Warning: this is a rant. Worse, this is a rant about equity in opposition to an abusive mindset based on the bullshit that is an emotional fantasy therapy (EFT) developed by shaming, blaming, self-entitled bastards. So, if that’s not your thing, LOOK AWAY. LOOK AWAY NOW. Also, this is a sweary blog, more so than my average.
Cheers.
You’re still looking.
You HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Last night I was in a partying kinda mood after a two hour meeting with representatives of RMIT where we were hammering out disability access for the remainder of my degree. The meeting couldn’t have gone any better and I’m fairly confident (barring Bloody Murphy) that I’ll get what I need once the writing is on the wall. Um, paper.
My point is, I was celebrating my good day, the ultimate low point of which was accidentally turning up to class an hour early. Pretty excellent for a LOW point, hey?
But some asshole on the internets decided that she could NOT TOLERATE a disabled person being happy about getting disability access. This asshole decided to SHAME AND BLAME ME FOR MY DISABILITY INSTEAD. This is what happened to the best of my recollection (her tweets have mysteriously disappeared from my records either due to her deleting them or due to my blocking him. Not sure.)
I was chatting away merrily with Newtown Books whose husband is legally blind. We’re swapping notes on technology as you do. I comment that Adobe won’t let me access my legitimately purchased Digital Editions any more and I don’t know why (note: I’ve had too much crap this year to follow up on this issue; it’s in the ‘to do’ list for LATERZ.) Quinessence eBooks jumps in to ask what operating system I’m using, so I reply Windows 7. There was an innocuous reply from QB to which I replied, “I loves my largest fonts, scroll to magnify in browser etc.”
Quinessence eBooks is apparently Christine Leov-Lealand.
QB said, “What I was about to suggest to you was using EFT tapping to help eyesight issues.”
@NewtownBooks @DarkMatterzine What I was about to suggest to you was using EFT tapping to help eyesight issues.
— Quintessence ebooks (@loveleov) July 9, 2013
I replied to QB with a series of tweets that, combined for ease of reading, said this:
if it’s a training course it won’t help me. I’ve tried the vision exercises (altho experts said it wouldn’t help); it’s not my lens that’s the primary problem, it’s my retina. Planoid macula, to be precise. And insufficient pigment;
[she tweeted that EFT is a form of emotional therapy]
rofl. It might help some but my problem is PHOTOGRAPHABLE (it has been photographed by optometrists before); am missing vital bits. Sadly emotional freedom doesn’t replace vital bits :*(
An intrepid soul, determined to go where angels fear to tread, QB replied with the link.
@DarkMatterzine FYI http://t.co/XOlJTvv76k
— Quintessence ebooks (@loveleov) July 9, 2013
I had asked what EFT was and was sent a link to a website called “Why don’t you try this: Try being informed instead of just opinionated.”
They’re claiming to CHANGE DNA with a bit of EMOTIONAL THERAPY.
The unnamed author of the article does not lay claim to any medical or scientific credentials, basing the bullshit on a book BECAUSE ALL PUBLISHED BOOKS HAVE AUTOMATIC CREDIBILITY. And because, y’know, his unnamed author is INFORMED INSTEAD OF JUST OPINIONATED. [snark]
“All information is taken from the book “Vernetzte Intelligenz” von Grazyna Fosar und Franz Bludorf, ISBN 3930243237, summarized and commented by Baerbel. The book is unfortunately only available in German so far. You can reach the authors here: www.fosar-bludorf.com”
The authors Fosar and Bludorf are highly reputable [snark] respected [snigger] authors whose medical and scientific credentials still elude me. However, I found an amazingly insightful article by the couple:
“In these days, at the beginning of the 21st Century, earthlings can be seen as a “psycho-civilized society”. This does not mean that our society would especially be psychologically healthy or particularly civilized. Rather, it means that our society is overshadowed by a problem that is called Mind Control.
Mind Control “means a world in which every human thought, every emotion, every perception and every need can be controlled by electrical stimulation of the brain.” (Statement of the Research Director of the CIA, 1972)”
They’ve also written extensively on UFO sightings and abductions [link broken — I guess they took the post down], and been published in respectable scientific journals like… the internets.
I was admirably self-restrained in my response, mostly because I assumed – mistakenly – that a bookish person was intelligent and ought to be given the benefit of the doubt about assholery.
“gentle hint: if you don’t want to be blocked, NEVER NEVER NEVER give a disabled person ‘helpful advice’ about getting fixed; because I can guarantee you, you will not be the first. And when you get flamed, you’ll be in a headspin wondering WTF you did; you’re not a medical professional so you’re stomping on sensitive territory with your size 10 hobnailed boots & NO QUALIFICATIONS”
To this rather restrained rant, QB replied that she had studied this form of emotional therapy. She added a token apology. I can no longer see this tweet; I interpreted her tweet to mean something like
“I AM qualified to diagnose your disability as an emotional defect that you could cure if you had the wisdom and motivation to follow my advice; I have studied this form of emotional abuse in Australia; I’m sorry if you feel that way.”
By this time my blood pressure was so high it was roaring in my ears although my blood pressure is usually low. I replied:
you studied emotional fucking healing? I have a MASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN COUNSELLING STUDIES; ALSO I HAVE CONSULTED WITH ACTUAL QUALIFIED MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, LIKE OPHTHALMOLOGISTS. You know, ACTUAL EYE DOCTORS; Like I’ve never been told I’m defective because I haven’t been healed. Incredibly abusive, compounding disadvantages of disability.
A bit of backstory here: when I was a young adult I got ‘saved’ into a pseudo-Christian cult church where I was ‘healed.’ They prayed for my eyesight and told me that I was healed. I was not allowed to wear my glasses, I had to tell everyone I was healed and if I had enough faith then I would be healed. If I didn’t have enough faith, I obviously wasn’t good enough for them. I went along with it: an abusive childhood set me up perfectly for this kind of abuse as an adult.
An article was published in the national church’s magazine. I’m not sure if it went global or not. They were ecstatic that their little church in Hobart received national recognition. The photograph of my baptism (being Christened by choice at age 13 apparently didn’t count) was captioned with something like “Legally blind woman saved from witchcraft and now can see.” (My eyesight hasn’t changed much but the definition for being legally blind has changed; yes, I was actually certified blind at age 18.)
After a few months of struggling to cope, the pastor took me aside and told me I could now wear my glasses again. I was treated like absolute dirt before being excommunicated two years later.
Shortly afterwards, in a different church, I met my husband. We fell in love and married (far too quickly, but that’s another story). My mother-in-law Ruth was diagnosed with cancer just before we got engaged. Ruth died six months after Edward and I married. Edward was told that it was entirely his fault his mother died: if Edward had enough faith, Ruth would have been healed.
DO NOT FUCKING TALK TO ME ABOUT FAITH HEALING, EMOTIONAL HEALING OR ANY OTHER SUCH BULLSHIT.
The sole function of QB’s emotional abuse (making me feel responsible, guilty and publicly shamed for being disabled) is to fuel a sense of smug entitlement while blaming the less fortunate for their own woes. It’s the same old chestnut: “if he was entitled, he’d be rich; if he’s homeless because the bankers on Wall Street ripped us all off, then it’s his fault and he deserves to suffer.”
I have blocked Quintessential eBooks. Turns out, she’s not as essential as she’d like to think. I’ve also noted her author name, Christine Leov-Lealand, with a view to boycotting her books FOREVER.
UPDATE
Another tweet from Christine AKA QB.
@DarkMatterzine @RoseGWhite my main recommendation is here: http://t.co/9cdJCo1sBn
— Quintessence ebooks (@loveleov) July 10, 2013
Following the link to the abusive therapy page, I discovered a lot of emotive and unsubstantiated cockwaffle about purely subjective improvements after using the emotional therapy. When the subject actually visited her doctor, he assessed Cherie’s eyesight:
My “uncorrected” vision has improved two full lines and is thus now 20/80.
What that means is that without Cherie’s glasses, what a person with good vision can read at 80 feet, Cherie can read at 20 feet. My tested vision has varied from 6/12 to 6/22 (in metric metres instead of feet, because AUSTRALIAN) although, according to doctors, my eyesight hasn’t really changed since I was a teen (apart from the ‘normal’ problems concerning reading that are exacerbated by my preexisting difficulties). This variation in tested vision has been caused by illness (even a simple virus), fatigue or eyestrain.
Cherie apparently has vertical muscle imbalance; this is not explained but I suspect it is nystagmus, a condition from which I suffer, that causes involuntary eye movement. On days when nystagmus is worse, assessed vision will be reduced because IT’S HARDER TO READ A MOVING TARGET. Nystagmus is particularly affected by illness, fatigue, stress and eyestrain. On a day when Cherie is feeling good (physically and emotionally) the nystagmus will be less, but on a day when Cherie is feeling poorly (has a cold, can’t pay the bills, exhausted at the end of the day) her eyesight will be worse.
According to Christine (QB), emotional therapy changed Cherie’s DNA but in actual fact the doctor had a different diagnosis:
He said that emotions play a strong part in the flow of blood to the retina, as well as to different parts of the brain, so increased blood flow to both the retina and the brain would be reflected in the sharpened clarity.
This could also have been caused due to placebo effect or just increased exercise, increasing her blood flow. Notice how the doctor does not support any theory around DNA being changed due to an emotional therapy.
The subjective test in which these women indulged features a remarkable lack of scientific prowess and a total absence of participating medical practitioners supporting methods and findings. Cherie’s subjective experience with prompting from Carol Look is not a valid experiment. Also note that Carol Look has indulged in this bit of self-promotion with a view to making money out of it: she has an ‘Abundance Store,’ interview and workshop schedule alongside of lots of ‘Abundance’ products.
WOULD YOU LIKE SOME SNAKE OIL WITH YOUR EMOTIONALLY ABUSIVE THERAPY?
Note to Christine of Quintessence eBooks:
There is a sucker born every minute and two to take him. Or her. If you’re hell bent on being one of those suckered, you have the right to throw your money away. I won’t respect you, but I respect your right to be suckered in the manner of your choosing. However, shoving this faith healing bullshit down my throat without invitation, without leave, continuing after I’ve been very clear about my feelings on the subject AND HAVE EVEN BLOCKED YOU, is rude at best. Trying to shove some faith healing bullshit down my throat and TELLING ME MY DISABILITY IS MY FAULT IS ABUSIVE.
Doing your absolute best to ruin my celebration after nearly getting disability access at university, WHEN YOU KNEW THAT WAS WHY I WAS HAPPY AND EXCITED, is FUCKING APPALLING.
I hope your paper books gather dust. Hell, I hope they BURN.
I hope your electronic books lose cohesion and disappear into the ether.
