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An email conversation was forwarded to me recently from a critic of the Star's Edge "Avatar Course" cult run by Harry Palmer. A Scientologist was looking for spiritual advancement outside the "Church" of Scientology and wondered if his goals could be met through Avatar as a cheaper alternative. Someone in the Free Zone (communities of Scientologists outside the control of the current Scientology cult) put him in touch with a cult researcher recognized as knwoledgable regarding Avatar who also has strong knowledge of the Scientology cult.
Here is the conversation, used with permission from both parties, and names and details edited to protect their identities from the cult's potential frivolous litigation tactics.
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PROSPECT: Thank you for being willing to answer a few questions. Basically, this is the situation:
I want to go Clear and so does my best bud, Aaron. We are both struggling financially. We have to go into debt in order to get any auditing, much less go Clear.
Anyway, heard about Avatar through a friend who did it. Her life was changed completely. She only did the first course and has never been involved since. I know she says she feels "Clear'' and that section III? rundowns got rid of her anxiety, nervousness, lack of 'confront' and all that, coupled with knowing that she's ''enlightened'' based on whatever going Avatar or Clear feels like.
I am interested because I am thinking: Oh my God, if I don't have enough money to do any auditing, is this, AT LEAST, almost the next best thing? Will I get rid of some ''case'' by doing a 9 day course? Maybe it would be fun with a big group?
What do you think? I am open to any suggestions. I've been talking to an Avatar ''Wizard'' who's wanting us to come. Yes, I know the founder Harry Palmer ran a mission for Scientology, yes I know that the Masters and Wizards make a lot of $$$$ off of me coming to do Avatar.
I have to say that I am a pretty evolved being and I say that with humility. I ''know'' a lot about a lot of spiritual practices. I also know a lot about ''Clearing'' and discussed this with the Wizard a bit in the past. I know that Harry Palmer was a longtime Scientologist and a Mission Holder (like a mini-church of scientology). I also know from reading ''Resurfacing''
that I know every single ''end result'' of each of the exercises, before doing them. Why?? because I have done them in Scientology (all outside of the organization). The first exercises are the TR's & Objectives course in Scient, basically communication/perception exercises done to have a ''win'', ''extrovert a being from being focused on their case" etc etc.
{editor's note: I have been informed an ommission of a detail here has caused some confusion, namely that the rest of this quoted section was a copy of what was addressed to the "Wizard", not asked of the person who received the email.}
I am SAYING all of this or WRITING all of this because of a concern I have:
What if Avatar is WAY to basic for me??? I know Section I is and the ''Mini'' courses I have done and they too are all WAY too basic and, quite honestly, hold no interest for me. What if I spend $thousands + $2000 for hotel, food and airfare to find out that I knew all of this and have done all of this in Scientology???
Section II and III (The Rundowns) - I am aware of what those levels are about but if they are basic basic, like Section I & the mini-courses, then I think it's not going to do much. What do you think????
Will I go Clear during Section III???????? or when does one have that moment where they KNOW, within their own selves, that they have achieved the State of Avatar/Source/Deliberate Creator/Clear/Enlightenment/True Self??? It's supposed to be an experience that only I know, with 100% certainty, that I have gone Clear. It can be subtle or mind-blowing. Then, it's then learning to live as a Clear or as an Avatar, which is great because in Scientology, you are in the ''non-interference'' zone until you reach OT III - much like doing the Master's and Wizard's courses. Everything in Avatar and Scientology is done on a gradient - step by step.
Thanks again.
RR: Please bear with me, as this is a big question, and deserves a thorough answer. It it's too long to bother with, skip to the end where I tell you where to get a copy of the course. Otherwise, here's giving it a shot ...
Much of this is my opinion, but is based on a couple years of research, talking with both critics and people in Avatar at all levels, current and past. There are a lot of resources out there to hear different sides to the story -- and the discouragement of people in Avatar to ever listen to anything not from them hopefully will not put you off. There's a lot of things I can send you if you need backing or specifics on anything. In fact, people in the Free Zone dealt with Palmer when he and his partner, Avra Honey-Smith, ran an allegedly highly abusive mission in Elmira. Those who know him from Scientology consider him to be an obvious SP if ever there was one; others call him insane. Crazy ... like a fox? Who knows. But if his particular courses didn't provide some gains (or at least hope and/or perceived gains), he wouldn't have survived this long (though the numbers of people currently involved in Avatar are FAR less than they claim). Then again, it's almost always the hard sell with them right from the start, and their retention is slim, even at upper levels, so it's anyone's game how to look at it objectively.
Although most people in Avatar shudder at comparisons to Scientology (these days Palmer tries to dissociate from it as much as possible and denies its derivation outright), your assessment seems accurate based on my experience and research. The structure and processes are roughly equivalent overall and in many specifics. However, the angle is belief management, through various degrees of hypnotism as you go along (though unless you've studied hypnotism, you would not recognize it). This is probably the heavy Ramtha influence. Palmer's original plan was to simplify and market half-squirreled Scientology to disillusioned members and later the general public -- he used the float tank story to cover up his rebranding of what he was doing at the mission as "Avatar" during the period he was fighting (and eventually lost) the right to use Scientology trademarks.
On the positive side, I think the courses are wonderful experiences as far as the environment they create, and many of the other people there are positive people seeking to better their life condition and themselves. You will meet people from around the world, and there is a certain comfort in the conformity of intention ("alignment") they create, basically that of Palmer and his company, Star's Edge. It's a very deliberate, fabricated experience that's being sold, love-bombing and all. Many students get huge highs (and are asked to write testimonials in this state), and many crash later and/or wonder what they were thinking looking back when their heads clear. Others go on and swear they are advanced souls making a difference in the world, and those who didn't stay in washed out.
In each course there is more than a little pressure to take the next one, or bring people in through interning as a "master" (mind you, YOU pay THEM when you bring students to course for you to work with, seriously). On a side note, the masters and wizards don't "make a lot of money" bringing you in. The lion's share always goes to Star's Edge, the profit company privately owned by Palmer -- now a VERY rich man. In fact, they now require everything above the basic Resurfacing course be held at company employee-run courses, which I believe means a discount instead of a commission to the master. I could be wrong, though, as they keep their business dealings pretty hidden. Anyway, the elitism and absolutism about Palmer and Avatar is subtle at the lower levels, but ever-present, and the real psychological control (and even abuse) happens during training to be a master, especially at the "Integrity Course" where any intentions other than to bring (paying) students into Avatar are weeded out. But they don't complain; they are happy, so-to-speak.
Apart from that -- and all the dishonesty about Palmer's past and credentials -- I have issues with the very nature of what he is selling, starting with philosophical. He all but officially equates being "source" (at cause) as Enlightenment, though Palmer makes all the Freshman student's mistakes about epistemology, mysticism, and metaphysics throughout all his works (which IMO are almost always promotional advertising and pep talk with some borrowed wisdom thrown in). He can't even keep the terms "consciousness" and "awareness" straight. Anyway, bringing someone into the experience of absolute subjective reality (instead of objective reality) creates the perception of "certainty" of Enlightenment, which of course precludes it from actually being enlightenment. It's the last big trap of the ego. You can know Enlightenment, but it's not "experienced" by any "certainty" ... you'll just know it when you get there without the need to know or confirm it, if that makes any sense. IMO it's silly that someone could claim you will get it from doing Avatar, and it's a claim so many other people make that is all too easy. But enough pointless debate about the nature of Satori ...
The point is that with the belief management angle, you can be made to cause yourself to believe you are eight feet tall to such certainty, no one can tell you otherwise and nothing else matters. You will be conditioned to call anyone with a measuring tape self-deluded or a liar. Now the Emperor's New Clothes a powerful trick, and it might make some people happy to have such an ability, but is that what you want? Some (LRH?) would call that slavery, or at least folly. Now I'm not saying that you wont get some similar wins as you would from Dianetics and Scientology. They aim at many of the same things in somewhat similar ways. But you WILL get the belief that you have wins, even if you don't. Most of the many touted testimonials about how amazing Avatar is are very vague and unmeasurable -- always purely subjective, and they not only don't apologize for the fleeting nature of their (perceived) wins, but praise the virtue of avoiding applying any reason (Data Series, anyone?). The game is about creating the PERCEPTION of wins over what the rest of the world would call real results. That's the game, and the real product being sold. Create your own reality and convince yourself it's real, thank Harry and Avatar, repeat. And that sells, at least to some people. The problem is that they are convinced they are more happy and successful, while their families see differently past the facade, especially in relation to their bank account. The stories of people going into debt for the next course and so on are many, and I've seen it firsthand.
This is where I must point out many of the negative issues within the Church of Scientology that carried over into his group: there is no absolutely external accountability; very little (but costly) training resulting in many cases of psychological breakdowns of the students and teachers around the world on course; a sec-check mentality for anyone who dares question or have doubt about anything that goes against him or his company; total suppression of criticism of any kind and vilification of critics personally (dead agenting); perpetually lying or misleading about stats; an unwillingness to ever provide evidence of easily verified claims; answering innocuous questions about him or Avatar whose answers aren't assuredly flattering with accusations about agendas (crimes) ... the list of red flags goes on, which is why he will never get my money. And when you trace back the intentions of all the policies and attitudes, you will probably find money is the root of what Avatar is all about. You just have to peel away the good intentions of the people perpetuating the revenue stream under the guise of an "Enlightened Planetary Civilization" (his Trademark term for cleared planet, not kidding). Avatar is indoctrinated into people as the highest form of truth while conditioning people to deny it's absolutist or elitist nature, and every breath of it is owned and controlled in every way by Star's Edge, which is owned by Harry Palmer, the deliberately idolized guru who goes to great lengths to seem otherwise.
Sorry if I'm being too cynical. It's just that even the otherwise honest people I know in Avatar constantly change what they say about Avatar based on what they want you to hear. They make medical or super-power claims, then hide them. They will say it's only a business in one breath and claim it's the only non-bogus spiritual path in another. And as you go farther in, it becomes mankind's last hope at avoiding destruction (Palmer even has his own version of the Galactic Confederacy story). And last-but-not-least I know someone personally threatened with bankruptcy by frivolous lawsuits just for objectively verifying that Palmer's cover story about false academic credentials was also false.
But back to brass tacks ... if you take a course, there is a good chance you will at least have some perceived wins, maybe one or more real ones. You will meet neat people. You will find it a time to think about your life and delve into past memories, etc, which can be helpful for some, psychologically harmful for others, especially if pushed too hard. But you might want to read the course first. I doubt you will find anything more advanced than the Dianetics and Scientology it came from, but maybe some new approaches and a few surprises because of the stuff he mixed in.
The best thing you could do is read the Masters and Wizard Course materials, which are available online if you know where to look. You will be told of the "dangers" of reading them or going through it with someone not accredited through them (Google "The Curse of Avatar"), and they will cry copyright infringement in the same sentence as claiming they aren't accurate. However, they've been verified by people who took the course. Anyway, just send an e-mail to para-paria@xs4all.nl and mention Avatar courses in the subject, explaining you wish to receive the Master and Wizard's Course. That should give you a much better idea of what to expect instead of being told to just experiencing it, experiences which may or may not be more fabricated than real.
I hope you find the above useful, and don't discourage you from looking further in either direction.
PROSPECT: Wow! I actually did email for the course and printed off about 200 pages+ and haven't ever read them.
Everything you wrote is exactly what I thought the course was like and about. It was good to have that validated - thank-you for taking the time to write all of this. I see the difference, in one way, Avatar is rah-rah and a group thing and Scientology is more one on one and not always ''exciting''.
Thanks very much!
Ed
RR: Ed -
I'm relieved you didn't take what I said as unnecessarily negative. And here's a disclaimer: I'm a bit of an outsider on "clearing" technology in terms of involved experience, but I can give you an outside perspective that may be helpful.
Yes, Avatar is more group auditing with some self-auditing and one-on-one -- that makes it classify an LGAT (Large Group Awareness Training), many of which cropped up and became popular in the 70s and 80s. This gives it a much more group therapy flavor, with all the pros and cons, which I think you can figure. There is a lot of pressure to have a win from what I've heard. You are naturally limited by their schedule and they want that testimonial at the end. If you even take the course, you're considered an "Avatar" -- it's just expected, just like taking the Wizard Course means you're a "wizard" by default, although they have a do-over (reduced rate) option. On one hand, it allows people another chance to get where they want to be, to truly satisfy the customer ... never quite admitting "it didn't work" the first time, of course. But I suspect that's also for hotel rental economics (if they fill enough rooms, they get the meeting space free) and social reinforcement during course (increasing conformity by having more people to follow along).
One last note, in case you didn't catch it: they use the term "avatar" very differently from its original use. They use it roughly as what others would call "Buddha"; "Master" is equated as "Bodhisattva", though that has a very different original meaning as well. I don't know if Palmer read a few books on Hindu-Buddhism without getting it, or just reuses the words in his own way on purpose, but it's a bit confusing and some would consider it disrespectful to those traditions.
PROSPECT:Yes, I have often wondered why they used 'Avatar' as I know it has a completely different meaning.
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Researcher Commentary: This exchange clearly brings out the similarities and differences between Avatar and Scientology. However, people in Avatar tend to focus on smaller dissimilarities and philosophically ambiguous major differences. Most people in Scientology and the Free Zone consider Avatar to be completely different because any thing that deviates from Hubbard's "tech" is anathema and such comparisons are insulting. In the end, it's arguing the difference between a Chihuahua and a Doberman - dog owners will decry differences, but they are both dogs as opposed to one being a penguin, or a refrigerator.
