Joe Szimhart: consultant/artist

Onaxis as a group has practically folded save for a few naive supporters from Europe due to major defections, the ill health of a founder, and the dismantling of much of the orIginal grounds and buildings (now in a decaying state) in northern Georgia.

Former members yet struggle to bring their lives into balance after ten, twenty years of devotion to this manipulative and allegedly abusive couple. Joe Szimhart (October 2011)

Onaxis is what I call it and not what it calls itself. Not all cults go by a name. The name comes from "on axis" a concept channeled by one of the leaders from "John the Baptist."

By cult in this case I mean a system of devotion to a person or persons and their ideas that represent God or some transcendent notion to the devotees. Ex-members of this group say they followed "charismatic leaders with high demands." According to ex-members, the high demands on members included coercive persuasion to give large sums of money, time and labor as well as being battered by the leaders "for their own good" or to "knock the evil out."

The leader Lee Harris claims to be Jesus reincarnated and his wife Suzanne, Mary Magdalena reincarnated. The couple also claims to be reincarnations of the gods Rama and Sita of Hindu tradition and Adam and Eve of Genesis according to ex-members.

Channeling: The two leaders channel or represent divine beings. This cult claims many "ascended masters" as divine contacts and the primary one seems to be Onaxis. The leader Lee Harris has called himself Onaxis and Dr. Onaxis [no confirmation of how Lee got the title "Dr." but he once worked as a 'Physician Assistant']. Others in the Onaxis pantheon are John the Baptist a.k.a. EliAnu Ram, Mother God a.k.a. AnaMata RaMuAn, Father God a.k.a. Atmanu RamAnu.

Sample of Onaxis channeling: http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/themagazine/vol14/articles/human-species.shtml

Grandiose claims: Lee preaches that 'Habersham County will be known as the place on the planet where Prime Creator Source, Yeshu Ben Joseph, Magdalena, Atmanu Ram Anu, AnaMata RaMuAn, and two very human beings so much like you, Dr. and Mrs. Harris-Onaxis, exposed the entire new age community and spit them directly out of The Garden forever.'

Lee claims the ex-members have "abused" him when his 'only intent, and Prime Creator's intent, was to build a place where all people would be welcome, [including] Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, so that all people could come to that fifteen acres to celebrate life and their own beautiful existence, any way they choose to do it as long as they live by The Golden Rule.'

Paranoia: Lee/Onaxis blames the ex-members' "selfishness" for causing his stroke in 2006. In 2007 Suzanne claimed that for the past twenty years and more, some ex-members have been trying to kill her and Lee. The inference is that this is some kind of  New Age style sorcery or black magic.

Confusions: Lee both denies and claims to be a messiah. '...you have been so convinced that I am a crazy man claiming to be Jesus the Christ, that you have missed the entire operation.'  

Abuse: Several ex-members are willing to testify to Lee Harris's propensity abuse them emotionally and physically over the years. Typical accounts include hitting and bruising, knocking members to the floor and pulling hair out of female members' heads [last incident as recently as 2008]. Again, as mentioned above, group devotees tended to take this abuse as if they deserved it.

Location: This group operates primarily at Mountain Meadows Estates in Habersham Co. near Clarksville, Georgia. MME is a small commune also known as "The Garden" begun around 1994. Eventually it contained seven homes for members. The leaders recruited a dozen or so couples to invest in the retreat center of MME and "The Garden" in the northern Georgia mountains. The beautiful grounds were a testament to the devotion of hardworking members in the community.

The leaders are Lee Harris (born in Alabama in 1948) and his wife Suzanne (born around 1960 in Indiana ). Lee Harris had been married before. He was a "student" of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment or RSE based in Yelm, WA from around 1987 to 1990. Lee met Suzanne around 1990. Suzanne led Ah Ha Seminars at the time and gave something called an Ascension Retreat. She also founded a 'sacred places' tours for New Agers wanting to see the Pyramids and such to get a spiritual charge. Around the time they met,  Lee separated from RSE and claimed that the leader, JZ Knight, no longer channeled Ramtha and was faking it. Lee retained many ideological similarities to the Ramtha group including signing off with "So be it", a common phrase used by Ramtha.

Lee and Suzanne paired up to form their own movement. They have one daughter around age 13 in 2010. According to ex-members, Lee is yet recovering from a stroke he had over a year ago (2007?).

The Onaxis goal is the Great Work that would not only change the devotees but the whole planet. The leaders job was to implement and reveal to followers the transformative path to ascension. The path included total obedience to and support for the incarnated gods in the leaders. The leaders have recruited many German nationals, some of whom send significant support money from Germany . The members pay for workshops with titles like Onaxis Mastery: The Next Step. The Garden was also called 'an ascension corridor.'

Ex-member description of her experience---an excerpt:

I think it was 1993 or 1994 they started Mountain Meadows Estate.  It was 14.74 acres with one house a small out building and a barren field, with woods on one end of the property.  The called it the Farm.  People gathered from the WA and GA groups to create community.  They were required to bring money to join the group.  I think all amounts were different, I know one person put in $5,000.00, and another $2,000.00.

They all began building homes and planting vegie gardens.  I recall at a grouping in their home in the beginning days, where I first saw him strike one member.  Her nose began to bleed, and Suzanne came to the rescue with ice and kind words.  The name was changed to Mountain Meadows Estate. Several people left, and others came in their places, until the grouping was 11 not including them, nor the 3 children.  We had a swimming pool, and a green house full of plants and birds, finches, parakeets, and doves, also there were several hot tubs on the property. We built a formal garden with many concrete statues, of Jesus, lions, angels of all sizes, elephants, and a variety of huge planting pots. We created fountains, ponds, pergolas, and a ships deck for him.  He also had tons of sand in his front yard, because he wanted to create a beach. We planted thousands of trees of every kind, bushes and other plants. We had lamas, horses, birds and many dogs and cats.  We all spent so much time working on the property or off the property there was little time to enjoy all the beauty we had created.  He slapped everyone at one time or another telling us he was knocking off evil from us.  He slowly progressed into hitting people more often and pulling hair, breaking things all over the property in our homes.  He spend a lot of time on the computer writing to a variety of people in the community. We all pooled our money, and Suzanne was in charge of where it was spent.

In 2003 he invited a group of Germans to visit us.  He met them through some friends who were doing work all over the world with people.  And he began his work with them over the internet.  We were to tend the every need of the Germans.  He wined and dined them.  He was cruel to all the residents, and ridiculed us in front of the Germans.  This is the timing of the incident of Suzanne hitting me in the face..... "

My interviews with ex-members indicate that most left the commune with no return on their investment, some giving tens of thousands of dollars if not more. They left because they could no longer put up with the emotional and physical abuse from the leaders.

Current status: Most long-time members of MME have defected in the past few years leaving only or less than a handful to support the leaders in America but more in Germany who are apparently either disbelieving or ignorant of the reports and criticisms by USA ex-members. Criminal charges against Lee Harris have been filed in court by former members. Trial is pending as of March 2010.

The three stones above are among the last and most revealing erected by MME. The inscriptions represent the 'channeled' ideology of On-axis and indicate the grandiose roles of the leaders as reincarnated versions of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Stone on the left:

WHERE THE SUN AND THE EARTH/MEET AND TOUCH/ ON AXIS/  +  /SO DOES LIFE COME FORTH MORE/ABUNDANTLY UNTO ALL SEASONS/AND UNTO ALL SPECIES/OF LIFE AND EXISTENCE. THE GARDEN OF/MOUNTAIN MEADOW ESTATES/MME/PLANNED RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY/AND RESORT/HAS BEEN BUILT AS/A LIVING PORTAL/BASED WITHIN AND UPON THE/ANCIENT OF DAYS/GOLDEN UNDERSTANDING OF/THE SACRED GEOMETRY/THAT IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH/THE DNA MOLECULE OF/THE HUMAN GENOME/THAT ALLOWS FOR/THE ACTIVATION OF/LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY FOR/THE WHOLENESS/OF THE SPECIES HUMAN/AS WELL AS FOR ALL CREATURES/GREAT AND SMALL/NATURE IS HUMANITY'S TEACHER NOW/AND NATURE/MOTHER EARTH/YEA VERILY INDEED. "THE GREAT STONES"

Stone in middle:

MME/HAS COME TOGETHER IN/THE SACRED MARRIAGE/OF THE/BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM/THE LADY PLANET EARTH AND THE SUN/UPON THIS VERY LOCATION/IN THESE/HALLOWED HILLS OF HABERSHAM/OF THE NORTH GEORGIA MOUNTAINS/UPON THE SOLID ROCK/WE/PRIME CREATOR SOURCE/THE ORIGINAL PARENTS OF/YESHUA BEN JOSEPH/THE LORD JESUS CHRIST/AND HIS UNTO FOREVER/MATE OF THE SOUL/THE GREAT LADY/MARY OF MAGDELENA/AND/ELI ANU RAM/THE BAPTIST/HAVE SO WALKED UPON THIS/HALLOWED AND SACRED/CHEROKEE INDIAN GROUND/TO GOING FORTH/ THE PEACE THAT PASSES ALL/UNDERSTANDING/AND THEREIN WHEN SO WALK WE/UPON THESE GROUNDS SO KNOW YE THAT/THIS IS THE PROMISED LAND OF WHICH/BELOVED DR MARTIN LUTHER KING/SO SPOKE THAT WOULD BE THE TABLE OF/BROTHERHOOD AND SISTERHOOD UPON/WHICH THE GREATER GLORY WOULD SO BE/REVEALED THAT ALL PEOPLES WOULD BE FREE/AND THAT FREEDOM WOULD RING/THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE AND THE/ WHOLENESS OF ALL EXISTENCES. THIS LAND IS OWNED BY PEOPLES OF/ALL PARTS OF THE GLOBE. PEOPLES OF/COLOR, PEOPLES OF ALL FAITHS/AND PEOPLES OF MANY NATIONS TO/GRANT TESTIMONY AND PROOF/-------

Stone on the right:

THAT IT IS/REAL AND POSSIBLE WITHIN THINE/REALITY AND EXISTENCE TO [??]/UNITY/WITHIN/COMMUNITY/AND TO SHARE COMMON/RESOURCES AND COMMON GROUND/FOR/THE BENEFIT OF LIFE ITSELF/THE ASCENSION PORTAL/THE GARDEN/IS/THE DOOR/THAT STANDS/IN AND AS/THE HEART ITSELF/BETWEEN/3 DIMENSIONAL UNDERSTANDING AND/4 DIMENSIONAL UNDERSTANDING AS/CONSTRUCTED AND ARTIFICIAL TIME/MEET/REAL AND ETERNAL TIME/AND REMEMBER YEA VERILY/UNTO THEM/DO WE ONE UNTO THE OTHER [??] AS WE/WOULD DO UNTO THYSELF FOR WHEN/[??] ANOTHER SO ALSO IS THAT THINE/OWN DAY OF JUDGEMENT. "WELCOME TO THE GARDEN" /THE/LORD JESUS CHRIST/AND/MARY OF MAGDELENA/THE SUN AND THE EARTH/ELI ANU RAM/THE BAPTIST/INDEED/THE WATER/AND/THE HOUSE OF RAM/ORIGINAL PRIME CREATOR SOURCE/THE ORIGINAL CREATORS.

News 1:
'Bizarre' community loses appeal

By Benjamin Price
Thursday, November 18, 2004 4:38 PM EST
bprice@thenortheastgeorgian.com

After an hour of deliberation and a 15-minute closed session, an application
from a gated community in Turnerville was denied an appeal Monday by the
county commission.

Mountain Meadows, an existing community off Dooley Road which has been the
subject of much speculation and described as "bizarre," was denied a
preliminary and final plat application by the county planning commission in
August. An appeal of the decision on the preliminary plat was heard by the
county commission Monday, and also was denied.

What to do about Mountain Meadows has been discussed by the county since
April, when the eight-home community first applied for a map amendment to
change its zoning from agricultural to moderate intensity. That initial
application brought to light several problems with the community, which first was developed in the early 1990s.

After investigation by the building and planning department, it was
discovered that the community had joint ownership of a single 15-acre parcel
that, for unknown reasons, has incomplete county records. In fact, there's
little evidence that the community ever obtained any building permits at
all, or ever was approved by the planning commission.
The community also violates zoning requirements since it's located in an
agricultural land district. There also was much discussion concerning the
purpose of the facility, which is located adjacent to the Athens YWCO camp
in Turnerville. During discussions, speculation as to who actually lived in
the community, who owned it and what the camp was being used for varied from
a nudist colony, a "hippy commune" or a religious cult. Polka-dotted statues
at the gate, brightly-painted buildings and a barrier that surrounds the
property only added to the speculation about a "bizarre" community.
However, the county's main concern has been how this community was built
without following the proper county procedures and what, if anything, can be
done about it.
Mountain Meadows' attorney, Spencer Carr, said Monday the community
recognizes that it is out of compliance and wants to take corrective
measures to remedy the situation. To attempt that, the property owners
worked with building and planning staff this summer to try and figure a way
that the community could be approved by the planning commission as an
acceptable subdivision, its zoning changed and its structures brought up to
code.

Building and Planning Director Frank Etheridge said Monday he and the
developers felt the best way to comply with county regulations would be to
apply for planning commission approval under the innovative design concept
in the subdivision regulations. However, that application was denied by the
planning commission in August, and Monday the county commission would not
grant an appeal.

During discussions, county commission Chairman Doug Vermilya said he was not
comfortable with "rewarding" someone for not following county regulations in
the past, and the precedent that might set.

"It's located right next to a Y camp, so they ought to name [Mountain
Meadows] 'V' camp - 'V' for 'violation,'" Vermilya said. "We're not looking
at one violation, but several. It's a hole they have dug, and they want us
to get them out. I just have a problem rewarding this many violations."

Carr responded that his client was not looking for a "reward" but just
wanted a "foothold to climb out of this hole and needed to start somewhere."

"We're not asking for final approval or a blessing on everything that's
there," Carr said. "We want preliminary plat approval so we can get into
compliance. Just give us a place to start."

Commissioner Robb Kiker said he also was worried that "backing in" an
innovative design development to meet county regulations would set a
dangerous precedent.

Phil Baughman, director of the YWCO camp, has argued against granting the
community compliance on several occasions, and Monday he said the applicants
simply wanted to comply now because they want to be able to sell the
property.

"They have been nice neighbors, but they've been there for 10 years,"
Baughman said. "All of a sudden they want to get into code. I want to keep
it like it is, let it sell, and then work with the next people."

Baughman said that Mountain Meadows was a communal property, with a leader
who directed everything. Then in April, the leader left and the other
members wanted to sell.

"It's all about money," he said.

Carr said the reason the community came before the planning commission was
because it simply wanted to build a pavilion, and use the entire facility
with its pool and garden area to host outdoor and indoor meetings and charge
a fee for events. He said the applicants have no intent to sell, and added
"it would be almost impossible to sell the property because it's so unique."

When it came time to take some sort of action - the appeal was tabled once
already Nov. 1 - Etheridge said the commission's choices were to deny the
appeal, or grant the appeal and the preliminary plat application with
conditions.

Commission Vice Chairman Lynne Dockery said if the commission approved the
appeal with conditions, those conditions would be impossible to meet.

"If I was to put conditions on this, there would be so many conditions that
they would never be able to build anything," she said. "They knew they
needed building permits, so it's not ignorance of the law. It's frustrating
when people try to abuse regulations."

Commissioner Greg Popham said he did not want to grant the applicant "the
moon" but at the same time said he felt the county has an obligation to get
the property into compliance. Commissioner Brenda Garland said she had
visited the community, found that it was a well-organized and nice community
and also felt the county should work with the applicants.

Finally, the commission voted to hold a closed session to come up with a
solution.

After returning to open session, Kiker said granting Mountain Meadows a
preliminary plat application under the innovative design concept would
create "an extraordinary precedent." He added that if the applicants
reapplied under the traditional subdivision regulations in the future, the
commission felt it would not require any extraordinary conditions and would
be more appropriate.

Popham made a motion to deny the application, and the vote was unanimous.

News 2: Common Ground (August, 1995): "Ramtha the Enlightened One? Part 2" by John Crutcher gives evidence of Lee Harris's membership in Ramtha.

"Lee Harris, a former student of RSE and a personal growth facilitator, began holding weekend therapy workshops in the Yelm area in the fall of 1991. Evidently displeased with the competition, J.Z.'s partner, J.O. Alt, informed Harris that he should discontinue his workshops. Harris refused. At the behest of J.Z., a chiropractor named Robert Provasoli signed up and attended one of Harris's workshops in order to find out what Harris was up to. J.O. Alt then summoned Harris to the Ranch for a meeting, at which Alt gave Harris an ultimatum: either cease leaching the workshops or leave the school. Alt's extensive knowledge of Harris' workshop content was so uncanny, Harris pressed Alt into admitting that the Ranch had employed Dr. Provasoli to attend a workshop as a spy-

Disgusted by these shocking and unsavory machinations, Harris wrote a letter to Alt in November of 1991 saying: "That you have issued me ... an ultimatum in regard to this work, I have been driven much deeper within my own being to look at my choices and the reality that is created in the making of them ... In this process, I have come to clearly understand the distortions that are born from the great insecurity that surrounds these teachings both from within and from without ... When I contemplate aligning myself with a collective un-even-ness that has been and is currently present in the manner in which I have been spied upon, inquisitioned, and dictated to, it does not bring, me greater joy ... My best wishes to you and J.Z.... Sincerely, Lee Harris."

 J.O. Alt has never responded to Harris's letter."

It appears that Lee Harris-Onaxis became what he despised.

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jszimhart@windstream.net