There is still so much yet to be discovered.

for enjoyable and interesting read, by a keen intellect:

"Travels" by Michael Chricton

He purposely waited until he was famous to publish this book - hoping that people would then take it seriously. Of course, no such luck.

To Gold Dust -- Thank you for your thoughtful reply, but you did not offend me. It was very interesting to read about how you "downloaded" information from Spirit. I have had the same experience myself.

To supermonkey -- I was merely trying to point out that Spiritualism, in my opinion, is not a cult.

To All -- Yes, I agree that some Spiritualist forums present a circus atmosphere where you can meet fakes. Thankfully, the best Spiritualist churches are very sincere and noble. They focus on the growth of the Spirit, both on the earth plane and in the afterlife. They taught me how to do readings for people, in addition to many other things, but I have never charged for my services.

Unity has taught me the most about Divine Laws, miracles and self improvement. They have provided a safe, loving center where I have always felt accepted. And they are extremely sociable, too.

The Spiritualist church taught me how to use my psychic abilities -- but not just so I could be a psychic. They teach you to focus on your own spiritual growth, and how to help others. If you are doing a reading for someone, you are not always permitted to give out everything that you receive, because some information might actually hinder or damage the person who is asking. My guides help me determine this.

It's too bad that there are so many fakes and circus-like churches in this country. It's too bad so many "spiritualists" are so worried about survival and money. It's too bad so many are still operating out of Ego. It makes it much harder to find a place of Truth.

Hi Toni, joannabenz and All,

Thank you so much for your many responses. You are ALL so right about the RIGHT USE of names and groups.... that is a great idea.

I was just a little concerned becuase here is the first place I have every written to the public (smile) about some of my life expereinces.

The whole world of the human psychology can be so complex, I am sure there is no one white paper that can possible EXPRESS the comple dimensions of our mental self.

I truly wish, the education system, in the beginning years, would be more agressive about RIGHT USE of ATTiTUDES and what good healthy self-esteem is.

As I have been around a few years, and taked to many people, it seems healthy self esteem is the root problem in 99 % of the people walking the planet today.

Our parents could not teach us or give us that they themself did not have.

Self-Esteem is the answer to the Bully Boss... it is the answer to the many scams and games men and women play with each other, and it is the answer to the lack of money and the ability to make money.

I have found so many people in the New Age movements of Channels and Gurus having financial problems. Yet, they will find a way to pay thousands of dollars to their teachers.... and let the needs of their children and self go in the name of God.

I myself too had a lot of self esteem problems, but for some reason, I did pick a profession that paid well, and owing my own business helped a lot. But, I did have a father that always told me; You can always make money, it became my mantra for life, so making money became easy for me.

I was also marred to a teacher for 20 years, and he spent as much time counseling children as he did teaching.

Again, thank you all for your information.

Happy New Year.

Thank you, Gold Dust, for sharing with us. I believe it's important at this point in time to share our "weird stuff" and our Light with others, even if it may seem a little risky revealing ourselves in a public forum.

You do have a good point about self esteem. But whatever label you put on it, it is just another form of Fear.

The world is moving faster and faster. Light and dark are becoming more and more separate, and it's starting to feel like there is hardly any gray. Huge changes have already taken place in our society, and more huge changes are just around the corner.

By sharing some of your Light in this forum, you support and give courage to others who may be participating or just lurking. If enough people wake up to what is real instead of what they've been told is real -- then the huge changes ahead of us might just be in the direction of loving and positive reform.

Please feel free to write to me if you want to discuss anything metaphysical. For privacy purposes, I am spelling this out, but you can reach me at joannabenz -- then the"at"sign -- then bigfoot dot com.

Blessings to you.

In Love and Light,

Joanna

UNITY is not a cult [i:db824b8f48]per se[/i:db824b8f48]. However, because it has become so far removed from its own guiding priciples, it has become a perfect haven for cultic groups. 3HO, the Sai Baba groups and Endeavor Academy all operate in various Unity churches -- and in the case of Endeavor Academy there are persons who were trained by them in the leadership of the Association of Unity Churches.

There has also been a lot of covering up of abuse, both sexual and spiritual in Unity.

I will post more on this subject soon.

- Boz Martin

one can use to understand what Boz is describing:

The vulnerablity of the Microsoft Windows operating system to various computer viruses, worms, etc.

The program is very useful, lots of people benefit from it. But the MS program has certain vulnerabilities, deficiencies in its boundaries, that permit alien and disruptive programs (viruses, worms) to enter the system, then be carried by the system applications (MS Outlook) to other users.

The only remedy is to know this is happening and use firewalls and anti-viral and anti-spyware programs.

In the spiritual world, the equivalent of using a firewall is

1) Readiness to fact check and research any guru or group before getting emotionally involved and

2)Always, always retain use of your capacity for critical thinking and

3) Keep in mind that all genuine spiritual practice paths respect discriminating intellect and discernment (eg 'testing the spirits' ) and [i:cb31e656b4]never [/i:cb31e656b4]mandate lying or treating other persons as objects for one's own gratification. Genuine spiritual practice emphasizes our common humanity---they dont set boundaries between a superior group over here and an inferior group over there.

The problem is that in some spiritual circles, use of critical thinking and fact-checking has a very bad rap and is actually discouraged.

A beneficial, non-cultic Group A might discourage critical thinking, and without realizing it, unintentionally offer useful cover for a harmful Group B that conceals its actual agenda, and uses Group A (or rents a room from Group A), using Group A as a 'cloaking device'--to borrow a term from [i:cb31e656b4]Star Trek[/i:cb31e656b4].

There is a reason why Jesus said, 'Be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves'-- one can be a spiritual practitioner without being exploitable or wearing a 'kick me' sign.

There's a double standard. It is considered OK to fact-check performance statistics of various brands of automobile before buying a new car, but doing consumer education research on a spiritual group or guru is considered by many persons to be judgemental, close-minded, cynical and unloving.

This refusal to fact check in relation to spiritual matters puts people at terrible risk of being harmed--its like jettisoning one's immune system.

It isnt just Unity churches that are vulnerable - in many areas, lots of reputable churches and groups have property and are short on money. It is customary to rent rooms to various groups, most of which are beneficial.

For a church administrator to run a background checks before renting a room would be doubly painful because it means the prospect of sacrificing income and requires the deep and sad recognition of admitting that not all persons and groups are safe.

As the watch commander said on the old [i:cb31e656b4]Hill Street Blues [/i:cb31e656b4]program:

'Be careful out there.' He didnt mean being cynical or paranoid; just intelligently alert.

For many of us, this kind of sad and open-eyed prudence does not seem or feel 'spiritual'--- because it hurts so damned much to admit that the world is complicated and that we do need to 'be careful out there.'

But if people want to be sure that their churches are sheltering groups and projects that help and do not harm, this kind of sad but steady alertness is necessary--and thought it doesnt feel warm and fuzzy, it is love in action.

It just doesnt feel enjoyable, which makes it painful for many of us to do.

Its so tempting to argue to ourselves that this alert love-in-action isnt necessary, when in fact--it is.

Thank you for that insight, corboy.

It's also come to my attention that Unity churches can be very very different in different parts of the country. A lot depends on the social climate in a particular area.

In UNITY, unfortunately, those who would advocate the use of some sort of firewall are silenced or marginalized, at every level.

It is taboo to openly criticize ACIM, even in some cases the extreme forms such as Endeavor Academy, or the bogus teachers who glom on to the movement such as James Twyman. Even the fake "gold-filling miracle" preachers are tolerated, because they bring people into the church.

Some of the better educated ministers who have joined together in a movement called the UNITY-Progressive Council want to return the churches to their original New Thought teachings, and are resistant to ACIM, Sai Baba groups, and other such influences. However, they stop short of open criticism of these groups -- and some are even allied with the "Cult Apologists" movement in the world of Academe. They feel that Unity needs this to defend itself against those who would call it a cult -- though until recently that charge has only come from the evangelical counter-cult movement.

As for the comment about the difference between Unity churches in different parts of the country -- that is true. But corboy's comments Microsof analogy holds true -- there are big, big holes in Unity as a spiritual movement, holes that make it very unsafe. And, sad to say, those holes exist in large part because it is so "open", "inclusive" and "accepting".

- Boz

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randomfactor
I agree Unity Church tends to be very open and sometimes awfully trusting. It has become, however, a place a new cult is operating. Basically, the general beliefs of the New Age have now been codified into a single belief system, and members of this group are using the "Spiritual" churches to gain converts.

I really don't think that's accurate. New Thought and New Age are distinct and different things.

New Agers still see the power outside of tehmselves. They look for it in crystals, or psychism, or tarot, or something.

New Thought teaches that the Kingdom of God is within, that the One Power and One Presence is in you and works as and through you for your good.

New Agers believe in rituals to "get to God." New Thoughters believe in scientific prayer, affirmation, meditation, and going within.

Very different approaches.

Althouogh New Thought and New Age have some common ground, they are emphatically not the same thing. New Thought has some common ground with Catholicism, Buddhism, Taoism, Sikhism, and Hinduism, among other things. It is not any of those things either.

Quote
joannabenz
In my experience, Unity is totally a church for free thinkers. They do not have dogma, welcome other religions, and never force a minister's beliefs or a speaker's beliefs on anyone.

This is a "do-it-yourself" religion, and people are expected to accept some teachings and disregard others, as they see fit. The object is to look at the teachings as theories, and prove to youself whether they work or not.

Over the past 20 years, I have found such freedom immensely supportive, inspiring and uplifting.

However, I must also say that the potential for abuse exists anywhere, and depends a great deal on the specific minister and geographic location.

Good summary, Joanna. Unity and the other New Thought denominations, such as Religious Science, UFBL, and Divine Science, are very open places with little or no fixed doctrine other than a belief in God within all and the power of prayer. Other than that, it's pretty much up to you.

Sometime I will post the Religious Science statement of belief. You'll see that it's very open, as its cousin, Unity, also is.

I am sure there are some individuals who are misusing the movement for their own purposes, but this in no way reflects the truth of the organization as a whole.