''Life 102: What to Do When Your Guru Sues You'' is a book by

Peter McWilliams Peter Alexander McWilliams (August 5, 1949 – June 14, 2000) was an American self-help author and advocate for the legalization of marijuana.Rosenzweig, David (June 17, 2000"Peter McWilliams; Backed Medical Use of Marijuana"''Los Angeles Times ...

. Couched in the tone of the author's ''Life 101'' self-help books, it levels a series of allegations against John-Roger (Roger Delano Hinkins), founder of the

Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (or MSIA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit religious corporation, incorporated in California on June 25, 1971. Before incorporation, the group was founded in California in 1968 by John-Roger (formerly Roger De ...

(MSIA) and Insight Seminars. These allegations caused the book,

self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

in 1994 under McWilliams' Prelude Press imprint, to itself become the subject of litigation for

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

. John-Roger bought the publishing rights from McWilliams for $3 million dollars and quickly ceased publication. The remaining copies were withdrawn from sale. The volume discusses in detail McWilliams's own experiences over a 15-year period: McWilliams describes his struggle with depression, and claims that Hinkins promised him "spiritual healing" in exchange for crediting "John-Roger" as co-author of a series of self-improvement manuals which later made the ''New York Times'' best-seller lists. Hinkins sued McWiliams for libel. They settled out of court with Hinkins buying the publishing rights for $3 million dollars. The volume has been

out of print An out-of-print (OOP) or out-of-commerce item or work is something that is no longer being published. The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media, sound recordings, and video recordings. An out-of-print book is a book that is ...

ever since. David C. Lane, a professor of at Mt. San Antonio College,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

assisted McWilliams by providing him with research material on various religions, including Lane's own dissertation thesis. In exchange McWilliams agreed to make available free a copy of his book for non-commercial purposes on Lane's website, The Neural Surfer. After securing the rights Hinkins sued Prof. Lane in order to force him to take down the last available copy of ''Life 102''. Peter McWilliams, at that time dying of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

and in federal prison for the use of

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to Cannabis (drug), cannabis products and cannabinoid, cannabinoid molecules that are prescription drug, prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabi ...

, was disregarded as a witness and the court ruled in favour of Hinkins. The court ordered Lane to pay Hinkins's legal fees. Lane bluffed that he was planning to write a follow-up book, ''Life 103: John-Roger against me''. Hinkins soon agreed to pay the costs himself:

References

External links

''MSIA v. David Christopher Lane'', Opinion of August 19, 1998 and Judgment of September 1, 1998

Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness website about ''Life 102''
{{Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness 1994 non-fiction books Books by Peter McWilliams Books withdrawn after publication Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness