Jasmuheen

Comment and Opinion

Living On Light – Jasmuheen (dead link)
and
Jasmuheen's Cosmic Internet Academy

People used to think that it was a joke that someone was going around saying that people could live without eating anything at all. Unfortunately, some people believed this and died as a result. A couple of Jasmuheen's followers are doing a few months in prison in Australia for withholding food and medical treatment from someone. The family of the murdered woman have asked for a refund of the money she spent on the "treatment", but have been told that there is no legal requirement to give the money back as the service provided was what had been ordered. What? These bastards are claiming that someone agreed to a treatment resulting in death by stroke? Jasmuheen herself has denied any involvement in this murder and another death in Scotland last year, and claims that she cannot be held responsible for the results of people following the advice in her books and seminars. She continues to make a very good living from these activities.

I had assumed that Jasmuheen was just a crook and that she didn't believe what she said, but she did something which makes me think she is insane. She agreed to have the Australian TV show 60 Minutes observe her for a month while she went completely without food. After a couple of days she complained about the hotel they had her staying in so the whole thing was moved out into the countryside. After six days she was obviously distressed and looking very ill but she was insisting that everything was fine. The doctor on the project stopped the exercise. Jasmuheen is now claiming that she was unfairly treated and not allowed to prove herself. The rest of us think that the doctor saved her life.

I was one of the people who thought she was a joke. Her site was the first thing included in my old Quintessence of the Loon site, but I subsequently published this apology.

Jasmuheen has won a couple of awards. She was the recipient of the 2000 Bent Spoon award from the Australian Skeptics. However, the most prestigious was a Highly Commended citation in the 2000 Millenium Awards, where the following was said:

It is hard to imagine more stupid advice that telling people to stop eating food. It is equally hard to imagine how anyone could think that they could give this advice and get paid to give it. Not only that, but they then expect people to believe that they live without food themselves. The owner of Jasmuheen's Cosmic Internet Academy proved on Australian television during 2000 that she could not go even five days without food, but that has not stopped her touring around the world lying to people and stealing their money. I don't suppose any of the money will go to Verity Lynn or Lani Morris, but, being dead, they probably don't need it as much as Ellen Greve does.