Over the past year, I have written about J. Michael Shoemaker, of Gold Beach, Oregon, better known as Swami Chetanananda.
Anyone can call themselves a swami, set up shop and sell beliefs.
The American governing class does not forcibly control what people choose to believe, like they do in China.
As for the violence associated with his BDSM practices, he seems to have assaulted and raped some. The first time was the best to press charges. Not after 100 BDSM sessions.
A new argument is made for coercive control laws. Mind control laws. There are forced labor and sex trafficking laws. There is blackmail, extortion, and fraud. And assault and rape.
Some people want government to decide when someone had mind control over another. A government controlling the sheep because they want a shepherd to protect them from the mind control of an occasional ram. When you first allowed the “swami” to pin you down and rape you, and chose not to go to the police, but consented to spending years having sex with him and doing drugs, you left victimhood and became a partner in what happened, even if you thought you would get great spiritual gains by being his partner, and later found it was bullshit.
Whether under his thrall or because you sought something spiritual or otherwise, with every successive BDSM season, you left crimes of assault and rape further behind. Unless there was blackmail or extortion, with a threat of serious harm.
The threat of hell, or being reborn as a cockroach, or having descendants for seven generations cursed, if you do not have sex with a swami, is not extortion.
Though Shoemaker made civil settlements. At least one appears to be from a BDSM session gone wrong. It seems not criminal, but an accident. She fell off a hook on which he hung her. He paid to keep it hushed so his extreme BDSM practices would not hurt his business.
All religion is business, just like all government is business.
Shoemaker passed himself off as a religious figure and capitalized on the “swami” name for 50 years. He “teaches” attractive women with BDSM and drugs. He uses others as servants in exchange for residency and opportunities to enter an ethereal world of higher consciousness, which only he knows.
He trades affluent followers their money in return for the promise of spiritual gains, more money on earth, and superiority in the realms where money cannot buy anything except through him.
He uses the money as he chooses, which has been to live a luxurious life, better perhaps than the Moghuls or Pharaohs, with a harem and servants, patrons, and grovelers who want to buy enlightenment with their bodies, or dollars or labor.
It’s business. He sells nirvana, enlightenment, or superiority over others, supernatural powers others can’t have, except through him. Or for some perhaps he sells the ability to love with deep compassion, a talent he can offer to sell which he lacks like his other products. Or he sells the talent to teach others something you can call yoga or meditation, Buddhism from Tibet, or Samadhi from Hindustan.
and if an emperor wore no clothes, did you?
Customers seek bargains. He looks them in the eye, and they imagine cosmic consciousness. Instead of hard work eliminating non-truth and finding the truth – whatever that means, whatever it takes – you can sit in front of him and he, coming down from or getting ready for a meth-fueled gangbang bondage weekend, will look you in the eyes in “meditation” hall, and you gurgle with delight, barely containing your urine in your panties for your great good fortune. He looked at you.
If he looks you in the eye, you will have salvation…
The public should know, J. Michael Shoemaker, whatever else he is, lived his life on his own terms. He sold himself as some profound spiritual knower who dallied with the gods, was actually, he told some, a goddess who inhabits the human body out of compassion. He could give you Her wisdom and her power without you working for it – by a touch or a look.
It made him rich and brought him women who would not have given him even a taste of wine, not once, who get drunk on giving him their power. Was it fraud? Maybe. But consorts might also be frauds, for they wanted a free pass, to buy indulgence by indulging him, and promised to go through hell to be in heaven, with him.
When it got too hot, some abandoned it and wanted him destroyed. They said they were only infants whose minds he controlled. From aspiring goddess to tiny infant.
The Vanguard, Keith Alan Raniere, went to prison, not for branding women or having sex with gullible women whom he told must have sex with him only, and no other man the rest of their lives. Only then would his magical semen work to make them “unified.”
He went to prison because he collected blackmail material on them – he called it collateral – from which, a jury found, he took away a woman’s legal consent. They were forced to do labor and sex he trafficked because of physical blackmail – collateral.
It was not coercive control. It was the blackmail that led to sex trafficking, forced labor, and some racketeering charges.
Raniere said if a woman he slept with ever had sex with another man for the rest of her life, it might destroy her and him too through the deep connective power his semen gave to the women he owned. He is now serving a 120 year sentence in USP Tucson.
Raniere could have branded 4000 women. And teach his semen made every woman see a blue light. That was legal. But the collateral put him in prison.
Marie White’s The Branding of a Slave.
Did Shoemaker use blackmail? Rape. Extortion. Statutory rape? These are crimes police are interested in.
A guy says he is a swami and likes drugs and BDSM, and seems to rape women or choke by surprise, with strong hands that could crush a woman’s neck in a second.
But so far, I have not seen a case of a woman charging him timely with rape. If he raped or assaulted you, contact me or someone in law enforcement if you want to put yourself out there to stop him.
Or follow him to a land of exotic misery where enlightenment and life beyond is around the corner.
Hey Frank, don’t we get to read this letter? You left us hanging
Yes. It’s coming
Anyone know what rehab centers Shoemaker was taken to when things had gotten out of hand? Kerry Kaplan, Steve Ott, Andrew Bonner, Rebecca Reese all of them had a hand in getting him settled. Where did they take him and how many times did they have to intervene?
Stolen artifacts, choking women, raped a woman on the floor in the meditation room in Bloomington.
NDA s, women jumping off bridges, cocaine.
What are we talking about here?
A complete nutcase, asshole, that’s what and who.
Lock this guy up.
Hey Swami your name is mud.
You fucking loser, you. Go back to the boy scouts and learn something about how to treat others
Swami was posting on instagram that he owns Rudi’s ashes, his mala, and bell and dorje. Why, after 50 years does Swami feel the need to tell the world that he is Rudi’s successor? Because, he himself knows it’s a bit of a sham, that’s why. I have news for Swami: No one cares. The people who are his loyal students, are that. And, others who study elsewhere don’t care what Swami possesses. Or, doesn’t posses. So, he is talking to himself.
Frank you could write an entire article on the FACT that Swami actually actively does not want people to be successful. Instead, he prefers to pull the rug out from under his students. It’s a bizarre, and very sick pattern.
Got all that Sadhvi? Fuck you, and go to hell while you are at it.
Let’s get the facts on this.
The fact is Rudi’s ashes were placed in Big Indian, NY where he wished for them to be. There was a covert expedition that Shoemaker sent some of his Boys on to steal the ashes out of the shrine in Big Indian lest the owner of the property should find out. Dean Gidder owned the property at that time.
Shoemaker stole the ashes and took them to Boston, then on to Portland and now holds them hostage in Gold Beach, OR.
When Rudi died there was a competition for taking control of everything Rudi ever touched or possessed. Shoemaker with the help of Danny Cook made off with the majority of Rudi’s art collection.
Stealing and possessing Rudi’s ashes is a power play. Always was. He uses the ashes to establish dominance. And quite certainly for his black magic rituals. An utter disgrace.
He is planning and will most likely dump the ashes into the river. He has told several people he plans to do that.
(Note: he could just RETURN his ashes back to Big Indian in Rudi’s chosen resting place, but will he do that?)
Everything is done for dramatic effect with Shoemaker.
If you see pictures of him dumping Rudi’s ashes into the river do not bless him. He has NO right to be in possession of those ashes to begin with!
Anyone who supports this man will go to hell with him.
Whomever wrote this comment, knows what they are talking about.
Who were/are Shoemaker’s “boys”?
“Frank you could write an entire article on the FACT that Swami actually actively does not want people to be successful. Instead, he prefers to pull the rug out from under his students.”
That is Cult 101, and it’s why cults are considered “bad.” It’s all about meeting the needs of the leader, to the detriment of the followers.
I can try.
Please stop calling him Swami.
Swami scumbagananda and his band of loser pirates.
His track record speaks for itself
Speaking of moral compasses, Sadhvi/Sharon go do a search and rescue treasure hunt for yours.
You lost it a long time ago. What happened to Megan?
You know what took place. You liar you.
Theresa too. Go find your moral compass.
What happened to Megan?
Moral compass, lost and found
moral compass musta broke down,
into town and outta town,
Moral compass, all we found,
The goddess said it ’twas alright
Moral compass moon and bright.
Dunk ’em good. Ol’ Swami guy,
Dunk ’em good, that age old spy,
Moral compass, boy scout troop
Moral compass
ended up in the
Soup!
Cults are all the sane
So why do people keep buying the lies?
Rudi raped Michael by the same standards we use on the women victims here. So Michael’s a victim too.
That is bullshit
He is a handsome older man. I can see why with power positions and charm he could steal a heart or two. But women should use adult common sense. And say no. Take responsibility.
Omg you need glasses.
What about when this big strong man bursts into your room? Adult common sense would be to call the police and tell them someone just broke in and are attempting to rape you; however his victims didn’t even have a sense of living in their own home; it was His home. An unhappy surprise for many of his students. They most likely found themselves feeling absolutely powerless and like they had nowhere else to go.
He entered their rooms and shower stalls whenever he was craving a good choke/sex session.
Raise your hand if he raped you in the shower.
Yes, no locks on the bedroom doors and shared showers. So easy. Keep in mind Liz’s death was ruled ” asphyxia by drowning and the manner undetermined”. So did she die at the Movement Center and then her body was put in the river? The police never searched the 61+ bedrooms and baths at the Movement Center. They never looked in the nooks and crannies for a body. Sharon made sure to misdirect them. Plenty of women were attacked in the showers. Shoemaker has been busy. Time for this to end.
If you have doubts, questions, harm from your participation in a group. If you are not sure what “consent” in a guru/student relationship is, get some information, get some answers: https://cultmediation.com/,https://www.safeportland.org/, https://www.peopleleavecults.com/
Today is Rudi’s Mahasamadhi day. Fifty years ago, he passed away. I (and others) do not think that Rudi would have approved of, or condoned Swami’s behavior.
What a sad tale of betrayal of everyone. Tsk Tsk. Swami–all that energy, power, and development, and no integrity as a person. You loser.
Maybe Rudi shouldn’t have been cornholing his 19 year old students,
is there a Rudi sex tape anywhere? I’d love to see Shoemaker taking it up the ass.
Are you kidding? They line up for it.
Do you remember Rudi?
The Swami definitely could over power most women.
On the photo of the dumbbell press the Swami is using about 55Lb dumbbells or 110lb. The angle of the photo makes them look like 85lbs dumbbells.
Always carry pepper spray in the meditation room.
And have it close by when in the shower.
The issue is not consent. Most of them did consent to it. What Shoemaker dies is he lies to them, by saying that sex with him will advance them spiritually. Which is, the oldest (bullshit) trick in the book. No one has benefitted in any way from sex with this asshole. Everyone ends up worse off than before.
That said, I am quite sure that none of them knew what they were entering into when they did consent.
So, yes, in that sense it is non consensual sex. Throw this guy in jail. Fine him. Prohibit him from having any type of spiritual organization.
Excuse me…Pinky did NOT consent.
That’s not a harem, that’s a Stew Leonard’s. The swami has appalling taste in livestock.
Snotlax your comment is atrocious and smacks of misogyny.
BTW: Will you be auctioning your old cow at market or will you be holding on to the Mrs?
Having fun yet Sadhvi?
are there any sex tapes floating around of Sharon Ward having sex with a Rottweiler?
Names, places, facts. This is all hearsay, and conjecture.
C’mon Frank , let’s really nail this asshole once and for all
Why would any victim confide in you Frank when you twist and turn your narrative to suit your mood du jour? It’s transparent that you’re not interested in the story now because the documentary producers didn’t want to yield to your demands, so you’ve changed your tone to dismiss the victims, trying as you might to downplay the story and disparage the them. If the story was still yours in its entirety, you’d be blowing the horn of the vile abusive swami who coerced, manipulated beat and raped women who in most cases sought refuge from severe trauma in their pasts.
You’re asking victims who were raped—yet allowed themselves to view that rape as “for their greater good” so continued to be abused sometimes for years—to confide in you, who has loyalty it seems to the whims of your emotions and resentments. I ask again, who on earth is going to come to you now? You want to kill the story, fine kill it for yourself and your readers. Don’t drag the victims down further than they’ve already been dragged by this madman and a community of enablers.
I wrote call me or call law enforcement. I’m not looking for more work. You get too triggered by my stories. It would be best if you didn’t read them anymore.
Not triggered so much as disappointed that in your upset at the debacle with the documentary producers, you’ve turned on the victims who have already lived through every possible diminishing and degrading thing said about them (not to mention done to them), and now must be subject to it again.
And in your upset Frank, Teflon Man will once again live to see another day whereby he can groom more young women for his sick perversion and never be accountable for the damage he’s inflicted. Maybe I’m triggered by the fact that it’s just yet another failed attempt.
Calm down a bit. There is the long haul, and that’s where victory is won. But we have to be truthful. My role is not to do yours or anyone’s bidding.
my role is to show potential new students that Shoemaker may not be transparent about his intentions when he brings in students, especially female.
I have had more success than anyone yet, including you, in exposing him and at least preventing new students from getting strangled.
But I call it as I see it. The so-called documentary makers are in my opinion incompetent and dishonest. I doubt they will ever make a documentary and should they happen to do so it will likely be dishonest and poor quality. As for crimes we shall see. There may be none and success may only be making this public so there are no others who come into it unsuspecting.
Based on my body of work anyone can find out plenty online.
I certainly don’t dispute with you there, Frank, and above all else, am grateful to you for bringing it out in a public forum and allowing all discussion even from people you disagree with. I just want to see an honest representation of how this man operates in the shadow of this murky consent argument.
For years women (and men) have been asked why didn’t you just leave, why didn’t you go to the police the first time he hit you or the tenth time he forced you into sex when you didn’t want it. It’s not an honest argument.
My feeling about the documentary makers are none. I wish something could have been sorted out between you all tbh. It diminishes the endeavor imho.
Whether Shoemaker walked on or over the line of the law, I don’t know as I’m not a lawyer but he most certainly did permanent damage to his most vulnerable students. He knew exactly who and how to target them, and even if it lacks the rigor of a crime, my hope is that Oregon opens a lookback window for sexual abuse victims as they’ve done in NY and Cal so his victims can ask the courts to decide the truth in the matter, rather than speculative opinions from the peanut gallery (not you) who have no idea what it was like to be his student.
I appreciate that you have not backed down Frank! They love to hide in the shadows and play that game of: put it in plain sight, if they (his students) are too dumb to say No and rather go along with it; then that is taken as “spiritual consent” and the demon does not acquire any karma for whatever may happen to the student.
It’s a pattern repeated over and over. It’s their playbook it seems
That’s resume material… “Kicked off the Frank Report”.
Get with the program, right Frank? 2 thumbs up.
I don’t see, by Frank’s writing, him dragging any so called victims down. Who stole this story anyway? Producers? Wtf is going on? By this article Swami seems as vile if not more than Raniere.
Laura Hoeppner is a producer who is trying to put together some sort of documentary. There is no way they will be able to tell the story properly. It will be butchered and spliced so they can make a buck.
If anyone is even considering interviewing with said producers; you better make sure you are getting paid! And that you have copies of every single conversation. Best of luck
I heard they the grapevine that DOZENS of victims and witnesses came forward to participate.