Recently my daughter-in-law mentioned how different the world is from what it used to be—it is more dark and dangerous. She is not alone in her observations. It seems that the vast majority of people know that our culture is in severe decline. Speaking personally as one who grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, there is no doubt that our country is vastly different. Where people differ is WHY this decline is occurring. Back in the day black lights and posters were immensely popular. I had my own and had fun with them. I would like to suggest that at the core of the cause of our cultural decay is a different kind of black light. I’ll come back to this shortly.
Vishen Lakhiani, founder of Mind Valley—which is perhaps the world's largest distributor of Neo-New Age teaching—is a kind and gentle man. I began receiving their daily emails a few years ago and have immersed myself in their emails and videos in order to understand what is happening in our world. I must add that I always pray before watching or listening to this material.
Recently I have been doing a series on the massive worldview shift that is occurring, where the paranormal is the ‘new-normal’, and that the idea of a Creator God distinct from His creation is being displaced by this new paradigm of paganism.
All the questions that entail a person’s worldview—what is ultimate reality, what does reality consist of, the nature of history, what is the meaning of life, what is the foundation for ethics, the nature of man, and what happens when we die? How we answer these extremely vital questions is determined by our worldview as well as informing our worldviews, especially what we believe is Ultimate reality. How a believer in the biblical God and creation answers these questions will differ drastically from those who see ultimate reality as oneness with the Universe….that creator and creation are co-extensive….or some variation of the notion of a collective unconsciousness (C G Jung) that we must tap into paranormally.
I mention all this so that as we explore one sample of this Neo-New Age thinking we will not miss the forest for the trees. If we are to be effective witnesses for Christ in our day then we must understand the ideas behind the ideas—the worldview shift. Otherwise we will miss the forest for the trees.
A few days ago I watched a video by Christie Marie Sheldon (one of the most popular teachers in the vast Mind Valley library). The basic premise was how to change your reality through changing your energy frequency. This has become a hot topic and millions are buying into some form of this teaching….including many preachers. It is the internet and companies like Mind Valley that are accelerating the speed with which these ideas are spreading. Whereas the Roman system of roads figured into the quick spread of the gospel, modern technological developments have shrunk the world and caused unprecedented spread of the gospel, and also of anti-gospel messages.
In her presentation, Ms. Sheldon asserts that she can see other people’s energy fields, and she claims to be able to see the blockages to one’s consciousness, and how/when they were acquired…..and how to clear them. Pretty heady stuff! No wonder she is one of the most popular presenters at Mind Valley, as well as amongst celebrities and CEO’s, etc. I can say from personal experience she is VERY persuasive. Some source is giving her very detailed and personal information into people’s pasts (or past lives)…..at this point she functions much like a psychic….with all the attendant dangers.
Again, her basic claim is that we can change our reality (love life, abundance, etc.) by altering our energy vibrations. She buttresses her claims by appealing to recent scientific discoveries. This is important because, as I have been saying, this new worldview is a marriage of the new science with paganism. It is claimed that a scientist was studying water molecules and that in natural state they are asymmetrical. However, when he placed a label on a bottle of water which said “love”, then as he studied the water in that bottle it displayed a lovely shape, much like a snowflake. He did the same with labels like ‘joy’ and ‘peace’. The results were varying shapes that were symmetrical and lovely. Since the human body is 70% water, then the inference is that focusing on the higher frequencies of positive thoughts would change our reality. Do you see how this “new science” is no longer at odds with spirituality, as the older secular science was? The problem is that most of this new science is wed to the new pagan spirituality, which is actually quite ancient….just clothed in modern garb. Whatever you think of the ‘experiment’, I must remind us that Satan has a keen interest in this evolution of science and spirituality.
How do we clear blockages that keep us from receiving from the universe all the love and abundance it wants to give us? She first mentions that we need to be acutely aware of how we may have self-limiting thoughts deep down. I think it is important to say that, up to a point, she is right. A certain amount of “positive thinking” is good and healthy….even biblical.….We all have emotional scars but they need to brought before the throne of God and the teaching of the bible re the immense dignity of being made in God’s image….as well as the love of God that has been lavishly poured inside of us, if we are in union with Christ. If we believe we are failures or useless, then they will usually become self-fulfilling prophecies. However, it is due to self-sabotage and not due to some blockage in our chakras, as Ms Sheldon and innumerable other Neo-New teachers claim. We look to God and not His universe for affirmation and healing.
Some Christians will not even mention or admit that they may have a debilitating illness or disease because they think that by verbalizing it, then one is altering reality through negative affirmations. That is tragic and unbiblical. How can we pray with specificity re your disease if you are hesitant to even mention it? Sadly, the prosperity gospel, which has has been influenced by pagan categories, continues to attract many.
But back to Neo-New Age teachers…
Why do these teachers attract millions of followers? I think it is largely due to their scratching where most people itch. We want to make our lives count….to find love….to reach our full potential, and they give sensational and plausible sounding advice on how to make quantum leaps in these areas. However, they all state that the key is raising our vibrational energy in such a way as to align with the universe, which will then shower abundance upon us. That is idolatry, pure and simple. (Romans 1:18ff).
At this point, Ms. Sheldon led the group through a cleansing exercise. Starting from the head and going to the feet she systematically asked them to picture the liquid, loving light flowing through each body part. Then, she asked them to visualize this loving light going through their feet, and LET THEIR INFINITE BEING TO EXPAND. For the universe to respond, she guided them to expand to the moon….upwards and further out til she had their energy from their infinite being expanded beyond the galaxy. At each stage she said, “Feel the love, love, love….let the universe love you.” And at some point she said “You are now connecting to the oneness and source reality….see and feel your connection to the light.”
What light? Supernatural darkness can create a blaze of seeming liquid love and light which overwhelms the senses. This is the black light I referred to earlier. Not only are we being asked to initiate an OBE (out of body experience), but to astral project. And this OBE will allegedly lead to the consciousness cleansing interaction with the light. All of this is cause for great concern.
I say this with love, but these exercises are fraught with peril. We are finite beings (body-soul composite), not infinite energy in a body. And the practice of expanding one’s soul infinitely outward till it melts into the oneness of the universe, or meets some light/source energy in order to raise one consciousness/energy frequency, is a path to a false/counterfeit light. An increasing number of people are claiming to have had exquisite spiritual experiences while doing consciousness raising exercises. I do not doubt the reality of many of these experiences but I do question the identity or source behind these life-changing encounters with the universe or higher states of consciousness. My heart aches for all these dear folks who are seeking direct encounters with this ultimate reality, which in reality is a spiritual black light.
Do you see how this teaching is a reflection of the massive paradigm or worldview shift? We need to be able to connect the dots and see the common big idea behind the thousands of Neo-New Age expressions of it. One need not be an expert on all the various teachings—it is impossible—but to be an effective witness for the gospel we do need to recognize that behind it all is a shift away from the infinite/personal creator God of the bible and His creation (which is distinct from Him), towards the now dominant pagan worldview. Or Oneism vs twoism as we mentioned before.
It saddens me deeply to say this since I loved the 60’s-70’s, but that is the era when the floodgates of spiritual black light was opened, and so many things starting going downhill. Even Dr Drew recently mentioned that one can directly trace most of the current ills in society (especially psychology and relationships) to the 70’s. 2 Corinthians 11:14 mentions that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light….or we might paraphrase a spiritual black light. Behind all the hype and promise of spiritual light and abundance through raising one’s vibrational frequencies, is a counterfeit light. A light which at its core is pure darkness and evil. John 8:12 states that Jesus is the Light. Amen!
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