(Monkfish Book Publishing)

There’s a saying that "there are no victims, only volunteers," which probably makes no sense when you’re in a situation in which you feel victimized or abused because it doesn’t seem like there’s a choice. The question is, why stay in those circumstances? As I’ve mentioned above, one has committed to an ideal; in Andre’s case the ideal was based upon another person, and there was still the hope that what he’d once received (or perceived) would be available again.

Often when I ask people when their relationships changed, they’ll say 10 years ago, or after the first few months. Werner Erhard used to talk about an experiment in which rats were given cheese at a certain point in a maze. Then the cheese was removed and yet the rats kept going back to that same place for the cheese. It was even worse when the cheese was occasionally there. Are we are like rats running back for that sensual reward that was once there? 

Andre formed three successive, meaningful love relationships in the group, and ultimately after leaving the group, married a former devotee. The women in his relationships were portrayed as having an easier time than Andre letting go of the intimacy that he struggled to give up, and still intensely needed. Andre was able to bond, even in the relationships that were arranged for convenience. Perhaps there was something in his bonding that was non-specific and co-dependent.

If Andre were willing, I would look at where he had been open to being "hooked," where there was a loop in him for a hook to sink into. After all, there were many people who heard Andrew Cohen who did not feel the need to give up the lives they were leading in order to become a meaningful part of his. So, I would question where the unfinished business of Andre’s childhood was resting. For instance, did he need a mentor/father figure that personified the unique potential he saw in himself but was unlike the more forceful or rigid father he had internalized?

From a Cayce perspective, following a leader, such as Andrew, would be suspect. Cayce, a Christian mystic, didn’t even like to channel entities. He believed in strengthening our relationship with our Creator. He often referred to Jesus Christ as our older brother and role model.

Andrew’s devotees saw themselves as the apostles. It seems relevant to note that the apostles made their mark in history, as well, though it was through recording the works of Jesus. Andre actually was instrumental in facilitating the book of Andrew’s teachings, though without any appreciation, with considerable abuse, and without acknowledgement.

The seduction for Andre was being recognized, considered special. He didn’t see this happening in the regular world. How many of us truly feel seen or understood? Apparently there is a mechanism in the human brain that creates longing, and that longing is ultimately satisfied by connection with the creator.

I think Andre was led by this longing but he was also searching for outside validation in order to find peace inside. Most of us may need that but we don’t necessarily join groups such as Andrew’s. Most of us find solace in romantic relationships and in business, and it’s here that we’re likely to confront the issue of seduction, feeling deceived, being deceived, or being a deceiver.

There were rabbis who were brought to Los Angeles during the 1970’s in order to confront the issue of why so many young Jews were joining cults. What was discovered is that the lack of strong religious affiliation or convictions within the family of origin was creating a need for these people to see that connection elsewhere.

And later, when the Dahli Lama met with the rabbis to find out how they kept their people together in Diaspora, he was asked to supply the answer as to why so many Jews became Buddhists. Judaism was not making its spiritual path available. Heeding the Dahli Lama, the rabbis made Kabbalah study more accessible. (See The Jew In the Lotus, by Roger Kamenetz)You no longer needed to be 40 years old, male, married, or to ask a rabbi three times. Still, it required work.

Who isn’t enticed by the promise of instant enlightenment, which is what Andrew Cohen offered? Similarly, what makes Rabbi Berg’s Kabbalah Centre, which Madonna has made famous, such a popular place to study Kabbalah, despite its cloudy reputation? First, Rabbi Berg’s Centre is fun. Whether it’s true or not, everything is given significance, and there’s instant gratification, though at a monetary price. There you need only purchase and scan the very expensive Zohar, and you’re promised your life will change. Running your fingers along the page is a whole lot faster and easier than deep study, and there may well be some immediate resonance with the act.

For $26 you too can buy the red string (you’ll see Madonna wearing it) to ward off evil. Also, it’s inclusive. It doesn’t matter what your religion; anyone can come into the shop and buy Kabbalah water, or purchase the names of God, or attend classes. You’re immediately part of the community.

In an abusive relationship, there is generally a point where something turns. The good that lured one begins to darken. Looking back we can spot red flags, even where we saw them and chose to ignore them because the desire for what we wanted was greater than what we chose to ignore.

As a psychic, I can point out where the red flags were and why the client may have overlooked them. The purpose would be to own the whole experience, integrate it, release it and not recreate it.

One of the red flags with The Kabbalah Centre is its immediate gratification for a considerable monetary price. Yet it does offer considerable spiritual insight, primarily about love and sharing. It’s when you relinquish yourself for the illusion of what some organization says it has the power to offer that you’re in trouble.

Cayce talked about cooperation, about each person setting an ideal and looking to see how one’s thoughts and behavior measured up to that ideal. He encouraged reading scripture, to learn from the sages and to apply our learning daily. In fact, he counseled people to be "long suffering," a term that conflicts with our desires for immediate happiness.

I take "long suffering" to mean staying with my principles despite whatever currents may be shifting. The I-Ching often encourages us to take no outward action but to keep right attitude and await the changes that will inevitably occur if we maintain proper thinking and being. So Cayce also encouraged us to become more spiritual. Becoming something implies a process.

In writing this article, I’ve been asked to posit how we might empathize with Andre rather than judge him or see his life as something completely separate from our own. What I see is the need to be loved and accepted by someone of quality, or renown.

In any community, no matter how great their purpose, there is the reality of personalities clashing. Twelve step programs speak to that especially, cautioning seekers to follow principles rather than personal issues.

Cayce said we were here to learn cooperation, and ultimately to become soul mates with everyone. No matter what situation you find yourself in, you have that opportunity. The higher the supposed calling, perhaps the bigger the shadow or the cloud that can build around it.

There’s an illusion that other people don’t have to struggle, that they have self-esteem, security, whatever the issue. Living in Los Angeles, I’ve seen the cover of People Magazine with the glossy picture of perfection and the inside story suggesting the cover girl had it all together. The unairbrushed reality was actually quite different, but if you didn’t know the person, you bought the illusion.

If only I had that, whatever that may be, then my life would work. If only I could fall in love and mate the way Andre did, then my life would be….If I were close to someone famous, or had the glow of that fame, that approval, then I’d feel as if I were at the center of something, as if my life had meaning.

Andre’s mission now may be to create a sense of the sacred in life without having to go outside himself for the center. He is still processing his experience and perhaps reeling from the abuse he allowed himself to undergo. Ultimately, the betrayal is about our betraying ourselves. People can do what they do but more important for us is to see where we got hooked, what steps we hoped to bypass in order to find an easier, softer way. And ultimately our freedom rests in forgiveness and release.

Currently, and like an abused spouse, the author recounts his story as if to make it real for himself and to reveal an underside that he hopes will save us from going down the same path.

Pascal said most of our problems stem from an inability to sit quietly alone in a room. Perhaps that has something to do with the nature of being human? We are, however, able to look within and to perceive on numerous levels.

* Lorrie Kazan is a field-tested psychic reader for the Edgar Cayce Foundation. To sign up for her free prosperity meditations, psychic newsletter, or to access articles, reviews and information, click on www.lorriekazan.com.