Gene Ward Smith
2006-10-05 21:35:45 UTC
Hi friends, First, let me say that I make this posting with no
bitterness or bad feelings. I forgave the situation and asked the
Holy Spirit for Guidance, which is a method that has not failed me
in regards to the big picture. That Guidance is that it's entirely
appropriate at times to NOT be a doormat when it comes to
interacting with the people who seem to be in this world. I ask you
to keep that in mind as you read this. I'm well aware of the
opportunity for forgiveness that was presented to me here, and I
assure you that I have taken complete advantage of it. I was not
angry when I wrote this. I've updated it so that if people search
the archives later they will have all the info that I do. That
having been said, at this time of the annual Miracle Distribution
Center Conference in Anaheim, California, which I have not been
invited to for the third year in a row since "The Disappearance of
the Universe" was published, here is an updated version of my
experience of the "Miracle" Distribution Center. BTW, I will be
giving a workshop right near Anaheim at Unity of Tustin next month,
September 25 and 26. For contact info you can go to the Appearances
page at my website, www.GaryRenard.com
August 22, 2005. NDUR: Updated: My Experience of The "Miracle"
Distribution Center
There have been recent questions asked at various A
Course in Miracles on line groups as to why the Miracle Distribution
Center (MDC) is the only Course organization that sells other
peoples' books but does not sell my bestselling Course book, The
Disappearance of the Universe (DU). So as a way of setting
the record straight, I want to say publicly that Beverly Hutchinson
of the Miracle Distribution Center made a calculated political
decision two years ago to not sell my book, despite the fact that it
was the first book in many years to include hundreds of quotations
from A Course in Miracles with the permission of The Foundation for
A Course in Miracles and The Foundation for Inner Peace. She then
lied to my publisher, saying in an e-mail that the book "just didn't
speak to any of us". I later found out that the person who reviews
books for the Miracle Distribution Center had given the book an
enthusiastic thumbs up and had recommended to Beverly that the
Center sell it, and that Beverly herself had over-ruled him. I wrote a
very nice and heartfelt letter to Beverly asking MDC to re-consider the
decision. It was never answered.
Perhaps you can imagine how it made a new author feel to be told by
Beverly, who I had looked up to before that, that the book "just
didn't speak to any of us." The real reason was that Beverly had
already been working to help Robert Perry with his forthcoming book.
In fact, a woman named Lainie in New Jersey, who was occasionally
asked by Beverly to proof-read Beverly's newsletter for her, was
also asked by Beverly to proof-read Robert Perry's new book BEFORE
publication. When Lainie told Beverly that Robert's teachings were
not her cup of tea, Lainie was never asked to proof-read Beverly's
newsletter again.
You see, Beverly and 3 other relatively well known people in the
Course in Miracles community had a plan to prop up Perry and
hopefully have him replace Ken Wapnick as the Course's leading
scholar. My book was seen as friendly to Ken Wapnick, and thus
didn't fit in with their plans. I was a fly in their ointment. To
this very day no mention of The Disappearance of the Universe has
ever been allowed in the Center's catalog or newsletter, called The
Holy Encounter. My first publisher, D. Patrick Miller of Fearless
Books, (the book is now with Hay House) who also writes a regular
column for The Holy Encounter, was told by Beverly that he could not
write an article about why he published the book, despite the fact
that it was becoming the most widely read and talked about book in
the Course community in over 12 years. Fortunately, the conspiracy
to prop up Perry and promote his, Marianne Williamson's, and
Beverly's collective and woefully inferior interpretation of ACIM
instead of Ken Wapnick's failed miserably, and even members of
Beverly's own staff ended up buying DU from other sources.
I do not say these things lightly, and I have more than enough proof
to be making these statements. Have I forgiven Beverly? Absolutely.
Does that mean she shouldn't be called on her B.S? No. I think
people have a right to know what goes on behind the scenes in the
Course community, and how a new author with an obviously important
book is "welcomed" into the family. On the level of form, I am
nobody's patsy, and perhaps a future author with an important book
who is excluded by Beverly because he or she does not fit her
extraordinarily narrow profile of what a "Course author" should look
like will not feel so bad if they read these words. That is my main
motivation for writing them. It goes without saying that any future
author in this position will not feel as bad if they practice
forgiveness. But if the person that the new author needs to forgive
is someone in the "ACIM community" who they previously looked up to,
then that new author is being thrown a major league curve ball, and
it doesn't hurt to have a heads up.
I've flown 150,000 miles in the last year and a half teaching ACIM,
appeared on the Coast to Coast AM radio show with George Noory,
speaking to over 5 million people about the Course, watched DU make
number 1 at Amazon.com in the category of Religion/Spirituality
(number 2 overall), been the keynote speaker at the most recent
International ACIM Conference (at which I received two standing
ovations) and seen DU sold to be published in 14 other languages,
but you will never see any of these things mentioned in the "What's
Happening" section of the Holy Encounter magazine. In fact now, in
retaliation for me telling the truth, Beverly is also preventing
ACIM people from around the country from listing my workshops on her
website or in The Holy Encounter. BTW, Marianne Williamson is this
year's keynote speaker at the annual MDC Conference for the
umpteenth time, and she told me on the phone she has been asked to
do it again next year.
Beverly makes a pretense of informing and serving the ACIM
community. She actively solicits donatons and tries to get ACIM
students to leave money to her Center in their wills, implying they
will be serving other ACIM students by doing so. Yet in another real
life example of her behavior, when a long time enthusiastic
California ACIM student named Robb walked up to Beverly and
sincerely shared with her how "The Disappearance of the Universe"
meant a great deal to him in his study of the Course and that she
should make it available through her Center, Beverly rudely
replied, "Why is everybody always trying to get me to carry THAT
BOOK?"
The truth is that Beverly's Miracle Distribution Center engages in
selective censorship and is really a private club that I and many
other authors have never been given a fair chance to join. And if I
knew two years ago everything that I know now, I doubt that I would
have wanted to. Sincerely, Gary Renard, author, The Disappearance of
the Universe
bitterness or bad feelings. I forgave the situation and asked the
Holy Spirit for Guidance, which is a method that has not failed me
in regards to the big picture. That Guidance is that it's entirely
appropriate at times to NOT be a doormat when it comes to
interacting with the people who seem to be in this world. I ask you
to keep that in mind as you read this. I'm well aware of the
opportunity for forgiveness that was presented to me here, and I
assure you that I have taken complete advantage of it. I was not
angry when I wrote this. I've updated it so that if people search
the archives later they will have all the info that I do. That
having been said, at this time of the annual Miracle Distribution
Center Conference in Anaheim, California, which I have not been
invited to for the third year in a row since "The Disappearance of
the Universe" was published, here is an updated version of my
experience of the "Miracle" Distribution Center. BTW, I will be
giving a workshop right near Anaheim at Unity of Tustin next month,
September 25 and 26. For contact info you can go to the Appearances
page at my website, www.GaryRenard.com
August 22, 2005. NDUR: Updated: My Experience of The "Miracle"
Distribution Center
There have been recent questions asked at various A
Course in Miracles on line groups as to why the Miracle Distribution
Center (MDC) is the only Course organization that sells other
peoples' books but does not sell my bestselling Course book, The
Disappearance of the Universe (DU). So as a way of setting
the record straight, I want to say publicly that Beverly Hutchinson
of the Miracle Distribution Center made a calculated political
decision two years ago to not sell my book, despite the fact that it
was the first book in many years to include hundreds of quotations
from A Course in Miracles with the permission of The Foundation for
A Course in Miracles and The Foundation for Inner Peace. She then
lied to my publisher, saying in an e-mail that the book "just didn't
speak to any of us". I later found out that the person who reviews
books for the Miracle Distribution Center had given the book an
enthusiastic thumbs up and had recommended to Beverly that the
Center sell it, and that Beverly herself had over-ruled him. I wrote a
very nice and heartfelt letter to Beverly asking MDC to re-consider the
decision. It was never answered.
Perhaps you can imagine how it made a new author feel to be told by
Beverly, who I had looked up to before that, that the book "just
didn't speak to any of us." The real reason was that Beverly had
already been working to help Robert Perry with his forthcoming book.
In fact, a woman named Lainie in New Jersey, who was occasionally
asked by Beverly to proof-read Beverly's newsletter for her, was
also asked by Beverly to proof-read Robert Perry's new book BEFORE
publication. When Lainie told Beverly that Robert's teachings were
not her cup of tea, Lainie was never asked to proof-read Beverly's
newsletter again.
You see, Beverly and 3 other relatively well known people in the
Course in Miracles community had a plan to prop up Perry and
hopefully have him replace Ken Wapnick as the Course's leading
scholar. My book was seen as friendly to Ken Wapnick, and thus
didn't fit in with their plans. I was a fly in their ointment. To
this very day no mention of The Disappearance of the Universe has
ever been allowed in the Center's catalog or newsletter, called The
Holy Encounter. My first publisher, D. Patrick Miller of Fearless
Books, (the book is now with Hay House) who also writes a regular
column for The Holy Encounter, was told by Beverly that he could not
write an article about why he published the book, despite the fact
that it was becoming the most widely read and talked about book in
the Course community in over 12 years. Fortunately, the conspiracy
to prop up Perry and promote his, Marianne Williamson's, and
Beverly's collective and woefully inferior interpretation of ACIM
instead of Ken Wapnick's failed miserably, and even members of
Beverly's own staff ended up buying DU from other sources.
I do not say these things lightly, and I have more than enough proof
to be making these statements. Have I forgiven Beverly? Absolutely.
Does that mean she shouldn't be called on her B.S? No. I think
people have a right to know what goes on behind the scenes in the
Course community, and how a new author with an obviously important
book is "welcomed" into the family. On the level of form, I am
nobody's patsy, and perhaps a future author with an important book
who is excluded by Beverly because he or she does not fit her
extraordinarily narrow profile of what a "Course author" should look
like will not feel so bad if they read these words. That is my main
motivation for writing them. It goes without saying that any future
author in this position will not feel as bad if they practice
forgiveness. But if the person that the new author needs to forgive
is someone in the "ACIM community" who they previously looked up to,
then that new author is being thrown a major league curve ball, and
it doesn't hurt to have a heads up.
I've flown 150,000 miles in the last year and a half teaching ACIM,
appeared on the Coast to Coast AM radio show with George Noory,
speaking to over 5 million people about the Course, watched DU make
number 1 at Amazon.com in the category of Religion/Spirituality
(number 2 overall), been the keynote speaker at the most recent
International ACIM Conference (at which I received two standing
ovations) and seen DU sold to be published in 14 other languages,
but you will never see any of these things mentioned in the "What's
Happening" section of the Holy Encounter magazine. In fact now, in
retaliation for me telling the truth, Beverly is also preventing
ACIM people from around the country from listing my workshops on her
website or in The Holy Encounter. BTW, Marianne Williamson is this
year's keynote speaker at the annual MDC Conference for the
umpteenth time, and she told me on the phone she has been asked to
do it again next year.
Beverly makes a pretense of informing and serving the ACIM
community. She actively solicits donatons and tries to get ACIM
students to leave money to her Center in their wills, implying they
will be serving other ACIM students by doing so. Yet in another real
life example of her behavior, when a long time enthusiastic
California ACIM student named Robb walked up to Beverly and
sincerely shared with her how "The Disappearance of the Universe"
meant a great deal to him in his study of the Course and that she
should make it available through her Center, Beverly rudely
replied, "Why is everybody always trying to get me to carry THAT
BOOK?"
The truth is that Beverly's Miracle Distribution Center engages in
selective censorship and is really a private club that I and many
other authors have never been given a fair chance to join. And if I
knew two years ago everything that I know now, I doubt that I would
have wanted to. Sincerely, Gary Renard, author, The Disappearance of
the Universe