WSB3ATTYCA@aol.com wrote:

At this gathering, I ended up spending quite a bit of time doing Shanti Sena stuff. One incident in particular illustrates to me the good and bad of our family. It's a long story, so I'll summarize it here.

An older brother (late 50's early 60's) meet a young sister (18). The young sister was an extremely open person and had come to the gathering looking for healing. The older brother believed himself to be a healer. So he talked to this young sister until he had her believing that there was something wrong with her sexuality, but he could help heal her.

So the older brother whipped the younger sister on her genitals with a belt because he felt her spirit asking for it. Her version of what happened is that she felt so totally manipulated by him that she was too scared to scream out and ask for help.

Two days later she came forward and the older brother was found and brought to a Shanti Sena Council. This council reseached consensus for the older brother to be escorted out of the gathering. Unfortunately, while he was leaving our family attacked him verbally and physically. He was yelled at, spit at, and pushed. This behavior caused the younger sister much anguish. And she asked that he not be forced to leave until she had time to make her peace with the older brother.

Unfortunately, when the younger sister spoke with the older brother, he manipulated her again and he ended up staying.

The next day there was a second Shanti Sena council to discuss what happened. At that time a sister mentioned the older brother had done the same thing to a friend of hers in 1994 at a non-Rainbow event. After much discussion, the council was unable to decide what, if anything should be done to the older brother. When I tried to suggest that a few strong family babysit him for the rest of the gathering, I was ohmed down and then I left the circle.

The result of this second council is that the older brother was left to roam our gathering and manipulate impressionable people at will.

Subsequently I discovered another sister who had a similar experience with this brother. It appears he has a pattern of manipulating young and open sisters, sexually abusing (but not penatrating) them, and leaving them with the feeling that he needs healing and was trying to help them, so they don't want to tell anyone else.

The folks who didn't want any action to be taken towards the older brother believe they are doing so out of love. I disagree. This incident caused me to to some serious thinking on what love is. I tried to think of the highest form of love there is and determined that our love for our children is the most powerful, honest, unselfish love we have. However, when we love our children, we don't love all their actions. We prevent and/or punish certain actions. For example, just because a 4 year old wants to play in the street, does not mean we let them. We tell them no, because we love them. And if necessary, we physically remove them from the street.

When my three year old nephew is mean to his one year old brother, the three year old gets a time out so he can understand that it's not ok to push baby brother down the stair. I do this out of love for both my nephews.

Some of our brothers and sisters who are walking around in adult bodies are in fact children. We do them no service if we say "I love you so whatever you do is ok." We serve our family better by saying "I love you, but the action that you did is not acceptable to us. Therefore, we will have someone stay with you until you learn not to do that anymore."

Love is helping my brothers and sisters grow. Love is protecting the innocent among us from those who take advantage of that innocense. Love is be willing to say "I love you, but you can not play in the street, hurt your friends, etc."

Just one of many stories of life and healing from the gathering.

Love,

Karin

Greetings!

"Butterfly Bill" wrote in article <199708022352.QAA13982@f30.hotmail.com>...

This was a very difficult situation to say the least... I was present at the "Grandfathers council" when individuals involved with shanti-sena.. brought the matter and the sisters into the circle.

It was quite a moving scene... and seemed to me appropriate to be heard by the above said council..

A little background.. This I is a Separatist.. though I recognise a Spirit Given hunger for Unity.. I also know that we can only come into that Unity through Separating from those things that separated us from that UNITY... when the Individual I comes into Unity with the Creator then and only then can we find Unity with our Kindren.. Until then the gathering can be a Beautiful Expression.. and we can Learn Many LESSONS There. I came to the gathering to share with others.. to observe.. and to help where I am able..

So I was there observing the "grandfathers council" and on a high stump was seated an old man in a purple cloak with a staff.. he spoke well with a smooth accent.. he appeared to be wise and "grandfatherly".. a younger brother interrupts the circle by returning to him a piece of jewelry (I believe) saying "the circle is broken" and returning to the direction he came from...

A while later three sisters are brought into the circle.. as they were in great Grief.. the "accuser" could hardly speak except to say that she had been violated by the man in the purple cloak and that she wanted him to leave the gathering.. she allowed one of the other sisters to describe what had happened.. Apparently he had taken it on to help "heal" her sexuality by striking (gently he says) her genitals with a belt.. against her consent.. though admittedly one does not get into that sort of position without a certain degree of consent.. we are also dealing with a persuasive smoothtalking "magician" of 75 years.. and 18 maybe 19 year old (impressional) girl.

The grandfathers circle did not want to take up the matter then and there but chose to wait till after the meeting... and the "accused" wanted to remain in the council till completion... as a token that the matter would not simply be blown off.. the Icon that the grandfathers were passing around (to remember whose turn it was to talk) was given (not with consensus) to the sisters...

a few hours later.. the man was escorted to a shanti-sena council.. where more was heard.. and the decision was to honor the sisters wishes and escort him from the gathering..

Which did become very ugly.. and there were a few sisters and brothers very angry with him... and yelling all those things.. and people were coming up to strike the guy and threaten him.. I was there to shield him from harm... to keep him from getting hurt.. but was not going to attempt to control the mob.. it was an expression of anger.. it seems that they wanted to shame him and teach him a lesson.. but from the start I percieved that he knew how to play the circle and could recognise a Stage when he saw one... he played the part to the hilt!

<snip> :

not so...

Though the incident was two days old when it finally came to "council" It was not ongoing.. but rather a one time occurence.. she was "sitting in the smoke of a fire when he came in and made the wind blow a different direction (with his magic) this impressed her, she had said, and they began to talk.. she told one of the sisters that she felt that he was "in her head" and yet she felt that this wise old man could help her with her "problem"... " (she had had trouble attaining orgasms..) after a bit of "foreplay " he ended up sitting on her with his back turned.. and suddenly starting the belt action.. she closed her legs said no he pushed them back open.. she said it was strange and apparently afterwards it bothered her.. finally she mentioned it to someone else.. who found it upsetting.. so they brought it to shanti-sena..

what happened was the sister was Horriified by the way the fellow was being treated.. and was actually afraid of some of the threats.. she did not want to be the cause of his harm.. (she was also tripping) she was running after the "procession" and was contacted by an individual sister who was doing shanti-sena.. who radio'd the gate where we had just arrainged a safe ride... we were asked to wait she was coming up to talk.. when she arrived she and him and two of his friends went off alone to talk.. then she came back with aTotally different story.. and that she loved him and it was what she wanted and had needed for her "healing"..

The next day a sister brought a letter to the "grandparents circle" that the girl just wrote saying that she had been afraid that he would be harmed.. and did want him to leave on his own free will. He didn't.. but Ironically was later chased out of the gathering for being "annoying".. he had a way of standing in the circle and thumping the earth with his staff.. and speaking out of turn.....

What this all points out is that the "rainbow" does not have an effective way of dealing with these situations.. and resolving an issue often means "ok everybody hurry up and agree so we can get our warm clothes.. and see if there is some leftover dinner to eat"

I hope my perspective of this is helpful... don't really want to spend more time on it.. too much already..

==== Praying for Blessings of WellBeing Past OverFlowing to you and those Dear ones!

Sincerely!

IaHU-NaTaN:

More later when I get a chance, but I was also involved in this movie and the following Shanti-Sena council. Just as a note, I talked to several people afterwards that knew the accused brother, and most felt he was weird, but not usually harmful. Course then all the rumors started about his "previous problems" of a similar nature.

Yes, he got to face his accusors. He also agree with most everything he had been accused of, and just tried to say that he didn't mean anything by his actions. We attempted to find witness to support his side of the story, but as he admitted everything, it was kinda useless. His main defense was merely that he didn't get an erection.

I agree with you on this. Things would have been very different if he had been escourted out quietly. Usually when folks get escourted out, it is done more mellow. I think part of it was that as Brother Caress seemed to be hiding in the Grandfather council, some folks lost patience. Remember, the sister was very upset, and saying that she had been raped. Her accusations were taken seriously, and as brother Caress basically admitted to everything that happened in the council, it seemed a pretty sure thing...

Actually I believe it was that she was very confused. I've sat in many brother-sister councils like this before, and it's always tough to understand where reality is. People's past history and all of our perceptions of reality get involved, and it's very difficult for those of us not at the "scene of the crime" to understand people's motivations, and what *really* happened.

Personally, a 76 year old man should have the common sense to realize that being in a tent alone with an 18 year old sister and whipping her with a belt for 2 hours between her legs is going to be "potentially misunderstood". The fact that he had taken advantage of her while she was tripping is also not a cool thing to do.

- rob -