Teal Swan

Swan was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico on June 16, 1984, growing up in Logan, Utah.[6] She lived in Logan until her teens with her parents and younger brother, Sky. The City of Logan had a high percentage of practicing Mormons in the city at the time, and Swan stated her religious differences meant that from an early age she felt she didn't conform. The religious and cultural differences between family and school life meant she didn't "fit in" at school and was often bullied due to her different beliefs. Adding to the cultural differences, Swan also states that she often spoke and acted differently to other children at the school. This combination meant at times the bullying was intense and had an effect on Swan from an early age.[5]

Aside from the bullying, Swan began to feel physically different from other children she spent time with. According to Gizmodo, Swan first noticed these physical differences when in class and other children didn't react to things Swan was experiencing.[5] She has never divulged exactly what she experienced as a child. Years later, Swan's mother was interviewed for the film Open Shadow where she stated Swan had hypersensitivity while she was growing up, often reacting to sound. Swan has also alluded to this part of her childhood when journalists have quizzed her about claims of clairvoyance abilities.[5] Swan has stated in numerous interviews that she was abused, raped and psychologically tortured from the age of six onwards by a family friend. According to an article in Huffington Post Canada, Swan claimed to have been the victim of ritualistic abuse by a satanic cult for over a decade.[7]

When Swan reached her teens, her mother in an interview said Swan had attempted to take her own life. Both parents agreed to take Swan to see a psychiatrist but stated in the Open Shadow documentary that none of the techniques worked. They turned to eastern medicine when Swan was in her teens, and rather than saying Swan was sick, they said she was gifted when she was experiencing hypersensitivity. During an interview with Ozy, the journalist noted that Swan's arms were "covered in scars," as a result of the abuse she endured as a child.[8] At the age of nineteen, Swan reportedly was able to reject advances from the cult who had abused her for over a decade and subsequently reported the abuse she had endured to the police.[7]

According to her, she was born with extrasensory abilities such as clairvoyance, "clairsentience", and "clairaudience".[9]

She has claimed to be an alien from the star Arcturus.[10]

She has claimed to be the reincarnation of Indian guru Sai Baba of Shirdi and remembers the life as clearly as her own.[11]

She claims to have been a victim of Satanic ritual abuse from the ages of 6-19, in order to cure her of her supposed extrasensory abilities.[12][9] Part of this alleged abuse included being sewn into a corpse.[13] In particular TV interviews conducted in 2014 by Chris Oswalt, regarding her ritual abuse, were sent to Fox9, Kivi 6 and Idaho News.[14] Swan claims that she has memories of these events which were repressed, until a Salt Lake City based therapist helped her uncover them.[13] An investigation was opened into her claims before being ultimately shut down due to several accusations being made against her therapist, Dr. Barbara Snow, who incited Satanic Panic.[13]

In 2011 she released the book The Sculptor in the Sky and started her YouTube channel. After 2012, her popularity grew having followers in several countries. In 2011, Swan hosted one of her first talks in Salt Lake City, Utah with around twenty people attending and was the first she uploaded to her YouTube channel.

The company Teal Eye, according to the website,[15] is meant to create changes in several different areas: alternative education, reforms in the global food industry, justice, animal rights and spirituality.

Swan has focused her ministry on healing others of their psychological ailments, including suicidal thoughts and repressed traumatic experiences.[13] She operates the Philia Center, a retreat center in Costa Rica.[16] Her followers are called the "Teal Tribe."[17]

In 2017, Teal Swan was the subject of a documentary about her life "Open Shadow: The Story Of Teal Swan".[18]

In 2018, a Gizmodo podcast ran a six-part series on Teal Swan and her self-help spiritual teachings on depression and how her techniques "process past trauma in order to overcome it." The host, Jennings Brown, stated that Swan was not like your regular spiritual leader, with both her appearance and how she markets herself.[19] At the time of recording, her YouTube videos had been viewed 55 million times.[20]

During 2015, she received her first major media coverage discussing the use of her mantra, "what would someone who loved themselves do?"[21]

Swan has frequently spoken about the best techniques to deal with anger. According to an Irish Independent reporter that attended one of her seminars in 2016, it was stated that suppression of anger can have dangerous consequences. Swan stated that when she suppresses anger, she becomes a "ticking time-bomb." Swan's theory about anger is deciding on the difference between constructive and destructive anger. Kailash Satyarthi made similar remarks during his TED talk on anger.[22]

• The Sculptor in the Sky, Authorhouse 2011
• Shadows Before Dawn: Finding the Light of Self-Love Through Your Darkest Times, Hayhouse 2015
• The Completion Process, Hayhouse 2016
• The Anatomy of Loneliness: How to Find Your Way Back to Connection, Watkins Publishing 2018
• The Connection Process, Archway Publishing 2018