Authors of Books on Harmony in Legal Discord : Courts: Lawsuit by group founded by spiritual leader John-Roger charges breach of contract by writer Peter McWilliams, who in turn says he was ‘brainwashed.’

The authors of best-selling books on achieving inner peace and harmonious relationships are now squared off in an acrimonious lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

John-Roger and Peter McWilliams co-authored two self-help series “Life 101,” “Wealth 101,” and other books, including “You Can’t Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought.”

But this month the Los Angeles-based Church of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, founded by John-Roger, filed a lawsuit against McWilliams, charging breach of contract and demanding more than $400,000 plus interest on past due promissory notes.

Although he has not yet filed an answer, McWilliams charged in a statement this week that John-Roger manipulated him into signing away more than $1 million in proceeds from his writing efforts. He blamed John-Roger for clouding his judgment, saying that like many “devotees” of John-Roger, he literally accepted the man as the closest thing to God on earth--an entity that movement teachings call “the Mystical Traveler Consciousness.”

McWilliams, whose “Personal Computer Book” became a best-seller in the early 1980s, said he was introduced to John-Roger’s teachings after attending an Insight personal growth seminar in 1978. He contends that John-Roger, a former Rosemead high school teacher, approached him a decade later about putting his name on McWilliams’ work.

At the time, McWilliams was depressed about a friend who had died from a rare strain of tuberculosis, and frightened that he, too, might have the disease, he said.

“John-Roger promised to keep me alive and healthy as long as I kept putting his name on the books I wrote, and as long as I published them, promoted them--and gave him half the money,” McWilliams said in a statement.

“As amazing as it sounds, he actually had me believing he had power over life and death, health and illness. . . . Realizing I actually believed all this stuff is humiliating.”

Vincent Cox, attorney for the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, said his clients filed suit when they decided that McWilliams was not negotiating the payment of his debt agreements in good faith.

“Throughout the negotiations, Mr. McWilliams made it clear that if we attempted to enforce the obligation, that he would use publicity as a weapon--that he would, in his words, make John-Roger as popular on Court TV as the Menendez brothers,” Cox said.

Jeeni Wong, spokeswoman for the group, said: “Basically we believe that the allegations (by McWilliams) are not true and we prefer to debate them in court.”

The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, which teaches “individual spiritual progression,” or “soul transcendence,” has attracted such well-known figures as actress Sally Kirkland and author Arianna Stassinopolous Huffington--who has reportedly distanced herself from John-Roger publicly now that her husband, Rep. Michael Huffington (R-Santa Barbara), is a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Recently, John-Roger has been embroiled in controversy about the proposed development of 140 acres in the mountains near Santa Barbara, where an affiliated organization reportedly raises horses and holds seminars.

In an interview, McWilliams alleged that besides pumping money into various organizations that had grown up around John-Roger, his high-profile books helped to “rehabilitate” John-Roger’s name after a 1988 series of articles in The Times drew attention to alleged problems within organizations affiliated with John-Roger.

McWilliams is a prolific author whose knack for obtaining publicity made his Los Angeles-based Prelude Press a rare self-publishing success.

He promoted the books bearing his and John-Roger’s names aggressively, appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show and radio programs nationwide. He and John-Roger also appeared together twice on “Larry King Live,” where McWilliams deflected callers’ complaints about his spiritual “guru.”

McWilliams said he shook off the “brainwashing” that had kept him loyal to John-Roger after being treated by a psychiatrist for depression. (He has since written a book on depression with that doctor). McWilliams contends that John-Roger grew disenchanted with their partnership in part because their most recent collaborations had failed to sell well.

When he fell behind in royalty payments, McWilliams says, John-Roger and other ranking members of his organizations used their “spiritual influence” to persuade him to sign promissory notes.

If the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness’ lawsuit is successful, he says, it will cost him everything, including Prelude Press, his Lexus automobile and his three-level home in the Hollywood Hills.