New Posts on The Gentle Soul's Revolution:

Chapter 4: How to Stay in a Cult

Chapter 4, Part 2: "Help" from Sustainers and Teachers

DOSSIER:

DOSSIER: LIANNE KLAPPER MCNALLY

(This is the third of a series of profiles about the leaders of the Gans cult.)

Lianne Klapper McNally is approximately 51 years old. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, and graduated from Stanford University. She met the Gans organization in approximately 1988, during a period of rapid growth for the “school” when a second New York City “work group” was established.

“SCHOOL” HISTORY

Though never a “teacher” in the Gans group, Lianne has played various prominent roles during 23 years of involvement with the organization. Her most public role came in 2000-2002, when she directed “Artists and Orphans: A True Story,” a documentary film featuring Gans which was eventually nominated for the 2002 Academy Awards, under the category of “Best Documentary Short Subject.” The film was based upon the adventures of a travelling group of Gans group performers in the Republic of Georgia (of the former USSR), and their interactions with the occupants of a Georgian orphanage. Controversy erupted before the Academy Awards ceremony, when Rosie O’Donnell, a narrator of the film, publicly repudiated her involvement with the film and, in her words, “the cult” behind it. Additional controversy emerged at CBS News, Lianne’s employer at the time, when correspondent Mike Wallace disavowed his alleged endorsement of the film. In the aftermath of these events, Lianne ceased attending classes for two years. She returned in approximately 2004 and in recent years has played an active role in Gans group recruiting efforts.

PERSONAL HISTORY

Lianne has been married twice. Her arranged* first marriage, to David Kulko (son of Sharon Gans), lasted nine months. As part of the arranged divorce, Lianne was told she “could have any man she wanted [in her “Monday/Wednesday group],” according to the account of one of the men she subsequently approached and considered. She ultimately chose Chris McNally, at the time married to another student in the Gans group. In another arranged divorce, McNally left his first wife (recovering at the time from cancer surgery), and married Lianne, in the second arranged marriage for both. McNally is the de-facto leader of one of the New York groups. The couple has one child. The couple’s primary residence is in mid-town Manhattan, with a weekend residence in Elizaville, New York. Chris McNally owns Falcon Enterprise Associates, a firm that specializes in construction related services.

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY

A former member of the Writers Guild of America (East), Lianne began her career as a New York-based writer/producer. As a freelancer, she worked with HBO, Showtime, National Geographic, and Sally Jesse Raphael. She then moved to CBS News, where she worked in the marketing arm of the news organization. After leaving CBS, Lianne worked for SKIP of New York, a non-profit helping severely sick and developmentally disabled children. She currently serves in a formal advisory role at Allen Stevenson, a Manhattan private school.

# # #

*By definition, all dating, sexual encounters, engagements, marriages, extra-marital affairs, marital separations and divorces between Gans group members are “arranged.” The very explicit rules of the cult forbid ANY out-of-class relationship between “students” without “teacher” permission and endorsement.

(Editor’s Note: All factual corrections and additions are welcome. Please email esotericfreedom@safe-mail.net.)

DOSSIER:

DOSSIER: PAUL NICKLESBERG

(This is the second of a regular series of profiles about the leaders
of the Gans cult.)

Paul Nickelsberg is approximately 51 years old. He grew up in Westport, CT, attended Staples High School in neighboring Norwalk, and graduated from Union College of Schnectady, NY in 1982. He met the Boston branch of the Gans cult in approximately 1985, when he rode in on a motorcycle.

"SCHOOL" HISTORY
Paul has been a "leader" in the Boston branch of the Gans cult since at least 1996, usually in the capacity of a “junior teacher.” Among the Boston “teachers,” he is the most involved in the Country Retreat (CR) “line of work.” Paul owns three adjacent residential properties in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, which are used for CR. 71 Old Country Road was purchased in 1997 for $143,500, 63 Old Country Road was purchased in 1998 for $94,000 and 2.1 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to the other properties purchased in 2001 for $37,533. The second house is specifically set aside for use by "teachers" during weekend retreats. As is consistent with the Gans cult financial model for such properties, student labor and financial contributions are used to improve the property and defray tax and maintenance expenses. "Private property" status effectively screens against outside scrutiny of cult activities which take place there.

PERSONAL HISTORY
Paul was first married to W., who was not in the Gans group, and who still lives in Concord. He has one son by this marriage, A., who currently attends Bates College. Paul is currently in an arranged marriage to Karyn Levitt, another “student” in the Boston group. The couple’s primary residence in is Concord, Mass. Karyn is a professional singer, and has performed at Weill Concert Hall at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Terry “Montgomery” Christgau, another member of the cult.

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY:
Paul is an electrical engineer by education, training and employment. He is currently the Owner, President and Chief Technology Officer of Orchid Technologies, which designs and builds electrical products. Orchid is based in Maynard, Mass. He is also Chairman of the Board of Overseers for the Boston Baroque Orchestra; his wife Karyn is also a board member.

(Editors Note: Corrections and additions are welcome. Please email esotericfreedom@safe-mail.net.)

NEW BLOG !!

"This blog – The Gentle Souls’ Revolution – is providing the opportunity to reveal a secret: Between August 2006 through August 2011, I fell prey to a cult that presents itself as a secret esoteric school. It calls itself school."

(click on the links below to go to the blog)

The Confession: Introduction

Chapter 1: How to Leave a Cult

Chapter 2: How to Join a Cult

Chapter 3: Your Marriage, School and School Marriages

Chapter 4: How to Stay in a Cult

Chapter 4, Part 2: "Help" from Sustainers and Teachers

DOSSIER:

DOSSIER: GRAVES KIELY

(This is the first of a series of profiles about the leaders of the Gans cult.)

Graves Kiely is approximately 56 years old. His family is from Marblehead, Mass. Kiely, raised as "Mark Kiely," attended and graduated from Harvard College. After Harvard, Graves received an MFA in Theater (Acting) from Florida State University at the Asolo Theater in Sarasota. He met Sharon Gans in 1982 when he was cast in Alex Horn's "King Trilogy."

“SCHOOL” HISTORY

Graves has been a "leader" in the Gans group since at least 1990, when he returned to New York from Los Angeles. He regularly led group discussions for the "Monday-Wednesday" New York group for many years. He led the "Country Retreat" "line of work" in the 1990s, during a period when it moved (under outside pressure) from Mahopac, NY, to Bethel, CT. and then Pawling, NY, under the front name of "Hudson Valley Artists Foundation.” In approximately 2001, with the demise of the Pawling enterprise, Graves sharply reduced his involvement in "school" activities; during this decade, one of his primary activities was the development of an annual series of "living tableaux" presentations (based on works of art, literature, politics, and drama) for Christmas classes. He resumed teaching in 2008, for the Monday/Wednesday New York group.

PERSONAL HISTORY

Graves was involved with the actress Sally Kirkland, and moved to Los Angeles to be with her and launch a career as a screenwriter. Kirkland, according to Wikipedia, is a "minister in the Church of The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness." Graves is brother to Leo Kiely III, who from 2008 until mid-2011 served as CEO of MillerCoors, the North American operating subsidiary of SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company. Graves is married to Helena Bacardi, of the Cuban-expatriate family that controls the Bacardi Limited rum and distilled spirits company. Bacardi Limited has global headquarters in Bermuda; Graves and his family vacation there frequently. The primary Kiely family residence is in Weston, Connecticut; the family moved there from Brooklyn Heights in the aftermath of 9/11. Graves is the parent of three children with Helena; who range in age from approximately 18 to 24.

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY:

After giving up his career as an actor, Graves entered the financial services industry, and worked at the brokerage firm of D.W. Blair. He obtained his Series 7 license, moved to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in approximately 1996, and worked there as a financial advisor. During this period, many "students" in the Gans group were strongly encouraged to open investment accounts with him. He gave up his Series 7 license, and is currently employed as a "private investor." In this capacity, he is said to manage the financial affairs of some wealthy "students," among them Andrew Robinson.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

The means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Excerpts from Steve Jobs's 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

TRANSFORMING FEAR INTO LOVE

You can choose the path of love over fear.

Where are you living your life now? In love or fear?

There are two main emotions that determine our reality: fear-based emotions and love-based emotions.

Fear-based emotions: fear, anger, stress, hate, pride, greed, blame, bitterness, hurt, judgment, misery, sadness, hopelessness, unhappiness, insecurity, lack of faith, lack of self-love, self-destruction, jealousy, competitiveness, control, frustration, selfishness, closeness, guilt, shame, doubt,s uncertainty, negativity and the list is long..

Love-based emotions: love, joy, faith, trust, inner strength, confidence, belief, happiness, caring, sharing, forgiveness, openness, passion, freedom, harmony, honesty, beauty, compassion, self-love, self-appreciation, respect, acceptance, peace, balance between giving and receiving, understanding, positivity and again the list is long.

http://www.channelingerik.com/love-or-fear-which-will-you-choose/

http://www.squidoo.com/transformingfearintolove

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends."

"Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right."

- Martin Luther King

Morality,
like art,
means
drawing a line
someplace.

Oscar Wilde
Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)