I know from 6 months of experience living with and spending time with Teal, that, contrary to what Jessica and Cameron have claimed, she is not sociopathic, “evil”, or “insane”. I have seen her struggle through painful times, as well as many normal, average days and many particularly good times. I got to know Teal and the others personally on a gradual basis and became closer with them over time. I didn’t move to Park City to become a volunteer for Teal Eye, but wound up living there after having a session with Teal and getting along with them.

I know Teal to be a genuinely loving and compassionate person, and I witnessed and experienced her kindness and loving nature day in and day out. She is a wonderful person to spend time with and simply be around. She makes the most of every challenge before her. She is extremely dedicated to finding positive solutions to problems she is experiencing within herself, as well as the world at large. This woman is absolutely driven to heal herself and help heal the world. I was amazed and inspired by how hard she works to love and find acceptance within herself, to “practice what she preaches” when she is in a place of suffering. Just ONE example of how hard Teal works to heal and be a positive person is what I recall happening when Fallon left. After everything that happened with Fallon and he was finally out of the house, Teal was at rock bottom and completely devastated. The recent events had triggered numerous seizures, which made her physically weak and exhausted as well. She asked Winters grandparents for help to come get Winter for a week so that he would not have to see her in such a place of suffering. She did hours of writing, inner child work, and enlisted Mark’s help to process her inner child work before he went to his job. She did breathing exercises to lower her anxiety. She called her childhood best friend Lauren (who, professionally, happens to be a therapist) and asked her to come for a weekend to be an extra support and form of stability. She wrote blog entries during this time as a way of vocalizing and sharing what she had just been through and how she was recovering from the experience, in the hopes that it would help others who could relate and because it was healing. She was aware that sharing such experiences so authentically could be “career suicide” for a spiritual teacher, but she felt called to authenticity and self-expression rather than keeping the experience a secret. Blake, in addition to his usual work and supportive role, advocated for Teal during this time, communicating with all of us what Teal’s needs were during this time, and how we could be supportive. Teal worked so hard to pull herself out of this place of devastation, enabling herself using all the healing tools she was familiar with, and by asking for and receiving emotional support and encouragement from the people in the household community as well as the larger community.

Teal has shared in her blog and online how, as a result of her extensive childhood trauma, she has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I consider this personal admission of hers to be so incredibly brave, and so incredibly helpful in bringing awareness to the psychological impact of ritual abuse and childhood sexual abuse. Teal’s bravery and authenticity in sharing such vulnerable information is amazing. She has risked her career by being so open and expressive about her life, but in actuality Teal’s authenticity has helped to bring people together, to not feel ashamed or as hindered by their own traumas and personal challenges. She has bravely shone LIGHT on horrible things, empowering herself and others. Teal is brave, loving, and kind, and she acts to honor the child within her, to break the silence and societal denial of ritual abuse and sexual abuse.

I can really only tell you what my own personal experience of living there was like. I felt safe in Teal’s home. It was a positive and healing environment. That is why I spent so much time there. I was treated with gentleness and kindness, and I simply enjoyed spending time with everyone. I was treated with acceptance, kindness, and inclusion. I had isolated myself from people and friends for so long as a way to cope, so to feel comfortable enough to be in this group of friends in such a consistent way was really wonderful. It was a miracle to me at the time that I was able to withstand the anxiety of being physically and emotionally close to the same people every day. Previous to my time in Utah, the only person I felt this comfortable being so close to so often was my sister Laura. I was able to strengthen my bond with women by living in Utah and growing these friendships with Teal, Graciela, and Flavia. I am so grateful for the experience, as it came at the absolute perfect time in my life, and it gave me so much encouragement, peacefulness, as well as so much to forward to in my future in terms of human connection.  I wanted so much to learn how to help and give to others, to learn how to be a friend. Teal, Blake, Graciela, Flavia, Justin, and Mark were patient friends in my life, who held space for me to grow. I am forever thankful for the experience.