J. Z. Knight

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J. Z. Knight : biography

March 16, 1946 –

Attacks and criticism against Ramtha’s teachings and Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment have also been made by former students of the school. David McCarthy, a Yelm resident and former student of the School between 1989 and 1996, has accused the School of being a cult. He further claims that he was intimidated during his studies there, and he felt like mind control was being exerted by JZ Knight and the school. He said "At one point I was running around scared I was going to get eaten by the lizard people." McCarthy became disappointed, not only with his own experience of Ramtha’s teachings but also as he had cut ties from his family to become a student as they lived in a different country. This lead McCarthy to form a group called "Life After Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment", which questions the authenticity of Ramtha and encourages people to come out and express their experiences after their realisation that the RSE is a cult. The School has also been characterised as a cult by acclaimed skeptic Michael Shermer, in his book Why People Believe Weird Things.

Glenn Cunningham, a former bodyguard of JZ Knight’s, in an interview with David McCarthy details the inner workings of the Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment, and criticizes various activities (such as trademarking ideas and phrases that had been coined by other authors many years before – for example, the idea of "Blue Body", or mixing quantum physics with new age ideas, which can be found in Vera Stanley Alder’s "From the Mundane to the Magnificent", first published in 1979) of JZ Knight’s and aspects of Ramtha which he simply saw as JZ Knight acting. Among the things he mentions is the fact that Ramtha mispronounces the same words that JZ Knight mispronounces, and that Ramtha quotes the same books that JZ Knight has read. Glenn Cunningham admits in the video interview, that he was prone to lying to students when he saw fit or thought that it may help them.

Furthermore, Ramtha’s teachings as they are portrayed in the movie What the Bleep Do We Know!?, not only in the general gist of the film (which was directed and funded by students of Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment) but also in instances where Ramtha is interviewed on screen, have been heavily criticised by the scientific community across the globe, The Guardian Unlimited Australian Broadcasting Corporation and skeptics, by Eric Scerri of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry such as James Randi. James Randi Educational Foundation

Court cases

JZ Knight has been involved in several court disputes, some personal and others business-related. Knight brought suit against a woman from Berlin named Julie Ravell for disturbing Knight’s psychic state and leaving her "hanging in spiritual limbo" during the five years Ravell claimed she was also channeling Ramtha. The case was brought to the supreme court in Vienna and lasted over five years, at the end of which Austria’s supreme court awarded copyright to J.Z. Knight as the sole channelor of Ramtha, and Ravell was made to pay $800 in psychic damages to J.Z. Knight. Another case involving copyright and trademark ownership was JZK, Inc vs. Glandon, in which Joseph Glandon was accused of distributing copyrighted teachings of Ramtha.

In Knight vs. Knight (1992–1995), Jeff Knight alleges that he lost years of his life by postponing modern medical treatment for his HIV infection, due to advice from his wife that Ramtha could heal him. The court decided against him, but he died before he could appeal the court’s decision.{}

Knight, through JZK Inc., accused WhiteWind Weaver, a Thurston County citizen, of stealing Knight’s ideas and using her and Ramtha’s teachings in her workshops. A trial began on March 10, 2008 in Thurston County Superior Court, and at the end of it Knight was awarded about $10,000 after the court’s decision against WhiteWind Weaver.