Um, your boy is a dud. And all you’re doing is trying to capitalize on this dude’s name and image. And you have no idea what you’re saying. The below excerpt is from a draft in 2018. I decided to go ahead and publish it because I think it’s funny. It’s now 2020 and stupid …
The Stubborn Persistence of Invalidation and Why it’s So Toxic
“It wasn’t like that for me”“You must be remembering it wrong”“It wasn’t the same for everyone”“I don’t see myself as a victim”“You’re allowing yourself to be a victim”“I’ve moved on. You should too” These are some of the invalidating things that fellow indiakids have said to me regarding our upbringing. Just like the normalizing stuff, …
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Good Food and Giving Thanks For It
Thanksgiving for us meant ‘home again’. My parents started flying me and my sisters back for the full winter break starting in 5th grade. We usually got home right in time for Thanksgiving and the home cooked feast that came with it. Food was a really big deal for me, beginning in early childhood. Good …
Halloween, 1984 – an update
It’s been ten years since I wrote about what it was like to be in India on the day Indira Gandhi was assassinated. What took place on Halloween 34 years ago still remains a Specter that haunts. It’s the specter of memory. Let’s neutralize this ghost with knowledge. Read this book: Amritsar: Indira Gandhi’s Last Battle …
What ‘Normalizing’ Looks Like
Are these phrases familiar to you? “I’m still glad for the experience”“I wouldn’t trade it for anything”“I’d rather have been in India than in the U.S.”“My parents were worse, so I was better off away from them”“I’m okay now, so it must have been okay”“It wasn’t all bad” If stuff like this sounds familiar it’s …
That one thing that makes me think MPA is worse:
It’s the Yoga. I grew up in 3HO in the 80’s and I attended GNFC for six years and GRD Academy for two years. While at GNFC, we did absolutely no yoga. The only time we had to do yoga was in the winter months when school was not in session. At GNFC, while we …
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Miri Piri Academy… Meet your new boss. Same as the old boss.
There are a lot of reasons why I believe things have not changed for the 3HO children at boarding school at Miri Piri Academy in Amritsar, India. There’s one reason why I believe it’s worse: Mandatory Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training in order to graduate. I’ll talk more on that later. Those 3HO kids over there, …
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Um, what?
How insulting is this: Hey. Assholes. RIGHT NOW there are 3HO Sikh Dharma children who are thousands of miles apart from their parents–children who have been separated because Yogi Bhajan told their parents to do it. Told their parents that their “children don’t love them”. Told their parents that “distance therapy” is a thing. And …
Separating children from parents is wrong. Very wrong.
What’s happening now–Children being torn from their parents at the US border–might feel all-too personal. It can trigger a lot of unhappy memories. I have a clear memory of how I felt in my body and in my mind when I was really young and separated from my parents. I remember not feeling, and just …
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Amritsar c. 1983
Yogi Bhajan, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Nanak Dev Singh, a 3HO child who looks to be no older than ten years, another 3HO child probably a teen, and a 3HO woman. I can’t even begin to make sense of this scene. Can you? Do you have first-hand knowledge of it? Do you know?
There’s no deadline for grief
…Meaning, it might take a while. After years of keeping this blog, I have had the opportunity to speak with a number of ex-classmates, talk to people, and have real conversations about growing up in 3HO Sikh Dharma. When I do take time out of ordinary life to reconnect or have a conversation, what usually …
Walking away from the bad.
We need to tell ourselves that it’s okay to walk away. We are not going to fail. We are not going to collapse. We are going to be okay. When someone is treating you badly, manipulating you, making you feel less-than, they rely on a prevailing and toxic narrative that there will be dire consequences …
Can someone regret something even if they’ve never apologized for their role?
Last week, Dr. Dre issued a public apology to the women he beat up back in the N.W.A. times. While it reeks of PR, it’s still a step in the right direction. Perhaps now he can put his money where his mouth is and donate to causes that prevent domestic violence, and to those that …
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“No one imagines themselves as so fragile to ever let something as sinister as a cult take control of their minds. I didn’t think anyone would ever tell me how to think and when to think it. We all believe we’re above such things and only stupid people could fall for that. “ — Carmen …
And so, here ends a senseless chapter
Nanak Dev Singh, the notorious tormentor of the 3HO children at G.N.F.C. boarding school, has died. Cause of death was apparently a massive heart attack. My initial reaction to news of his death was “I hope it was neither quick, nor painless“. But vindication does not come in the act of dying. Nevertheless, there are …
So now they have a treatment for Sexual Abuse?
Found this article “Reclaiming Your Innocence” Wondering… Would this be the same treatment recommended for the 3HO children who experienced sexual and physical abuse while at 3HO led boarding schools in India? Would this be the same treatment for 3HO children who experienced sexual and physical abuse at Khalsa Children’s Camp? Would this be the …
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What I got from watching The Source Family
I just watched The Source Family, a recent film that depicts the brief life of the cult of the same name, led by James Baker, aka Father Yod, aka YaHoWha. The film labels itself a documentary, but is less so than it is a compilation of old footage and interviews with past members who, to …
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The inventing (and re-inventing) of Kundalini Yoga
For anyone unaware (is there anyone?), Kundalini Yoga and 3HO Sikh Dharma are inextricably linked. There is no historical, ideological, or anthropological connection–what-so-ever–between the religion of Sikhism and Kundalini, aka Tantra. Yet this link has nevertheless found its way into the common vernacular among many people in the west with little epistemological discourse. I’m not …
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Upcoming ICSA Events to take advantage of
If you’re reading this blog, chances are you are curious about 3HO and Yogi Bhajan. Also, chances are you were born and raised in this group. And if you were born and raised in this group, there’s a 90% chance you were sent away to boarding school in India. And a 100% chance you have …
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As If I Needed A Reason…
A child separated from his or her parents experiences profound emotional trauma and damage to his or her true sense of security. This is the fundamental reason not to send children to boarding school. But in addition to that, there are other reasons NOT to send a child to boarding school in India through the …