V. DECEIVED BY THE NEW AGE - The Story Of A New Age Priest

Imagine you are in a secluded place. Suddenly in front of you appears a shining person radiating intense golden-white light that almost blinds you by its brilliance. He also emanates a soothing presence, filling you with a beautiful sense of peace as you stare transfixed by his radiance.

In an amazing appearance, a dazzling person like this stood before me on the morning of October 30, 1981, about a year after I had started attending classes at the Lighted Way. When I first saw him, my own initial thought was, He looks just like Jesus Christ.

On the morning of the master's appearance, as I pulled myself out of bed, little did I anticipate that I was about to experience an incredible life-changing event. I was about to be taken into the innermost depths of mystical experience and would never again perceive the world in the same way.

After showering, I returned to the bedroom to do my morning meditation. It was a condition of class membership at the Lighted Way that each student should engage in a private meditation session every day. In the Hindu/Buddhist type of meditation that the Lighted Way taught, it was desirable for the meditator to hold his spine as erect as possible, supposedly to enable a free flowing of the energies associated with the chakras. I usually had difficulty doing my meditation because of a painful back problem that has plagued me since childhood.

This morning was no exception. I felt very uncomfortable as I began to sit cross-legged upon the carpeted floor of my bedroom. The pain in my back prompted me to consider cutting the session short. But I then remembered the words of warning expressed by Master Djwhal Khul in one of his books: “It is impossible to progress along the spiritual path except through the practice of meditation”.

I heeded the advice and disciplined myself to sit upright as best as I could. After carrying out the preliminary invocations and prayers, I sat still in meditation. Fighting my back pain, I struggled to keep my torso straight, knowing that the posture needed to be correct for the meditation to be effective. After about three minutes of discomfort and irritability, I had to get up and stretch. I was again tempted to abandon the session and leave the house for my job as an engineer. I just didn't seem to be in the mood for meditation. But the inner voice of conscience prompted me to give it one more try. I again sat down on the floor, crossed my legs, closed my eyes, and repeated the main invocation ritual.

The Mysterious Enveloping Force

I had been meditating for only about four or five minutes. The discomfort in my back was intense, and I had difficulty sitting still. Cramps afflicted my legs as if I had been chained in stocks for several hours.

Suddenly, a physical force that I had never felt before seemed to come upon me. Brilliant light filled my whole being, as if my whole body had become an incandescent lamp. I felt and perceived this sphere of light to be encompassing me and permeating every cell of my body. My brain, especially, was flooded with light, as if a thousand-watt bulb had been switched on inside of my head.

I noticed I had lost all sense of weight and discomfort. The backache was gone. The mysterious force now acted dynamically upon my posture. It felt as if someone very strong took hold of my torso and forcefully straightened my back and shoulders until I was held fully upright. All remnants of muscular tension had entirely disappeared.

I did not feel any sense of apprehension over what was happening. On the contrary, I felt a deep sense of peace. I noticed I had lost all sense of gravity, as if I were completely weightless and were levitating just above the floor. Yet at the same time I was very much aware that I was still sitting in a corner of my bedroom. My mind, my rational thinking, was still functioning normally, with clear and precise, logical thoughts. I had not taken any kind of drugs whatsoever.

The Master Appears

Suddenly, a man radiating intense golden-white light stood before me. My first perception was that the mysterious, shining figure looked just like Jesus Christ.

Immediately a strong intuitive thought, or “knowingness”, surfaced that told me this person was Djwhal Khul, the high-ranking member of the White Brotherhood of Masters. He was the master who had dictated to Alice Bailey the contents of the metaphysical books she had published under her own name.

He appeared to be surrounded by so much brilliance that I could not make out any background scenery. All I could see was his kingly form surrounded by light as he stood motionless before me.

I noticed his curly golden hair resting upon his shoulders. He wore a long white robe. His arms hung at his side, and his feet were hidden by the light that enshrouded his entire being. Even though I had difficulty distinguishing his facial features because of the intensity of light that seemed to emanate more strongly from his face, he looked very handsome and dignified.

In spite of the fact that I was enveloped in intense cosmic energy, my mind and intelligence did not in any way feel hypnotized or “possessed” by Djwhal Khul's presence. I had sharp clarity and awareness in my thinking.

“How are you doing?” Djwhal Khul asked me.

I noticed his lips did not move when he spoke. The communication seemed to be transmitted telepathically. I perceived his message clearly, but seemed to hear it with an “inner ear”, as if his voice were speaking directly into the inside of my mind.

After asking the question, he waited for my reply.

“Well, I am struggling on in my spiritual life”, I calmly told him.

I spoke to him with my mind rather than by using lips and vocal chords. It was as if I telepathically communicated my statement. I somehow “knew” that Djwhal Khul could understand me and was able to respond through direct return communication.

Djwhal Khul then commented nonchalantly, “Yes. Well, that is how it is”. I sensed the gesture of shrugging his shoulders.

Feeling relaxed and at ease, I then took the initiative to ask him about a specific health problem that had been bothering me for some time. I was eager for his reply.

“Don't worry about it”, he simply commented.

After a few moments of silence on his part, he suddenly disappeared, leaving behind the intense aura of brilliant light, which slowly began to dissipate. Simultaneously, physical sensation began to return. My back posture started to sag, and I became aware that I was sitting in an uncomfortable cross-legged posture.

The light and the mysterious force that had filled my whole being now vanished. I moved my aching muscles and became conscious of the fact that I had suddenly resumed breathing. Apparently it had been unnecessary to breathe while in the presence of the great master.

I got up to stretch my legs and then sat on the bed to think about the meaning of this experience.

Wow! I thought, I have made it to something big.

I recalled Djwhal Khul's teachings, as recorded in Alice Bailey's books, of how a dedicated aspirant on the metaphysical path can eventually receive a reward for his efforts. He can receive the honor of being made a personal disciple of one of the masters of the White Brotherhood. The master then appears to the disciple to confirm the master-disciple relationship.

Regarding myself as one of the luckiest people in Los Angeles that morning, I was delighted to have been selected for training as a personal disciple of one of the masters. I was especially excited by the fact that I had been accepted as a disciple by the distinguished Master Djwhal Khul, the master whose books I had so reverently appreciated and loved to study. Oh, how much I admired the wisdom contained in his writings. I had never read anything so captivating and intellectually inspiring. For me, his works had relegated the knowledge of Kant, Aristotle, and Sartre to the kindergarten level.

I felt privileged that I could now serve “God” by serving under his noble agent, my master, the venerable Djwhal Khul. It was as if my highest dream and ambition had come true.

I recalled how only a few days previously I had taken a private vow of celibacy. It appeared that “God” had truly rewarded me for my decision to renounce women and sex and to seek the things of “God” by making me a disciple to one of the masters. I knew I would face much hardship on the discipleship path, but I had faith that the forces of the heavenly realms would assist me.

I was thankful to “God” that I had been through the emotional hardships and feelings of dissatisfaction that had prompted me to search for existential knowledge; for they had led me to seek wisdom, understanding, harmony, and fulfillment of my life's destiny plan. Now at last, the master's appearance seemed to give me tangible proof that I had been searching in the right direction.

Suddenly realizing that I would be late for work if I sat around any longer, I headed out of the house and jumped into my car. During the twenty-six-mile drive to work, I thought of nothing except the privilege of being a disciple of Djwhal Khul. I wondered where my life would now lead, but I really didn't care. All that mattered was that I must serve the master.

After arriving at work, I started to feel tired. Normally I am a fairly energetic worker, but on this morning I had difficulty concentrating on my job. As the morning progressed, I felt more and more fatigued. By about eleven, I felt absolutely exhausted, both mentally and physically. I could hardly stand up, and every muscle in my body ached as if I had just completed a twenty-six mile marathon. I had never felt so exhausted in my life, not even during a severe bout of influenza. I told my supervisor that I was feeling very sick, and I returned home, where I collapsed in total exhaustion and slept for hours.

The visitation of Djwhal Khul involved a colossal depletion of my energy reserves. I recalled the apostle Paul's blindness and weakness after his initial encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. Reasoning that one doesn't get exhausted from dreams, vivid imagination, or hallucinations lasting for only three or four minutes, I knew that whatever happened to me was real and involved a massive taxing of my energy system. I had not been involved in any kind of drug taking.

Any lingering doubts in my mind regarding the existence of spirit beings were now demolished forever. The dramatic visitation by Djwhal Khul relegated the philosophies of materialistic atheism to the level of absurdity. I now had total faith in the New Age movement and its array of metaphysical teachings.

Spirit Guides and Their Master-work of Deception

Djwhal Khul's books fascinated me. I had read several of his volumes with great enthusiasm and had become captivated by his apparently vast knowledge regarding the realms of God and the way God interacted with humanity through the medium of spiritual energies, spirit beings, and masters such as Djwhal Khul himself and Master Jesus. Djwhal Khul's books had the power to radically transform my life: to completely change the way I thought, the way I viewed the world, and the way I perceived my destiny.

By means of telepathic communication, Djwhal Khul was able to dictate verbatim the contents of twenty-five volumes of esoteric metaphysical knowledge through a woman named Alice Bailey. The books, published between the years of  1919 and 1949, provide much of the doctrinal basis for what has now emerged as the New Age movement. Amazingly, at one time Alice Bailey was a devout Christian and wife of an Episcopal priest before she became influenced by friends who belonged to the Theosophical Society.

In his Alice Bailey-authored books, Djwhal Khul claims that he is a senior member of a group of people called the Hierarchy of Masters. He has deceived many people into thinking he is an emissary from God. In reality, he is one of  the main spirit beings orchestrating the New Age movement.

He maintains that he is a human being born more than 350 years ago in Tibet, where he was at one time the abbot of a Tibetan lamasery. He asserts that through the process of meditation and strict spiritual practices, and through the assistance of heavenly beings, he has so evolved his consciousness as to have reached a state of immortality in his current physical body. Hence his claimed ability to have lived for almost four centuries.

Djwhal Khul claims that his immortality was bestowed by means of an initiation ceremony held in the heavenly realms, called the “fifth initiation” (also known as the “ascension”, “Christhood”, or “mastership” initiation). As a result of this cosmic initiation, Djwhal Khul alleges that he became a member of an elite group of human beings who describe themselves as being “ascended masters” and who have attained immortality, never again to be reincarnated.

“Jesus Christ” and the Hierarchy of Masters

In his metaphysical works, Djwhal Khul contends that forty-nine human beings presently living on the planet - most of them in remote areas of the Himalayas - are ascended masters. As a group organization, he calls them the “Hierarchy of Masters” (also “the White Brotherhood”, “the Masters of Wisdom”, “the Hierarchy”, or simply, “the Masters”). The leader of the Hierarchy, a master called Lord Maitreya, holds the executive office, or title of “the Christ”.

Djwhal Khul claims that “Jesus Christ” is a senior-ranking member of the Hierarchy of Masters and asserts that the great legendary gurus of India, such as the Buddha, also form part of the brotherhood. He contends that the Hierarchy are working for the spiritual evolution of humanity on planet Earth in all its aspects: religious, political, technological, scientific, and cultural.

Djwhal Khul specifically teaches that Master Jesus is alive on the planet, busily directing the destiny of Christianity by telepathically transmitting ideas into the subconscious minds of the leaders of the Christian church. He emphasizes that Master Jesus is a man who evolved himself over successive incarnations and initiations until he became an immortal “Son of God”, just as the other masters, such as the Buddha, also became “Sons of God”.

According to Djwhal Khul, the masters can exit their physical bodies and travel around in their “soul” or spirit” bodies to any location on the planet, unimpeded by distance or time. A master also supposedly has the power to condense his spirit body into a visible body of light, called the 'anuvarrupa' in Hindu terminology. Thus the master would be in his anuvarrupa body when he appeared to someone as a shining being of dazzling light, just as Djwhal Khul appeared to me. The master can, at will, condense his spirit body into a physical form and be seen, touched, and experienced as a regular human being.

The New World Religion

Djwhal Khul claims that as part of his work for “God”, he was assigned the special project of bringing to humanity the New Age teachings for the New World Religion. Designed to integrate Christianity and the Eastern teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism into a homogeneous wholeness, the New World Religion pretends to reveal the full expression of divinity in all its aspects. Djwhal Khul asserts he received most of his knowledge directly from his own superiors in heaven.

His books have found their way across the globe. They cover a wide range of topics - from cause of illness, psychoses, and demonic possession to development of intellect, growth of civilizations, and economic cycles. Thousands of people have completely changed their lifestyles as a result of his writings. I myself became so overwhelmed by Djwhal Khul's concepts and his intellectual genius that I revered him as a great saint.

Perhaps the most important and the most deceptive, are Djwhal Khul's teachings about the Holy Bible. He demonstrates a vast knowledge concerning the major religions of the world and even comments about the nature of God Almighty, the Most High, and the operations of the heavenly throne.

One statement especially caught my attention:

What do we mean by that phrase “forces of evil”? Not the armies of unrighteousness and sinfulness, organized under that figment of the imagination, the devil, or some supreme antichrist. For such an army does not exist, and there is no great enemy of God, arraigned in battle against the Most High. There is only suffering, erring humanity.

I found his statement a brilliant confirmation of what I had believed for many years: Satan did not exist. Djwhal Khul then went on to describe just what the forces of evil were:

The forces of evil are, in the last analysis, only the entrenched ancient ideals and habits of thought which have served their purpose in bringing the race to its present point of development, but which must now disappear if the New Age is to be ushered in as desired.

Slavery to the Masters

Impressed by his vast knowledge, I felt honored to become Djwhal Khul's obedient and devoted disciple. Eventually, however, the esteemed discipleship turned into a nightmare of slavery.

I had little money, but gradually I was forced to give everything I had to support his New Age cause. Eventually I devoted all of my time to the furtherance of his work. In obeying his teachings and commands, I believed I was serving God. In return, I was promised healing and happiness, abundance and joy. I was even promised immortality in this lifetime. Not one promise was to have lasting fulfillment.

I became one of the many people who are now consciously serving the masters and the other spirit guides through a direct and personal relationship with them. On a global basis, millions of people are being lured into following the inner guidance of their “higher consciousness” through meditation and other consciousness raising techniques. Opening the door of the mind to the “higher self” really does allow one to contact the realms of “the spirit”. At the time, I never suspected that the powers of the spirit world that I was turning to were those same powers that the apostle Paul warned about in his message to the church at Ephesus:

“We are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies - the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world” (Ephesians 6:12)

Djwhal Khul's specialty is counterfeit religion. He is a master forger who tries to lead even the elect astray, if that were possible. As a Christian, you need to be aware of the activities of Djwhal Khul and his colleagues. Masquerading as Jesus Christ, they sometimes appear to Christians, attempting to deceive them into believing that they are being visited by the real Jesus.

At the time of my dramatic rescue from the New Age movement, I discovered that the masters and the other cunning New Age spirit guides have a leader.

He is, of course, Satan, alias Lucifer, alias the devil.

Long ago the apostle Paul warned us of his deceptive powers: “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).

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Chapter 6

III. DECEIVED BY THE NEW AGE - The Story Of A New Age Priest

The brochure for the Lighted Way metaphysical center listed classes with interesting-sounding names: astrology, Egyptian tarot, numerology, and psychosynthesis. I was familiar with astrology, but not with the other subjects.

Muriel, the center's director, had recommended that I start with the Wednesday evening psychosynthesis class. From its name, the psychosynthesis class sounded like it was going to be a program of psychological development. I hoped this would not be the case. Having had plenty of psychology, I wanted to learn about esoteric philosophy and wanted to experience more of the psychic power Muriel seemed to possess.

I decided to follow her suggestion and attend this class. I was also eager to ask Muriel who the “masters” were, those spirit guides with whom she claimed to communicate.

Wednesday evening finally arrived. I fought my way through the last of the Los Angeles rush-hour traffic and arrived at the Lighted Way a little late. The class had already started. A group of ten or twelve people sat in a circle in the room where the psychic fair had been held.

As I slipped into a vacant seat and scanned the circle of people around me, I noticed that the members of the class ranged in age from about twenty-five to fifty. Some of the people looked as if they were young professionals; others may have been secretaries, blue-collar workers, and housewives.

Muriel, wearing jeans and a brightly colored blouse, was talking. “The New Age is going to be a golden age of love, light, and joy”, she said. “This new age of Aquarius has actually already started. Powerful new spiritual energies are now radiating upon the planet. Mankind will evolve their consciousness much more quickly as these cosmic energies play upon each individual person.

I wanted to ask Muriel for clarification about these energies, but I was afraid to interrupt. Everyone in the circle had their eyes glued on her like an audience gazing at a singer on center stage.

She continued her talk. “The consciousness of the ordinary person is known as the personality, or lower self. It is concerned with survival and seeking pleasure. It worries about getting money in order to live. It concerns itself with finding friends in order to thwart loneliness and feel secure in a social setting. It aspires to fulfill the instinct to be with a mate and have a family. It involves itself with scholastic and intellectual attainments in order to understand our civilization and function more successfully in the world”.

I wanted to get back to these cosmic energies.

“Muriel”, I interrupted, raising my hand. “You mentioned cosmic energies. Could you say a little more about where they come from? Are you talking about Xrays, that sort of thing?”

“No, Will”, she replied, “these energies are of a much higher vibration than what are found in the world of science. The cosmic energies come from outer space and originate in various star groups, mainly the constellations of astrology. They are divine energies that ultimately come from God. The constellations channel, or direct, these energies to planet Earth. The energies are subtle, but very powerful. They stimulate a person's spiritual nature and affect his physiological system through the chakras”.

“Muriel, what are chakras?” someone else in the class asked.

Muriel looked a little impatient. I was relieved to discover that I was not the only ignorant one in the class.

“Chakras are the body's own energy 'nerve' centers”, she explained. “Five of the centers are located on the spinal column, starting with the base chakra at the bottom. Four other chakra centers are positioned at specific locations up the spine. The sixth chakra is an important one. It is called the 'third-eye center' and is located in your forehead”.

Muriel touched the front of her forehead with her hand to show its location. “The seventh center is at the top of your head. It is called the crown chakra”.

I wanted to know how the cosmic energies affect these chakras. Luckily, Muriel started to explain it before I had the chance to ask the question. “The New Age aspirant can absorb the cosmic energies during meditation. They will facilitate the development of his consciousness. As the energies are absorbed by the chakras, subtle changes occur in the person's physiology and brain cells. The chakras become more powerful, and the person develops greater awareness and strength of character. New skills and qualities develop that would not be evident if the person was functioning only at his personality level”.

Interesting, I thought. So this is why Eastern gurus do so much meditation. Maybe they really do absorb transformative cosmic energy, which makes them wise. Hmmmm, perhaps I will give meditation a try.

Muriel then talked about the necessity of surrendering one's life to God and  of seeking to transcend the personality. Its goals needed to be replaced with the desire to seek God, and the will of the personality needed to be given over to the will of God.

“God speaks to us through our higher self”, she continued. “Unless we develop our higher self and become sensitive to it, we can not contact God and become at one with his divine consciousness. The higher self is always inside of us, but in most people, it lies dormant in the subconscious mind. To contact this consciousness, which is wiser than normal intellect, you need to build a bridge from your lower self to your higher self. You will build this bridge to God, symbolized by the rainbow, by coming to these classes and practicing your daily meditation”.

I had been thinking about the voice of God speaking to people and wondered what it sounded like. Finally I asked Muriel about it.

“Don't search for a voice that you can hear audibly with your ears”, she explained. “It isn't like that. The higher self speaks through your mind as you attune to it. Now at other times, God can speak to us through his emissaries, the masters. But again, the masters will use the vehicle of your higher self in order to communicate with you. They speak through your conscience. With practice, you will be able to identify what comes from the higher realms”.

I wondered who these masters were that Muriel kept mentioning.

“The masters may tell us to do things that we ourselves do not want to do”, she continued. “The old self, the ego, the personality, rebels. It resists the will of God. You then have to trust that God knows best what should be done. The little will of the personality has to bend to the greater will of God if you are to progress on the path of consciousness development. Only in obedience can you attain Christ-consciousness, that happy union with God”.

Muriel described how the masters often instructed her to do things that required a lot of faith and trust. I sensed that the masters were some kind of spirit guides who could communicate with Muriel. She illustrated her point with a practical example.

“Master Koot Hoomi told me to build this attic room and spiral stairway”, Muriel said, as she pointed to the stairway at the side of the room. I looked up and noticed that someone had built a beautiful and ornate stairway leading up to a balcony.

“I was not informed why I should build this room”, she continued. “I knew it was going to cost a lot of money to have it custom-built just as the master wanted it. I decided to go ahead in faith and do just as I was told, knowing that God had a specific reason for me to carry out this project”.

I glanced up at the stairway again, then looked back at Muriel.

“God has always blessed me. Many times I didn't know why he wanted me to do certain things, but I went ahead in faith and did them anyway. I later found out that God knew what he was doing, and it all worked out just wonderfully in the end. You have to learn to trust the voice of God as it is revealed to you in your meditation”.

Muriel paused as if pondering what to say next. Should I ask her another question? I thought. I may as well try to learn something while I am here, I concluded.

“Muriel, why are we in a new age?”

“If you look up at the sky at night, you can see the astrological constellations in the heavens, such as Taurus the bull or Aries the ram. If you were to observe these constellations over a year's time, you would find that their positions moved a tiny amount in relation to the background of the universe behind them. Over a period of 2,000 years, the constellations will have moved in the sky by an amount equal to the arc of one of the twelve constellations, like a clock hand moving from three o'clock to four o'clock, say”.

I had always wanted to understand astrology. Perhaps I will take a class in it, I thought to myself as Muriel was explaining.

“Over the last 2,000 years, we have been in the sign of Pisces, and the age has been called the Piscean Age. Recently, we have just moved into the sign of Aquarius, and that is why we are in a new age, called the age of Aquarius. Each age brings in new cosmic energies that produce a change of consciousness on the planet.

“It is time to do our meditation”, Muriel announced abruptly.

She walked over to the altar table at the front of the room and lighted two candles and some incense. I noticed that standing at the back of the altar were several framed photographs of people, a couple of whom wore turbans. I wondered if those were possibly pictures of the masters.

The lights in the room were turned very low. Muriel returned to her seat. Everyone in the group closed their eyes and held their hands in their laps. I followed their example.

Muriel spoke. “Sit comfortably with the spine erect. Relax and be at peace in the presence of God”.

In the total silence that followed, I started to feel uneasy. I hoped I was not being lured into some sort of cult religion. The dark room and deathly silence gave me the creeps, and I almost sensed a kind of evil atmosphere to the place and thought that maybe this place was not for me in the long term. I consoled myself by reasoning I was just not used to this kind of thing, and the group was probably quite harmless. Concluding that I could always stop coming to the classes if things became too suspicious, I felt more relaxed.

After a few moments of silence, Muriel spoke again.

“Image a ray or beam of golden light coming from the sun. Image it shining upon you. Slowly take in a deep breath. Now visualize the light cascading out of the top of your head like a shower of lights. This ray of light is to open the outer three petals of the heart chakra”. [Note: The heart chakra is claimed by New Agers to be an important energy “nerve” center located near the spine at the level of the heart. In Hinduism it is symbolically pictured as a twelve-petaled lotus flower.]

I had difficulty holding the image of the beam of light. My imagination kept wandering away to other things.

Muriel continued to give step-by-step instructions for breathing, for visualizing light, and for reciting short invocations. We finally imagined ourselves seated under a tree in a beautiful garden called the garden of the soul. These techniques were to balance the mind, body, and emotions and to open the person to the higher self and receive communication from the masters.

After about five minutes of silent meditation, Muriel spoke again.

“We invite the presence and the energy of our beloved master, Djwhal Khul”.

“Djwhal Khul?” Who is he? I wondered.

“Beloved Djwhal Khul, we are honored with your presence tonight. We admire your qualities of dedication and love. We ask you to come into our group and speak through us and share with us some of your wisdom. We are thankful that we can channel you tonight”.

Then Muriel began to speak in a manner somewhat different from her normal speech.

“It pleases me to be here tonight”, she said. “There has been an increase in the amount of light in this group over the last few weeks. We in the Hierarchy are very happy at the dedication of the members of this light circle. However, there is still much work to be done”.

It seemed that Muriel had been speaking in the first person of the spirit guide Djwhal Khul, as if vocalizing the thoughts that he supposedly wanted to communicate to the group.

I continued to listen with interest but wondered whether Muriel was perhaps just speaking from her own subconscious mind. Maybe this Djwhal Khul was pure imagination creating a more dramatic effect.

“Do not use your minds too much by trying to think out the great mysteries of the divine realms”, Muriel channeled. “It is better for you to just meditate in the light and allow the process of divine intuition and illumination to bring you knowledge and wisdom. Too much use of the intellect by a disciple will be a hindrance to his development of higher consciousness. Go directly to the source of all knowledge and wisdom. Listen to the voice of God”.

Muriel paused for a moment. I noticed that when she had been channeling Djwhal Khul, her sentence structure was much more refined than her conventional mode of speech. Otherwise, she more or less appeared to be speaking with her regular voice.

She then asked Djwhal Khul for some comments. “Beloved master. Tonight we want to talk about love. We wonder if you have anything to say to us about this beautiful quality”.

After a short period of silence, Muriel began to channel Djwhal Khul again.

“Never forget that love is the greatest force in the universe. Love everything around you. Take into your heart the words of my fellow brother, the Master Jesus. When he walked the earth 2,000 years ago, he said that we should love so much that we even love our enemies”.

Interesting, I thought. It seems like Djwhal Khul is claiming that Jesus Christ is one of his brothers. I wondered if he was implying that Jesus is one of the masters.

“As the energies of the New Age become more firmly grounded upon the planet”, Muriel continued, “you will begin to find that all people at all levels of life will express more brotherly love. This will truly be a golden age of love; it will be the kingdom of heaven manifested on earth, just as the beloved Jesus promised. Do your meditation each day. Live a life of harmlessness and love. I bid you farewell”.

A few moments of silence followed.

Muriel then made an announcement. “We are going to go around the light circle in sequence and channel Master Jesus”.

I felt uneasy. This thing was getting too much like religion.

“I want you to relax”, she instructed. “When it is your turn to channel, just verbalize any thoughts that you have in your mind. Think of it as being a process of channeling the thoughts of your higher self as you sit in meditation. We will begin with Larry and go round the circle clockwise”.

I wondered what would happen when it came to my turn. Never having done this kind of thing before, I was afraid that I might become possessed, or, worse still, that perhaps nothing would happen and I wouldn't know what to say. I didn't want to be embarrassed in front of the group. Perhaps you have been in that kind of situation.

Muriel began the group channeling with a short invocation.

“We see Larry surrounded by golden light and aligned to his higher self”, she said. “In the energy of our beloved Master Jesus, we ask that Larry bring forth a message of truth for us”.

Larry channeled a message in the same manner that Muriel had done previously, but the message was a little shorter.

Muriel went around the group to each member in sequence. She repeated the invocation and then allowed each person to channel a message, purportedly coming from Master Jesus.

As one of the group members was channeling a message, all of a sudden the inside of my forehead lighted up with bright light: It was as if someone had switched on an electric light bulb inside the front of my brain.

At first I thought that perhaps someone had switched on the room light. I opened my eyes and saw only the darkness of the room. I closed my eyes again. The bright light was still there. I was definitely not imagining a light. It seemed as if a tangible physiological change had taken place in my brain cells whereby suddenly the front part of my brain had been lighted up. I felt a pleasant feeling of relaxation and peace and wondered whether this mystical effect was the result of cosmic energy beaming upon my third-eye chakra supposedly located in the forehead.

Soon my turn to channel came. Muriel repeated the invocation. I sat quietly for a few moments and wondered what I was supposed to say. I felt hesitant to speak in case I said the wrong thing. In my mind, all I could think were the words “love one another”.

I said, “Love one another”.

Muriel immediately passed on to the next person. Eventually all the group had a turn at channeling.

After a few moments of silence, Muriel spoke again. “This week in your meditations at home I want you to go into your soul's garden and sit under a lilac-colored tree of strength. Meditating under it will give you strength and develop your will”.

There was another pause.

Muriel continued with instructions on visualizing the light from her center being spread to the entire United States, to the President and government officials in Washington, D.C., to the United Nations organization, and finally spreading around the entire planet Earth.

“Let us say three Om's”, announced Muriel. In unison, the group chanted three long sounds, taking a deep breath each time, “Ooooooooommmmmmmmmmm”.

The noise was quite loud. I wondered whether anyone in the commercial office next door could hear it and what they thought. After the final Om, the entire group followed Muriel's lead and recited a prayer, which was referred to as The Great Invocation. I was not familiar with its words and remained silent.

As I drove home from class, my mind was full of questions. Who are these masters, such as Djwhal Khul, whom we were supposedly channeling? Is Jesus Christ really still alive somewhere? How many masters are there? Are they humans, like living gurus, or are they spirit beings like ghosts, existing without any physical body? In what way were the masters related to God? Was Jesus really one of a group of masters?

The fact that Muriel talked about God and Jesus Christ made me uneasy. I did not want to be drawn into a religious cult. I rationalized that the masters were probably all in Muriel's imagination and, in reality, she was just speaking from the subconscious depths of her own mind. But I couldn't explain the mysterious light that had suddenly shone inside my brain. What was it? I certainly wasn't imagining it. Where did it come from? How would it affect me? Curiosity about the light helped me to decide to attend class the following week.

Wednesday evening finally arrived. The format of the class was very similar to the previous week's session. Amazingly, at one point during the group meditation, the front of my brain again suddenly lighted up as if a light bulb had been switched on inside my head. This time Muriel was invoking the presence and energy of a master called Lord Maitreya. She referred to him as being “the Christ”. I had always assumed that Jesus was Christ, but apparently Maitreya had this title also, whatever it was supposed to mean.

When it was my turn to channel, Muriel repeated the invocation: “We see Will in a sphere of golden Christ light. He is aligned to his higher self to bring forth a message of wisdom from Lord Maitreya”.

“The energies of the New Age are now much stronger on the planet”, I said hesitantly. “The changes taking place in civilization will speed up. This will cause some turmoil and negative side effects, but in the end, the golden age will be ushered in, and mankind will be blessed”.

This time I noticed I was able to channel a longer message than I had the previous week. I started out with just a single idea in my mind. I didn't know where the idea came from, but as I began to speak, the words just seemed to flow out of me. Soon, however, the words stopped.

After everyone in the circle had a turn at channeling, Muriel announced, “We are now going to split into groups of three and do triad channeling. Take turns to channel each other psychic messages that come from your higher self”.

The people in the light circle split up into groups of three. Muriel introduced me to two women with whom I was to work. One of the women, Rosie, was a pretty and likable woman in her mid-twenties. We sat on the carpeted floor in a triangle formation. It was agreed that Rosie would start first and channel me a personal message. We closed our eyes as if in meditation. The other woman started to speak. “We see Rosie in the center of a triangle of golden light”, she said. “In this Christ light Rosie is aligned to her higher self and is able to bring forth a message of wisdom for Will”. [Note: In New Age terminology, “Christ light” denotes a cosmic energy, believed to be one of seven fundamental spiritual energies (called “rays”) that permeate the universe. It is known as the “second ray energy and supposedly gives the qualities of love and wisdom when it operates. New Agers believe that Jesus Christ utilized “Christ energy” during his Palestinian mission, but they do not regard Jesus as being the source of the energy.]

I opened my eyes and relaxed as Rosie meditated for a few moments.

When she started to speak, the words came very slowly and with difficulty, as if she were straining in order to psychically perceive a message entering her mind. “You have recently been thinking about a certain woman”, said Rosie. “She has had a very strong influence in your life in the past. Her name is Jenny ... Jenny J ... Jenny Jame. . .”

I was absolutely stunned. What Rosie had said was astoundingly accurate. I had known a woman named Jenny James when I lived back in England. Jenny was a psychologist and personal friend who had been a radical influence in my life.

Rosie continued. “She has long black hair. Your relationship with her was not a romance; it was platonic, but very powerful nonetheless. An intense and special relationship”.

I was utterly amazed. Everything Rosie had said was correct. I had not had any contact with Jenny for about three years, but I still regarded her as a special influence in my life. She was a New Ager and had introduced me to astrology.

I eagerly waited for Rosie to speak more.

Finally she said, “You will not have contact with her again”.

With excitement I told Rosie and the other woman that everything channeled had been 100 percent accurate.

At the end of the class, I went over to the hospitality area and spoke to Rosie. “Rosie, have you been involved in this kind of channeling activity for a long time?”

“No, not at all”, she replied. “In fact this is the first class that I have attended”.

I was surprised by her answer. I had automatically assumed that she must have been an experienced channeler. “You mean you have never done channeling before coming to this class tonight?” I asked.

“That's right. This is the first time”.

“Wow”, I exclaimed. “You have incredible psychic ability”.

I hurried over to the bookstore area. I wanted to get some books about this new body of knowledge to which I had been exposed. I wanted to learn more about this power and to know who the masters were, those spirit intelligences who were supposedly intimately involved with the Lighted Way. I made a purchase and left the center with a couple of books tucked under my arm. I was excited about what had happened.

My initial skepticism about the channeling techniques had now been thoroughly demolished. For me, Rosie's channeling was absolute proof that in the state of meditation it was possible to reach into areas of consciousness and knowledge normally inaccessible when using one's regular thinking processes. I was even more impressed with Rosie's channeling than I had been with Muriel's psychic abilities. When I had the psychic reading with Muriel, she had not attempted to speak out the actual name of a person with whom I was acquainted. Further, Rosie had perfectly described my friend Jenny's appearance and character. That was astounding!

If I had been thinking about Jenny James at the time of Rosie's channeling, I could have concluded that Rosie simply had been able to read my mind, a feat commendable in itself. However, I had not been thinking about Jenny that evening. I concluded that whatever the “higher self” was, it had definite access to the cosmic realms of hidden knowledge. 

The lighting up of my brain area during the meditation and the channeling with Rosie made me much more willing to accept the knowledge and ideas promoted in the metaphysics books I had purchased. I was determined to study the books thoroughly and become fully familiar with the tenets of this exciting world of New Age metaphysics.

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Chapter 4