Imagine there’s no Heaven It’s easy if you try No Hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today John Lennon’s, Imagine

If you have ever ventured into a new age store, you may have found that you were at a loss to grasp a thread of continuity amongst the multitude of new age subjects, theories and paraphernalia. It appears to be a daunting task to try and uncover, so to speak, a principle tenet, a raison d’être for what is called the new age movement (NAM). The arena of beliefs and practices tallied under the new age banner is as far reaching as the Egyptian mysteries, esoteric orders, theosophy, the kabbala, reincarnation, yoga, Wicca, Gaia, channeling, the Celestine prophecy, astrology, crystals, out-of-body experiences, dreams, transcendental meditation, feng shui, Buddhism, aromatherapy, runes, I Ching, karma etc. etc. In one visit to a new age store, after having mulled around the store for what appeared to be an eternity, my haste to get to the point of it all led me to ask the shop-keeper if there existed a definitive book on the new age, a bible of new age beliefs, for lack of a better expression. My question was met with a few bewildered blinks followed by a doe-eyed response: “Is there a particular area that you are interested in… there’s Eastern and Western…”. Yes, I want tangible, black and white evidence, preferably still smouldering with a hint of sulphur and a hoof mark scorched onto the dust-jacket, to prove that this movement emanates from the depths of Hell. Whew, it was only a thought. I did not ask the lady to accommodate this request; instead, I thanked her for her time and turned lazily on my heel to continue my search. I was deter-mined to let the new age proselytizers reveal inadvertently this origin some-how, someway. A seemingly fruitless quest continued and amongst the likewise seemingly endless bits of consumerism, a lone bumper sticker on a display-spinner next to a statue of a dragon spoke volumes in its proclamation: we are the i am. The “the” was circled for emphasis. It was a eureka moment and there was more than a hint of sulphur here, there was an outright stench.

In what follows in this article, we will undertake a broad exploration of the topic of the NAM through an examination of some of its plentiful and varied publications. This exploration will reveal the core beliefs held by those within the new age movement. In addition, we will attempt to demonstrate that the NAM itself is a necessary mindset, encompassing its own morality, to facilitate the institution of a totalitarian one-world government. In essence, it is the spiritual arm of the new world order, which is inherently anti-Christian. The political aspect of the new world order will be addressed in detail in a future article – God willing.

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Imagine there’s no countries It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace John Lennon’s, Imagine

we are the i am

The adherents of the NAM appear to think man to be sufficient unto himself, a god, in fact. Marilyn Ferguson in her landmark book, The Aquarian Conspiracy: Personal and Social Transformation in Our Time, is quite definite about whom God is not when she stated that: “in the emergent spiritual tradition (i.e. the NAM) God is not the personage of our Sunday-school mentality . . .(p 382)”. If God the Father has been disposed, but man continues to believe in the divine as testified throughout much of the new age literature, then who and/or what is divine? The new age literature enthusiastically speaks often of the divinity of man: “At the heart of new age spirituality is the belief in the potential of the human mind to awaken to the higher self. New Agers typically do not expect a helping hand in their spiritual quest, for there is no external grace or personal god to aid the seeker. The help we need is already embedded in the self. Like a gold miner, each person must uncover what is already there or find directions from a book or workshop. The grace of god for the New Ager is the eternal, yet impersonal, energy of the universe, which propels us forward if we approach it wisely. In contrast to the Christian notion of the unmerited and freely given grace of God, new age spirituality typically claims that by our own efforts we are able to save ourselves and evolve into higher beings. As reflections of the divine, we are unlimited.” (Bruce G. Epperly, Crystal & Cross: Christians and New Age in Creative Dialogue, Twenty-Third Publications, 1996, p 48)

Paul Heelas in his book, The New Age Movement, a book that has been hailed as a “sympathetic interpretation” and “a remarkably comprehensive picture of the multifaceted contemporary New Age movement”, lends credence to just such beliefs held by those within the NAM wherein he lists the “basic assumptions”:

Another publication, a 2004/2005 course calendar for the Transformational Arts College purports the same emphasis on man as divine in the content of many of its courses. The Transformational Arts College was founded in 1988 and is located in Toronto, Ontario. It is a “federally Certified Private Educational Institute”. The introduction to the Esoteric Studies and Sacred Arts Program, in particular, does not shy away from the idea of man as divine: “The spiritual wisdom of the ancients and the esoteric knowledge of mystery schools is no longer veiled, becoming increasingly available to those on a spiritual path. Part of the unfoldment of this wisdom is the interweaving of the expression of esoteric principles through the Sacred Arts allowing us to reclaim our Divine Nature and embody heavenly energies on earth.” (p 29)

The areas of study for the esoteric program include the following:

It is interesting to note that on the welcome page of the calendar a reference is made to the growth and success of the college. This statement, which follows, demonstrates, to some extent, the greater acceptance of new age ideologies within our society: “We (Transformational Arts College) have grown from offering part-time personal growth courses to professional post-secondary education in the Holistic Health and Spiritual Psychotherapy fields while still honoring our vision to provide a place conducive to personal and spiritual growth in a non-dogmatic environment.” (p. 2)

At this point it should be evident to most Catholics that the rumblings of the New Age are merely the same deceitful echoes reverberating from the Garden of Eden where the Devil established his modus operandi in his coup to tempt Eve to rebel against God, hissing: “For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.” [Genesis 3:5]. Further, the idea of man or mankind as the i am (cf. our introduction) is a mocking of the words of God spoken to Moses: “I AM WHO AM.” [Exodus 3: 14] In consideration of the forgoing, an apt description of the NAM might be for it to be considered as organized blasphemy, with the Devil as its chief architect and head lobbyist.

 

Who is God?

Here is what the Lateran Council in 1215 declared about God: “Firmly we believe and we confess simply that the true God is one alone, eternal, immense, and unchangeable, incomprehensible, omnipotent and ineffable, Father and Son and Holy (Ghost): indeed three Persons but one essence, substance, or nature entirely simple. The Father from no one, the Son from the Father only, and the Holy (Ghost) equally from both; without beginning, always, and without end; the Father generating, the Son being born, and the Holy (Ghost) proceeding; consubstantial and coequal and omnipotent and co-eternal; one beginning of all, creator of all visible and invisible things, of the spiritual and of the corporal; who by His own omnipotent power at once from the beginning of time created each creature from nothing, spiritual, and corporal, namely, angelic and mundane, and finally the human, constituted as it were, alike of the spirit and the body. For the devil and other demons were created by God good in nature, but they themselves through themselves have become wicked. But man sinned at the suggestion of the devil.” (Henry Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma, n 428, 30th edition, pp 168 - 169.)

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You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will live as one John Lennon’s, Imagine

 

The Age of Aquarius

In addition to being a popular song, the Age of Aquarius forms a pervasive expectation within much of the NAM, and it is distinctly anti-Catholic. You may have heard or read about a novel entitled The Da Vinci Code. This particular novel expounds a hideous hidden “truth” about the life of Our Lord as well as a seemingly monstrous role of the Vatican in suppressing this “truth”. The story is wrapped in masonic intrigue and new age wishful thinking and has become a worldwide best seller. A CNN report released in May 2004 indicated that the book had sold 7.5 million copies worldwide and is expected to be made into a movie. (CNN.com, “‘Da Vinci’ author: I left out even more: Decided against including theory Jesus survived crucifixion”, May 19, 2004 http://cnn.entertainment.printhis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?
action=cpt&title=CNN.com) The novel taunts the Church and touts its readers to believe the new age premise that, “the millennium has recently passed, and with it has ended the two-thousand-year-long astrological Age of Pisces – the fish, which is also the sign of Jesus . . . the Piscean ideal believes that man must be told what to do by higher powers because man is incapable of thinking for himself. Hence it has been a time of fervent religion. Now, however, we are entering the Age of Aquarius – the water bearer – whose ideals claim that man will learn the truth and be able to think for himself. The ideological shift is enormous, and it is occurring right now.” (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code, Doubleday, 2003, pp 267 – 268).

This is the same bunk proclaimed in Marilyn Ferguson’s new age “classic”, The Aquarian Conspiracy: Personal and Social Transformation in Our Time: “. . . after a dark, violent age, the Piscean, we are entering a millennium of love and light – in the words of the popular song, ‘The Age of Aquarius’, the time of ‘the mind’s true liberation’. (p 19)”.

This idea is propagated now through even the more common publications of the NAM, including an inhouse store newsmagazine. A column within one such publication, OmegaSource, from The Omega Centre Bookstore, explains to the readers that: “One of the reasons that so many humans are undergoing their spiritual transformation at this time is that the Earth is as well. The Earth is a living Being, and it is becoming a conscious planet at the same time as humans are becoming conscious creators. This process will be accomplished during the next two thousand years, and this is known as the Aquarian Age. The astrological symbol of the Aquarian Age is the enlightened human, the water bearer who pours the water of life on the Earth. This is the sign of the conscious human who is dedicated to world service, the human who has gone through their spiritual transformation.” (Tanis Halliwell, ‘Are You Going Through a Spiritual Transformation?’ OmegaSource, Issue No. 12, Spring/Summer 2004, p 13)

We are given additional details regarding the transition from one age to another with the following quote: “Whereas the age of Pisces emphasized individuality, doctrinal certainty, and external exploration, the age of Aquarius will bring a greater concern for spiritual exploration, direct religious experience, and global community. In the last days of the Piscean Age, the dangers of technology, individualism, and exploration without spiritual foundation have lead to a planetary crisis that must be confronted if the planet is to survive. As one age ends and another begins, there is much upheaval and doomsaying, but there is also much promise and hope. Some New Agers claim that, in this time of crisis, a Christ will enter our world just as Christ entered before as Jesus of Nazareth at another critical time, the beginning years of the Piscean Age.” (Bruce G. Epperly, Crystal & Cross: Christians and New Age in Creative Dialogue, Twenty-Third Publications, 1996, p 134)

The idea of the Age of Aquarius is a masterstroke of the Devil as in the time of God’s inevitable chastisement, where chaos and human woe will prevail, the New Agers will see it as a time of global transformation leading to a global spiritual evolution of man-kind. In consequence, the New Agers with this mindset will not heed the chastisement as a warning from God to repent, and therefore they will be at an exceptional risk of losing their souls eternally to the Devil.

The Catholic position on the idea of a substantial transformation of the person can be summarized as follows: “It is appropriate to emphasize at this point that Catholic theology, indeed the Catholic Faith, knows of only three radical kinds of newness, capable of bringing about a new state of humanity and, as it were, of transnaturalizing it. The first is defective, and is the one by which man fell, by reason of a primordial fault, from a state of integrity and supernatural existence. The second is restorative and perfective, and is the one by which the grace of Christ restores the original state of human nature and, indeed, elevates that nature above its original condition. The third is completive of the whole order of things, and is the one by which, at the end of time, man endowed with grace is also beatified and glorified in a supreme assimilation of the creature to the Creator . . . It is therefore not possible to imagine a new humanity which, while remaining in the present order of the world, goes beyond that condition of newness to which man has been brought by the grace of Christ.” (Romano Amerio, Iota Unum: A Study of Changes in the Catholic Church in the XX^th Century, Sarto House, 1996, pp 112 – 113)

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The Christ of the Aquarian Age will bring an end to the narrow-minded dogmatism that stands in the way of the birth of the one world religion and the new world order. Crystal & Cross: Christians and New Age in Creative Dialogue

Them’s Fight’n Words

The “Christ of the Aquarian Age” and, as we may guess, the “Christ” of the new age is not Jesus Christ crucified: “Christ is the same force as Lucifer . . .Lucifer prepares man . . . for the experience of Christhood . . . As we move into a new age . . . each of us in some way is brought to . . . the Luciferic Initiation, the particular doorway through which the individual must pass if he is to come fully into the presence of his light and his wholeness. Lucifer comes to give us the final . . .Luciferic initiation . . . that many people now and in the days ahead, will be facing, for it is an initiation into the New Age.” (David Spangler, Reflections on the Christ, Findhorn, 1978, pp 40 – 44).

It appears that the Christ of the Aquarian Age will lead a confrontation against the Catholic Church as his expected efforts to “bring an end to the narrow-minded dogmatism that stands in the way of the birth of the one world religion and the new world order” appear to be more of a direct threat to Catholics, the dogmatists, rather than “creative dialogue”.

The New Agers are very confident, and seem blind concerning the nature of what they believe to be an obstacle to their progress. They forget the fact that the NAM is a frail vessel, just about to crush itself on that Rock which is the Church of Jesus Christ, even if we can understand this blindness, when we consider the weaknesses and the ideologie of the Conciliar Church. Let me provide you with some examples…

Before my discovery of Catholic Tradition, I became involved with a board (not a church council) comprised of practicing Catholics and a few Novus Ordo priests. We were to have a meeting one evening at a restaurant and I had arrived a bit early along with another board member. This particular board member was a permanent deacon as well as the director of education for the other deacons at a local seminary. The topic of the Jesuits had come up and he relayed how impressed he was with the Jesuit order – Teilhard de Chardin, in particular. As it happened, I had just read about the theories of Teilhard de Chardin, S.J., and the fact that his writings had been banned by the Church. Teilhard de Chardin had put forward the idea of a Cosmic Christ, the Omega Point and that there was an evolution toward this Omega Point where we would all become part of the Cosmic Christ. For fun, I asked the question: “So, what exactly do you believe is evolving toward this Omega Point?” I do not know what I had expected as a response, perhaps some sort of half-hearted explanation of the theory. To my great surprise, the deacon earnestly replied: “You, me, the table – everything!” Goodness, me – really? I had to shut down this topic quick before I exploded with laughter and embarrassed the poor fellow. I doubt that he would have been able to offer a sufficient explanation of this Oneness, most hardcore New Agers have yet to figure it out themselves . . .“Most mystics agree that the cosmic Oneness is indescribable, but over the centuries it has been given many different names: the Tao, the Dharma, the Source, the Way, the Great Perfection, Essential Nature. Some call it ‘the unnameable’, a wonderful name.” (Wes Nisker, The Big Bang, the Buddha, and the Baby Boom, Harper San Francisco, 2003, p 90 [*amazing, only the Devil could sell the idea of nothing])

In a magazine dedicated to new age ideas, a “futurist” recounts her meeting with a group of “Catholics”: “I’ll never forget when I was staying with a group of nuns in South Bend, Indiana, during a Fourth of July weekend . . .there was a Catholic priest there named Diarmuid O’Murchu who wrote a book called Quantum Theology. Anyway, he got up and said, ‘Evolution was working for billions of years before organized religion, and it will be working for billions of years after organized religion.’ And then, as a Catholic priest speaking to a group of nuns, he said, ‘The Catholic Church will not hold, because not only is the story wrong but the hierarchy is wrong. The structure is wrong. The whole thing is wrong.’ And the nuns all stood up and cheered!” (Barbara Marx Hubbard, ‘evolve or die!’ what is Enlightenment?: wake up to a new world, Issue 23, Spring/Summer 2003, p 24)

Beyond the group huggers, we have the lone Sister Elaine: “Elaine is a Roman Catholic Sister and a Zen Master.” For Sister Elaine, “meditation is a silent body and a silent mind . . . It works on a supposition that we all have an infinite power within; it is to activate that power and to let it flow.” She continues: “The Buddha is the divine spark that we’re all born with.” Sister Elaine confesses though that the process of activating whatever power and letting it flow can be a bit dull: “It’s a little boring, you know, when you have a silent mind . . . there’s no opera going on in your head.” (Jacques Poitras, Sister Elaine & the Art of Zen Mastery, Scarboro Missions, Summer Issue, 1996, pp 18 -19 - this article was in a special issue dedicated to Our Lady’s Missionaries)

At times, one gets the impression that if our current Pope were to have been a traffic light controller instead of a cleric, he would always left the lights on yellow, causing the traffic to stall. Eventually, the travelers would become frustrated with the lack of direction and then go their own way heedless of the inherent dangers. Such an impression becomes less of an impression and more a ready accusation when statements such as the following are discovered: “ ... the Church of today must be aware in an always new manner of man’s ‘situation’. That means that she must be aware of his possibilities . . .She (the Church) must likewise be aware of the threats to man and of all that seems to oppose the endeavor ‘to make human life ever more human’ and make every element of this life correspond to man’s true dignity – in a word, she must be aware of all that is opposed to that process.” (Encyclical Letter of John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis, [The Redeemer of Man], 1979. p 27) And, what is that process? “...the actualization of their ‘spirit’” (Encyclical Letter of John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis, [The Redeemer of Man], 1979, p 37)

The idea of the actualization of man was born out of the humanistic psychological theories of Abraham Maslow, and espouses the idea of a process whereby man fulfils his inner potential through his own efforts: “The actualization process means the development or discovery of the true self and the development of existing or latent potential.” (Frank G. Goble, The Third Force: The Psychology of Abraham Maslow, Pocket Book, 1971, p 26)

Such a concept, when applied to the ‘spirit’, teeters in the direction of new age beliefs whereby man is encouraged to awaken his ‘infinite’ potential to evolve to a higher spiritual level, to become a higher being. The ideas of Abraham Maslow, like that of the NAM, exhibit global aspirations as Maslow demonstrated in the for-ward to The Third Force: “This is precisely one important aspect of this new World-View – that it is a Zeitgeist, a spirit of the age, a change of basic thinking along the total front of man’s endeavors, a potential change in every social institution, in every one of the ‘fields’ of intellectual endeavor, and in every one of the professions. Therefore, as a movement it has no single leader, no one great name by which to characterize it. Most revolutions in World-View have been characterized by the name of a single person: for example: the Freudians, the Darwinians, the Newtonians, the Marxians, the Copernicans, the Einsteinians, etc. . . . In contrast, the Third Force (or Humanistic Psychology), which is developing a new image of man, is the work of many men.” (from the forward written by Abraham Maslow in the book by Frank G. Goble, The Third Force: The Psychology of Abraham Maslow, Pocket Book, 1971, pp ix – x) In regard to the actualization of their spirit, Pope John Paul II warns: “. . . she (the Church) must be aware of all that is opposed to that process . . .”

Abraham Maslow outlines the reasons for which so many men fail to reach their potential, in other words, the obstacles that are opposed to that process of actualization, in particular, he states: “There has been a strong tendency in western culture to fear instincts, to believe they are all ani-malistic and bad . . . many Christian theorists have stressed the negative aspects of human instincts, and, as a result, we have a culture emphasizing controls and negative motivation rather than positive motivation.” (Frank G. Goble, The Third Force: The Psychology of Abraham Maslow, Pocket Book, 1971, p 60)

If Pope John Paul II warns the Church to be aware of all that is opposed to that process, actualization, then the Church as it exists is an obstacle and must change to allow for this process. Abraham Maslow names the “Christian theorists” one of the means by which men fail to reach their potential through actualization. At least to some degree, the Pope appears to agree with the humanistic psychology of Abraham Maslow. It is not absurd that the pen of the Vicar of Christ on earth should trace the empty words of a humanist?

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“. . . the myths about werewolves. So, fine, they’re ridiculous: No one can turn himself into a wolf. But what if a man were so disturbed that he not only thought that he was a werewolf, but also acted like one? Terrible. What is this – theory now, Father, or fact? Well, there’s William Stumpf, for example. Or Peter. I can’t remember. Anyway, a German in the sixteenth century who thought he was a werewolf. He murdered perhaps twenty or thirty young children. You mean, he confessed it? Well, yes, but I think the confession was valid. How so? When they caught him, he was eating the brains of his two young daughters-in-law.” (William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist, Harper Paperbacks, 1971, pp 179 – 180)

 

Here a god, There a god, Everywhere a god, god

The above quote from The Exorcist, while gruesome and dramatic, relays the stark reality of the danger of man believing himself to be capable of something that is laughable, but for which he will make a strident effort to convince himself of the reality of the illusion and then act upon the illusion as if it were a reality. This is the inherent danger of the NAM. New Agers believe that man is divine – god, and that all that they must do to effect a global transformation, a mass evolution of man on the spiritual plane, which is the ultimate goal of the age of Aquarius, is to ensure that all of mankind come to that same conclusion. We, humanity, must be of one mind in order to effect this global transformation. Then, we will become as one. It appears that they are trying to duplicate God, the Trinity, three in one and one in three. Only this will be a zillion in one and one in a zillion – sort of like their chances of effecting this transformation. Here, they speak for themselves: “But what is the nature of the ‘collective awakening’ that is so essential to our future? Some may view this as a collective mystical experience that magically galvanizes our sense of connection with the compassion for all of life. However, I see our awakening in much more practical and approachable terms. A common theme in the world’s spiritual traditions, as well as in psychotherapy, is that the first step in awakening is to simply see ‘what is”. In other words, we begin by becoming an objective witness or impartial observer who tells ourselves the truth about our actual situation.” (Duane Elgin, ‘Our Collective Awakening and the Politics of Consciousness’, what is enlightenment: redefining spirituality for an evolving world, Issue 25, May – June 2004, p 27)

“Today, practice means getting yourself in sync with the most fundamental urge of the universe itself – namely, to develop, to evolve in a progressive way . . . to become conscious of the fact that evolutionary progress is in our being as well. Spiritual practice is evolving, vision is evolving, realization is evolving. Enlightenment itself is evolving . . .So there’s the thrust of the new, but there’s also the death of the old. Just look at the troubles of the church. Look at the hideous forms of Islamic and Christian and Jewish fundamentalism– it’s like we’re witnessing the decay of these old religions right in front of us while this new thing is being born. And folks, we’ve all got to go out there and contribute to it. I mean, either we do it, or we don’t and we sink back into the next cataclysm. Because it ain’t predetermined. It’s all up to us.” (Michael Murphy, ‘Pulpit: The Fundamental Urge of the Universe’, what is enlightenment: redefining spirituality for an evolving world, Issue 25, May – June 2004, p 21)

“This entire planet is inhabited by only one form of life.” (Howard Bloom, ‘The Café at the Beginning of the Universe’, what is enlightenment: redefining spirituality for an evolving world, Issue 25, May – June 2004, p 38)

“. . . the major world religions were founded in an earlier phase of human evolution . . . they are becoming regressive . . . the force of evolution within us is pressing to come through because the body is complexifying. We’re beginning to understand that we are living members of a living planetary body which is itself integrating into a new whole system . . . any effort that we can make to connect and create greater synergy and participation in this awakening process is probably the most important thing we can do.” (Barbara Marx Hubbard, ‘evolve or die!’ what is Enlightenment?: wake up to a new world, Issue 23, Spring/Summer 2003, p 25)

“This is one of the most significant times. The world is ready and humanity has lost patience with itself. We are gathering courage to move onto the next evolutionary step . . . our traditional views of God have not led humanity to peace, harmony and happiness. In fact, quite the opposite . . . we need to expand and update our understanding of God and that world religions need to be revitalized.” (Neale Donald Walsch, ‘tomorrow’s god’, Kindred Spirit, Issue 68, May/June 2004, p 11)

Mr. Walsch’s expanded and up-dated understanding of God (from previous quote) includes the following:

Let it be known that the Church has declared in The Creed of the Council of Toledo of the Year 400: “If anyone says and [or] believes that the human soul is a part of God or is God’s substance, let him be anathema.” (Henry Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma, n31, 30th edition, p 14)

 

The Science of Spirituality

If ever we were to look for one word to describe the practitioners of the NAM, the word bold should satisfy that search. It is an apt description for what follows: “The growing interest in spiritualism, psychical research, scientific occultism, and ritual magic in the nineteenth century revealed the gap which had opened up between religion and science in the West. The achievements of the industrial revolution and scientific methods of enquiry increasingly gave man mastery over the physical world, but their very rational and materialist principles seemed to jeopardize his sense of meaning and purpose within creation. The progress of science and technology challenged a view of man, which emphasized sin, the omnipotence of God, the need for grace, and a preoccupation with the life hereafter. Natural science also negated the biblical explanation of human life.” (Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, ed., Western Esoteric Masters Series: Helena Blavatsky, North Atlantic Books, 2004, p 1)

The NAM is littered with ‘experiences’ described as out-of-body, channeling with spirits, telepathy and clairvoyance, to name a few, which are often discussed and debated within the NAM and given a spin to substantiate the idea of man as divine with the potential to evolve on a spiritual level. To lend credibility to these phenomena, many within the NAM have sought to validate them through the application of the scientific method. One such proponent of both new age experiences and scientific validation is Susan Blackmore. A introductory biography of Ms. Blackmore contained in a collection of articles on the New Age written by various authors and published in 1988, described her as “the world’s leading expert on out-of-body experiences. Her Beyond the Body and Adventures of a Parapsychologist are seminal works in the history of parapsychology, challenging the field itself with a high level of scientific rigor and psychological insight.” (Robert Basil, ed., Not Necessarily the New Age: Critical Essays, Prometheus Books, New York, 1988, p 165).

The article that Ms. Blackmore contributed to the collection, entitled Out of the Body? contained the assertion that: “while parapsychology is a scientific endeavor with an altogether more sophisticated approach than any of the popular cults, it shares with them the tension between inexplicability and explanation.”. (p 165) She continues in the same article: “When our successors look back on the efforts of the twentieth century, I think they will see the battles between the proponents of the occult pseudo explanations and the dismissive non-explanations gradually giving way to the development of genuinely constructive explanations. They will see that astral projection, mystical insight, cosmic consciousness, and ineffable oneness are not ridiculous ideas to be laughed at but people’s brave attempts to describe their experience.” (pp 182 – 183)

Okay, let us fast-forward to the 21^st century and an interview with Susan Blackmore in a British publication, Philosophy Now: a magazine of ideas. Ms. Blackmore is introduced as “a well-known cognitive scientist, psychologist, lecturer and author”. We are informed that she has written a textbook on consciousness. Rick Lewis from the magazine asked her about her journey from parapsychology to the study of consciousness: “What experience originally led you to believe that consciousness could leave the body?” The response of Ms. Blackmore: “In my first term at Oxford when I was studying physiology and psychology, I was also running the Psychical Research Society, just because I had been faintly interested in paranormal phenomena, and I got sucked into an enormous enthusiasm for that whole area. Anyway, one night when we’d been having a ouija board session I was sitting in a friend’s room smoking some dope, listening to Grateful Dead, or Pink Floyd or something and I seemed to be galloping down a tunnel of leaves like a road, towards a bright light at the end, as if I was in a horse drawn carriage. One of my friends said ‘Where are you Sue?’ And that was really important question. I thought ‘Where am I?’ Then everything cleared and I had a perfect view from up on the ceiling looking down and I could see myself sitting down below with my two friends and watch my own mouth openings and shutting saying “I’m on the ceiling.” I could see a silver cord coming out of my neck and coming up to me. My friends went on talking and I kept on talking and it went on for two and a half hours. It was a most extraordinary experience, which at the time I called astral projection. Subsequently I called it an ‘out of body experience’, subsequently to that the whole idea of near death experiences was invented and I realized then I had had all the components except the life review – the tunnel, the light, the out of body experience, the light, the out of body experience, the decision to return, going to other worlds, complete loss of time and space. Afterwards my conclusion was that my spirit had left my body and that therefore the reductionist materialist view must be overthrown. So I thought, ‘I’m going to prove my tutors are wrong and I’m going to become a parapsychologists.’ It all started from there. It is interesting that her final statement in the inter-view should be as follows: “So I always think that if I can make my st u-dents scream, I’m doing a good job!” (Rick Lewis, Philosophy Now: a magazine of ideas, Issue 42, July/August 2003, pp. 20-21) She did not, however, clarify whether her st u-dents were screaming with laughter or from fright!

Another scientific spin on the pseudo-science can be found in the following description of an ‘experiment’ that is said to have “. . . demonstrated in a number of studies that we can assist each other’s learning across distances, without any external interaction or communication. In one study, for instance, a group of individuals completed a newly created crossword puzzle, and their average completion times were recorded. The same puzzle was then broadcast to millions via TV, for the viewers at home to complete. Subsequently, a new group, who had not seen the puzzle at all, finished it significantly faster than the original group, suggesting that as a result of so many individuals having done the puzzle, knowledge of the puzzle was somehow etched into the field of collective consciousness, making it increasingly easier for others to solve.” (‘The Science of Collective Consciousness’, Robert Kenny, what is enlightenment: redefining spiritual-it for an evolving world, Issue 25, May-June 2004, p 78)

If this is true, then we can revolutionize our entire process for testing in education. One would not have to study, but merely start the test after all the other students present in the room have commenced and then just tune-into the ‘field of collective consciousness’. It would appear from the details of this experiment that the answers that have been written by the other students would be hovering in thin air awaiting your retrieval, it would be a kind of collective consciousness cheating. Cool! On the other hand, if others have already mastered the subjet matter, the professor, for instance, we should be able to invade directly his part of the ‘collective consciousness’. In this case there would not be any need to administer exams or courses even – we should be able to obliterate the entire educational system. Awesome! Just think of the money that we could save on taxes and tuition! Early retirement, here I come! In addition to the lack of logic, the above example of a scientific ‘experiment’ fails to clarify whether or not certain factors were controlled in the experiment. Such factors would include the level of experience with crossword puzzles by the individual participants, their level of education and social backgrounds etc. etc. The experiment, at least from the description provided, does not appear to be all that scientific.

The world of science is cruel to Catholics, it often presents us as un-scientific, backwards even and mocks our dogmas. In the manner by which Catholics are berated, you would think that the study of science is a sin for Catholics. Father Burke addressed just such a scenario: “You have all, like myself, been preparing for confession since you were seven years of age. And did you ever say when, examining your consciences, you opened your prayer books and went over the table of sins: ‘Did I press my studies too far, or was I too scientific?’ Was any Catholic boy ever expected to say this in confession: ‘Father, I am a medical student, and all the other students are tremendous fellows for science, and, father, I accuse myself that I was inclined to study – that I was inclined and endeavored to keep up with them in their researches; O father! forgive me”? (The Catholic Church and Science, Lectures and Sermons Delivered by the Very Rev. Thomas N. Burke, O.P., P.J. Kenedy, 1903, p 260)

In regards to the phenomena and experiences of New Agers that appear to defy a natural explanation, some “directive principles of Catholic teaching” should be heeded by Catholics when dealing with subject matter of this nature:

Father Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of Rome, has acknowledged the dangers of these practices: “...it is a well-know fact that where religion regresses, superstition progresses. We can see the proliferation, especially among the young, of spiritism, witchcraft, and the occult. We can add to this the pursuit of yoga, Zen, transcendental meditation: these are all practices based on reincarnation, on dissolving the human person into divinity, or, in any case, on other doctrines that are unacceptable to Christians. We do not need to go to India anymore to find gurus; we can find them at our door-steps. Often these apparently innocent practices bring about hallucinations and schizophrenic conditions. To this I can add the exponential proliferation of many sects, many of which bear a distinctly satanic mark.” (Father Gabriele Amorth, An Exorcist Tells His Story, Ignatius Press, 1999, pp 53 – 54)

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Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world John Lennon’s, Imagine

Foremother of the New Age Religion

Helen Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891) has been hailed as the “foremother of the New Age religion”. She was born in the Ukraine, daughter to Colonel Peter von Hahn and Helena Andreyevna. Madam Blavatsky is said to have “...developed an early interest in esotericism, immersing herself in the large occult library of Prince Pavel Dolgorukov, her grandmother’s father, who had been initiated into Rosicrucian Freemasonry at the end of the 1770’s. He had belonged to the Rite of Strict Observance, founded in Germany by Baron von Hund around 1754, which claimed to derive from Unknown Superiors.” Thus, “Freemasonry was an early model for Helena’s conception of the Masters, since it combined esoteric lore with an international network of secret societies, often dedicated to radicalism and reform. An old family friend, Prince Alexander Golitsyn, a Freemason and mystic, encouraged her to travel abroad in search of ancient wisdom.” (Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, ed., Western Esoteric Masters Series: Helena Blavatsky, North Atlantic Books, 2004, pp 2 – 3) Her travels are said to have taken her to Tibet, India, the Middle East, North America and around Europe. In November of 1875, Madam Blavatsky co-founded The Theosophical Society, the objective of which was to penetrate further than science into the esoteric philosophies of ancient times. (Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, ed., Western Esoteric Masters Series: Helena Blavatsky, North Atlantic Books, 2004, p 8) “ . . . Theosophy repeated the Hellenistic embrace of exotic religions of the East, now represented by Buddhism and Hinduism. By popularizing ideas of reincarnation and karma, secret Masters, and Tibet as the land of ageless wisdom, Blavatsky attracted many spiritual seekers in Europe, America, and India to her new religious movement.” (Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, ed., Western Esoteric Masters Series: Helena Blavatsky, Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, ed., North Atlantic Books, 2004, p 2)

The work of Madam Blavatsky and her successors continue to impact on our society as evidenced by the discussions undertaken throughout this article as well as statements such as the following: “Many Canadians are embracing Eastern spirituality, often beginning with a simple yoga class.” (Sharon Doyle Driedger, Soul Searchers: In a quest for spiritual renewal, faith-seekers turn to retreats, Macleans, April 16, 2001, p 44)

This should be a concern for Catholics today as our society is becoming systematically vehemently anti-Catholic, the means by which we cannot remain oblivious, having been warned by Catholic writers such as Father Cahill: “Naturalism and Hermeticism (or secret science) or Occultism (including Theosophy, Spiritism, Christian Scientism and Satan-ism) are characteristic of the Masonic cult and philosophy. These are put forward as a substitute for real religion, and are in fact today perhaps the most powerful solvent of the elements of true Christianity which still survive among the non-Catholic communities of the English-speaking world.” (Rev. E. Cahill, S.J., The Framework of a Christian State, Roman Catholic Books, 1932, p 232)

It should be understood that this is not mere Catholic paranoia as there are secular writers who have made overt statements to this effect. One such writer and activist was Saul D. Alinksy, he stated: “All effective actions require the passport of morality.” (Saul D. Alinksy, Rules for Radicals, Vintage Books, 1972, p. 44) Therefore the destructors of Christen-dom need the veneer of spirituality to be able better to change the world. That is why they use all these cults and beliefs.

You may be interested to know that Mr. Alinksy was a mentor of the now Senator Hillary Clinton, or Hillary Rodham Clinton or Hillary Rodham… “Alinsky’s philosophy and strategies were set forth in the 1947 bestseller, Reveille for Radicals, which became a classic on the left . . . Hillary was involved in inviting Alinsky to speak at Wellesley. She also interviewed Alinsky for her senior thesis . . . Today, Hillary’s thesis is under lock and key on the campus of Wellesley, whose administrators unilaterally cut off public access to the senior theses of ‘all presidents and first ladies’ in early 1993, soon after Clinton was inaugurated.” (David Brock, The Seduction of Hillary Rodham, Free Press Paper-backs, 1996, pp 15 – 17)

Is it possible that there exists a conspiracy, a global plan to reunite church and state, but a church and state of a new order? This just might be a reality in consideration of the following statement: “Gorbachev and the global socialists (who in the past have been confirmed atheists and materialists) have decided pragmatically that wholesale atheism can never be sold to most Americans, most of whom have some belief in God. The new approach therefore attempts to wrap or merge materialism (a foundational doctrine of Communism) with the Eastern religions. The Eastern religions (which can be labeled ‘cosmic humanism’) at their heart hold man to be God, which allows them to be molded to accommodate almost any other belief or religion.” (quoted from Donald S. McAlvany, The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor, February 1996, p 3)

More recently Mikhail Gorbachev, the former President of the Soviet Union, made the following plea: “Schools of all levels are called upon to instill the concepts of human togetherness, world integrity and the culture of solidarity and peace in their students . . . It is becoming an extremely pressing task to have this code of basic moral principles observed by governments, business and NGOs simply in order (to) give future generations and our planet a chance to survive. In a world increasingly besieged by corruption, greed and self-interest, we need leaders who have the moral courage to ground their decisions in this new global ethic . . .” (Mikhail Gorbachev, A New Glasnost for the Planet, April 2004, pp 3 – 4,
www.greencrossinternation.net/GreenCrossFamily/GORBY/2004/newglasnost.html)

The words of Gorbachev fall on the ear like the words of a thief who robs you blind and then has the audacity to come back to sell you a “security system” to prevent you from being robbed again. The fact that there are forces working directly against the Catholic Church is not a new revelation as their nature and objectives have been made known by the Church on numerous occasions, including this explanation from the prolific writings of Pope Leo XIII: “The race of man, after its miserable fall from God, the Creator and the Giver of heavenly gifts, “through the envy of the devil,” separated into two diverse and opposite parts, of which the one steadfastly contends for truth and virtue, the other for those things which are contrary to virtue and to truth. The one is the kingdom of God on earth, namely, the true Church of Jesus Christ; and those who desire from their heart to be united with it, so as to gain salvation, must of necessity serve God and His only begotten Son with their whole mind and with an entire will. The other is the kingdom of Satan, in whose possession and control are all whosoever follow the fatal example of their leader and of our first parents, those who refuse to obey the divine and eternal law, and who have many aims of their own in contempt of God, and many aims also against God.” (Pope Leo XIII, Humanum Genus [Freemasonry], p.1)

 

Labor Pains: The Re-Birth of Tony Blair

It appears inevitable that the designs for the new world state and the new world church will be ceremoniously united at the altar of man. Precursors of the spoiled offspring of such a union have already begun to manifest themselves. It has been reported that Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of Britain, and his wife engaged in a new age ritual in Mexico: “At a rebirthing ceremony in Mexico, Mr. and Mrs. Blair entered a brick-built pyramid in their swimming costumes, prayed to the four winds, smeared their bodies with mud, papaya and watermelon and were encouraged to cry out loud.” (BBC NEWS World Edition, Papers target ‘Cheriegate’ spin doctors, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_ne ws/2557289.stm) And again: “A recent article in The New York Times reminded me that people high up on the political ladder make use of astrologers, even if indirectly, to determine the course of their lives. The article was inspired by Cherie Blair’s unconventional behavior, as portrayed in Brit-ish newspapers such as The Daily Mail. The account was not restricted to Mrs. Blair but included the behavior of her husband, British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Both apparently took part in a ‘rebirthing’ ceremony in Mexico in which they shouted and smeared mud and ripe pulp on each other.” (Dr. Kurt Salzinger, Science directions: Foolish behavior, APA ONLINE, Volume 34, February 02, 2003, www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/sd.html) You want more? Here it is: “ . . . Mrs. Blair has become infamous for her dalliances with New Age nonsense. She reportedly wears crystals to ward off the evil effects of computers and telephones, and in (the) summer (of) 2001 took part in a sweaty, muddy Mayan rebirthing ceremony (with Tony) while holidaying on the Mexican Riviera . . . Cherie symbolizes how weakness at the centre plays a role in the rise of irrationalism; even her apparent devout Catholicism, it seems, is not enough to keep her away from crystal bollocks – which doesn’t say much for today’s Catholic Church.” (Brendan O’Neill, A brief history of bollocks, Spiked Politics, May 26, 2004, www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CA53C.htm)

No kidding. A promotional pamphlet for the rebirthing process offers the following information: “Rebirthing is one of the fastest growing natural healing agents available at this time. It is a safe and powerful breathing process that releases tension from the body, freeing it so that one may live to one’s highest vision and unlimited potential. The breath is the ultimate healer. It is the umbilical cord to the Divine.” (Lynne Jenkins, Rebirthing Plus, promotional pamphlet, also www.rebirthingplus.com)

Mikhail Gorbachev advises that “the global public should monitor progress by juxtaposing politicians’ words against their deeds. ‘Judge not by words, but by deeds’ should be our mantra.” (Mikhail Gorbachev, A New Glasnost for the Planet, April 2004, p 4, www.greencrossinternation.net/GreenCrossFamily/GORBY/2004/newglasnost.html) Well, it should be evident from the deeds of the British Prime Minister and his wife that the courtship between church (as a new age religion) and state has progressed to the foot of the altar, but God will not bless this marriage and we will all have much to suffer for this illicit union.

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You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will live as one John Lennon’s, Imagine

Dream on . . .

On the evening of Saturday, July 24, 2004, at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Mr. Prem Rawat, born in India and widely known as Maharaji, spoke to a near capacity audience. The event was free, financed by private funds non-revealed, and you had to scramble to get a ticket. There were metal detectors at the doors, everyone was checked – backpacks, large bags, cameras and recording devices were not permitted into the hall. What was the issue with Mr. Rawat presence that he would require such protection and security measures? His message was the message of peace! His message of peace did not repeat the request of Our Lady at Fatima, where She asked for the consecration of Russian to Her Immaculate Heart. Nope. The vehicle of Mr. Rawat’s peace mission is Man. Yup, peace is within man. Mr. Rawat believes that there is nothing external to man to bring about peace, only his own efforts are required to bring peace into our individual lives and then society, as a global society, will benefit by this individual transformation. Mr. Rawat was introduced to the public with these words (also on an advertising leaflet): “He started addressing audiences at age three and began travelling the world presenting his message at thirteen . . . he offers to show those who wish to make peace a reality in their lives a practical method which he calls Knowledge (with a capital K) . . . If we have the feeling, we do not need the word. Peace needs to be in everyone’s life.”

Mr. Rawat was talking about ‘everyone`s life’. Let us recall that for the New Age, “this entire planet is inhabited by only one form of life.” (Howard Bloom, ‘The Café at the Beginning of the Universe’, what is enlightenment: redefining spirituality for an evolving world, Issue 25, May – June 2004, p 38) But this is the foundation principle of pantheism: “. . . Pantheism . . . the Divine Force, which encompasses and permeates the world, investing itself under every known form; Nature, co-equal with God, and finding its perfection in man; truth, a work of intuition rather than of induction; the religious sentiment going hand in hand with materialism; mortification of the flesh joined with a licentious conduct in life. A state of perfect impassibility . . . To attain it, any means is lawful, every act is allowable.” (Abbé Con-stant Fouard, Saint Peter and the First Years of Christianity, Roman Catholic Books, originally published in 1892, p 319)

This is the basis of the NAM. Hence the difficulty in trying to grasp a thread of continuity amongst the multitude of new age subjects, theories and paraphernalia – the road is not an issue, there are many roads in the NAM. They are wide roads. These wide roads have lots of different New Age shops scattered about them, enticing you with all manner of intrigue and experiences. They appeal to the pride of man and hiss: you shall be as Gods. “(Pride) is the excessive love of one’s own excellence. It is ordinarily accounted one of the seven capital sins. St. Thomas, however, endorsing the appreciation of St. Gregory, considers it the queen of all vices, and puts vainglory in its place as one of the deadly sins. In giving it this preeminence he takes it in a most formal and complete signification. He understands it to be that frame of mind in which a man, through the love of his own worth, aims to withdraw himself from subjection to Almighty God, and set at naught the commands of superiors. It is a species of contempt of God and of those who bear his commission . . . By it the creature refuses to stay within his essential orbit; he turns his back upon God, not through weakness or ignorance, but solely because in his self-exaltation he is minded not to submit.” (The Catholic Encyclopaedia, Volume XII, 1913 edition, p 405)

But God has warned: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.” (Isaias 55: 8 – 9) Thus one day God will show man how much his existence depends on Him in all aspects, and it will be a hard but salutary lesson: There can be peace only insofar as the order God has put in things, individuals, society, is respected.

 

Conclusion

A special “Knowledge”, feelings and experiences, man sufficient unto himself, the absence of God, man’s inner potential for transformation, evolution, enlightenment – these are the themes of the new age movement. Ultimately, it involves the development of a mindset, and this mindset is often solidified through a wide spectrum of available new age practices whether that be through the belief systems encompassed by the esoteric orders, theosophy, the kabbala, yoga, Wicca, Gaia, channeling, the Celestine prophecy, astrology, out-of-body experiences, dream interpretation, transcendental meditation, feng shui, Buddhism, aromatherapy, runes, I Ching, karma etc. etc., it will lead to the mindset that man and his world is God.

Yet, mankind continues to buy into that same old lie. Perhaps, a time will come when those who do not adopt the new age mindset will be in grave danger. Why? Because you will be seen to be hindering the global evolution of mankind to a higher spiritual plane and, therefore, you will be considered to be depriving the rest of humanity from this essential experience. We all have to be as one for this transformation. Remember that for the pantheist that any good New Ager is, “any means is lawful, every act is allowable”, be it to obtain an individual experience or a global transformation. Mr. Rawat is evidence that the new age onslaught is on our doorsteps, you will be asked to buy into his “Knowledge” or some other similar message, whatever that may be, or risk being made-out, or ‘re-educated’, because you will be perceived as an obstacle to that transformation necessary for the attainment of world peace. You will be held responsible for the continuation of wars and famines. How dreadful you will appear to the world. Perhaps, for your own good and the good of mankind, as you will be made to go and evolve in the next life or something as it will be better for all if you were sacrificed in the name of humanity, man the god.

Should we ask Rome to make a public declaration about the NAM, and to denounce its errors and snares? Unfortunately for us, the Mystery of Iniquity at work in the Church for decades makes her appear as the embryo of the New World Religion. This pantheistic, naturalistic and humanistic religion wants to change man into a god, the center of the Universe. Already, forty years ago, the Conciliar Church was putting down the mask at the very end of Vatican II: