tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32246421.post6873616684490261270..comments2023-10-10T01:03:46.375+12:00Comments on Food &Health Skeptic: jonjayrayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13363092874281160320noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32246421.post-10207540195628832332014-03-11T00:13:21.876+11:302014-03-11T00:13:21.876+11:30Regarding your article about The Turning Point, an...Regarding your article about The Turning Point, and the tragic death of Rebecca Lawrence- I was involved with this organisation in the 1980s and 1990s. There was a suicide on residential course called Breakthrough, at a country NSW 'retreat'. At the time, Walter Bellin (who devised the Turning Point and headed the organisation then), got the participants together, and asked them not to talk about the suicide. He explained that suicide was the 'ultimate I centred action' (or, translated, the ultimate 'selfish' act of one who needs to be the centre of attention), and took NO responsibility for it at all. <br /><br />Walter Bellin has managed to distance himself from this event, but it doesn't matter how long he's' been away from The Turning Point- HE DEVISED IT. The course is HIS creation, in whatever form it takes, and in whatever way it may have 'evolved'.<br /><br />I don't believe Walter Bellin had ill-intentions, but he was an outright COWARD when it came to taking responsibility for the fact that 'magical thinking' does not necessarily help someone with a history of serious depression, which this unfortunate man who suicided had. Despite knowing this, the man was urged to dump his medication for the duration of the course, and the consequences were devastating.<br /><br />I have NEVER seen Walter Bellin held accountable for that terrible event, and believe he did everything in his power to make sure no one spoke about it, because he feared the obvious bad publicity. <br /><br />For Walter Bellin to say that he left the organisation a long time ago, and for him to distance himself in this way, is dishonest. <br /><br />The course is great for people like Walter Bellin- who don't appear to suffer chemical imbalances, and who are self-directed and able to cut themselves off from the pain of others. But they are NOT great for highly sensitive people, and a great many of us were hurt and angered by his response to that suicide and his seeming lack of empathy and compassion- especially given that this is what he 'preached'.<br /><br />I believe his ex-wife, Gita Bellin, was a far more compassionate soul, despite Walter's 'theories' that he was the 'you centred' (or giving, and self sacrificing one) in the marriage, and that she had a reverse 'I centred' personality. In fact, the opposite was true, and Walter Bellin's self devised psychology theories, were never subject to any rigorous scrutiny, peer review or anything else, because he developed a system where nothing he did was open to scrutiny.<br /><br />In addition, many articles state that he was a psychology 'lecturer' at The University of California, and maybe he was, but this too seems odd, given that Walter Bellin has a mere BA in psychology, when most lecturers require Phds, or surely Masters degrees at the very least! So, I'm not sure what section of the university he 'lectured' in.<br /><br />I think he came to Australia at a time when a lot of Americans thought we were pretty easy people to impress!<br /><br />I stress that he had good intentions, but was severely lacking in empathy, compassion and the capacity to understand that not everyone was just like him. In many ways he was the least 'evolved' of all the individuals in the organisation.<br /><br />He had charisma, but I don't think he was a particularly gifted or insightful individual, and I think he needs to be held accountable for the more recent suicides, since the course is his own creation.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32246421.post-33103158572801608712009-08-20T18:13:11.501+11:302009-08-20T18:13:11.501+11:30Er since when was curry an exclusively Western die...Er since when was curry an exclusively Western diet? Do people in other parts of the world not eat fat? What about palm oil and ghee both central ingredients in African and Asian cookery. Why have we all accepted this "Western diet" brainwashing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com