From the editor: It's hard to imagine anyone more qualified to speak on this subject. Marty Raphael grew up in a family whose ancestors, both paternal and maternal, were preachers, evangelists and ministers. A lifetime of seeking the spiritual from outside sources, as she was taught as a child, proved fruitless. Only after moving away from having been sexually, emotionally, mentally, financially and physically abused did she begin to experience the world very differently.

Born and raised near a Sioux Indian reservation in Montana, Marty is grateful to this day for the deep influence the Sioux people had on her as a youth. After studying psychology, religion, journalism and business in college, she went on to apply all of these disciplines in her business career. She has held executive positions in the medical manufacturing industry, trend-forecasting analysis firms and seminar companies. Having spent approximately twenty years in the corporate arena, she is currently writing a second book about business as a spiritual path. In addition to maintaining a private prosperity consulting practice, Marty teaches storytelling to adults as a healing medium, plays piano and sings in her leisure. She has also studied formally with Sogyal Rinpoche and the Living and Dying Project where she facilitated the spiritual element of the dying process for terminally ill persons.

Her experience with spiritual abuse comes from a lifetime of spiritual searching which led to an intensive exploration of a variety of spiritual, psychological, and therapeutic healing modalities. She also conducted research into the use and misuse of spiritual power in diverse cultures such as India, Indonesia, Guatemala, and Mexico. Other formal research for Spiritual Vampires included leading workshops on healing from spiritual abuse, visiting ritual abuse survivors groups, and interviewing dozens of teachers, gurus, ministers, therapists, and survivors of spiritual and ritual abuse.

Pages: 255
Special Interest: Soul-Suckers, Occult, Secret Orders & Societies, Cults, Magick, Ritual, Sorcery.