Rumors about the Novus Spiritus Board

[Foolmewunz]

Hmm. I don't know that I've ever written anything like that here.

What kinds of things would you like to know?

Maybe I can create a thread with that story. I like the title: My time on the Dark Side. Ha.

I guess it never occurred to me that anyone would be interested, but I could probably write something up.

Share! Share! I love a good story.

I concur. This would need its own thread. A detailed story would be fascinating reading. I've heard parts of it but never a full retelling.

And talk to RSL first. He's mastered the craft of neutralizing but keeping the facts out there. With your background, you know better than most that you don't want Teh Claws to have any grounds for whipping out her lawyers.


By the way - - Robert or ExM - - any idea where Eenie is off to. I realized the other day that I hadn't seen a post from her in ages and when I double checked she hasn't even been on the boards since last December.

 

[RSLancastr]

FMW, I haven't seen her around in a while either. Last I heard, she was interviewing for a job in a new career. Let's hope she got it, and it is keeping her busy, thus her prolonged absence from these forums.

 

[Foolmewunz]

FMW, I haven't seen her around in a while either. Last I heard, she was interviewing for a job in a new career. Let's hope she got it, and it is keeping her busy, thus her prolonged absence from these forums.

Yeah, I've been a little preoccupied and hadn't noticed that she'd been missing. She always followed the Sylvia threads, though, so thought maybe you might've heard from her. And she's real young - maybe she got one of those things... what do they call it... a life?

Eenie - if you're out there lurking.... Drop us a note.

 

[ExMinister]

I appreciate the encouragement, and the interest surprised me.

Foolmewunz, your advice is good. I do think I could write it in such a way that legal concerns would not be a big issue.

On thinking about it, the real difficulty is that there are quite a few people who do not want their identities revealed who play key roles in my story. Their stories are directly linked to mine and they have asked me not to talk about them.

I am not sure I could tell a coherent story without giving them away, and I'm not sure things would make sense if I were to just leave out the events in which they were involved.

I'll continue to think about it.

 

[CynicalSkeptic]

What kinds of things would you like to know?

The whole story. How you got started with her (I'm assuming you were a true believer), how much was revealed to you early on. Is it like Steve Martin in my Avatar were the whole crew were in on the scam, or does she stay in character at all times even in front of her employees? Were you eventually allowed into some secret "inner circle"? What made you quit working for her? Your username implies you were once an ordained minister but are now no longer practicing. Did this have anything to do with your experiences with Sylvia?

 

[RSLancastr]

Your username implies you were once an ordained minister but are now no longer practicing. Did this have anything to do with your experiences with Sylvia?

ExM was once an ordained minister within Sylvia Browne's "church" (Novus Spiritus), but is no more (thus her User Name here).

 

[ExMinister]

The whole story. How you got started with her (I'm assuming you were a true believer), how much was revealed to you early on. Is it like Steve Martin in my Avatar were the whole crew were in on the scam, or does she stay in character at all times even in front of her employees? Were you eventually allowed into some secret "inner circle"? What made you quit working for her? Your username implies you were once an ordained minister but are now no longer practicing. Did this have anything to do with your experiences with Sylvia?

I am deleting this post. Second thoughts. Will give it some more thought and try again later. Apologies.

 

[ExMinister]

CynicalSkeptic, it is a difficult subject to write about. I didn't realize what a challenge it could be. I had something written out (above), posted it, then realized it just didn't say what it should have said, on second thought.

As Robert said, I was a minister for her.

I will say this: There is no secret inner circle and I was never made aware that there was any sort of scam going on. The information that made me doubt Sylvia I found by accident, on my own. This had to do with trances that appeared to me to have been faked, and other instances where Sylvia was talking about having to support her ministers, when in fact the ministers paid money back to her. Things like that.

The only inner circle that existed when I was there consisted of the people closest to Sylvia. I was only on the periphery of this. I can't honestly say one way or the other whether there was any awareness of a scam. If it existed, it was not revealed to me.

ETA: You might be interested in the posts by "Francine" back in 2010. One of the threads she posted in: http://www.internationalskeptics.co...p?t=163480&highlight=dufresne+francine&page=3 starting about midway down page 2. Just type Francine into the search engine. She didn't stay long but she had a lot to say about Sylvia and her organization. Based on my own experience, I'm convinced she knew what she was talking about.

 

[RSLancastr]

ExM, whatever you are comfortable enough to share with us would be wonderful. That you are comfortable enough here to share even some of it is a testament, I think, to both how you have been accepted and treated here and to how far you have come.

 

[CynicalSkeptic]

Sorry ExM,
I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. What you have shared is interesting, and I don't mean to put you in a place that you're not comfortable. Obviously you don't want to open yourself up to libel or slander charges, and you've mentioned before that there are other people that don't want details shared. So whatever you're comfortable with I'm sure would make for interesting reading.

 

[ExMinister]

Thanks RSL.

Sorry ExM,
I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. What you have shared is interesting, and I don't mean to put you in a place that you're not comfortable. Obviously you don't want to open yourself up to libel or slander charges, and you've mentioned before that there are other people that don't want details shared. So whatever you're comfortable with I'm sure would make for interesting reading.

No, I didn't feel like you put me on the spot - not at all.

I'm pretty sure most of my story has been told here over the years, just scattered throughout a lot of different threads. I have had to leave big parts of it out for the reasons you mentioned. That makes it more challenging to share in one place like a narrative, and it makes it hard to say all the things I would want to say.

I'll still give it some thought, though, and I really do appreciate your interest in it, and the others who expressed an interest in it too.

 

[Reno]

People threaten me with court action for libel and slander all the time. I tell them I'll happily see them in court. They never follow through.

 

[RSLancastr]

People threaten me with court action for libel and slander all the time. I tell them I'll happily see them in court. They never follow through.

And, here in the States anyway, a statement being true is its best defense against charges that it is libelous/slanderous. As Browne is highly unlikely to want a court to rule on the truthfulness of what is said about her on my site, I think that Ex-M's account of her times in Novus Spiritus - as long as she sticks to the truth - is unlikely to result in slander or libel charges from those in Browne's camp.