There could also be issues of financial accountability and irresponsibility that could be leveled at the officers of the Institute.
It may be that the Institute's struggle to make ends meet is largely the result of the burdens placed on it by the Oscar Ichazo Co. The result is that the Institute has no funds of its own to develop itself or accumulate reserves. The financial relationship between Hawaii and the Institute is unclear. The membership should have a right to know what the detail of that relationship is. Failure to do so leads the officers of the Institute open to the charge of misleading it's members and perhaps even the violation of statutory requirements.
The question of possible mis-representation is also apparent within the body of the Financial Report. The manner of presenting the Hawaii expenditure is at least ambigious and perhaps even misleading.
Viz:-
"Total expense estimates for the Hawaii operation are expected to total $167,000 for this fiscal year, versus $143,000 in actual expense last year… Actually, upon being informed of our financial situation, Arica Hawaii has cut $36,000 from its own budget, thus reducing our budget deficit from $85,000 to the $49,000 mentioned in this report".
The implication is that the bill of $167,000 has been reduced by $36,000 dollars from Hawaii. In actual fact this is not the case, because when you put this figure into the accounts model it does not add up. The figure that does add up is the NY office cost of $203,000 minus $36,000 to give $167,000. The actual truth of the matter is that Hawaii were looking for an additional $60,000 (42%) but will settle for an additional $24,000 (17%).
So what exactly is happening? Is there a real financial crisis? If so where is it? Is it the Institute or Hawaii? What is causing it? You have a right to know… it's your money. This question needs to be straightened out for the future.”
James Burns
12) CONCLUSION
Oscar Ichazo: “You know, there is a tradition – and more than a tradition, it’s a fact – that every 2,500 years we have a change. The first to say that was the holy Gautama, and he was speaking about the tradition of the Buddhas in mankind. Gautama was the number three Buddha. 2,500 years before him there was one, and 2,500 years before that there was another. Gautama spoke directly of the next 2,500 years, and it is in the tradition of Buddhism that in another 2,500 years we are going to achieve the perfect state as humanity. That perfect state is called Maitreya. Maitreya is going first to incarnate in somebody and then just spread……..
Whatever is or should be, should be now – that one who should give the entire science for the next 2,500 years, as it was in the case of Gautama. From the time of Gautama up to now there has been no new news, nothing really new. Arica is new. We have built over Gautama and gone further………..”
Question: “Who are you?”
Oscar Ichazo: “It’s not up to me to say that. Reality will say that.” “Interviews with Oscar Ichazo”. Arica Institute Press. New York. 1982. P.56-7
AH’s Final Comment.
One can only be amused by this exchange. First, Oscar Ichazo puts it into the interviewer’s mind that he is the new Bhudda (the first for 2,500 years) and then (with characteristic modesty) says its not up to him to say so. Well, if you have read through this file to the end you will know that reality is saying something very different. For dedicated Aricans this realization is a terrible process. Many good (if gullible) people have chucked years if not decades of their lives down the spiritual drain that is Arica. Still it is better to find out the truth, even if it is rather late in the day. No good can ever come out of so many lies. There is no need any longer to sit at home doing endless Arica trainings. Nor any need to buy another Arica product. There is no longer any need to throw good money (or in this case spiritual energy) after bad. This realization can be a new beginning. If even a tiny part of the motivation for being in Arica was the idea of being of service, there are many possibilities. Perhaps there will be more joy in one of these than in the empty fantasy that is Arica enlightenment.
ANDREW HUNTER
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