"His followers told me I could not go against his word."

This is an email we’ve received from a woman who knew Phillip Scott in 1998-2003, more than 20 years ago. This was published with her consent. Her testimony is further confirmation that who Phillip Scott is today — is who he’s always been. 

I had some relationship issues and a friend encouraged me to seek healing with Phillip which I did. It was a very lack luster session, nothing I didn't already know for a significant chunk of money. I seemed to find him lacking in authenticity but all of his followers put him on a pedestal so thought I must be mistaken. This friend tried to hook us up romantically but we just didn't seem to mesh, it seemed he wanted me to chase him but I saw us as equals. I also knew another Filipino woman was interested in him as well as chasing him so stepped out of the way. I did a few medicine circles with him on Mount Tam. Always enjoyed them but they never had the spiritual depth that I was used to experiencing with other teachers. Again, everyone else raved about how much they got out of it and I thought maybe I am just not putting enough in. I also considered becoming a student but was taken aback by the commitment he required and knew as a single mom I could not do it.

He was very scathing about my so called lack of commitment. He told me the spirits had told him I should attend Sundance but I was torn. His followers told me I could not go against his word or what the spirits had told him. I didn't go and that's when things started to break down. Essentially he turned his back on me.

What I witnessed was a core group of people who followed him everywhere and did so much for him. All of them, at the time were women. Some incredibly vulnerable places of their lives trying to get back on their feet spiritually. After he organised a trip to Peru, this friend of mine who introduced me to him, said she was floored by how badly he treated his 'followers', how he expected them to do everything for him as well as pay for everything and treated all the while being verbally abusive. She said she had never seen this side of him. This just reaffirmed what I felt guided to do, move away from him and his inner circle of followers who constantly made excuses for his behaviour.

I know this hardly touches on the abuse other people have experienced, but is for me, further confirmation that I made the right decision early on and to also remove my young daughter from that. I came across this because I was researching Indigenous recipes AND also found him on Linkedin as though selling Native American ceremonies is a business for him. Honestly so sad, this is the other side of him.