“Intelligence Work Training, Manipulation, Satanic Secret Society, the Jesus Prayer, Crushing Authenticity, and Geopolitical Events of the Near Future as Seen by Clairvoyant Orthodox Christians”

What originally started as an interview for Backbone, Issue 11, turned into a book. We had the author of “Intelligence Work Training, Manipulation, Satanic Secret Society, the Jesus Prayer, Crushing Authenticity, and Geopolitical Events of the Near Future as Seen by Clairvoyant Orthodox Christians” elaborate on some questions we had about his experience.

BR= biological relative

NNIB=no name is best

I don't think many people, if any that I'm aware of, write about how American intelligence training affected them. I would assume that if you feel like you're in the club, these things aren't spoken about. Why did you not make the jump that was expected of you and join that momentum set out for you? 

Within Orthodoxy, God is the Authority. Outside of Orthodoxy, many times the authorities that direct one's life are the ego and one's country. It is difficult to unravel the yarn when the ego authority is twisted into the country authority. "Objectivity" was a watchword for me during my rigorous academic study. I would observe how lines of reasoning could narrow based upon one's loyalty. I observed how easily a trainee could mimic his trainer's movements and take on his ideas.  I observed how it was impossible to know exactly what one might be involved in or subjected to upon joining a powerful group; the curtain is pulled only after you join. I observed how a quasi loner becomes surrounded by a robust 'friend' group in an instant and nonchalantly shares stories about their time in Langley together; Knowing this person at an earlier stage in life, I marveled at the thought of how much confidence can come from the scripted, the artificial, the presentation, the act. I observed how when I contacted a NNIB to join the CIA, it was only then that he gave me his rank, and told me to start doing push ups everyday; one shows interest, the door opens just a crack, and information flows out which begins the power dynamic that digs in deep. I observed a type of yearning to practice the things one has learned in training which when applied, defy the boundaries of friendship or family; one day I walked into my room and found a BR going through my sock drawer. In an earlier conversation he talked about percentages. He claimed that the most common place to hide anything secret is the sock drawer.  Training itself seemed to provide tools to take advantage of another and also the tools to attempt to mend the harm that one has caused. There were times when the actions of a particular BR seemed to be fulfilling a need to try out new techniques or improve upon ones that had already been learned. A person can truly become something else, and then use what they were before as a blanket to conceal what they have become, but every once in a while the blanket falls to the side and you see exactly what you thought might be the case. There is a new zone of understanding then, and these observed, foreign. behavioral additions can never be discussed because they are not supposed to, for lack of a better word, exist.  I observed how loyalty can make one complicit, silent at times when the truth is hidden to protect someone who has done something wrong. Simply put, I intimately observed people become something that I did not want to become. I felt that I would lose my soul.  I was haunted by the bible verse that refers to "Those who delight in a lie." The pain that people hide sits behind their eyes. When I walked into the home of the NNIB whom I contacted in order to join the CIA, I saw his eyes and the eyes of his wife. I try not to look in people's eyes anymore. 

The last portion of the book contains a large amount of prophecies concerning geopolitical events. Why do you feel as though this is related to your story. 

A BR once talked to me about the CIA's charter. He told me that the point of the CIA was to gather sensitive information and bring it back to those who make the decisions. So much information gathering, so much analysis, so much prediction, so much planning. The Orthodox Prophecies will come to pass. Anyone invested in figuring out the future will want to know the Orthodox Prophecies. Of course, the most important decision to make has to do with the salvation of one's soul. Saint Paisios tells us that one is shocked when one learns the truth and therefore begins to make good spiritual decisions. We have also been told that knowing the prophecies leads to repentance. 

Where do you think your interest in prophecies comes from?

The fearless and divinely inspired words of Saint Paisios the Athonite.

I feel like the turning point in your book, for me, is when membership into the satanic society is portrayed to you as something that holds more power than two countries at war with each other. I feel like that notion is read about, speculated about, but few people speak about being offered that ability to transcend wartime enmity. 

I don't think it matters much in the end. Many people have many plans, or many connections. But what matters most is Christ. Examples of how Christ comes to those who believe in Him and love Him are much more inspiring than any garbage that was shoved my way. With Christ, the focus is humility, love, and repentance. With satan, the focus is worldly power. 

What do you feel was so important about the free market that individuals mentioned in your book were willing to risk their lives to help implement it?

In reference to the people whom I knew well, I wonder if it has more to do with conditioning. Feelings are tied to identity, identity is many times expressed through action. It seems to be more about who you are than what you feel.  Perhaps feelings follow from the need to show others who you are, and once you feel them, that's who you are. I know that I am dissecting this, but let's say that one day you decide to be a patriotic person who believes that the spread of capitalism will make the world a better place. You can intuit what a person like this must think or feel and then begin configuring your emotion likewise through self-will. After a period of time, your feelings themselves are a reflection of the identity you chose. It is a type of self-conditioning.  Over time, the identity will direct emotion and interest.  I came to this conclusion through observation, however, I could be wrong. In any case, Certain BRs felt that it was their "mission" to spread the free market system and that by doing so they were actually improving other countries. In other words, and I heard this almost verbatim more than a few times, 'America is the best country in the world and the free market system is the best system for all people.' Why would the BRs risk their lives? Because, they truly believed that they were making the world better for you and me. 

I once watched BR-5 cry heavily during the national anthem. He would do this from time to time. I observed his facial expressions, followed the movement of his eyes, and watched him shift his body weight from side to side. What was this emotion? Where did it come from? Why was it so strong? At some point, I decided that if you really wanted to run an asset, yes, yes money helps, but more than that, give them an identity. 

Do you think intelligence agencies have an interest or fascination with Mt Athos? That's where you first mention your biological relatives' exposure to Orthodoxy, is them becoming aware of a place called Mt Athos.

I am not sure, but geopolitically, it is a very interesting puzzle piece. I suppose it is on people's radar for different reasons.  During World War II, Hitler placed Mount Athos under his own personal protection and sent Nazi soldiers there to catalog its treasures.   Considering the current state of tension between the UK and Russia, it is nice to know that both Putin and King Charles have made pilgrimages to Mount Athos. The Holy peninsula has a special status and a representation of different countries other than Greece such as Russia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Serbia, Romania and others. Spiritually, Mount Athos is directed by the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople, otherwise known as Istanbul, Turkey.  Athos is the Garden of the Panagia, Maria, the All Holy Mother of God. Without a doubt, Mount Athos is unique indeed.

BR-1 had seen so much of the world, but ended up mostly interested in Orthodox spiritually at the end of his life. What do you make of that?

I see this as a man's soul yearning for God, yearning for forgiveness, yearning for humility. I once asked BR-1 if he were hungry thinking that he might be ready for dinner. His response was, "I'm hungry for the Word of God."  

How far back does involvement in these things go with your biological relatives?

Which things? The work or the satanic secret society? BR-1 once old me a story of a BR who leveraged his membership in the satanic secret society in World War I when he became a prisoner of war. The specifics of that should not be spoken. The work goes back a couple of generations.

With so much suspicion, in very deceptive times, do you feel as though a point can be reached where American Intel converts can be honest about their background without fear of ostracization in a church setting?

I am not sure if anyone in intel normally speaks about what they do. In Orthodoxy, what brings people together is the Eucharist.  I believe that there is much less of a need to talk about unnecessary personal things within the Orthodox Church and this might be due to the fact that Orthodox Christians are inclined to repent for the judgement of others. 

The book will be published as Backbone zines 11-13, available only to zine subscribers. The paperback version of this book will be complete with sources for the prophecies mentioned.