Looking Deeper into Joan Felt
The press has encamped itself outside the Santa Rosa, Calif., home where Mark Felt lives with his daughter Joan, waiting for the next move from Family Deep Throat.Joan Felt, who has said she'd like to "pay some bills" from their notoriety, is described in today's Washington Post as a Sonoma State University Spanish lecturer and former Fulbright scholar.
Reporters have yet to discover her association with a spiritual group called Adidam, brought to light by members of an online discussion group about the movement.
Joan Felt's phone number, which has been publicly listed, turned up on three official Adidam sites as the contact for a study group in Santa Rosa. The pages have recently been deleted or edited to remove her name and phone number, but could still be found Friday morning in Google's cache. I was unsuccessful contacting her by e-mail or phone.
Adidam has 1,000 to 3,000 adherents, according to a Religious Movements project published by the University of Virginia.
Santa Rosa lies around 45 miles from the Mountain of Attention, a 1,000-acre "meditation retreat" in Lake County that was for many years the headquarters of the movement and founder Adi Da Samraj's residence.
Some members have resided communally and devoted their lives to Adidam, as described in a member's book about joining in the '70s:
Friday evenings were yours, every other moment was filled. We took up the disciplines of meditation, service, study, meeting and consideration, a purifying vegetarian diet, confinement of sexuality to twice a month, right livelihood, and maximizing our tithe or financial support.
Another member account from a few years later describes it differently:
I have gotten along well in the Adidam organization ... never got badly burned by anyone because of doing something I really didn't want to do. I read accounts about people being "forced" to eat a certain way, or "forced" to give money ... certainly hasn't been my experience.
A lawsuit filed by three former Adidam members in 1985 alleged that adherents impoverished themselves while the group's founder lived opulently with nine wives and 30 followers on a Fiji island bought for $2.1 million from the actor Raymond Burr.
In 2002, J. Todd Foster was in discussions with the Felt family while preparing a magazine story on Deep Throat's identity. The former freelance journalist wrote about it this week for The News Virginian in Waynesboro, Va., where he serves as managing editor:
Ultimately the story died because of money. The Felt family and their attorney wanted a lot of money, and People magazine -- with my blessing -- backed away in what would have been a case of "checkbook journalism." Reputable news organizations don't pay a penny for news.
In an e-mail this morning, Foster told me the subject of Adidam never came up with the Felts: "My partner dealt with Joan, and she didn't mention it to him either. Money was a prime motivator, but mostly for her son's law school bills."
Comments
How in God's green Earth did you come across that?
The fact that her father was in charge of infiltrating groups like that... mindblowing.
What the heck does this have to do with the price of eggs in China?
And we wonder why everyone is getting so tired of retarded journalists, writing sensational trashbin material
Interesting connection you found to the Adidam community. If you read through the articles in the link, and others at the lightmind site lightmind.com you'll see what the big deal is about. Joan's guru - she has been a member since the 70's - is always demanding more money from his members. Joan might have been seeking money to pay her bills, her kids education, as she said, but she might also have been seeking to capitalize on her father's story so that she could bring big bucks to her guru, and thus more access and recognition from the guru to herself. That is the name of the game in Adidam. What a sad note for an American hero to end his life on.
I think Mr. Felt was doing quite a couragous deed ... I can only assume that had he not done what he did... the country would have suffered greatly.. Thank you Mr. Felt for remembering that we had a constituition... you were very brave in trying to preserve it!
Mark Felt, in my mind, was a whistleblower, and facing those pressures of corruption, a real hero to former federal employees like myself. Those of us who've seen the pressures to cover up the actions of corrupt bosses working for the federal government and how whistleblowers are hounded understand his situation well,
But, I am also familiar with the pressures and brainwashing activities of cults. I know about Adidam, whose leader claims to be God incarnate and who dismisses all other religious and spiritual figures as inferior, demanding tithes and gifts, while living a life of luxury himself. Maintaining this expensive lifestyle takes money, which entranced followers will do anything to get. It will be a real shame if this cult leader profits from this man's service to America.
Thanks for publishing this. Since the headlines are saying that the Felt family is looking to "cash in" on this, you can be sure the fundraisers of Adidam will be all over them! I came up with a software invention in 2000 that the leader of that group, Adi Da Samraj, said was "very important" and encouraged his followers to give me all the help I needed. Their version of "helping" me was to steal my company, destroy it completely, and resist all my efforts to save it! To this day it is being held hostage by those people for no other reason than to be vindictive! My story is told in some detail on my blog, and should the Felt family cash in I hope they take note and be extra wary!
Not being around during Watergate and having to filter the story through history I can only ask:
What was so heroic about creating the media template for personal destruction and scandal journalism?
Where is the heroism in being angry over not receiving a promotion and hiding like a coward behind a nom de plume until you are suffering from dementia?
What heroism is to be found in not going through the proper channels of sitting down in front of a grand jury or a congressional inquiry?
What love for our constitution did Mark Felt exhibit when he was authorizing illegal activities himself against Weather Underground?
Face it people, Mark Felt was a bitter man that didn't get the job he wanted so he lashed out at his superiors in a very undignified way. Funny the heroes leftists have in their pantheon.
Beam me up, Scotty!
You admit you were not around during Watergate. So what would you know? Obviously nothing. Nixon was a paranoid, power hungry man out to get his enemies by any means necessary. American democracy itself was in danger. One thing you learn when you get older is that history does not do justice to the events themselves. But too many of you who only know it through history will repeat the mistake you never learned from. Amusing the knee jerk reaction from right today when even Barry Goldwater, who had some integrity, realized Nixon had to go.
Sure the FBI didn't need Nixon to be doing criminal acts under J. Edgar Hoover, who even blackmailed Presidents. But President Nixon was a criminal intent on using the government to punish his enemies in an unprecedented way. The reason Mark Felt was passed over was not because of his qualifications, but so that he could install a loyal stooge over the FBI who he could control. Felt had reason to fear the loss of a lot more than his promotion from those guys if they got away with it or found out it was him. Mark Felt was no Saint, but he didn't leak secrets, he merely confirmed they were on the right track, and everyone above Mark Felt from the President on down made him look like a Boy Scout in comparison. That is the point.
Shanti,
Thanks for:
1) Writing me off
2) Rehashing what even I know through the prism of history
3) Sidestepping everything I asked
Good on ya!
"Funny the heroes leftists have in their pantheon."
Shanti,
i think your answer suffices. it's obvious that scotty's mind (i assume that even scotty has one) is already made up and not open to critical thinking. i wont reply to any attacks on this message so go for it all my lovely little neocons. but it wont change the truth that your greatest hero today has kept way too many secrets for selfish reasons. if both "giving" secrets and "keeping" secrets are wrong, then any logician would opt for the previous because at least therein lies transperancy.
-m.
HE IS A CRIMINAL THAT OUGHT TO BE ARRESTED TODAY! WHY DIDN'T HE TAKE THIS TO THE GRAND JURY? LOOKS LIKE AN INSIDE COUP TO ME.
READ THE COMPANY BY JOHN ERILCHMAN.YOU WOULD PROBABLY HAVE TO ORDER IT TODAY.
THIS GUY WAS BEING VINDICTIVE FOR BEING PASSED OVER AT THE THE FBI.
JFK AND HIS SEXUAL AFFAIRS WERE NEVER MENTIONED BY A VERY BIASED PRESS AND A VERY BIASED NATIONAL NEWS MEDIA.
IT IS COMFORTING TO KNOW LIBERALISM IS OUT AND NOW THE CONSERVATIVES UNDER "W" ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE JUDICIAL LANDSCAPE IN THIS COUNTRY!
the only plausible excuses for attacking felt or defending nixon are blind ignorance or blind ideology.
"Looking Deeper Into Joan Felt"?
That's the most perverted title I've heard since "Deep Throat"!
Everyone wants to expound upon the political intonations in Rogers' latest post. I say...let's expound upon the pornographic intonations!
Find a way to mix the pope domain in there and you've hit the trifecta!
It does seem that Joan Felt is giving substantial amounts of money to Adidam, see website. Apparently tithes for members are 15% of gross income, other fees apply, and frequent gifts are expected. She can afford to contribute between to this event, but is having money problems?
That has nothing to do with Mr. Felt himself, but those who would exploit him. It may very well explain the timing.
This article is hysterically funny. Seems that after the author got his marching orders from Karl Rove, he proceeded to write his attack upon Mr. Felt's daughter since he was obviously not talented enough to write an attack upon Mr. Felt himself.
As to the premise that his daughter was seeking to make money off of her Father's deeds, that is a laugh to end all laughs.
Every crook in the Nixon Administration has made money off of Watergate, You can fill a library with the blatherings of North, Buchanan, KIssenger (who for many years was thought to be Deep Throad), E. Howard Hunt, James McCord, Bob Haldeman, G. Gordon Liddy, etc.
Ex-convicts like Gordon Liddy are now radio personalities with hundreds of stations carrying their ravings.
So tell me again Mr Cadenhead, who profited from Watergate? Also, how much does the White House pay you to be their waterboy?
On a separate note, I am sure that the neo-nazis will attack my response as typical of a left winger. The only problem is that I am a conservative Republican who voted for Nixon both terms, and still think that he ould have been a great President (and was a far better President than G. W. Bush can ever dream of being) despite his breach of the Constitution. I also understand WHY he did what he did. Too many people look upon him as an inherently evil man but that isn't true. His paranoia grew out of his having had the Presidency stolen from him by JFK, just as Albert Gore had his Presidency stolen away by George Bush. So when he finally did get elected in 1968, he vowed that the Democratic Party would never be given the opportunity to steal another election from him again. So Watergate was born in the the Offices of Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago in 1960 when he stuffed the ballot boxes of Cook County (where the motto is vote early and vote often) in order to tip the election from Nixon to Kennedy.
Remember the implications of what Nixon and the plumbers did. Not only did they effectively sabotage McGovern's political campaign, they sabotages every progressive, social change group in the country. The summer of love in 1967, Woodstock, the peace movement, the environmental movement, the women's movement and the labor movement all fell prey to CoIntelPro. Felt's goons stole stationery, infiltrated and disrupted meetings, forced IRS audits, fomented infighting that distracted national organizations from aligning together to create a meaningful voice for a new way of being. Meanwhile, corporations ran hog wild.
Like so many key participants of the day, Felt is neither hero nor traitor, but a mediocre, milktoast guy who was caught in the middle, being used for a purpose much bigger than himself.
What does Felt's daughter's religion have anything to do with what Felt did? Your story is pointless.
adidas amraj?
Was the god named after the shoe or vice versa?
I know nike was named after a god but I assumed adidas weren't.
Was Nixon a paranoid crook? Yup.
Did the Dems steal Nixons victory particularily through Daley and the mob? Probably.
Did Felt do the right thing? Yup.
For the wrong reasons? Who cares!
Is Joan Felts decision to bring this story out at this time predicated on her cults love of money? Probably!
Is it all a serio-comedic clusterfuck worth noting if only for the infotainment value alone?
Spud thinks so.
Be Well.
Her religion, actually a cult, pointless? Are you kidding?
She pursuaded her senile father to agree to come out now, and even Woodward was worried about his being used by his daughter who is in the cult.
Read what her God Man guru expects from her:
ADIDAM OF THE BAY AREA
GUIDE TO INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES (v. 10-9-01)
THE SACRED PRINCIPLE OF TITHE
FINANCIAL SERVICE IS YOUR FIRST RESPONSIBILITY
Sri Adi Da: The first responsibility of My devotee is financial service to [Adidam Samrajashram]. (Money, p.15)
Understanding that protection and maintenance of ones Sat-Guru is the first and anciently honored life-obligation of the devotee, ... I vow to maximize my service to and support of the Sacred Treasures of Adidam by the following Means ... : Tithing monthly at least ten percent of my gross income ... . (Sacred Vow Of Commitment And Responsibility For Prepared (Or Demonstrating) Student-Beginners)
THE TITHE IS A GIFT TO THE DIVINE
Sri Adi Da: Tithing is the traditional financial gesture of a religious practitioner. The principle of tithing, and of any form of regular financial support, is that one gives a portion of ones goods to the Divine for the Sake of the Divine. Such a gift is given without expectations. One gives to the Divine because the Divine is the Divine, and because the Divine has Purposes that must be served, not only by right use of money but by all the forms of human energy. The tithe is not the same as the dues paid by a club member. Nor is it a payment in expectation for services. The tithe is a gift to the Divine. (Money, p. 14)
[MONETARY GIFTS] ALLOW ME TO DO MY WORK
Sri Adi Da: In the Way of the Heart, all monetary gifts serve the Spiritual purposes to which you are committed with Me. They allow Me to do My Work. Your financial obligation is a Spiritual matter, not just a financial matter. All that I mean by the term "money"---including life, energy, love, work, and commitment---is the resource for the movement of My Work into the world. Through your gifts of money, you are expanding My Capability to have an influence in the world. Therefore, find new and fully productive ways to develop income, individually and collectively. Maximize your contribution, and increase it whenever possible. (Money, p. 18)
UPHOLD THESE FINANCIAL AGREEMENTS AS A SACRED COMMITMENT
Sri Adi Da: Do not lock yourself into circumstances that are non-productive. Create arrangements that support your individual and collective responsibility for money and for your support of [Adidam Samrajashram, Adidam], and the community organization. Do this maximally and collectively. Such responsibility is a most serious and real dimension of your Spiritual commitment. Understand your responsibility in these terms, and never violate it. Uphold these financial agreements as a sacred commitment. They are a clear sign of your devotional surrender to Me. (Money, p. 15)
THE UNIQUE RESULT OF FINANCIAL IRRESPONSIBILITY IS THAT THE COLLECTIVE SUFFERS
Sri Adi Da: Financial participation is as much a matter of your practice as is the maintenance of dietary conditions and formal devotional exercises. Therefore, signs of irresponsibility for financial participation are signs of the failure of self-transcending practice. Furthermore, the unique result of financial irresponsibility is that the collective suffers. Your failures to fulfill all the forms of the personal discipline I have Given to My devotees generally affect only your individual growth, but the entire community of My devotees suffers any financial irresponsibility on your part. (Money, p. 16)
IF YOU DONT [FULFILL YOUR VOWS], YOURE SUPPOSED TO BE SUSPENDED FROM THE GATHERING
Sri Adi Da: There are no devotees until there are people under vows who know what a vow is all about and know that they must fulfill it no matter what. ... To be a member of Adidam, even a student-novice, you must be under vows and expected to fulfill them. And if you dont, youre supposed to be suspended from the gathering. (November 2, 1996)
THE SACRED HIERARCHY OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
All Adidam members are required by their vow to Sri Adi Da to pay tithes & fees:
A. Tithe: Payments for Sacred Purposes @ 15% of Gross Income:
1 - Support of the Love-Ananda Samrajya Foundation (formerly the TDL Trust), including Adidam Samrajashram: 10% of gross income/month.
Gross income is all taxable and nontaxable income realized by you before any taxes, expenses, exemptions, or other deductions are subtracted. Gross income includes but is not limited to wages, salary, tips, commissions, bonuses, interest, dividends, annuities, alimony, homemaker's share, educational grants or scholarships, rents, royalties, business income, and extraordinary income (e.g. gifts, inheritance, gains on sale of property, etc.). Excluded from gross income are borrowed funds, legitimate business expenses, Social Security, unemployment benefits, other government subsidies, and pensions.
Possible additional exclusions from gross income:
- Income derived from employment by Adidam.
- That part of income paid to a partner or an ex-partner as homemakers share or alimony.
- Child support received (not child support paid).
- Legitimate immigration expense.
- Tuition expense of those enrolled in full-time study or other legitimate career or income development programs.
Note: If a persons income as defined above is significantly lower than income required to support the standard of living of that person, an appropriate tithe will be estimated based on the money required to support the style of living.
2 - Support of the Sacred Treasures and the Adidam Central Institution: 5% of gross income/month. This support is for maintenance and preservation of the Sacred Treasures (i.e., Quandramama, the Mountain of Attention, the Sacred Archives, the Adidam Library, and the Sacred Art) and running the Institution (i.e., the legal, fiscal, administrative, and communications functions). In other words, this support is not for providing services to members.
B. Fees for Services:
3 - Congregational Services Fee: $10/month. This fee ensures that all aspects of access to Beloved are handled by the gathering, including everything associated with communications, the retreat process, and the care and glorification of the places of access in Beloveds Principal Hermitage.
4 - Wisdom Express Fee: subscription to the newly published Teaching Word -about $25/month.
5 - Regional Fee to pay the regional expenses: $55/month. Nonpayment of the regional fee may mean that you are barred from participating in regional activities.
6- Samrajya Fee: $108 annual fee due each July, collected to cover expenses related to making Darshan available to devotees. Payment of this fee is a pre-requisite for Darshan.
C. Optional Pledges:
7 - Yajna Pledge
8 - Sacred Development Fee (formerly the Avadhoot Fund)
9 - Other Outstanding Pledges (e.g. Auctions)
10- Gifting and Fundraising: Funds must come from excess and cannot jeopardize tithe and fee obligations.
The first category (Payments for Sacred Purposes) has priority over the second category (Fees for Services). All devotees, including student-novices, are required to pay at least 10% or $100, whichever is greater. However, by special agreement, there may be some rare temporary exemptions from part of the Payments for Sacred Purposes. Maintaining a tithe of at least 10% is a necessary requirement for student membership.
Within the second category (Fees for Services), there is no hierarchy; these fees for services are obligatory for all devotees. Therefore, if a devotee is granted an exemption relative to the Payments for Sacred Purposes, this does not prevent him or her from participating in fees for services rendered, since devotees need to receive specific services and those services cost money to deliver. Generally, except in rare cases, no one is exempt from paying the fees for services. Exemptions from tithe and the Treasures support do not prevent or excuse devotees from participating in the second category (Fees for Services).
If by agreement you do not pay your full share of your monthly financial obligations, until you pay your full share of 15% tithe and other fees and eliminate all outstanding unfulfilled pledges, you are NOT qualified to gift Beloved Adi Da beyond $9/gift.
DUE DATE AND SUBMITTING MONTHLY PAYMENTS
Payments are made each month by automatic deduction from checking account, by credit card charge, or by check. If paying by check, mail your check (payable to Adidam) directly to Dieuwke Pebesma at the following address:
Adidam, 4286 Redwood Highway, Suite G, San Rafael, CA 94903-2645, Attention: Dieuwke Pebesma
Dawn Horse Press pre-pay is paid directly through the Wisdom Express, by registering online via www.Adidam.org or by phone (877-770-0772).
All payments are due in full by the 5th of each month. Those who do not pay their full tithe & fees by the 25th will be charged a $10 late fee due with their tithe & fee payment.
RESTRICTION
a) 2 months behind: You will lose good standing if you fall 2 months (60 days) behind in paying your full agreed-to tithe and fees. This means you will be restricted from access to any of the Sanctuaries. When a restricted practitioner has made a financial agreement that is acceptable to the community CFO or parish financial rep, and/or has paid any overdue tithe and fees in full, the restriction will be lifted.
b) 3 months behind: If you fall 3 months (90 days) behind, you will be required to have a cultural consideration and to make a new agreement about immediate resumption of payments. If the new agreement is not kept, you will be put "on hold". "On hold" means you are restricted from access to the Sanctuaries as well as from participation in Darshan occasions, celebrations, Guruvara, parish, and other community events. However, the "on hold" status does not relieve you of your cultural responsibilities (including financial).
c) 4 months behind: If you fall 4 months (120 days) behind and you fail to sign an acceptable agreement and/or pay any overdue tithe and fees in full immediately, you will be suspended from the 2nd congregation. To again become a student under vow, you must re-apply to, and when you re-apply, you will be required to demonstrate your seriousness by tithing for 1 to 6 months before again coming under vow.
Note: Maintaining a tithe of at least 10% and no lower than $100 is a necessary requirement for student membership.
TEMPORARY PARTIAL EXEMPTION AGREEMENTS
Below are reasons for which practitioners may qualify to be considered for a partial exemption agreement. These special financial agreements are approved on a case-by-case basis, using extreme financial hardship (usually a gross income of less than $1500/month) as the measure. Most partial exemption agreements are temporary, usually lasting for 3 months. When a valid exemption agreement expires, full monthly 15% tithe and fees must be paid, or a new exemption agreement must be approved.
A request for exemption is made to your parish financial rep and must be accompanied by a personal income disclosure, a current expense statement, a current statement of assets and liabilities, the reason for requesting an exemption, and a plan to come to full compliance with all financial obligations. The plan for full compliance must include concrete goals and a timeline re. projected increases in income and tithe. Any agreement that is not due to one of the qualifying situations listed below can be for only 1-3 months, and when it expires, any new agreement must be for an increased tithe and fees amount.
All exemption agreements approved by the parish financial rep must also be approved by the regional exemptions review board, and then by an individual or group appointed by the senior LRO leadership. If a devotees disclosed income is significantly lower than the income required to support his/her standard of living, an appropriate tithe will be estimated based on the money required to support the style of living. Also, all would-be students are to be gainfully employed, working at their potential, responsible for their living.
It is the particular responsibility of the regional CFO to insure that exemption agreements are duly reviewed and approved by the regional financial board. Appeal of a request for a temporary partial exemption agreement rejected by the regional financial board may be made through the office of the CFO or CSM to the LRO Central leadership.
The good standing status of a student is certified jointly by the regional CFO and the student CSM.
SITUATIONS THAT MAY QUALIFY FOR A PARTIAL EXEMPTION
1 - Institutional employees:
a) Those who formally serve the Samraja (including those who provide fulltime service to Samraja Hermitage Sanctuaries, and full-time cultural servers who are part of the Samraja) are exempted from 15% tithe, and all other fees. If such devotees make or receive significant income (gross income more than $1500/month) from sources outside Adidam, they must tithe on this income unless there is a special agreement with the Samraja to support Beloveds Circumstance directly.
b) Treasures employees (including BRC and fabrications employees) may be exempt (if approved by senior Treasures and Samraja management) from paying 15% tithe on that portion of their income derived from their institutional employment, since institutional wages are established at a level that assumes no tithe obligation. However, they will be required to pay a minimal regional fee and Sanctuary Access fee. Treasures employees who gross more than $1500/month from employment or other sources outside Adidam must also pay the 15% tithe on that "outside" income.
c) Pan Com and Advocacy employees may be exempt (if approved by senior Pan Com and Samraja management) from paying 15% tithe on that portion of their income derived from their institutional employment, since institutional wages are established at a level that assumes no tithe obligation. However, they will be required to pay a minimal regional fee and Sanctuary Access fee. Pan Com or Advocacy employees who gross more than $1500/month from employment or other sources outside Adidam must also pay the 15% tithe on that "outside" income.
Those who serve the Samraja, Treasures, Pan Com or Advocacy who are not formal full or part-time servers of those entities are required to tithe according to the tithing guidelines for the general membership on page 2 of this guide.
2 - Students enrolled in full-time study:
Students who are enrolled in full-time study or other programs which are approved by Adidam as legitimate vehicles for career or income development may exclude tuition expenses from their gross income and also may be granted a temporary full or partial exemption from 15% tithe and fees when financial hardship is demonstrated (gross income is less than $1500/month).
3 - Retired or permanently disabled persons:
Retired or permanently disabled persons on restricted incomes and/or past the age when income-earning service in the world would be expected of them may be granted a permanent partial exemption from 15% tithe and fees when financial hardship is demonstrated (gross income generation capacity is less than $1500/month).
4 - Other circumstances of need:
Practitioners who demonstrate financial hardship (gross income is less than $1500/month) due to other circumstances of need, such as single parent or temporary physical disability or unemployment, may be granted a temporary full or partial exemption from 15% tithe and fees.
SITUATIONS THAT DO NOT QUALIFY FOR A PARTIAL EXEMPTION
1 - Those with personal debt:
Devotees are not to incur debt. An exception to this principle is secured debt, i.e. homes, cars, etc. may be financed as long as that debt does not interfere with one's ability to also pay full monthly financial obligations to Adidam. Credit card charges should be paid in full each month. If you have debt, you must still pay your full tithes and fees and at the same time work to retire the debt as soon as possible without incurring more debt. Anyone applying to become a student novice must demonstrate that they can eliminate any unsecured debt in one year while still maintaining their full tithe and fees obligation to Adidam.
In rare cases, a devotee may not be able to financially maintain appropriate life obligations and tithe because of a very heavy debt load. In such circumstances, the devotee should meet with the Debt Clinic (financial rep or CFO and regional exemption review board) to work out a formal, culturally agreed upon plan for retiring his/her debt, which may include paying a reduced tithe for a specific period of time (usually 3 months). Such agreements must be ratified by the regional CFO and may be reviewed by the LRO board.
2 - Full-time homemakers:
Full-time homemakers who are dependent on others for their financial support are not eligible for exemptions. They are responsible for paying full tithes and fees based on their homemaker's allowance or income share from their spouse.
3 - New student-novices:
New student-novices are expected to pay full tithes and fees upon entry into the student-novice program. In rare cases, special exemptions might be granted. If so, the new student novice must demonstrate that he/she will be able to meet all financial obligations within 6-12 months or by the time of transition to student beginner. Anyone applying to become a student novice also must demonstrate that he/she can eliminate any unsecured debt in one year while still meeting all Adidam financial obligations.
ANNUAL RENEWAL OF TITHE AND FEE AGREEMENTS
The tithe and fee agreement should be reviewed and a new agreement made any time there is a change in a practitioner's income or financial circumstance. At a minimum, this agreement should be reviewed and renewed each year, even if there has been no change in your financial situation. Any time a tithe and fee agreement is made or renewed, please complete the personal income and expense disclosure forms along with a new financial contribution agreement or a new financial contribution exemption agreement. Return your signed agreement to your parish financial rep or CFO. Be sure to keep a photocopy of the completed forms for your records. Whether or not you are requesting an exemption, you must provide your parish financial rep a current, completed personal income disclosure form, a current expense itemization, and a current statement of assets and liabilities. If you are requesting an exemption, you must also provide the reasons why you are requesting an exemption and a short term (3 months) and long term plan outlining when you can come to full compliance.
ACCOUNTABILITY
1 - Begins with you:
One aspect of mature human participation in life is to hold ourselves accountable for supportive money generation and fulfilling our financial obligations. As a student of Adidam, please animate this sign of maturity and do not wait for a reminder, if at anytime you feel that your full tithe and fee obligation cannot be met or whenever it is otherwise time to make a new financial agreement. Contact your parish financial rep or regional CFO for a financial consideration. They will work with you to explore how you can meet your financial obligations.
Remember, if at any time your income situation has changed from that upon which your current agreement is based, or whenever your current financial agreement expires, you must make a new agreement. Such new agreements must be made by the end of the month following your income change or agreement expiration.
2 - Monthly Statement of Financial Obligations:
Each month, you will receive a monthly statement of financial obligations that will include a summary of your annual payments to date. Please review this statement each month. If you have any questions regarding your statement, please contact Michel Winand, the Bay Area CFO.
3 - Parish Financial Rep or Community CFO:
The parish financial rep or regional CFO offers parish members guidance in making new financial agreements. The parish financial reps or regional CFOs goal is to remain sensitive to individual needs and requirements while at the same time supporting practitioners in remaining or becoming fully aligned to Beloved Adi Das Instruction regarding their sacred tithe and fee obligations. Whenever you fail to meet the mark in your financial obligations, your first line of help is within your parish setting. Remember, it is not the CFOs or financial reps responsibility to chase you down if payments are overdue or if it is time for you to make a new agreement. Rather, you must contact your parish financial rep and take responsibility to resolve your financial situation at the parish level.
Mr. Felt, and Joan. Long time no speak. It is with great regret we must tell you your subscription to reality is discontinued. What I find funny, is that someone is concerned if Joan is going to give 'guru' money made from her story. If she does, so what. In the end, she is paying her debt to others, and that is admirable. How many declare bankruptcy or go on the governmint dole daily? Is she, or is he like every other intelligent person out there looking to capitalize on what people will buy. Joan, don't listen to the pundits about your reasons, whatever they are, make sure you get TOP dollar for your story. Does anyone say a THING about Jack Nickleson's 70-100 million dollar deal in 1989 to act as Batman? Or the extreme religion wacko Mel Gibson's 300-500 million he made on a single movie? Joan, in 3 years, nobody will even remember you, so make sure you make as much today as possible, squeeze the public for money, as much as possible. In the end, nobody else is going to pay your bills cause you did the 'right thing' or not. Do what is in your heart. God bless your father for standing up and doing what was right. We need more real americans to tell the truth about the corruption and arrogance in the white house.
Does anyone say a THING about Jack Nickleson's 70-100 million dollar deal in 1989 to act as Batman?
Nahhh...too easy.
Does anyone say a THING about Jack Nickleson's 70-100 million dollar deal in 1989 to act as Batman? Or the extreme religion wacko Mel Gibson's 300-500 million he made on a single movie?
No, they don't, unless they are ignorant of the facts, which apparently you are.
Nicholson chose not to get paid for his performance as The Joker in Tim Burton's Batman, agreeing to a percentage of the box office cash. If nobody wanted to see Batman, Nicholson would have been up the creek. It was a huge hit, and Jack reaped the benefits.
Same with Mel Gibson; when Hollywood refused to help produce a reverent movie about Christ rather than one that bends and twists the Bible per the extrascriptural notions of novelists and "higher critics," he used the millions he made making over a billion for Hollyweird to make The Passion. Gibson put his own dough on the line; if Passion failed, he would have to slink back to the honchos that turned him down, and if they would employ him at all, he'd be forced to do schlock like Lethal Weapon ad infinitum just so they could punish him for thinking he could beat them at their own game (see Robertson, Cliff).
Joan Felt, who made a mess of her own life by birthing three fatherless kids, apparently has no talent or skills or anything that would get her the kind of money she desires that outing her father would, so that's what she arranged, just in the nick of time before he was too frail to make it to his front door. Comparing her to Nicholson or Gibson is ridiculous.
You said it! She chose a fatherless lifestyle, 30 years in a sicko cult, and turned on her father's values of service to country. Seems her guru even renounced his U.S. citizenship to avoid being subject to U.S. rather than Fijian law. What her father did, right or wrong, has nothing to do with her shameless exploitation.
Here is a message to Joan Felt, GET A JOB! It is amazing the amount of bills you can pay if you have a full time job. You could even afford your own house and quit mooching off your nearly dead father.
I would not be surprise if one day we hear of her geting arrested for keeping her fathers body in the basement just so she could keep getting his social security checks.
Excuse me; was this country not founded on the premise of religious freedom, free from persecution? I recall my parents being called by the Catholic pastor to increase their patronage to the Catholic Church, and this with seven children, my father working three jobs. But the Monsignor never let up.
I was also an altar boy and a choirboy, and received a week each summer at a Catholic boys' summer camp. It was well known that one certain priest would pay the older boys (14-17) $10 for oral sex. There were also good and honest priests who clearly led a life of service to God and their community.
Years ago I heard Pat Robertson on the 700 club read a letter from a man who could not provide enough food for his family and was in consternation about not being able to tithe 10% of his income. Mr. Robertson told him that that money was God's and that he would just have to give it anyway.
I agree with many above that the convicted criminals of the Watergate era have profited well from their notoriety. What have they done with their money to make this world a better place? If Mark Felt receives money for his story, good for him. I hope it is a lot of money. It would be compensation for a risky and heroic act of high moral standards in the face of systemic corruption bereft of any moral standards.
Lyndon Johnson was once in a very tight campaign. He directed his operatives to spread the word that his opponent had sex with pigs, although the language he suggested was more graphic. When his campaign manager asked how he planned to substantiate this clam, Johnson replied, "I don't plan to substantiate it, but I look forward to his denials." Johnson won the election by a wide margin.
In American politics and media the game is "gotcha". If you put your toe in the water, expect to loose you leg or your life. None of it is about factual truth or even ordinary truth, much less "Truth". The goal is to create a sensation in the media or "spin" the situation for the benefit of political gain.
I just know that if the Catholic Church were a true representative of God, pedophiles would have been run out of the church and turned over to local authorities, rather than protected from prosecution. If politicians were servants of the collective good of the people, we would not have had Watergate, Iran-Contra, and the current "Mes-o-potamia". If the media were actually "objective", we would see them advocating and defending Joan Felt's religious and personal freedoms with the same fervor that they defend their own First Amendment right of Free Speech.
Wow, my heart feels the heaviness from all of the anger expressed on this page. I can understand someone speaking out against injustice and wanting this world to be fair and just, but I do not understand why so many people have such terrible things to say about Joan Felt and making persumptions about her spiritual path. Perhaps all who have written angry responses on here would gain more insight by looking at what is triggering their reactivity rather than directing anger at Joan or her Guru. There have been great spiritual teachers throughout history, including Jesus and Adi Da, who we could learn a great deal from. Rather than criticize Them, perhaps we could see what lessons they have brought to this place. As I have read through these comments, I have seen many many wrong presumptions and misunderstandings about the teachings and motives of Adi Da. Throughout history, Great Spiritual Teachers have been misunderstood by the majority of the masses, including Jesus. He was thus murdered. It was anger that harmed Him and all of His devotees. Anger is destructive and all I see happening is a journalist wrote a story that he knew he would get reaction from and that is about as deep as most journalist go. They cater to our stupidity and reactivity so they can sell their stories. We are suckers for propaganda. It takes an open heart and open mind to receive the teachings from Great Spiritual Masters - and it doesn't always look like our "ideas" of Christianity. Jesus was a controversial Figure of His day, but His devotees had the heart insight of Who He Truly was. Those who travelled with Him gave up everything but their devotion to their Master. We think very highly of those people today and now I read people here who are angry because Joan may give 10% of her money to support her Spiritual Teacher's ability to put His Teaching out into the world. It would have been great if more people supported Jesus rather than voting to have him crucified. If He was able to write, it would be so wonderful to have His Dharma in His Own Handwriting for all of us to read. What a wonderful gift that would be and someone would have had to pay for it. What a great use of money!! Also, I bet the majority of you have never even met Joan or know anything about what kind of person she is. I have met her and she is one of the sweetest people I have ever had the privelege of meeting. My final coment is: Most people worship themselves over Truth because Truth does not cater to the fears of their own mortality. Everyone dies. We have no choice about that. We do have a choice to die angry, ignorant of Truth, and fearful or we with receptivity to Truth and Love.
I have only the fond memories of my mother talking about her time in
Washington D.C. and her acquaintence with Audrey and Mark Felt. I
keep a picture of the youthful Felts in my family album. The only
book I read about Special Agent Felt was the new one by Woodward and
Felt's identification as Deep Throat. I think it would have been
better as Deep Cover. Leave the Felts alone.
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