Auras of Authority

By the time anyone reads this, the Senate will have voted for or against confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. The presidential election will be concluding. And, in federal court, Keith Raniere, revered by followers as “Vanguard,” will have been sentenced for racketeering, having sex with a minor, and other charges related to his Albany based multi-level marketing self-improvement program, NXIVM.

NXIVM “Prefect,” Nancy Salzman, a former psychiatric nurse, hypnotherapist/hypnotist and, according to NXIVM, premier expert in Neurolinguistic Programming, awaits sentencing at home in Waterford.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (or re-programming) can change the way we respond to situations by helping us become aware of how our brains and neurophysiology have been conditioned to respond to language, including body language.

Raniere’s NXIVM was first named Executive Success Programs. The marketing pyramid later evolved (or devolved) to include a men’s group, the Society of Protectors, and a couple women’s groups, JNESS, and DOS. DOS is an acronym which I’ve long understood to mean disk operating system. To the women of NXIVM, DOS stands for “Dominus Obsequious Sororium” which translates from Latin to “Lord/Master of the Obedient Female Companions,” a term which could, in English, refer to some sort of “handmaid” status.

My 2004 paper hard copy text Merriam-Webster Dictionary does not include the word “handmaid.” One online definition for handmaid reads: “a handmaiden, handmaid or maidservant is a personal maid or female servant. Depending on culture or historical period, a handmaiden may be of slave status or may be simply an employee. However, the term handmaiden generally implies lowly status.”

HBO’s “The Vow,” tells NXIVM’s story from the perspective of those opposed to the group. It seems NXIVM probably did help some members free themselves from self-destructive thinking while also being clear that Raniere and Salzman manipulated and gaslighted members whenever members challenged Raniere and Salzman themselves. Nancy Salzman admitted as much when she tearfully pled guilty to racketeering.

Herd mentality often leads devotees of any idea or person to attack perceived enemies. Protecting group authority often supersedes any good the group first sought to accomplish. Working through his followers, Raniere not only convinced adults to confess wrongs to be used as collateral against them if needed but also to perform penance if they failed to follow group guidelines.

NXIVM claims no religious status.

Amendment I of the US Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” I have tried my best to type these words exactly as they appear in print in my pocket size “The Constitution of the United States.” I recently purchased a new computer. The keyboard is touchier than my old keyboard and, while the version of MS Word is supposedly the same as on my old computer, I find myself forced to maneuver through no longer familiar toolbars and terminology.

Different systems. Different lingo.

I have and still do consider myself to be a free thinker. Still, I know now that my consciousness is rooted in a physical brain where neurons that fired and wired together. I grew up speaking English, studied Spanish at Bishop Grimes and later, studied German in night classes at OCC. During the timeframe in which I studied German at night, I found myself thinking in Spanish at work during the day. Research suggests we have language processing areas in our brains. Similarly, spiritual leaders suggest we “god” spots in our brains. Scientifically oriented thinkers speak of a “god of the gaps.” We attribute to God that which we do not understand. We can’t know what we don’t know, and injured brains, brainwashed brains and indoctrinated brains keep people from looking into things.

My first therapist, a religiously affiliated counselor, gave me an audio-teaching-tape entitled “Shame and the Twelve Steps.” The teacher said we develop our first god-consciousness looking up helplessly from our cribs. If we encounter consistent nurturing, we perceive “god” as a loving presence; if not, we feel and perceive some other sort of authority. All of us are born into families and communities which are themselves surrounded by authority, some of which seeks to perpetuate itself at others’ expense. For this reason, cults and religion, freedom of religion, and religion’s good and bad aspects were much in the news during the Senate Judiciary SCOTUS nominee hearings.

Amy Coney Barrett

SCOTUS nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett is an “advisor” in the ecumenical, Charismatic, Pentecostal group known as People of Praise. People of Praise is said to live by male-headed, biblical text- based covenant guidance and accountability. Female advisors used to be referred to as “handmaids.” Amy Coney Barrett’s affiliation is protected by the Constitution.

Amendment IX of the Constitution states, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” If I were applying for membership in “People of Praise” I would ask the advisors, why do you think any woman, married or not, who does not want to gestate a child, would risk engaging in biological activity designed to propagate the species?

Learning starts early and is always in session.

Can anyone tell us about Hypatia of Alexandria?

Debra Merryweather