1991. Geraldo Rivera on his Now It Can Be Told program investigates ‘JR’, or John Roger, who has built a multi-million dollar tax exempt empire around his claim to holiness. Mr. Roger says he was endowed with godly powers during kidney stone surgery in 1963, and he could teach other mortals to use power of the mind in acquiring worldly goods.
‘The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness’, or MSIA has devotees living at a seminary in Los Angeles, and this church of John Rogers has also attracted some very high profile Hollywood personalities. The school he founded, the University of Santa Monica, offers Insight Seminars which are popular in the United States and around the world. Attendees are frequently sent by federal agencies, including the Navy and the Social Security Administration.
Later in the segment we hear from the Cult Awareness Network about the MSIA, and throughout are former disciples, defectors and others familiar with this shadowy network of holy man and tax money. John Rogers did not want to answer any questions and when found at one of his book signings laughed off the questions.
The MSIA, Univeristy of Santa Monica, and Insight Seminars all still exist today in 2025. John Rogers passed away in 2014, age 80.