"Bartholomew"

"Bartholomew," the entity channeled through Mary-Margaret Moore, has emerged through the several books of his teachings as one of the more popular entities in the New Age world. Described as an "energy vortex" or alternatively as "the higher and wiser level of energy," "Bartholomew" made his initial appearance in the mid-1970s. Moore was visiting with her friends John and Louise Aiken. John Aiken hypnotized Moore in an attempt to relieve her back pains, and "Bartholomew" began to speak.

Hesitantly Moore accepted "Bartholomew's" presence and allowed him to speak through her, but she also initially tested him. Noting the possibility that she was simply involved in a massive self-delusion, she monitored the information from "Bartholomew" and gauged it according to its helpful effects. Her acceptance of "Bartholomew" was also helped by consulting the I Ching, a Chinese divination method that involves the throwing of sticks that can create one of 64 hexagram patterns. She got the fiftieth, which refers to the "hollow" ruler who is receptive to the wisdom of a sage; and the first, which refers to the creative power of the Deity. She decided that she was the ruler and "Bartholomew" the sage and thus that the channeling was a valid experience.

Equally important, she observed that she and others who began to act out of Bartholomew's wisdom were benefiting from it. For herself, Moore discovered a balance between the use of her rational thinking abilities when appropriate and her intuitive self at other suitable moments. The channeling activity itself seemed to bring a sense of peace, gratitude, and love.

The first volume of selected materials from the channeling sessions with "Bartholomew" was published in 1984 as I Come as a Brother: A Remembrance of Illusions. As many people became aware of "Bartholomew," Moore attained some celebrity status within the New Age community. Moore soon produced a second volume, From the Heart of a Gentle Brother (1987). "Bartholomew" argues for the importance of relating to a higher reality. He calls upon people to turn within and discover the place of knowingness inside the self, assures people that they are not alone in the universe and that they need to open themselves to the energies that permeate it, allowing those energies to transform the self. Self-love and self-acceptance are additional important components of the transforming personality.

"Bartholomew" also emphasizes a life of harmlessness. The shift of people and of society as a whole to a higher level of consciousness is dependent upon the acceptance of a life of harm-lessness and a move away from thoughts, words, and actions that lead to harm of others.

Sources:

Moore, Mary-Margaret. From the Heart of a Gentle Brother. Taos, N.Mex.: High Mesa Press, 1987.

——. I Come as a Brother: A Remembrance of Illusions. Taos, N.Mex.: High Mesa Publishing, 1984.

Bartholomew (d. 1184). Bishop of Exeter. Eminent Norman theologian and expert canon lawyer, Bartholomew was appointed archdeacon in 1155. His election to the see in 1161, urged by Theobald of Canterbury, was supported by Thomas Becket. After Theobald's death, he was chosen by Henry II to help secure Becket's election to Canterbury, then in 1164 took part in an embassy seeking papal intervention in the crisis between king and archbishop. During the Becket controversy, he seemed to steer a middle course. Bartholomew's presence at the controversial crowning of Henry the Young King (1170) is uncertain, but Becket asked that he should not be papally censured with others involved. Considered by Pope Alexander III to be a great luminary of the English church, in his later years Bartholomew often acted as judge-delegate for the papal court.

Audrey MacDonald