Other Psychic New Age Groups

★1684 ★

The Afro-American Social Research Association

Box 2150
Jacksonville, FL 32203

The Afro-American Social Research Association was formed by a black man who has taken the religious name, The Spirit of Truth. In the 1970s he began to receive messages from the Creator, many of which were incorporated into a book entitled "The Spirit of Truth." Doom Days!. The content of the messages was a word of warning and judgment, an important aspect of which was the necessity of doing away with the monetary system. According to The Spirit of Truth, the earth was given as a divine inheritance, but in time the wicked took control of everyone's divine inheritance, the monetary system being a tool in that takeover. He has predicted an astronomic catastrophe in the near future in which a comet will strike the moon which will in turn strike the sun. The earth will then move out of orbit and take a new position in the center of the universe. Most of earth's people will be destroyed in the process and a new world system, the United Countries of the Solar System, will then be established. The New Jerusalem will be built upon the exact spot where the first Jerusalem was built.

Membership: Not reported.

★1685 ★

Alliance of Divine Love

PO Box 19612
West Palm Beach, FL 33416

The Alliance of Divine Love was founded by Rev. Dr. Barbara Selwa, who currently serves as the organization's president. It purpose was to be a vehicle through which various channels (helpers) can present the teachings received from various entities and realities (guides) beyond earth (i.e., the Organization of Light). In pursuing its goals, the alliance hopes to teach and a philosophy of life that inspires the soul, sharpens the mind, and renders people the master of their our destiny and hence better able to serve others. They seek to learn about and share the secrets of the purest kind of love that leaves no room for fear and perfects each person. The organization derives from its affirmation that all of creation is linked through Divine Love's relationship or alliance with itself.

The alliance has brought together a group of leaders whom it has trained and ordained. Ministers pursue a course of study published in two books, Ever Closer and Even Closer. Ministers are scattered across the United States, though the largest number are in Florida. Local centers serve as healing and counseling ministries designed to assist people to reach the highest and best in all aspects of their lives.

Membership: Not reported. In 2002 there were 23 ministers in 15 states of the United States, two in the United Kingdom, and one in Australia.

Periodicals: DaySpring.

Sources:

Alliance of Divine Love. http://allianceofdivinelove.org/index.html. 23 April 2002.

★1686 ★

American Universalist Temple of Divine Wisdom

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The American Universalist Temple of Divine Wisdom was founded in 1966 by a group of esoteric Christians living in the vicinity of Escondido, California. It is known as a Christ-centered point of light from which the love of God pours forth. It was prophesied by John the Revelator on the Isle of Patmos, who established the Order of the Golden Grail for the preservation of the original, unadulterated Christian doctrine of the inner life. The teachings of the Temple are "clairsentiently" received from ascended beings, and the Temple has instituted courses based upon the divine wisdom as a means of reaching sincere seekers of spiritual truth. The Temple is governed by a board of trustees.

Membership: Not reported. In 1968 there were 2 centers, one in California and one in Chicago.

★1687 ★

The Aquarian Academy

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Aquarian Academy was founded in 1972 by Robert E. Birdsong (1912- ) to assist people through was is believed to be the transition period into the Aquarian Age and to teach the principles of what it terms Adamic Christianity, a form of gnostic wisdom.

According to the academy's teachings, the first act of creation occurred when God emanated an image of Its own nature as the first Adam of Life, Spirit, Soul and Body of the Creator. The first human beings were microcosmic replicas of the first Adam. A second group of human entities, this time differentiated into male and female were created in order to balance the activity of Spirit (wisdom) and Soul (Love). Some of these human entities became trapped in the gross material plane of animal existence resulting in the earthly humans we know today.

The divine plan calls for the eventual extraction of the humans from their material captivity. The Lord God ordained that those humans so trapped would have to undergo a period of training and would be released from the body when the lessons of physical experience were mastered. The supervision of the plan was turned over to the divine emanations personified as male and female. The female Divine Soul assumed responsibility for the reproduction, growth, and emotional stability of humanity, while the male Divine Spirit (Wisdom) was assigned responsibility for the education and mental stability of humanity. Individual humans would progress through a series of human embodiments until the lessons were mastered. The Divine Soul maintained her mission as the constantly present Mother Nature and the Divine Spirit periodically reappeared as a avatar/teacher. The last avatar was Jesus. The crucifixion of Jesus represented the reunion of Divine Spirit and Divine Soul and the appearance of the androgynous Christ as the Indwelling Spirit of Earth.

It is the belief of the Academy that the teachings of the various avatars, while not lost, have been obscured by the religious leaders of the world. Adamic Christianity is a restatement of the avataric truth in language suitable to the present generation.

In the beginning, humans were divided into five races (brown, yellow, red, white, and black), each one of whom lived upon one of five great continents isolated from each other. The first avatars brought a message of guidance to each continent. However, these messages were largely ignored. On the continent of Mongolia, where now the Gobi Desert is located, a remnant of people who accepted and lived by the message of the avatars built a retreat, Shambhala (later relocated to Tibet), to keep the truth alive. The Divine powers assigned to this group of advanced humans the task of perpetuating the truth and recruiting initiates into it. The group at Shambhala later became known as the Great Brotherhood of Light. The brotherhood established wisdom schools on each of the five continents. These schools have now given way to a set of twelve wisdom centers, described as vibratory vortexes or spheres of influence. In addition there is a thirteenth center, the central hub, to which the other wisdom centers owe allegiance. It brings together all of the specialized wisdom of each of the other centers into a single body of truth. That thirteenth center, located near Mt. Shasta, California, is the Aquarian Academy.

As part of its work, the Academy publishes a set of books written by Birdsong, which embody the truths of Adamic Christianity and cover the wide range of subjects embraced by its teachings, the basic text being The Revelations of Hermes. It also publishes a set of monographs that explore selected subjects in great detail. There are no classes nor correspondence lessons as Birdsong believes that in this generation each person is responsible for searching out the truth.

Membership in the Academy is open to all who ask. As individuals read the literature and progress in their understanding of its truth, Birdsong offers his guidance. Members are encouraged to establish discussion groups both as a means of spreading the teachings and becoming more established in the truths.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

The Aquarian Academy. Eureka, CA: Sirius Books, 1978. 12 pp.

Birdsong, Robert E. Fundamentals of Adamic Christianity. San Francisco, CA: Sirius Books, 1974. 30 pp.

——. Mission to Mankind: A Cosmic Autobiography. Eureka, CA: Sirius Books, 1975. 122 pp.

——. The Revelation of Hermes: An Exposition of Adamic Christianity. Eureka, CA: Sirius Books, 1974. 278 pp.

——. Steps on the Path: Daily Words of Wisdom. Eureka, CA: Sirius Books, 1975. 64 pp.

★1688 ★

Association for Research and Enlightenment

Atlantic Ave. at 76th St.
Box 595
Virginia Beach, VA 23451

Edgar Cayce (1877-1945) was born and raised in Beverly, Kentucky. A deeply religious child, he first cured himself of aphonia at the age of 21, and over the years developed a reputation for being able to help others, even at great distances, while in an altered state of consciousness.

For 22 years Cayce gave verifiable health information through which people recovered from scleroderma, psoriasis, and other diseases thought by most to be incurable, often working with physicians of various schools including Dr. Andrew Still, the founder of Osteopathy. Cayce, a gifted photographer, struggled with these abilities for many years. He had deep concerns about using his gifts, which had come to be known as "readings," and was uncertain of their place in his life.

In 1923, during a reading for Arthur Lammers, a Theosophist, astrologer, and student of Eastern religions, Cayce began to talk about reincarnation and to describe what he claimed were the past lives on earth of various individuals. The "life readings," as these were called was an additional area of exploration. At the urging of others, he gave up photography and began giving readings full time. He died in Virginia Beach after a 44-year career, leaving behind 14,306 transcripts given for nearly 6,000 indviduals. At the time of his death three organizations had been established relating to his work. The oldest, Atlantic University, chartered in 1930, currently offers a Masters Degree in Transpersonal Studies. The Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.), chartered in 1931, is an international membership organization, which also houses the A.R.E. Library, the largest parapsychological library in the United States. The A.R.E. publishes books on a wide variety of subjects through its A.R.E. Press; maintains a summer camp for children in Rural Retreat, Virginia; and administers the Harold J. Reilly School of Massotherapy, a health facility, and a host of educational programs at Virginia Beach and worldwide.

The Edgar Cayce Foundation, chartered in 1948, is the legal and physical custodian of the Cayce readings and their supporting documentation and memorabilia. The foundation computerized the readings in a seven-year project, culminating with the publication of the CD-ROM of the Edgar Cayce readings, which is sold through the A.R.E. Press. The Edgar Cayce Foundation publishes medical and other subject matter studies through its Research Bulletin and Special Collections programs. An active preservation and acquisitions program enriches the foundation's holdings for researchers and authors. An annual historical event based on the life of Edgar Cayce is held each March in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, under the auspices of the Pennyroyal Area Museum, co-sponsored by the Edgar Cayce Foundation.

Membership: In 2002 the A.R.E. reported 22,000 members worldwide.

Educational Facilities: Atlantic University, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Harold J. Reilly School of Massotherapy, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Periodicals: Venture Inward.

Remarks: The Association for Research and Enlightenment does not consider itself a religion. It is included in this volume, however, because, like other organizations which also do not consider themselves a religion (World Plan Executive Council, Ancient and Mystical Order of the Rosae Crucis), it meets the definition of religion being used by this volume. A.R.E. does present through its publications a distinct spiritual-religious worldview, unique in its derivation from the Cayce readings, and a program of action analogous to the other groups and organizations included throughout this volume. Many of the members of the A.R.E. are also members of other churches and religious groups.

Sources:

Bolton, Brett, ed. Edgar Cayce Speaks. New York: Avon, 1969.

Cayce, Hugh Lynn, ed. The Edgar Cayce Reader. 2 vols. New York: Paperback Library, 1969.

Bro, Harmon Hartzell. A Seer Out of Season: The Life of Edgar Cayced. New York: New American Library, 1989.

Cayce, Hugh Lynn, ed. The Edgar Cayce Reader. 2 vols. New York: Paperback Library, 1969.

Puryear, Herbert B. The Edgar Cayce Primer. New York: Bantam Books, 1982.

Smith, Robert A. Hugh Lynn Cayce: About My Father's Business. Norfolk, VA: Donning Company, 1988.

Stern, Jess. Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping Prophet. New York: Bantam Books, 1968.

——. A Prophet in His Own Country: The Story of the Young Edgar Cayce. New York: William Morrow & Company, 1974.

Sugue, Thomas. The Story of Edgar Cayce. New York: Dell Publishing Company, 1945.

★1689 ★

Astrological, Metaphysical, Occult, Revelatory, Enlightenment Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Astrological, Metaphysical, Occult, Revelatory, Enlightenment Church (AMORE) was formed in 1972 by the Rev. Charles Robert Gordon, formerly a minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. His father was Bishop Buford Franklin Gordon of the AMEZ Church. The church is Bible-based and views Jesus as the embodiment of cosmic consciousness. The AMORE Church believes in using the occult arts as a means to enlightenment in the coming Aquarian Age. Headquarters of the AMORE Church were established in Meriden, Connecticut. In recent years the church has moved and no contact has been made. Its present status (1985) is unknown.

Membership: Not reported.

★1690 ★

AUM Temple of Universal Truth

(Defunct)

The Aum Temple of Universal Truth was founded by Elizabeth Delvine King (1858-1932) as the Church Truth Universal-Aum in 1925 in Los Angeles. A metaphysician for many years, in 1907, as an answer to prayer, she received "the infilling of the Holy Spirit, which is the New Birth." Three days after her experience, "The Voice of the Infinite" spoke to her, saying, "Child, thy ministry is to be among what is called advanced thinking people." Over the next seven years, she wrote five books, which are the basic texts of the movement. In 1912 she headed a center for Practical Christianity in Manhattan Beach, California and in 1916 moved to Los Angeles and began a ministry of "Primitive Christian Teachings." In 1925, the first Sunday services were held.

Work progressed, and, by 1930, 22 ministers had been ordained. In 1929, the idea of a temple in the LaCrescenta Valley outside Los Angeles led to the beginning of construction. An Ashram was built as an adjunct of the Temple. At the time of Dr. King's death, there were two centers in Los Angeles and one in the Valley. Dr. King was succeeded by Dr. E. W. Miller and he, by Nina Fern Brunier (Dennison), who has served as the leader beginning in 1940. Under her guidance, the later name of the church was adopted and, in 1956, she relocated the temple in the Mojave Desert where she had found a site for a new sanctuary and retreat complex. In 1964, the move was made to Newberry Springs, California, the La Crescenta Temple having previously been sold. In 1967, a new temple was completed. The center at Newberry Springs served the group through the 1970s, but in the early 1980s, the Temple was disbanded.

The Aum Temple taught Esoteric Christianity as given by the Great White Brotherhood, of which Jesus Christ is the active head. Truth is the light and wisdom divine, given to assist men to the kingdom of God. To enter the kingdom, the self must be cleansed and purified through scientific prayer, renunciation of carnal beliefs and meditation. By cleansing, not bodily death, one escapes the cycle of reincarnation in the dense material world and the law of cause and effect.

Aum is God's own name for himself, is God in unmanifested and manifested form. The repetition of the name of God attunes one to the vibration of the spirit. In speaking the word, one wields the power of the universe. The word is but part of the "Secret Heart Way," the discipline of mind, body, and spirit through which one attains union. It is the path of Bhakti Yoga, first taught in the United States by Baba Premanand Bharati, a Krishna devotee who worked in the United States from 1902 to 1907. Healing is an integral aspect of the work.

The Sanctuary and Retreat in Newberry Springs housed a self-contained community of disciples, who lived their love and devotion and kept an organic garden, bee hives, goats and chickens. Besides the disciples, there were a few members of the Temple who did not reside at Newberry Springs, but supported the work and frequently attended the weekly services on Sunday and Thursday. At various times periodicals, The Greeting Messenger and AUM, The Cosmic Light were published.

Sources:

Althma, Leh Rheadia. The Garden of the Soul. Newberry Springs, CA: AUM Temple of Universal Truth, 1943.

Brunier, Nina. The Path to Illumination. Highway Highlands, CA: The Author, 1941.

King, Elizabeth Delvine. The Flashlights of Truth. Los Angeles: AUM Temple of Universal Truth, 1918.

King, Elizabeth Delvine. The Lotus Path. Los Angeles: J. F. Rowny Press, 1917.

New Age Songs. Newberry Springs, CA: AUM Temple of Universal Truth, 1972.

★1691 ★

The Awakened, A Fellowship in Christ

(Defunct)

The Awakened, A Fellowship in Christ was founded on Easter Sunday 1932 in Los Angeles, California by Melvin L. Severy. He had been a student of popular religious literature, including books about the Great Pyramid of Egypt and the possible prophetic significance of its architecture. Concerned about the state of the world, he began to envision an organization for human betterment, an idea which matured over several decades. Finally in 1932, he was invited to view a new painting of Christ done by Los Angeles artist Charles Sindelar. Deeply impressed by the picture, Severy became convinced that the picture should be used as a standard around which to rally the people of the earth into a Christ-minded fellowship. Severy enlisted Sindelar to design a membership button and a membership certificate, and called together an initial group.

The fellowship was designed to ready the world for the coming new dispensation promised in the Bible, the Great Pyramid, and more recent prophets and seers. Rallying around the portrait was seen as hastening to advent of the new age. Once the body of believers is formed, it would await a sudden call, the time and nature of which Severy never divulged. Much of the future of the fellowship awaited further revelation as it matured. Unfortunately, the group never matured, the thrust of its program being assumed by another organization soon after the formation of the initial group and the publication of a small pamphlet calling for other groups to form.

In the mid-1930s, Guy Ballard, founder of the "I AM" Religious Activity, visited the Sindelar Studios and was equally impressed with the portrait of Christ, identifying it with the same Master Jesus with whom he had been in communication. Sindelar, equally impressed with Ballard, joined the resources of his artistic establishment with the "I AM." His studio on Hoover Street, which had served as the headquarters of the fellowship, became the "I AM" movement's West Coast headquarters. Sindelar did the art work and published the magazine for the "I AM." The fellowship survived only a brief time and most of its resources were absorbed by the newer movement.

Sources:

The Awakened. Los Angeles: Awakened, [1933].

★1692 ★

Chirothesian Church of Faith

℅ Chirothesian Way Chapel
23548 Lyons Ave., Unit E
Newhall, CA 91321

The Chirothesian Church of Faith was formed in 1917 in Los Angeles by the Rev. D. J. Bussell, its president and senior bishop. Chirothesia is described as a natural religion based on the original form of the law of God. A Chirothesian is one who observes and obeys the law of God. The law of God was laid down in the beginning, has always had its followers and accepts Jesus as a modern messiah presenting the law of God in a more modern manner and adapting them to a more modern world. The four Gospels and the Books of James and Jude contain the presentation of the law, according to Chirothesians. The account of creation in Genesis illustrates the law of God: "A fully concentrated thought must produce its kind." Man was created according to this law. Man is body (earthly) and soul and spirit (godly). The physical part of man is to be subject to the intellectual part. As an expression of God, "Man becomes what he thinks." The way of the law is the way of harmony and indicates a way back for any who has missed the original plan. Practicing the law allows one to overcome discord, unrighteousness, and disease. Healing has been especially emphasized.

The Chirothesian Church does not proselytize, is not evangelistic, and does not invite membership. However, the church is open to those who seek membership, and most meetings are open to the public. Closed meetings are business meetings and classes of instruction in which prior sessions are necessary to understand the class subject. Headquarters are in Los Angeles, with branch churches across the United States.

Membership: Not reported. There are several congregations across the United States.

Sources:

Bussell, D. J. Chirothesia. Los Angeles: Chirothesian Church of Faith, n.d.

——. Co-Ordinating Knowledge. Los Angeles: National Academy of Metaphysics, n.d.

——. First Steps in Metaphysics. Los Angeles: National Academy of Metaphysics, n.d.

Garlichs, E. E. The Life Beautiful. Long Beach, CA: Aquarian Church of Chirothesia, [1946].

★1693 ★

Christ Ministry Foundation

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Christ Ministry Foundation was established in 1935 by Eleanore Mary Thedick (1883-1973) of Oakland, California. Ms. Thedick received her initial vision in 1926, when she was told that she would be a channel for a "spiritual broadcasting station." As the plan unfolded, the ministry was seen to illustrate the Christ-Light within. The outer foundation was to have 48 dual sects, each to be named for the Christ-qualities displayed in persons. Over the years, Ms. Thedick wrote several books. In 1970, Ms. Thedick merged her efforts with those of one of her students, Woods Mattingley. Mattingley had been involved in psychic/spiritual work for many years and had founded the Seeker's Quest. As the merger of efforts occurred, the Seeker's Quest Ministry was seen as being in an exoteric role, and the Foundation as being in an esoteric one.

The Christ Ministry Foundation teaches a form of esoteric Christianity. Christ is the great teacher who brought love into the world. The soul is envisioned as growing slowly toward at-onement with the Father. This process takes many incarnations, but, as with the prodigal, all will eventually return. During incarnation, we attempt to overcome character weakness, pay karmic debts and bear witness to the Light of God. Healing is a major practice; it is done by channeling the Light of God, often envisioned as the Triune Ray (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). In 1970, Ms. Thedick retired from active work, and the ministry was headed by Mattingley. In 1972, she gave her students, Geneva D. Seivertson and her husband, Wayne Seivertson, charge over the Foundation, and Mattingley's Seeker's Quest Ministry became independent, though affiliated, in San Jose. He continued to publish his quarterly periodical.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: The Seeker's Quest Newsletter. Send orders to Box 8188, San Jose, CA 95155.

Sources:

Seivertson, Genevah D. The Christ Highway. Marina del Rey, CA: DeVorss & Company, 1981.

Thedick, Eleanor. The Christ Highway. Oakland, CA: Christ Ministry Foundation, n.d.

——. Jewels of Truth and Rays of Color. Oakland, CA: Christ Ministry Foundation, n.d.

——. Light on Your Problems. Oakland, CA: Christ Ministry Foundation, n.d.

★1694 ★

Christian Institute of Spiritual Science

(Defunct)

The Christian Institute of Spiritual Science, founded by Hanna Jacob Doumette, functioned in the Los Angeles area in the early 1960s. It taught a form of esoteric Christianity that included attention to mystic and occult philosophy. The institute believed in one God, considered as the Creator and Heavenly Father, the Spirit of Life. God is experienced by human consciousness as a Trinity, as Father, Mother, and Son and/or as Creative Spirit, Holy Spirit, and Christ Spirit. The Trinity lives in humans as their true identity. The Divine Father Principle is a person's spirit, the Mother Principle is the soul, and the Christ Principle is the mind and consciousness. Humans are the idea of God manifest in creation.

Humans possess all the powers of God. Individuals may receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit (a spiritual experience). It is attained by faith, purity of heart, renunciation of all negation, fervent devotion, and constant concentration and meditation upon the indwelling Christ Self. Thus the individual attains spiritual transformation (resurrection), which in turn brings a quickening and mastery of spiritual and psychic powers, especially the power of healing. In this state of Divine Presence there are no negatives, only life, righteousness, immortality, and goodness.

The institute was headquartered in Santa Monica, California. There is no information on its size or the years of its existence. Doumette authored a number of books and booklets expounding the institute's teachings.

Sources:

Doumette, Hanna Jacob. After His Living Likeness. Santa Monica, CA: Christian Institute of Spiritual Science, n.d. 12 pp.

——. Jesus the Man. Santa Monica, CA: Christian Institute of Spiritual Science, n.d. 12 pp.

——. The Sun of Higher Understanding. N.p., n.d.

★1695 ★

Church of Basic Truth

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Church of Basic Truth was founded in 1961 in Phoenix, Arizona and is headed by Dr. George H. Hepker. It teaches huna (power), the beliefs of the pre-Christian religious leaders of Hawaii, with an emphasis on healing via "Meda-Physical Dynamics." This therapy was developed on the theory that any disorder the mind can allow to develop can be controlled and often cured.

Membership: Not reported. A second center was in Gary, Indiana.

★1696 ★

Church of Divine Man

℅ Berkeley Psychic Institute
2018 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA 94704

The Church of Divine Man and the Berkeley Psychic Institute, its seminary workshop, were founded in 1973 by psychic Lewis Bostwick (1918-1995), the church's archbishop. A psychic for many years, Bostwick saw the need for a structure in which others like himself could find community, validation for their work, and a spiritual atmosphere in which to work. There was also the need for the training and development of latent psychic gifts. Graduates of the institute may be ordained as ministers by the church, and during the first decade of its existence the church grew rapidly as newly ordained ministers began to spread along the West Coast. The development of the church was spurred in 1976 by the opening of an affiliate in Seattle by Revs. Menuard Slusher and Mary Ellen Flora, bishops of the church in the Northwest. They established the Washington Psychic Institute which now has branch centers in Oregon. The Washington group has separated from the California organization and has become an independent church, retaining the same name. Graduate ministers have formed their own churches in other cities, states, and nations.

The church is not doctrinally oriented and is very loosely organized. Its creed affirms "psychic freedom" and decries the need for ideologies and dissenting philosophies which divide and destroy communication. It stresses living the mystic life in the inward infinity and cosmic consciousness. It tenets are based upon the miracles of Jesus and his statement, "What I can do, you can do and greater things than these shall you do." The church does accept the realm of psychic reality, and the institute, which functions as the church's seminary, offers courses in the wide variety of psychic experience–healing, meditation, kundalini energy, aura reading, and related topics. A clairvoyant intensive religious training course is offered for those who wish to pursue a career as a minister. Reincarnation is accepted and many of the psychic readers specialize in past-life readings.

In 1980 the church launched a periodical, This Is Your Psychic Life, and the following year nurtured the independent incorporation of Deja Vu Publishing Company to manage its production. The magazine was discontinued in 1986 and replaced by a monthly newspaper, The Psychic Reader.

Membership: In 1998 the Berkeley Psychic Institute reported branches in Berkeley, Santa Rosa, Mountain View, Marin, Sacramento, and Pleasanton, California. The Church of Divine Man is affiliated with the Church of the Rose/Southern California Psychic Institute in Anaheim, California. The Institute reported over 3,500 graduates. More than 50,000 associate members have completed beginning clairvoyant training classes in psychic meditation and healing.

Educational Facilities: Berkeley Psychic Institute, Berkeley, California.

★1697 ★

Church of Eductivism

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Jack Horner (b. 1927) worked from 1950 to 1965 with L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology. A prominent member of the church, he was awarded the first Doctor of Scientology degree. Then in 1965, he left the church over what he considered an authoritarian ethics policy. After a period of nonassociation with Scientology, he began to develop Dianology, viewed as an improved Scientology drawing from a number of various sources. In 1970, Horner moved to Los Angeles and founded the Personal Spiritual Freedoms Foundation. In 1971 he changed the name Dianology to Eductivism with emphasis placed on "educing" latent potentials and uncovering what is hidden. The Church of Eductivism, formerly the Church of Spiritual Freedoms, is the religious adjunct to the Foundation; both are aspects of the umbrella corporation, the Association of International Dianologists.

Eductivism is an applied philosophy aimed at evoking the individual's infinite spiritual potentials. Individuals (usually referred to as "life sources") are infinitely capable of total creation and total cessation, simultaneously. But individuals do not use that potential. Through classes and exercises, the potentials are released in a meaningful context.

The creed of the church emphasizes the freedoms believed to be implicitly denied in the Church of Scientology–to seek God, however he may be perceived; to create alternatives, to possess opinions, thoughts and sanity; to communicate freely with others, and to join voluntary associations. Like Scientology, the Horner teaches that humans are basically "well disposed" and that "occlusions which mar and blemish the human spirit can be removed by the application of Spiritual technology."

Horner had an immediate response to his efforts, and associated centers have been established and independent clearing consultants trained. Horner is a leader in the California Association of Dianetic Auditors, a fellowship of independent cousultants.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Horner, Jack. Clearing. Santa Monica, CA: Personal Creative Freedoms Foundation, 1982.

——. Dianology. Westwood Village, CA: Association of International Dianologists, 1970.

——. Eductivism and You. Westwood, CA: Personal Creative Freedoms Foundation, 1971.

Horner, Jack, and J. Rey Geller. What an Eductee Should Know. Santa Monica, CA: Personal Creative Freedoms Foundation, 1974.

★1698 ★

Church of General Psionics

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Church of General Psionics was founded by John L. Douglas and Henry D. Frazier. Douglas was an amateur hypnotist and student of the psychic. Over the decade preceding the church's founding in 1968, Douglas had been evolving a pragmatic view of "psi"–the psychic. "Does it work?" became his criterion for things psychic. Then, in a visionary experience in 1968, a new understanding of the nature and purpose of humanity was given and a group was formed by those who were of like mind.

The purpose of Psionics is to help a person develop his own philosophy. Since the path to enlightenment is loaded with obstacles, General Psionics aids the individual by offering training to help him to become aware of his immortality. Man is a soul inhabiting a body, as it has inhabited other bodies previously. The various techniques of becoming aware are termed psionics engineering. New members of the church, before they are introduced to psionic engineering, are asked to agree to the "code of an immortal." The code acknowledges the dignity of all entities, quite apart from the body, and the fight of each entity to self-determination. From the church center in Redondo Beach, California, a program of classes, workshops, and counseling is offered.

Membership: Not reported. There was only a single center in the 1970s.

★1699 ★

Church of Mercavah

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Mercavah is a small New Age church founded in 1982 by Rev. James R. Montandon. Montandon has a decade-long background in metaphysical and spirtualist training. He graduated from the International Spiritualist University, and finished a course of study with a variety of educational structures: The University of Metaphysics, the Neotarian Fellowship, the New England Academy of Hypnosis, and the Natural School of Healing. He has also been a member of a variety of metaphysical and spiritualist organizations and has lectured widely in meditation and spirituality. He has served as a chaplain at one of the Louisiana state prisons.

The church is headed by a board of deacons, composed of ten ministers who serve for life. A wide spectrum of opinion is encouraged in the church concerning matters of belief. The church's doctrinal statement centers upon a belief in the spiritual nature of human beings. As spiritual beings, individuals must find their path to self-knowledge. Emphasis is placed upon the freedom of the search for truth. The openness of the church allows it to cooperate locally with a variety of esoteric organizations.

Future ministers and members may study with the church via correspondence, and as of 1992 there are several students studying with the church's College of Applied Arts from neighboring states and one in London, England.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: College of Applied Arts.

Sources:

Book of Service: The Book of Guided Group Worship for the Church of Mercavah. Baton Rouge, LA: Church of Mercavah N.D. 99 pp.

★1700 ★

Church of Scientology

c/o Church of Scientology International
6331 Hollywood Blvd., Ste. 1200
Los Angeles, CA 90028-6329

History. Few of the new religious bodies of the 1950s and 1960s have grown as much as the Church of Scientology, first founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1954. Due to its fast growth and its new teachings or methods (its religious technology, as it's called in the church), it has also found itself the target of attacks and controversy, not unlike other new religious movements. In the fact of controversy, the church has aggressively defended its rights and vigorously worked to correct and/or refute any charges or what it considers false statements about itself, its teachings, or the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986).

L. Ron Hubbard first became a public figure as an explorer and adventure/fiction writer, becoming most widely known through his science fiction books and stories. Throughout his early years Hubbard was most fascinated with what made man tick and how man could better himself and his fellows. As early as 1949 he had established a small organization to help him respond to the inquiries made concerning his emerging ideas about the human mental processes. The growing number of inquiries led Hubbard, in 1950, to write Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.. The book became a bestseller and has sold more than 18 million copies. Publishers Weekly carried it in its bestseller lists for more than 100 weeks and included it among the top five longest running paperback bestsellers of 1990. It is still a basic text of the present Church of Scientology.

Hubbard wanted to offer Dianetics as a mental health discipline, so in the summer of 1950 he journeyed to Washington, D.C., and made a presentation to a group of psychiatrists and educators. Shortly after the presentation, the American Psychological Association called upon psychologists not to use Dianetics therapy. Dianetics techniques also came under attack by the American Medical Association. During this period, considered by Scientologists a time of persecution motivated by self-interests, Hubbard continued his research, lectured, and helped establish Dianetic Research Foundations in Los Angeles and in Wichita, Kansas, all the while dealing with several internal disputes. More importantly, he continued to expand the more practical and mundane areas of concern covered by Dianetics into the more metaphysical speculations that became Scientology. Finally, in 1954, as other churches were established, Scientologists in Los Angeles founded the Church of Scientology. (This first church became the Church of Scientology of California.) Scientology is the logical extension of Dianetics. Just as Scientology was outlined, and the Church founded, Hubbard moved to Washington, D.C., where the Founding Church of Scientology of Washington, D.C., was established in 1955. This evolution of the movement had the added effect of creating a new religion.

Beliefs. Dianetics theory, while expressed in scientific terms, is core religious doctrine in Scientology. It describes the source of all psychosomatic ills and human aberrations. Hubbard postulates the existence of the mind in two aspects. The Analytical Mind perceives, reasons, and remembers. The Reactive Mind simply records "engrams," completely detailed impressions of perceptions present in a past moment of pain and unconsciousness. (Other moments of severe loss or trauma can be recorded in the Reactive Mind, but draw their aberrative effects from the engrams.) Significant engrams are located by the fetus before birth at moments when the mother is experiencing injury or sever stress or trauma, such as an attempted abortion or a blow to the mother's stomach. Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Heath provided technique for helping people discover and rid themselves of engrams (and thus aberrations). The person who has rid himself or herself of all engrams is called a Clear. One becomes clear by going through a series or courses leading to self-discovery, and through a process called auditing. Auditing is the application of Dianetics and/or Scientology technologies to an individual by a practitioner trained in the use of the E-meter. The auditor takes him through various drills, all aimed at freeing one from engrams.

Either before or after receiving Dianetics, one proceeds to various levels of Scientology. Scientology is concerned with the isolation, description, handling, and rehabilitation of the human spirit. Hubbard discovered the means of separating personality from the body and the mind (a process called exteriorization, not to be confused with astral travel). This personality, or the being himself, which is separate from the body and mind, is called the "thetan," after the Greek Letter, theta. The thetan has the power to create MEST, that is, Matter, Energy, Space, and Time, or the basic elements of existence. In Scientology terminology, a highly aware thetan who has the ability to handle the affairs of life in this exterior state is called an Operating Thetan. The thetan has lived and can continue to live through a series of lifetimes. The church's beliefs are uniquely presented in the christening ceremony, which is seen as a means to get the thetan oriented after its taking over a new body.

The religious credentials of Scientology have frequently been questioned in the court both in the United States and around the world. Overwhelmingly Scientology has been acknowledged as a new religion, and the church established as a legal entity. These court victories have had important implications for Scientology, as different countries grant religious rights and privileges only to such legally established religious bodies. They have also served to establish the church's religious bona fides.

Organization. General oversight of the Church or Scientology is invested in Church of Scientology International, headquartered in Los Angeles. It is accorded a variety of tasks, not the least of which is ensuring that Scientology churches follow the strict procedures prescribed in the various books written by Hubbard and/ or issued by the church. The office charters various church, missions (small parishes), and other units of the church.

Over the years, the church and individual Scientologists have been deeply involved with social concerns, having fostered other structures (many now independent): Narconon (drug rehabilitation), the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, American Citizens for Honesty in Government, Applied Scholastics, and the National Commission of Law Enforcement and Social Justice.

There are senior churches in the United States, Great Britain, Europe, and Australia that deliver the advanced levels of Scientology instruction and counseling (auditing). One of these, the Flag Service Organization, is an advanced religious retreat maintained in Clearwater, Florida. It is called "Flag" out of tradition for the years this retreat was located on an ocean-going ship named Apollo and nicknamed Flag as it was the "flagship" headquarters for the Sea Organization. The Sea Organization is an elite dedicated fraternity of Scientology staff who supported Hubbard in his continuing research and development of Scientology. The top management of the church is composed of Sea Organization members; they continue to operate an ocean-going mission for advanced level Scientology courses. A separate Scientology church, Religious Technology Center, preserves, maintains, and protects the Scientology religion against misuse or misinterpretation. It is not involved in the day-to-day affairs of Scientology churches or of ecclesiastical management. Its sole concern is ensuring the orthodoxy of the practice of the religion.

Membership: In 2002, the church reported more than 3,000 churches, missions, and affiliated groups located in 153 countries serving more than eight million members. The total number of L. Ron Hubbard's books exceeds 100 million copies and have been translated in 53 languages.

Periodicals: Freedom. • Advance. Available from Advanced Organization of Los Angeles, 1306 L. Ron Hubbard Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027. • Cause. Available from the American Saint Hill Organization, 1413 L. Ron Hubbard Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027. • Source. Available from the Church of Scientology Flag Service Org., PO Box 31751, Tampa, FL 33631-3751.

Remarks: The years since the founding of the church in 1954 have seen periods of intense controversy. Controversy first began in the 1950s when the new Dianetics techniques ran head-long into the teeth of the "established" practices used by the professions of psychiatry and organized medicine. At the urging generally of psychiatric or mental health organizations, branches of some Western governments became hostile to Scientology. In 1963, officers of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raided the Washington, D.C., church and seized all of its E-Meters. It wasn't until 1969 that a decision was reached that E-Meters and auditing were valid religiously, and the confiscated E-Meters and books were returned.

In 1968, the British Home Office placed a restriction on all non-English nationals who were entering the country just to study or practice Scientology. This ban was later relaxed in practice, and was officially lifted in July 1980. The 1965 ban on Scientology by the Australian government led to a lengthy legal battle which was resolved in the church's favor in 1983 by the Australian High Court. (Additionally, this landmark decision drew upon many United States legal precedents and defined "religious freedom" for the first time in Australia.)

One pattern repeated frequently in the Scientology controversies has been strong assertions against the church (or Hubbard), followed by press exposure, lawsuits, and the attempt to clearly establish the falsity of the original assertions. Such assertions filled several early books on Scientology. The church has also been raided several times by government agencies. Partially in response to the build-up of questionable documents on the church in various government files (the direct cause of some raids), the church has become one of the most vigorous users of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The church has even published a booklet aimed at helping individuals and church members gain access to files on themselves through the FOIA.

During the 1970s, the church pursued a variety of legal procedures to stop government action (particularly action by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service) against it and to defend itself against the attacks of hostile ex-members and other opponents. Prior to the 1980s, the church won a majority of such cases. However, during the first half of the 1980s, the church suffered some major defeats in court. Criminal charges filed against a few church leaders and staff following a raid of church offices in 1977 led eventually to their conviction. Those sentenced for stealing government documents included the church's (then) top administrative official, Guardian Jane Kember and Hubbard's wife, Mary Sue Hubbard. In 1981, the church reformed the Guardian's Office, and then dissolved it altogether. In 1984 the Church of Scientology of California's tax-exempt status was taken away in a federal tax court decision. The trial, which highlighted the financial dealings of the church, created a significant amount of bad publicity, and led the church to place ads in newspapers asking for those with information on illegal actions by the Internal Revenue Service to come forward. (The ads did result in current and former IRS employees and agents coming forward with reported abuses by the IRS.) Most of the other United States Scientology churches are recognized as tax exempt religious organizations.

During the 1980s, two juries also awarded multi-million dollar judgements against the church. In the case of ex-member Julie Christofferson, the court ruled that the original trial violated the church's religious freedom. The case was heard again and resulted in a mistrial. Eventually, the case was settled out of court. In a second case, a large judgement was given to ex-member Larry Wollershein. The case went through a lengthy judicatory process and he received a judgment of $2.4 million in 1994. In 2002, the church ended succeeding years of negotiation over the amount by paying $8.6 million ($2.4 million plus interest).

During the 1990s, the church spent a considerable amount of time dealing with copyright and Internet issues, most related to several former members who attempted to reproduce and circulate copyrighted church materials especially the confidential materials reserved for those members who had attained the higher OT levels. In the cases, the church largely prevailed though still plagued by websites from those countries whose attention to international copyright laws differ from those in the United States.

Among the most important court cases that the church became involved with concerned the former Cult Awareness Network (CAN). In 1995, CAN, an activist organization that perpetuated the practice of coercive deprogramming against groups it considered destructive of personal values, was implicated in a suit brought by a member of a Pentecostal church against three persons who had kidnapped him and tried to deprogram him. The court ruled against CAN to the amount of one million dollars and forced it into bankruptcy. A lawyer who has worked with the church for many years represented the plantiff. As a result of the suit, a coalition of groups that CAN has branded as "cults," pooled funds and bought CAN's assets, including its name, logo, 800-number, library, and files. These were subsequently moved to Los Angeles where a new CAN has been in operation since 1997.

Sources:

Hubbard, L. Ron. Dianetics, The Modern Science of Mental Health. New York: Hermitage House, 1950.

Meldal-Johnson, Trevor, and Patrick Lusey. The Truth About Scientology. New York: Tempo Books, 1980.

Scientology: A World Religion Emerges in the Space Age. Los Angeles: Church of Scientology Information Service, Department of Archives, 1974.

Scientology, What Is It? Los Angeles: Church of Scientology International, 1988.

Wallis, Roy. The Road to Total Freedom. New York: Columbia University Press, 1977.

What Is Scientology. Los Angeles: Church of Scientology of California, 1978.

★1701 ★

Church of the Gentle Brothers and Sisters

Current address not obtained for this edition.

Frank Douglas was a trance medium in New York City who moved to London to continue his work. While in London in January of 1971, he received messages through other mediums that Mexico was an ideal place to begin a spiritual center and healing group. He arrived at Puerto Angel and there met Martin Myman, who agreed to join forces in forming a center. Healing work commenced, and the center's fame spread throughout both Mexico and California. A community formed around Douglas. Healing was done by a combination of spiritual healing, zonal therapy, counseling, massage and even drugs. After two years, the Mexican government began to suppress the efforts, and the center moved to San Francisco, where it incorporated as the Church of Gentle Brothers and Sisters. Because of legal restrictions, the laying-on-of hands has been the main method employed in healing since the move. Prior to healing, palm readings are done on patients. The group is Theosophic in outlook and studies the Alice Bailey books. Emphasis is placed on spiritual unfoldment (religious growth), as opposed to psychic development (through telepathy, clairvoyance, etc.).

★1702 ★

Church of the Gift of God

(Defunct)

The Church of the Gift of God was a nonsectarian group whose prime manifestation occurred through the New England Conservatory of Health headquartered in Magnolia, Massachusetts. There, the Conservatory operated a retreat house that offers a program "dedicated to restoring your natural and spiritual good health." The church was headed by Professor James A. Dooling II, who based it upon the teachings of St. Luke, St. Benedict and St. Dorothy. It was Dooling's belief that good health is within the reach of all who will merely abide by the laws of the creator of nature.

Various healing techniques were offered at the Conservatory. They ranged from the more accepted medical and physical therapy practices to less orthodox approaches such as medical astrology, color therapy and psychic healing. Emphasis is placed on natural diet and exercise, and on human ecology as the correct ordering of the total environment of physical and spiritual man. The Church seems to have dissolved in the early 1980s.

★1703 ★

Church of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ishi Temple)

(Defunct)

The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ishi Temple) was founded by bishop Robert N. Skillman, known to his followers as the Prophet Saoshyant. The church was described as Christoid, that is, in the image of Christ. It honored the holy name of God, Ishi (Hosea 2:16), meaning "My Husband." It was a church which recognized the necessity of having living prophets to govern it: "Saoshyant" is the name in Avestan (Zoroastrian) literature of the great coming Prophet. The church also taught that miracles were needed to demonstrate the power of God in extraordinary ways and that revelation was needed as a vehicle for bringing greater truth to the world today. Finally, the church taught the truth of the Latter Rain, the movement from the divine light of the Sixth Ray to the Seventh Ray (a reference to theosophic teaching on the light which emanantes from the divine).

Skillman was assisted in the Ishi Temple by Archdeacon Robert S. Kimball. Headquarters were established in Brisbane, California, from where a periodical, The Christoid Evangel, was published irregularly. The church offered correspondence lessons in "prosperity" and distributed talismans for a variety of needs. Saoshyant authored several booklets– The Grand Affirmation, The Healing Affirmation and The Sayings.

★1704 ★

Congregational Church of Practical Theology

31916 University Circle
Springfield, LA 70462

The Congregational Church of Practical Theology was formed in 1969 by Dr. E. Arthur Winkler, a former United Church of Christ and United Methodist minister. There are no creeds, though there is a set of beliefs that members and ministers are asked to use as guidelines for individual spiritual search. God is seen as continually revealing Himself in the open-minded search for truth. The Bible is a textbook for truth, but not the final word. Jesus is divine, but each person is also a divine child of God. The theology is practical and seeks to apply religion to all of life. The diginity of all people is affirmed; service to individuals and society is extolled. Ministers are seen as catalysts to the spiritual quest of individuals.

The church was founded not for the purpose of establishing congregations (though it has chartered a number of congregations), but to provide a ministry of guidance for all people who seek its varied forms of ministry, as well as to promote the dignity and love of all humankind–people of all colors, races, religions, social backgrounds, and economic levels. Ministers are ordained for the purpose of putting their religion into action in all areas of their life. Ministers, being needed in all professions, are not necessarily pastors of congregations but may be counselors, psychologists, medical doctors, hypnotherapists, lawyers, law officers, or in any other occupation. Affiliated with the church are the American Counselor's Society and the National Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists, both professional associations headquartered in Springfield, Louisiana.

Membership: In 1988 the church reported 251 ministers and 34 chartered congregations. Membership figures are not kept. Affiliated members can be found in Canada, Sweden, the West Indies, and Africa.

Educational Facilities: St. John's University, Springfield, Louisiana.

Periodicals: Attain: Health, Happiness and Success. • Minister's Tips.

Sources:

The Congregational Church of Practical Theology. Springfield, LA: Congregational Church, n.d.

Winkler, Arthur. Hypnotherapy. Valley, NB: Eastern Nebraska Christian College, 1972.

——. New Age Minister's Manual. Springfield, LA: St. John's University Publications, 1994.

★1705 ★

Coptic Fellowship of America

1735 Pinnacle SW
Wyoming, MI 49509-1339

The Coptic Fellowship of America was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1937 by Hamid Bey (d. 1976). Bey was born in Egypt and, as a five-year-old child, met the masters of the hidden temples of the Christian religion. According to Bey, due to persecution and the destruction of early Christian temples, Christians built many hidden temples that could not be found. The churches remained as mere outside schools. In the temple, Bey was trained in self-control, in how to subdue the body, concentration, the essentials of personality, and clairvoyance. The most important temple is the Head Masters Temple, which is 9,000 years old and hewn out of rock on the Nile. It is headed by the Great Eleven Ring Master. Having finished his temple education, Bey was sent to America to show that Houdini's claim to be able to reproduce any occult phenomenon was false. Though Houdini died soon after Bey's arrival, Bey stayed to tour the country, demonstrating his yogic abilities, particularly the feat of being buried for several hours.

The Coptic Fellowship teaches an esoteric Christianity–the laws of successful balanced living. The universe expresses polarity. Eastern and Western civilizations are manifestations of the polarity. Egypt is of the East. Nature is the handiwork of the creator. The human is the epitome of creation. The purpose is to bring into manifestation latent potential powers of conscious awareness– cosmic consciousness. Christ was one of the major teachers of the one law, and beheld the law more completely than any other master. In Christ, we see the essentials of the upward path–health of the physical body, work, science, and love. It is the belief of the fellowship that truth is eternal and eternally available. All of life, creation, progress, and evolution emanate from God's love, the same reality that leads humans and societies to perfection. Individual souls grow through a continuous progression (reincarnation and karma), but are often hidden from truth by ignorance and misdirection.

During the 1970s, the fellowship became aligned to the New Age Movement, and saw its work as a catalyst in the transformation to a new planetary civilization the Spiritual Unity of Nations (SUN). SUN was founded in England by Joseph Busby with the purpose of uniting spiritual powers to bring about a world spiritual bonding of nations. SUN's American headquarters are located at the fellowship's headquarters.

Bey was suceeded as head of the fellowship by John Davis, formerly its Midwest Director. The fellowship is guided by a board of directors. Work within the fellowship is divided among three orders: the Light Ministry is a body of teachers who publicly disseminate the orders' teachings, often through opening centers; the World Service Order; and the Devotional Order, an inner order of people who follow a meditative discipline. Correspondence lessons are offered for new members.

Membership: In 1992, the fellowship reported 3,500 members in several centers in the United States. There is one branch center in Nigeria. Most members are not affiliated with a center.

Sources:

Bey, Hamid. My Experiences Preceding 5000 Burials. Los Angeles: Coptic Fellowship of America, 1951.

★1706 ★

Embassy of the Gheez-Americans

Mt. Helion Sanctuary Rock Valley Rd., Box 53 Long Eddy, NY 12760

The Embassy of the Gheez-Americans is headed by Empress Mysikiitta Fa Senntao, who runs the Mt. Helion Sanctuary at Long Eddy, New York. She is also titled "The Ambassadress of the Sun God and Resurrector of the Gheez-Nation [Ethiopia]." She is believed to have come from the sun in a space ship, leaving her husband behind and taking over a body upon arrival. Her mission is to redeem her people, who have been lost on earth for thousands of years and during that time have reincarnated in many nationalities.

According to Her Majesty, Satan and his brother, Tao, the god of love, fought for control of earth. After man chose Satan and the tree of good and evil in the garden, Satan took control. The tree of life (wisdom) was hidden among the few occult. Taoism, the wisdom of eternal life, came to Ethiopia at the beginning of the Age of Taurus. From there, it went to Egypt and survived the flood with Noah. Of Noah's sons, only one, Ham, accepted the ministry of the wisdom, a burden Hamites have had to bear. With Egyptian decline, Abraham and Israel were chosen the custodians of the wisdom. When Moses saw his people, who were worshipping Taurus, not able to keep the law, he gave them a lesser law.

The empress is calling together the ancient Gheez-Nation. Members are united by a common language (Gheez), a history, culture and a cosmic link of God. Her Majesty has bound Satan on the planet Uranus. The chosen people, the Gheez-Nation, will become the leaven in lifting all of humanity. The new nation learns the Gheez language, engages in ecstatic dancing and practices the martial arts of the Priest Kurahti. Most members are black people and number in the hundreds. Her Majesty functions as a psychic and a teacher of occult wisdom.

Membership: Not reported.

★1707 ★

Emissaries of Divine Light

5569 N. Country Rd. 29
Loveland, CO 80537

The Emissaries of Divine Light was formed in 1932 in Tennessee by Lloyd Arthur Meeker (d. 1954). Meeker, who wrote under the penname Uranda, established Sunrise Ranch, a community and home base of Emissaries, in rural Colorado, near Loveland. He was succeeded by Martin Cecil (d. 1988). In 1954, a second community was begun at 100 Mile House, British Columbia.

The basic stance of the Emissaries is spelled out in a pamphlet, "The Divine Design." According to the Emissaries, man was created in the image and likeness of the body of God, i.e., he was created to manifest the divine design. God is the one focus of all being. Distortions appear when the mind allows evil influences (fear, hate, jealousy, anger, resentment, etc.) to gain control. Since man has free will, the mind can select the influences that will be allowed to enter and control his body. The mind can choose to accept divine control.

Collectively, mankind manifests the distortions of evil influences in societal problems. But the return to divine control is the immediate possibility of every individual. The re-emergence of the divine design is called healing. Ontology, defined as the science of true being, is the art of manifesting reality in the world of chaos. That reality (God) manifests as truth (the design of form) and love (the power of life). Form is constantly in process, a fact which allows for healing.

A goal of the Emissaries is to experience reality, to know the identity of one's true being, to know oneness. The experience of oneness is an experience of the image and likeness of God in the present, without reference to past or future.

The Emissaries are centered in twelve communities around the world as well as in 160 meeting locations in 23 countries. The Emissaries do not proselytize. Members have been active in cooperative activities with other groups of like mind and purpose. One structure for such cooperative endeavor is Emissary Foundation International, which supports a variety of programs such as the Association for Responsible Communication, Renaissance Business Associates, Renaissance Educational Associates, the Stewardship Community, and Whole Health Institute.

Membership: In 1988 the Emissaries reported approximately 3,000 people closely affiliated worldwide.

Periodicals: Integrity International. Send orders to Box 9, 100 Mile House, British Columbia, Canada V0K 2E0.

Sources:

Aumra. As of a Trumpet. Loveland, CO: Eden Valley Press, 1968.

Cecil, Lord Martin. Being Where You Are. New Canaan, CT: Keats Publishing, 1974.

——. On Eagle's Wings. New York: Two Continents Publishing Group, 1977.

Cecil, Michael, et al. Spirit of Sunrise. London: Mitre Press, 1979.

Exeter, Martin. Beyond Belief: Insights to the Way It Is. Loveland, CO: Foundation House Publications, 1986.

——. Thus It Is. Denver, CO: Foundation House Publications, 1989.

★1708 ★

Essene Center

(Defunct)

The Essene Center was founded in 1972 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, by the Rev. Walter Hagen. In 1970 Hagen had a vision of Christ, and the stigmata (marks similar to those in Jesus' hands after the crucifixion) were placed on his hands as a sign of his acceptance of his mission. In other visions, he was given the power to work miracles. Hagen is also a prophet and regularly made predictions of coming events.

According to Hagen, Jesus was an Essene, and the order of Essenes actually dates to the time of Moses. The House of Prophets on Mt. Carmel was the center of the order. Essenes were characterized by abstinence from slavery, by communal living, disdain for commerce and industry, longevity, belief in reincarnation, healing by God's power, and psychic abilities. As modern-day Essenes, Hagen taught his followers to believe that war is wrong, that waste is a misuse of what God had given, that all religions are acceptable to God, that respect for the rights of all men includes disdain of slavery, and that it is a duty to help other Essenes. He accepted the Dead Sea Scrolls and believed that the coming messiah will arise from among the Essenes.

During the 1970s there was only one Essene group, that one associated with the Center at Hot Springs, but members were located around the country. They were tied together by The Guide, a monthly periodical. Hagen's workshops and a variety of services were offered through the Center. No evidence of the continuance of the center into the 1980s has been found.

★1709 ★

Essene Fellowship of Peace/Spiritual Church of Ataraxia

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Essene Fellowship of Peace and the Spiritual Church of Ataraxia are two names for the same organization established in 1942. "Ataraxia" is a Greek word meaning "house of peace." The church believes in God as the One Source, Law, Light, and Love and in humans as spiritual beings. Jesus is considered the Wayshower, though the path he shows manifests quite differently for each person.

According to the church, individuals live on after death and their possibilities for further development and unfoldment is limitless. To assist, help from the higher planes is available. The door to reformation is never closed.

Three members of the church, George and Mary Weddell and Miriam B. Willis, have put together a book, Creative Color, which discusses the various esoteric meanings of color and how to put color to practical use in one's life. This volume has become a major instrument of the church reaching the public.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Creative Color. Hemet, CA: Fellowship of Peace, 1989. 204 pp.

★1710 ★

Essene Foundation

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Essene Foundation, formerly known as First Christians' Essene Church, was founded in 1937 as the Essene School, the name by which it was known until the mid-1980s. Its founder was Edmond Bordeaux Szekely (d. 1980), a descendent of Hungarian royalty, world traveller, and author-scholar. In the 1920s, Szekely discovered an ancient manuscript which proported to be the collection of Jesus' teachings as written down by His disciple John in the original Aramaic (the language Jesus actually spoke). In 1937, he published the translation of part of the text as The Essene Gospel of Peace. (The remainder of the text was published in four sub-sequent volumes beginning in 1971.) Soon afterward he founded several cooperatives in southern France whose members attempted to follow the Essene way. It was Szekely's belief that Jesus was a member of the Essene brotherhood, and hence the first Christians were Essenes.

In 1939, forced out of Europe by the rise of Hitler, Szekely settled in Tecate, a town in Mexico just across the border from San Diego, California. He opened the Essene School on his ranch estate in Mexico and he eventually became a Mexican citizen. The school attempted to teach broad Essene concepts which included the essence of healthful life which he had termed biogenic living. The center, Rancho La Puerta, became famous as a health spa and attracted many of the wealthy and famous. In 1958 a second center, the Golden Door, was opened in Escondido, California, and also became well known as a health and beauty center, attracting many movie stars. During the remainder of his life Szekely continued to travel widely and authored numerous books expounding upon the Essene ideal as he had come to understand it. He founded the International Biogenic Society to perpetuate his teachings on healthful living and the Academy of Creative Living, which published many of his books. For many years he edited The Essene Quarterly, the school's periodical.

Following Szekely's death, the Essene School was reorganized as the First Christians' Essene Church under the leadership of Archbishop Garry A. White, a longtime colleague of Szekely's. Beliefs are summarized in the church's creed which affirms the fatherhood of God, the motherhood of Nature, and the brotherhood of Man, and advocates a natural creative lifestyle. Members are encouraged to follow a path to enlightenment which begins in developing bodily, mental, and emotional health. Vegetarianism is advocated as is the use of natural foods. A form of daily meditation, the "Essene Communions," which exemplify the unity between humans and the visible and invisible universe, is taught. It is the church's opinion that the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has strengthened their beliefs about the Essene nature of early Christianity, and the Scrolls are cited as authoritative texts from which church teachings are derived.

In the mid-1990s the organization's corporate name was changed to The Essene Foundation. The First Christian's Essene Church now exists as the mother church. In 1992 Garry White retired as archbishop and was succeeded by Dr. Emmanuel M. Winocur, and White was named patriarch of the church. The foundation has a number of affiliated missions scattered across the West Coast of the United States (California, Oregon, Arizona), New York, and Arkansas.

Holistic healing continues to be a primary concern. Study groups sponsored by the foundation emphasize the importance of purity of every body beginning with a strict avoidance of flesh eating, emotional equanimity, mental clarity, and spiritual awareness. Among the prominent members is Bp. Patricia Bragg, the daughter of the famous naturopathic physician, Paul Bragg.

Membership: The church is not a membership organization. They estimate that as many as three million people worldwide follow the Essene way of life.

Periodicals: Scroll. Send orders to Box 16103, San Diego, CA 92116.

Remarks: A serious charge of fraud was leveled at Szekely concerning the two original manuscripts from which The Essene Gospel of Peace was translated, one of which (in Aramaic) he claimed was to be found in the Vatican Library and the other (in Old Slavonic) was reportedly in the library of the Hapsburg emperors in Vienna. After diligent search, neither manuscript has been located, and doubt has been expressed of their existence. On the other hand, Bishop Purcell Weaver, a longtime associate of Szekely's, testifies to having assisted in the complicated process of producing the English translation.

Sources:

Beskow, Per. Strange Tales About Jesus. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983.

Mazzanti, Deborah Szekely. Secrets of the Golden Door. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1977.

Szekely, Edmond Bordeaux. The Essene Gospel of Peace. San Diego, CA: Academy of Creative Living, 1971.

——. The Essene Way, Biogenic Living. Cartago, Costa Rica: International Biogenic Society, 1978.

——. Talks. San Diego, CA: Academy of Creative Living, 1972.

★1711 ★

Essene New Life Church

515 Pony Trail Dr.
Mount Shasta, CA 96067-9063

The Essene New Life Church, founded by Charles A. Thomas in 1993, is one of several groups to emerge from the presentation of "Essene" teachings by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely (d. 1980). In his many writings, Szekeley presented what he purported to be the teachings of the ancient Essene community that lived in Palestine in the days immediately before and after the time of Jesus. It included perspectives on healthy living, and he founded several health spas that perpetuated the Essene teachings, including a vegetarian diet.

The church was founded to allow the ordination of those ministers who are well-versed in the teachings of the ancient Essenes as set forth in Szekeley's books, especially the four books of The Essene Gospel of Peace and From Enoch to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Ordination is offered to those who are properly trained in the church's doctrines and tenets, and its essential practice, healing by touch or subtle energy healing. The church is especially open to independent healers who currently do their work without the legal covering of ministerial credentials. Studies of the Essene teachings are presented in a correspondence study course and in two books, the Essene New Life Church Manual and the Interfaith Minister's Manual.

The church emphasizes that it is not an "ordination by mail" institution. The Essene New Life Church of Lake Wales, Florida, certifies the correspondence course and ordination follows only after completion of the course, and the submission of a course completion form.

The church is dedicated to the defense of the First Amendment and believes that people are entitled to worship God in their own way. The church members and ministers locate their unity in the Creator, God.

The church is intimately associated with the Awareness Institute for Alternative Learning, a store that offers a wide variety of books, New Age materials, and holistic health supplies for sale.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Essene New Life Church. http://www.awarinst.com/ordaine.htm. 7 May 2002.

★1712 ★

Essene Order of Light

c/o The Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center
PO Box 1080
Patagonia, AZ 85624

As a child, Gabriel Cousens, the founder of the Essene Order of Light, experienced visions of what he came to regard as the White Brotherhood, also known as the Essene Elders or Order of Melchizedek. As a young man, he began teaching meditation, adopted a vegetarian diet, and began his study of the Essene Way that included Kabbalah, yoga and kundalini (the energy believed by Tantric Hindus to reside at the base of the spine and to bring enlightenment when awakened). In 1975, in a meeting with Swami Muktananda, he experienced a profound kundalini awakening. During his seven years with Muktananda in India, he sought a vegetarian diet that would support the awakening of the kundalini. He concluded that a live-food diet (the Rainbow diet) most nurtures spiritual growth. He also worked with Dr. Lee Sannella to assist people who had become unbalanced as a result of their kundalini experience.

In 1981 Cousens returned to the United States and revived his interest in the Essene Way. He studies Essene teachings and was ordained in 1988. He also became a Reiki master. He founded the Essene Order of Light in 1992. In 1994, during a lengthy fast, he had an experience of the Tetragammaton, the holy name of God (in Hebrew). During this experience, four principles of the Living Essene Way were given to him and he in turn offered these to the other Essene groups as a common understanding between them.

Through the Essene teachings, meditation, and the imparting of shaktipat for kundalini awakening, Cousens sees Essene Order of Light as a force for the healing and transformation of the planet (Tikkum Olam). He now serves as the director of the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona. The center attempts to invite people into the joy of sacred existence as approached through various traditions including: Kabbalah, Shamanic Judaism, the Essene Way, Yoga, and the Native American Way. The center introduces people to a spectrum of spiritual practices including Shaktipat/Ruah Ha Kodesh meditation, Shamanic Shabbat celebrations, daily sunset meditations, Yoga, pranayama, Yogic chanting, spiritual fasts, sweat lodges, spiritual discussions, Kosher-live-food nutrition, and a variety of self-healing workshops.

The order offers a course that leads to ordination as an Essene minister. The course includes a reading program and participation in various workshops and events held at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center. Minister work in various service projects that bring humanitarian assistance (natural healing, vegetarian food, clothing for the poor) to the needy. The order sponsors quarterly peace meditation events at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Cousens, Gabriel. Conscious Easting. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2000.

——. Spiritual Nutrition and the Rainbow Diet. San Rafael, CA: Casssandra Press, 1987.

——, with Mark Mayell. Depression-Free for Life: A Physician's All-Natural, 5-Step Plan. San Francisco: Quill, 2001.

Essene Order of Light. http://www.essene.nu/8contact.html. 14 April 2002.

★1713 ★

Essenes of Arkashea

21450 SW 240th St.
Homestead, FL 33031

The Essenes of Arkashea claim a heritage dating to an ancient order founded by Pharaoh Akhenaten in the year 1354 B.C.E. Akhenaten is famous for his belief in one God (as opposed to the polytheism of the older Egyptian tradition) and his attempt to suppress the old religions in favor of his new faith. He was eventually murdered and much of his work destroyed by his successors. After his death many of his followers fled Egypt. The Essenes of Arkashea believe that members of their order and many other tribes of the land reentered Egypt and became laborers for the pharaohs. They were the source of the Hebrew tribes. The Essenes of the first century C.E. were derived from the older Egyptian order.

The modern Essenes of Arkashea claim that the original Egyptian order has survived secretly over the centuries and that they are part of it. They became publicly known only in 1993 with the publication of The Discovery, the story of a woman's discovery and initiation into the Order in the 1980s. She had found its monastery, which at that time was located in Alabama. The order is headed by Reginald Therrien, the regent of Arkashea, who offers services to the public as a psychic counselor.

The term Arkashea refers to the history of what each individual has done as s/he reincarnates from life to life. The Essenes attempt to explore this history that is written within each person and use the Arkashea as a toll for change toward self-realization. Thus the resident members of the Essenes' monastery study themselves. Students search through the Arkashea in order to become free of the mire of maya (illusion). To assist this process, the monastery publishes a series of monographs that teach the Laws of Creation.

The Monastery of Arkashea is both a community for members and a place from which they offer their assistance to people. It exists in two aspects; the Cloister is for residents who have taken a vow of poverty and celibacy, while the Commonwealth is the name for that part of the membership who do not assume a monastic life. The Hamlet is a section of the Commonwealth for people who have taken a vow of poverty but not of celibacy, meaning they can marry and have children. The Hoblet is the section of the Commonwealth that receives new arrivals at the monastery and introduces people to its teachings. People who want to relate to the monastery, but take neither a vow of poverty nor chastity, remain affiliated through the Hoblet. The Magic Circle is a for-profit corporation that was created to handle much of the monastery's income.

Membership: Not reported. Membership includes people across North America and in several foreign countries.

Sources:

Nier, Susan. The Discovery. Homestead, FL: Omni Touch, Inc., 1993. 548 pp.

★1714 ★

Etherian Religious Society of Universal Brotherhood

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Etherian Religious Society of Universal Brotherhood was formed in 1965 in California by its director, the Rev. E. A. Hurtienne, and has its source in the mental visions given Mr. Hurtienne earlier in his life. While no being or form was seen in these visions, there were present waves of love and the awareness of universal consciousness. The purpose of the Society is to minister through love so as to insure dignity, equality and justice for all mankind throughout the universe and help establish the future root races (developmental stages) of mankind upon earth and assure the entrance of earth into the Planetary Federation of Light of our solar system.

The basic philosophy of the Society recognizes a consciousness that is divine and manifested in four principles of omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience and love. It further holds that all men are brothers throughout the universe; all forms of life on all planes are related; all religions, though under the direction of God, are man-made; love is the unifying force and must become a living reality, for only through it can eternal life by achieved; karma and reincarnation are universal laws, man is divine and is entitled to free throught and action; man is a spiritual being with seven complete bodies, and all life is to be held in reverence. Behavior is to center upon sincerity, tolerance, integrity, kindness and affection.

The Society has among its immediate goals the establishment of primary classes in metaphysics and esoteric studies and the formation of light and meditation groups for healing, unity, and harmony between nature and mankind. Membership is open to all; after a year, members may become a part of the Brotherhood of Light, an inner group with the Society. The group circulates copies of Man, Know Thy Divinity, published by the Living Christ Movement of New Zealand. Among future goals are the establishment of a university, a healing center and a religious community of advanced spiritual beings.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: The Etherian Bulletin.

Sources:

Man, Know Thy Divinity. Auckland, NZ: Living Christ Movement, n.d.

★1715 ★

First Century Church

(Defunct)

The Rev. David N. Bubar was a Southern Baptist minister and graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. After a seven-year pastorate during which he became more and more aware of his psychic abilities, he resigned his parish and, in 1969, opened the Spiritual Outreach Society (later renamed the First Century Church). During the 1970s, he developed a national reputation as a clairvoyant, prophet, and psychic counselor, and he kept a heavy schedule of lectures around the country.

In 1975 Bubar was involved in the arson case of the Sponge Rubber Plant in Shelton, Connecticut. Plant owner Charles Moeller had been a longtime client of Bubar's and Bubar had predicted a plant "disaster" shortly before it was bombed. As of 1977, Bubar was serving a prison term following his conviction as a participant in the arson.

There was only a single congregation of the First Century Church, but it had a significant outreach through its nationally circulated periodical, Flaming Sword. Weekly services and classes were held at the church, which survived only a short time after Bubar began his long sentence.

★1716 ★

Foundation Faith of God

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Foundation Faith of God was formed in 1974 when the majority of the leaders of the Process Church of the Final Judgment rejected the direction being taken by Process prophet Robert de Grimston, withdrew their support, and reorganized as the Foundation Church of the Millennium. Subsequently it has progressed through several doctrinal positions and internal reorganizations reflected in the change of names, first to the Foundation Faith of the Millennium (1977) and then to its present name (1980).

A dissatisfaction with the growing emphasis upon what was perceived as an esoteric, somewhat gnostic, doctrine of the unity of Christ and Satan was the immediate problem leading to the ousting of de Grimston and the formation of the Foundation Faith by most of the following of the Process Church. A hierarchical order has been retained. Heading the Faith is a nine-member Council of Luminaries who in turn delegate temporal administration to the Office of the Faithful. Ministers are ranked from luminaries and celebrants (both ordained) to mentors and covenanters. Those preparing for the ministry are termed witnesses. The uniforms, consisting of a blue suit with a white shirt, so evident in the 1970s, have been largely abandoned. Laity is composed of aides and disciples.

The church always possessed of a strong emphasis upon Christian themes, has moved steadily toward an orthodox Christian belief, expressing belief in the Trinity, the deity of Jesus, salvation from sin, the necessity of the new birth, and the second advent. There is also a strong emphasis upon the impending second coming of Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

The church has established centers and missions across the United States. The church is also spread through prayer fellowship and outreach ministries. There is a wide and diverse program of social programs, conceived as part of a healing ministry. Spiritual healing has been a consistent part of the Faith's belief and practice, and ministers make themselves available for healing prayer at all Faith centers. Spiritual consultations are also offered for their healing value.

Periodicals: Newsletter. • Best Friends Magazine.

Sources:

Hymns and Chants. Las Vegas, NV: Foundation Faith of God, 1977.

Hymns and Chants. Las Vegas, NV: Foundation Faith of the Millennium, n.d.

★1717 ★

Foundation of Human Understanding

Box 1000
Grants Pass, OR 97528

The Foundation of Human Understanding was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1961 by Roy Masters. Masters was born in England in 1928 and during his early life studied hypnosis. He later spent a period of his early adulthood in South Africa observing the witchdoctors and further spurring his interest in the nature of the mental healing processes. In 1949 he moved to the United States and became a successful diamond cutter and expert, finally settling in Houston, Texas. Then in the mid-1950s, as the phenomena surrounding the case of Bridey Murphy made reincarnation and hypnosis of great popular interest, friends discovered Masters' work in hypnosis and beseiged him for help. These sessions led to his quitting the diamond business and founding the Institute of Hypnosis, the forerunner of the foundation. He stayed in Houston for nine more years during which time he perfected psychocatalysis, a meditation technique which was to become the most important aspect of his teachings, and then moved to Los Angeles, where the foundation was started.

Once in Los Angeles, Masters developed a successful radio talk show and wrote Your Mind Can Keep You Well, which appeared as both a book and a record. It is Masters's conclusion from his work in hypnosis that what was wrong with people was that they were already hypnotized by the mass of pressures put on them by life. Hypnotized people act in irrational ways and possess strong components of anxiety and guilt. The answer to hypnosis is paychocatalysis, the meditation technique taught by Masters. By using the technique people can be cured of diseases and learn to cope with life. It can lead many into a transformed life which quickly takes on a religious and mystical quality. The foundation became a place that not only taught meditation but where people whose lives had been changed could gather to continue their spiritual growth.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Masters gained an extensive following in southern California. His radio show, originally on a local station in Los Angeles, was eventually syndicated across the United States and Canada. Periodically he left Los Angeles to lecture around the country. Soon groups of people who followed his meditation teachings and appreciated his approach to life's problems emerged, particularly on the West Coast. During the 1970s the foundation was registered as a religious organization with the Internal Revenue Service which then refused to recognize it as a church. In 1980 Masters filed a lawsuit seeking such recognition which was finally granted in 1987. About 1985 the headquarters of the foundation was moved to Grants Pass, Oregon, where it operates a religious retreat and ranch.

The organization's Internet site is at http://www.fhu.com/fhunav.htm.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Brighton Academy, Grants Pass, Oregon.

Periodicals: New Insights. Send orders to PO Box 1009, Grants Pass, OR 97526.

Sources:

Masters, Roy. How to Conquer Suffering Without Doctors. Los Angeles: Foundation of Human Understanding, 1976.

——. No One Has to Die!. Los Angeles, CA: Foundation of Human Understanding, 1977.

——. The Satan Principle. Los Angeles: Foundation of Human Understanding, 1979.

——. Secret of Life. Los Angeles: Foundation of Human Understanding, 1972.

——. Sex, Sin and Salvation. Los Angeles: Foundation of Human Understanding, 1977.

——. Your Mind Can Keep You Well. Los Angeles: Foundation of Human Understanding, 1968.

Wolff, William. Healers, Gurus, and Spiritual Guides. Los Angeles: Sherbourne Press, 1969.

★1718 ★

Future Foundation

(Defunct)

The Future Foundation was formed in 1969 in Steinauer, Nebraska, by Gerard W. Gottula, an associated group which had been meeting for several months. The history of the group actually dates to the 1950s and the healing works of Jennings Ruffing, who lived in a small Wyoming town. Ruffing discovered that one of his patients was clairvoyant and, under the direction of Ruffing, could give psychic readings. The eight members of the original foundation group gathered for a reading from Ruffing and his associate, at which time the formation of the Foundation was announced to them.

The first issue of the Future Foundation, a newsletter, appeared in 1969. A board of 12 members was formed to govern the work, which would consist of giving health, life, and guidance readings.

Membership: The foundation grew through the 1970s and 1980s; however, it faced continual conflict with new regulations from the FDA and in 1991 disbanded.

Sources:

Prophecies of Cyrus. Steinauer, NE: Future Foundation, 1970.

★1719 ★

Haikim International Meditation Society

(Defunct)

The Haikim International Meditation Society is/was a small group headquartered in Houston, Texas, and headed by Mary Beatrice Gunn, its director/counselor. Its world headquarters were in Zurich, Switzerland. No sign of its continuance into the 1980s has been observed.

★1720 ★

Heart Consciousness Church and New Age Church of Being

PO Box 82
Middletown, CA 95461

In 1972 the Harbin Hot Springs Retreat Center was purchased by Robert Hartley. Because the resort needed repairs, he brought in friends to make it fit for public use again. Some of these people met in 1974 and agreed that they were in alignment with the emerging New Age Movement. They defined that movement as consisting of three basic elements: universal spirituality, the Human Potential Movement, and the Holistic Natural Movement. They affirmed that there is a fundamental agreement in all religions, there is a need for honest, open, and spontaneous relationships, and there is a desire for a holistic natural approach to health and healing. This core of agreement became the basis of a religious fellowship that was incorporated in 1975 as the Heart Consciousness Church. Hartley turned Harbin Hot Springs over to the church. The New Age Church of Being was founded in 1985 as a more ceremonial and "churchy" organization. It administers a ministerial training program.

The church sees itself as serving the cause of the New Age Movement by hosting various new age events, including conferences, seminars, and workshops, and by acting as a unifying force among the various groups. The use of the resort by outside groups is a primary means of financial support.

New members may join the group by residing at the retreat center and working with the present church members. They are required to have a personal goal that is compatible with that of the church and to contribute labor or money toward their own support. The group has a loose structure. It makes group life decisions by a process called "spiritual anarchy" and attempts to resolve differences in a spirit of love and oneness. However, ultimate control of the property is by a board of directors.

Because of the opportunities at Harbin Hot Springs, it is the goal of the church to develop a new alternative economy to allow people who have no financial assets to be integrated into the life of the church and to foster similar satellite communities in other locations.

Membership: In 1997 there were 150 church members living at Harbin Hot Springs, and another ten in the first satelitte center, Sierra Hot Springs, Sierraville, California. Sierra Hot Springs is operated by the New Age Church of Being.

Periodicals: Harbin Hot Springs Quarterly Catalog/Magazine.

Sources:

Klages, Ellen. Harbin Hot Springs: Healing Waters, Sacred Land. Middletown, CA: Harbin Hot Springs Publishing, 1991.

Living the Future. Middletown, CA: Harbin Hot Springs Publishing, 1993, 16 pp.

★1721 ★

Holy Order of Ezekiel

(Defunct)

The Holy Order of Ezekiel was founded in 1969 by Dr. Daniel Christopher. Dr. Christopher was a student of Dr. Judith Tyberg, who had been a disciple of Sri Aurobindo and later taught at the East-West Cultural Center in San Francisco, California. Christopher graduated from the Center and later studied in Europe at the Prasura Institute and the Guggenheim Academy. The Order, founded upon Christopher's return to the United States, was composed of two parts, the Celestial and Terrestrial Circles. The Celestial Circle, composed of three masters, seven practitioners and other initiates, is the center of guiding light that radiates celestial illumination to every attuned being. The masters are the spiritual gurus of all members. Christopher was the First Master. The Terrestrial Circle consisted of the scribes, secretaries and members and was to be the growing branch of the Order. Members who manifest assimilation of and dedication to the precepts of the Order were welcomed as initiates.

The Order's basic teachings centered upon the knowledge of God's power and the techniques of achieving personal success and fulfillment through that power. The Divine Life Lessons distributed by the Order prepared the seeker to receive the power promised by Christ. These include instruction in meditation, breathing, the use of "Aum" (a mantra), mystical symbolizing, spiritual healing and numerology. There was a strong belief in reincarnation and karma. The masters were seen as helpful in the student's progress. The Order taught that God assumes one-half of the student's burden and the master, one-fourth. The members must generate the initial spark.

In the 1970s, headquarters of the Holy Order were in Glendale, California. From there, the lessons were sent out to students across the country.

★1722 ★

Huna International

PO Box 223009
Princeville, HI 96722

Huna International was founded in 1973 as a religious order for the teaching of the Huna philosophy of ancient Hawaii as understood by Serge Kahili King. King was introduced to kahuna philosophy by his father Harry King, a member of a still secret network that King calls The Organization. Through Serge Kahili King's contacts he was given training and as a young man initiated as a kahuna in the Order of Kane. After working with a relief and development program in Africa, he returned to the United States and studied with his adoptive Hawaiian uncle, a kahuna (1971 to 1975), which led to his founding Huna International. He defines huna as "that which is hidden" and refers to it as the Hidden Knowledge or Secret Reality. A kahuna is the transmitter of the secret, and the motto of Huna International is "Let that which is unknown become known." The ancient kahunas of Hawaii were divided into three orders, the Ku, the Lono, and the Kane. The Kane Order was known for its intuitive approach to the world and its use of what today are called alternate states of consciousness and psychic abilities.

The basic teachings of the Huna philosophy have been summarized in seven statements, each represented by a Hawaiian keyword:

Ike, "The world is what you think it is." That is, we create our world by our beliefs, judgments, and expectations. We can create illness and poverty or we can create health and prosperity. Kala, "There are no limits." Anything is possible if we believe it. Makia, "Energy flows where attention goes." Energy is directed to the things about which we think. If we change our thinking, our world will be remade. Manawa, "Now is the moment of power." We are not bound by the past or future, and can thus change in the present. Healing, change, development, or any other desired goal is dependent upon our keeping our attention focused in the present. Looking to the past or future misdirects energy away from present actions. Aloha, "To love is to be happy with." Love the great healer and the change agent is freed as we become happy with ourselves and our surroundings. Happiness is accentuated by acts of forgiveness, tolerance, and self-acceptance. Mana, "All power comes from within." Outside forces only have power as one believes and submits. Real power is that which operates from the inner resources of the self. Pono, "Effectiveness is the measure of truth." Effectiveness, another name for harmony, comes from an integrated working of mind, body, and spirit.

There are also three chartered branches of Huna International: Aloha International, its networking and project supervision arm; Voices of the Earth, a forum for native peoples; and Finding Each Other International, which conducts relationship training. Through Aloha International, the huna philosophy is shared through various programs, termed projects. The Network Project nurtures local chapters and service networks. The Hawaiiana Project supports the spread of knowledge of Hawaiian culture through museums, shops, and a mail order service for Hawaiiana. The Training Project provides Hawaiian Shaman Training as taught by King and other leaders, self development workshops of a wide variety, and teacher and counselor training for leaders. There is an annual gathering each November for the Mahakiki Festival on Kauai.

Membership: Not reported. In 1994 Huna International reported approximately 7,000 members.

Periodicals: The Aloha News, c/o Aloha International, Box 599, Kauai, HI 96746.

Sources:

King, Serge. The Aloha Spirit. Kilauea, HI: Aloha International, 1990. 16 pp.

——. Kahuna Healing. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1983. 173 pp.

"Making the Good the Most Important." Threshold Quarterly14, 4 (Nov 1996): 12-16.

——. Mastering Your Hidden Self. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1983.

——. Urban Shaman. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.

★1723 ★

Huna Research, Inc.

1760 Anna St.
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701-4504

The religion of ancient Hawaii, i.e., before 1820, was primarily ritualistic observance performed in heiaus (temples) by kahunas ("priests"). Control of the people was effected by strictly enforced kapu (taboo), which reserved most privileges and wealth for the royal families and their religious leaders. Severe punishments were exacted from those who violated the innumerable prohibitions of the kapu system. Each heiau was dedicated to one of the many gods and goddesses, of which the four major ones were Kane, the creator; Ku, the war god; Kanaloa, the god of the sea and of death; and Lono, the fertility god. Mana ("divine" power) was a special privilege of royalty and the kahunas and was jealously guarded.

The ancient kahuna religious practices virtually ceased when Hewahewa, the kahuna nui ("high priest") of Kamehameha anticipated the coming of the "new" religion and abolished the temple observances. Most Hawaiians did not adapt well to the white man's religion and went back to their old ways, even after they were outlawed by the missionaries, who gained political and financial control of the Islands. Often Hawaiians professed Christianity, while retaining many of the older beliefs and practices.

Many heiaus have been restored and are preserved as historical monuments by the government. A few modern day "kahunas" have maintained some of the rituals and practices, primarily using mana ("divine" power) for healing. Sam Lono, living on ancestral lands, maintained an ancient healing heiau on Oahu until his death a few years ago. David "Daddy" Bray, Sr. (1889-1968), a recognized practitioner, was known as a "kahuna," and passed on to his students the ancient religious practices near Kona on the Big Island. His son, David, Jr., continues in that tradition. Charles Kenn on Oahu was a specialist in the kahuna lore, including the inner meanings (kaona) of the Hawaiian language, but did not leave any record of his knowledge.

The great student of the Hawaiian religion of the twentieth century was Max Freedom Long (1898-1971), who went to Hawaii in 1917 as a teacher. He became fascinated with the traditional lore and religious practices of the kahunas, especially their methods of performing certain apparent "miracles," such as healing. He met a wall of secrecy wherever he tried to discover the secrets of their accomplishments. He left the Islands in 1931, thinking the secrets would never be known.

Four years later, he awoke in the middle of the night with the clue that would lead to the rediscovery of the ancient "magic." The secrets of the kahunas were hidden and preserved in coded form in the Hawaiian language itself. He chose the name "Huna" (the Hawaiian wording meaning "secret") for the "workable, psycho-religious system" that resulted from his investigations into what he called the Huna Code. It combined the best of both psychology and of religion.

As a psychological/religious practice Huna is distinguished from the ancient kahuna religion discussed above. Huna was never an attempt to restore or reconstruct those practices. Huna has neither kapu nor heiau. It is a practical way of life, based on the harmonious relationship of the three levels of consciousness, called the three "selves." These are unihipili (the inner, emotional, intuitive self), uhane (the waking consciousness or rationalself), and aumakua (the High Self or connection with the "divine"). Huna considers mana the vital life force that vivifies and empowers each person and not the special prerogative of the privileged few. Mana is transmitted via invisible aka substance.

To Long, Huna is "magic" based on the knowledge of how our three selves function, using mana not only to heal body, mind, and circumstance, but also to attain our goals and live effective lives.

After his first books (1936, 1948) explained the history of his discoveries, Long wrote textbooks to teach readers how to accomplish the things they desired by using the Huna way of life, e.g., The Secret Science at Work (1954). In The Huna Code in Religions (1965) he explored the Huna parallels in world religions, especially Buddhism, Yoga, and Christianity. Many later books on Huna have been written by students on Long, notably Huna: The Ancient Religion of Positive Thinking, by William R. Glover, which is probably the best introduction for new readers.

The Huna Research organization was established in 1945, because of the responses of readers of his first book. Members, called Associates, were from all walks of life and several countries, especially Australia and England. As a teaching that emphasizes a practical philosophy or psychology that all can use for themselves, the organization has maintained a steady but growing membership. Many learned what they needed, quietly continued to live according to the Huna principles, but did not continue as official members of Huna Research.

Long died in 1971 and was succeeded by Dr. E. Otha Wingo at the request of Long himself. The Huna headquarters was moved to Missouri, where Dr. Wingo was a professor at a university. In 1985, a headquarters building was purchased in Missouri.

Membership: With active Huna teachers and affiliated groups (Huna fellowships) throughout the United States and Canada, and in Australia, England, Germany, Switzerland, and Brazil, Huna currently has more followers than at any time in the organization's 50-plus year history. There are members in more than 50 countries. Huna Research, Inc. does not exert central control over affiliated organizations, but rather seeks to give guidance and assistance in the dissemination of Huna teachings. There are some 5,000 persons in Germany and Switzerland who have received the Huna teachings through the affiliate organization in Zurich, Huna Forschungs-gesellschaft, directed by Heinrich Krotoschin. Major Huna publications are available in the German language. Another major branch is Associacao de Estudos Huna in Brazil, directed by Ceres Elisa da Fonseca Rosas, where Huna books are available in Portuguese. Spanish editions are being produced currently in this country by Edgardo Torralvo of Torralvoma Holistic Center in New York.

In addition, a number of independent "Huna" organizations have sprung up in various locations based on the extensive research and experimentation of Max Freedom Long and his Huna Research Associates, but whose teachings are often mixed with other related concepts and which do not maintain affiliation with Huna Research, Inc.

An annual International Huna Seminar and meeting are held in various areas of the United States and Canada.

Periodicals: The Huna Work. • The Aka Cord. • Huna Arbeit–bulletin/newsletter; published in Switzerland in the German language.

Sources:

Hoffman, Enid. Huna, A Beginner's Guide. Rockport, MA: Para Research, 1976.

Long, Max Freedom. Introduction to Huna. Sedona, AZ: Esoteric Publications, 1975.

——. Recovering the Ancient Magic. Cape Girardeau, MO: Huna Press, 1978.

——. The Secret Science at Work. Vista, CA: Huna Research Publications, 1953.

——. The Secret Science Behind Miracles. Vista, CA: Huna Research Publications, 1954.

Wingo, E. Otha. The Story of the Huna Work. Cape Girardeau, MO: Huna Research, 1981.

★1724 ★

Inner Light Foundation

Box 750265
Petaluma, CA 94975

The Inner Light Foundation was founded in the 1969 by mystic and psychic Betty Bethards, with the objective of developing in all people a conscious awareness of God. It is Bethards' belief that within each individual are intuitive faculties, the development of which can lead to the greater brotherhood of man. The foundation teaches that for individuals to tap into their own inner guidance and insight, they need only three tools-dreams, affirmations, and visualizations/meditation. The foundation teaches a simple powerful meditation technique. This process of quieting allows for inner awareness, mystic development, and the emergence of spiritual abilities.

The foundation has grown steadily. It now holds regular lectures at several locations in the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles. Bethards remains a popular lecturer and worship leader and has written nine books presenting the foundation's teachings. She offers private readings to individuals.

Membership: In 2002, the foundation reported 10,000 members in the United States, 100 in Canada, and an additional 400 worldwide.

Periodicals: Inner Light Foundation Illuminations.

Sources:

Bethards, Betty. Relationships in the New Age of Aids. Novato, CA: Inner Light Foundation, 1988.

——. The Sacred Sword. Novato, CA: Inner Light Foundation, 1972.

——. Sex and Psychic Energy. Novato, CA: Inner Light Foundation, 1977.

——. There Is No Death. Novato, CA: Inner Light Foundation, 1975.

★1725 ★

Inner Peace Movement

PO Box 499
Washington, DC 20008

Francisco Coll had been a student of the psychic and spiritual most of his life. In the early 1960s, he became involved with medium Arthur A. Ford in the ecumenical church-psychic group Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship. In 1964, he established the Inner Peace Movement (IPM) to help people unfold their abilities by awakening the potentials of the inner man. IPM was founded in Washington, D.C. and soon a camp conference center and head office facilities were established in Osceola, Iowa. The program developed based in the communities, with lectures, workshops, groupwork, and personal spiritual counsellings. (Counseling is considered a method through which an individual can clarify his communication subliminally, as acknowledged by angelic messengers in the quickening of the flesh.)

The basic perspective of IPM is contained in Colls book, Man and the Universe, and in Discovering your True Identity, the text for the IPM groupwork. Individuals are shown with techniques and meditation how to unfold their own true reality and uniqueness, based on the premise they are a soul with a physical body, not a physical body with a soul. A soul is believed to be essentially spiritual electro-magnetic energy, and, as this energy is eternal, never dies. We are the sum total of every thought and experience throughout lifetimes and this becomes the essence and identity of each soul. It is this reality that acknowledges man as a feeling being. For every feeling we need an interpretation. For every interpretation, a feeling. Being in balance with his inner self, and with organization in the physical world, man can achieve his goals and life purpose with harmony and a oneness of self.

In 1972 the headquarters of IPM was moved to Washington, D.C. IPM is governed by a board of directors that meets annually. Although Coll is the founder, a new executive board and president is elected each year. Among the several related organizations, also founded by Coll, are: The Americana Leadership College, Inc. and Peace Community Church. The Americana Leadership College provides the leadership training for those that work with IPM in the communities. It also has 300 plus in-depth courses that cover a wide variety of spiritually related topics in several departments of study.

Membership: Over 90,000 people have been involved in the United States and an additional 35,000 people in 21 countries are trained to be leaders of IPM in the communities. The IPM has offices in the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, France, Great Britain, and Canada.

Educational Facilities: American Leadership College. Locations in the United States are based in: Iowa, Texas, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Washington, New York, and Puerto Rico. Internationally IPM is represented in over 10 countries on an active basis.

Periodicals: The Times Communicator and Expression Magazine.

Sources:

Coll, Francisco. Discovering Your True Identity. Osceola, IA: American Leadership College, 1968.

——. Discovering Your True Identity Leadership Training Manual. Osceola, IA: American Leadership College, 1972.

——. The Gifts of Intuition, Vision, Prophecy and Feeling in the Seven-Year Cycles. Washington, DC: American Leadership College, 1981.

★1726 ★

Institute of Cosmic Wisdom

3528 Franciscan Ln.
Las Vegas, NV 89121

The Institute of Cosmic Wisdom was founded by the Rev. Clark Wilkerson. It combines New Thought metaphysics with the magical religion of the huna. Wilkerson began as a metaphysician, and the main class offered students of Cosmic Wisdom was in "Mental Expansion." Wilkerson's teachings differ from those of most metaphysicians in his emphasis on the use of the mind to gain control of not only the self but others. He also believes that mastery of metaphysics comes in the deep meditative or hypnotic state.

In the early 1950s Wilkerson began to emphasize Hawaiian huna (the ancient magical practices of Hawaii) as an occult science which leads to success and happiness with less effort. The course emphasizes concentration and entering into the meditative silence as well as adjusting the mind to open concepts. Exercises are offered in how to enter the silence and use this ability.

Members of the Institute are drawn primarily through advertisements, mostly in psychic periodicals. Most students begin with correspondence courses in metaphysics or huna. Classes taught by Wilkerson are held periodically. Students who have completed the courses become the core of continuing members. An Inner Circle of ordained ministers constitutes the leadership.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Wilkerson, Clark L. Celestial Wisdom. Gardena, CA: Institute of Cosmic Wisdom, 1965.

——. Hawaiian Magic. Playa Del Rey, CA: Institute of Cosmic Wisdom, 1968.

★1727 ★

Institute of Mentalphysics

59700 29 Palms Hwy.
Joshua Tree, CA 92252

Alternate Address: Mailing Address: PO Box 1000, Joshua Tree, CA 92252.

The Institute of Mentalphysics was founded in 1927 in New York City, New York, by Edwin John Dingle (1881-1972). An editor and explorer in early life, he was one of the few American metaphysical teachers to have actually studied in Tibet prior to 1927. Once in Tibet, Dingle described his meeting with a master who helped him recall his memory (i.e., of previous incarnations). He was taught proper breathing and the remaining disciplines, which became the basis of the Science of Mentalphysics. In 1927, he gave a series of lectures in New York City. Some who attended asked that he share the wisdom he had learned in the East. That class is viewed as the beginning of the institute and of the new career of Ding Le Mei (Dingles' religious name). The institute was incorporated in 1934, in California.

Dingle combined the spiritual wisdom of the East with religious knowledge of the West to form a Super Yoga. The teachings of mentalphysics combine universal truths, breathing exercises, diet control, recognizing and working with one's individual chemistry, exercises, and meditation. New students are introduced to the universal laws of the creator which, if followed, are believed to lead to mastery on oneself and all of life. A vegetarian diet is recommended. Proper breathing is a key; it is the means of extracting prana, the energy of life, from the air. The healthy body prepares one to develop mind and spirit toward one's highest potential.

The Science of Mentalphysics teaches that prana or life energy, is substance, a subtle form of energy that animates life. It is universally distributed and is what the soul uses to think with. Using the mind-substance, as activated through breathing, one is able to activate the creative powers within. Students are also instructed in meditation, which leads toward tapping universal wisdom and development as a mystic. As a mystic one understands truth, life, and one's potential through experience.

The Science of Mentalphysics begins with the Initiate Group Course which consists of 26 basic lessons. There are 124 additional advanced lessons, and a Teachers or Preceptor Course which assist developed persons to share their knowledge and experience with seekers on all levels.

Headquarters, which serves the world-wide student body is located at the Mentalphysics Teaching Center and Spiritual Retreat, in Joshua Tree, California. The 385 acre facility can house up to 250 delegates. Most of the buildings are Frank Lloyd Wright designed. Main buildings such as the Caravansary of Joy, Meditation Building, and the Preceptory of Light are used to not only teach the Science of Mentalphysics, but serve sponsored groups dedicated to the elevation of human consciousness. Sunday services are held in the First Sanctuary of Mystic Christianity.

The non-profit organization is irrevocably dedicated to humanity and is operated by a board of trustees.

Membership: As of 1995 the active mail list is 6,003 and 222,307 students have been enrolled. This includes students in the U.S.A., Canada, Mexico, Iceland, India, Spain, England, Trinidad, and Ecuador. Seven centers serve seekers around the world.

Periodicals: Light of the Logos.

Sources:

Dingle, Edwin John. Borderlands of Eternity. Los Angeles: Institute of Mentalphysics, 1939.

——. Breathing Your Way to Youth. Los Angeles: Institute of Mentalphysics, [1931].

——. The Voice of the Logos. Los Angeles: Institute of Mentalphysics, 1950.

★1728 ★

Interfaith Church of Metaphysics (ICOM)

Windyville, MO 65783

The Interfaith Church of Metaphysics (ICOM) was founded in 1976 as the religious branch of the School of Metaphysics (SOM), an educational and service organization founded by a group of dedicated spiritual aspirants in 1973. The school is dedicated to study and research on what it considers to be the Universal Laws that govern creation and the development of humanity's spiritual consciousness. The school offers a comprehensive four-tiered program of study in the causal principles underlying humanity's existence. While the program is comparable in some ways to those found in traditional schools of higher education, it goes beyond the limitation inherent in physical study alone. It teaches how learning occurs as a sequence of thought, as well as how the application of the knowledge gained. Through the practice of spiritual disciplines, students transcend what they understand to be the pairs of opposites manifesting in the physical world and are led to the discovery of the origin of unity in religion and science, philosophy and conduct, freedom and responsibility, and peace and discipline.

In 1976 the board of directors of the School of Metaphysics, in response to the growing need for spiritual knowledge upon the part of those who had a more religious rather than a scholastic inclination, created the International Church of Metaphysics. Designed to offer truth, inspiration, and guidance to humans in their search to know and understand their relationship to their creator, ICOM provides various means for spiritual renewal and association. An interfaith church, ICOM members believe that all Holy Scriptures of the world embody truths that are universally applicable to all of humanity. When interpreted in the "Universal Language of Mind," all scriptures, regardless of the religion arising from them, offer insight and instruction into the origin and reason for humanity's existence. Because of this belief, ICOM eschews dogma, and church members are not required to drop previously held religious beliefs or membership in any religious group at the time they affiliate with ICOM.

ICOM members believe that each human is a spiritual being given existence and free will by the creator; that the creator set in motion principles and laws that function throughout our universe governing creation; that each human is made in the likeness and image of the creator and thus possesses the freedom and responsibility of creating thought; that each human being is striving to know truth that is universal and to become compatible with his/ her maker; that thought is cause and everything else is sub cause; that the temporal life is a choice made by the soul for the acceleration of spiritual progression; that all individuals have every possible opportunity for a spiritually enriching existence if only they will choose to envision it; that the destiny of each individual is an enlightened state of being, a possibility demonstrated by singular individuals throughout history; that this enlightened spiritual maturity can be aspired to through ever increasing awareness through disciplining our minds by meditation, prayer, and positive thinking; and that as this destiny is manifest in the individual's progression, it will become manifest for all people, and the evolution of the race is accelerated.

Church pastors have completed at least the first cycle of lessons in the program of study at the School of Metaphysics. These pastors serve as apprentices under the guidance of an ordained minister in the church. SOM students in the third cycle of lessons can elect to pursue a Doctorate of Divinity degree from the school and become ordained ministers in the church.

In 1993, ICOM was one of the many co-sponsors of the centennial Parliament of World's Religions held in Chicago. Two board members, Rev. Dr. Daniel R. Condron, president of the ICOM Ordination Board, and Rev. Dr. Barbara Condron, addressed the parliament and the church's choir gave a performance. As a result of this participation, the ordination board of the church elected to change the name to the Interfaith Church of Metaphysics, as a designation more clearly describing the ideal, purpose, and activity of the membership. Members of the church support the document released by the conference, "Toward a Global Ethic," as a pledge toward understanding one another and toward the realization of a more socially beneficial, peace-fostering, and nature-friendly way of life.

ICOM members, teachers and faculty in the School of Metaphysics collaborated over a period of two years to compose The Universal Peace Covenant, a document that identifies and describes the causes for peace within the individual and society.

Members are dedicated to an ever-increasing awareness of Truth, a personal communication with the creator, and a deepening understanding of self and of others. They are committed by thought and action to being of service to their neighbors and all of humankind. Through the School of Metaphysics, the church publishes and distributes worldwide a selection of books and tapes. Audiotapes offer musical presentations, sermons by church leaders, and courses on meditation and the Universal Language of Mind.

Membership: : Not reported. The church offers regular services in 16 major cities across the United States.

Educational Facilities: School of Metaphysics, Windyville, Missouri.

Periodicals: Thresholds Annual.

Sources:

Condron, Barbara. Kindalini Rising: Mastering Creative Energies. Windyville, MO: SOM Publishing, 1992. 212 pp.

Condron, Daniel. Dreams of the Soul: The Yogi Sutras of Patanjali. Windyville, MO: SOM Publishing, 1991. 204 pp.

——. Permanent Healing: Includes Quantum Mechanics of Healing. Windyville, MO: SOM Publishing, 1993. 214 pp.

Fuller, Laurel Jan. Shaping Your Life: The Power of Creative Energy. Windyville, MO: SOM Publishing, 1994. 214 pp.

Rothermel, Jerry L. Meditation: The Answer to Your Prayers. Windyville, MO: S. O. M. Publishing, 1987. 99 pp.

——. Symbols of Dreams. Springfield, MO: School of Metaphysics, 1976. 79 pp.

★1729 ★

International Church of Spiritual Vision, Inc. (Western Prayer Warriors)

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The International Church of Spiritual Vision, Inc., was formed by Dallas Turner who as Nevada Slim became a country-music star in the 1960s. In 1959, he received the Pentecostal "baptism of the Holy Spirit" and spoke in tongues, in an actual foreign language. A long-time student of psychical metaphysics, numerology and hypnotism, Turner has built an eclectic system of belief which combines elements of the psychic, Pentecostalism and Sacred Name Adventism in a blend called Aquarian Metaphysics.

The essence of the church's beliefs are included in the Yahwist Creed: "I believe in Yahweh the Father Almighty, creator of all things. And in Yahoshua–whom the world knows as Jesus Christ–Yahweh's only begotten Son our Savior; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the blessed virgin, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; preached to the spirits in prison. The third day He arose from the physical dead. He ascended into the World of Spirit, sits at the right hand of Yahweh the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the so-called dead. I believe the original message of our Saviour and Wayshower. I accept the Scriptural and Metaphysical Truths of all religions. I give no place to the devil. I believe that Yahweh is the only power that exists. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the nine gifts of the Spirit, the communion of believers, the resurrection of the spiritual body, and life everlasting. Amen." Members relate to the church through the mail. Turner solicits the prayer concerns from members and sends blessed cloths (Acts 19:12) and includes absent members in metaphysical healing prayers. He also offers lessons in Aquarian Metaphysics.

Membership: Not reported.

★1730 ★

Kabalarian Society

5912 Oak St.
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6M 2W2

The Kabalarian Society was developed by Alfred J. Parker (1897-1960). Parker was born in England, but his family moved to British Columbia in this youth, settling in Vancouver. Though raised an Anglican, Parker began to search through the various philosophies available to him and studied for a time with a Hindu swami. He developed what became known as the Kabalarian Philosophy during the 1920s, and began publicly expounding it through personal contacts and newspaper articles in the 1930s. He started classes in his living room, later moving into a hall constructed in his basement. He began to rent lecture halls for Sunday evening lectures.

The Kabalarian Philosophy is based on the connection between numbers, the symbols of the language, and the forces of intelligence that comprise the human mind. It unites the practical, scientific concepts of the West with the idealistic concepts of the East in which the goal in life is to merge with the conscious plane. One's mental characteristics, state of well being, and experiences in life are shown to be determined by one's name, which incorporates the specific forces of intelligence in the mind of the individual. Greater harmony and balance can be achieved in one's life through using a balanced name.

A cyclic pattern in the unfoldment of the mind is also revealed through the philosophy. It regards the physical body as the instrument for the expression of the conscious forces of life, and so stresses the importance of a moderate vegetarian diet, emotional control, and physical fitness through exercises and deep breathing. The name derives from the Hebrew word kabal, which means "to receive." In ancient Hebrew lore, numbers and the 22 letter of the Hebrew alphabet were considered to represent forces of creation. Kabal means to receive the esoteric knowledge of numbers and letters of the alphabet. Although the name "Kabalarian" derives from Hebrew, the Kabalarian Philosophy has no affiliation with Judaism.

The current president/director of the Kabalarian Philosophy is Lorenda Bardell. The Internet address is http://www.kabalarians.com.

Membership: In 2002, the centers for the Kabalarian Philosophy were located in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Vancouver and Power River, British Columbia; Thousand Palms, California; and Stadskannaal, Netherlands.

Periodicals: The Newsline (Internet newsletter). • The Kabalarian Student.

Remarks: In the fall of 1997, former Kabalarian leader Ivon Shearing was tried on counts of rape and sexual assault brought by 11 female complainants. Though he was found guilty, he has continued to profess his innocence and members of the society have remained supportive of him.

In 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled a retrial on two of the charges, allowing lawyers to further cross-examine an alleged victim. Shearing's other convictions, including rape and indecent assault, are not affected by the ruling.

★1731 ★

Karin Society

2531 Braircliff Rd. NE, Ste. 217
Atlanta, GA 30329

The Karin Society was founded in the 1980s as an association of people seeking their spiritual growth through the kabbalah. It grew out of the Karin Kabalah Study Course written by Shirley Chambers and published in 1984. It is Chambers' belief that the kabbalah, often thought of as a particularly Jewish form of mysticism, embodies an understanding that is more ancient than either Christianity or Judaism. From that understanding flowed all of the world's religions, and as humanity proceeds to a new level of progress, a reinterpretation of the kabbalistic wisdom is both possible and necessary. The Karin Kabalah is such a modern reinterpretation. "Karin" is a Hindustani word meaning "light" or more literally, "rays of the sun."

The Kabalah presents a mystical system that leads the student to Truth; not an intellectual Truth, but an experienced Truth that cannot be explained in words. The Karin Kabalah Course is offered as a correspondence course with monthly lessons. In 1988 Chambers established the Karin Kabalah Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where a two-year course in kabbalistic wisdom is taught along with related subjects such as astrology, hatha yoga, psychic and spiritual development, and eastern philosophy. The society developed out of the expanding work of the correspondence course and center.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Karin Journal.

★1732 ★

Light Institute

HC-75, Box 50
Galisteo, NM 87540

The Light Institute was founded in 1985 to facilitate the teachings of Chris Grissom, popular New Age writer and teacher. Grissom's preparation as a teacher began in Mexico while attending the University of Mexico and using her spare time to explore the rural countryside. She became the student of a curandera, a village healer, who introduced her to the presence of god in nature. Throughout the 1960s she spent nine years in El Salvador, Bolivia, and Paraguay in the Peace Corps, where people further taught her their esoteric traditions. She came to believe that nature, even the rocks, were alive with energy. Upon her return to the United States, she studied with Silva Mind Control and a variety of individual teachers. During this period she emerged as a spiritual healer. She later studied massage and acupuncture and throughout the early 1980s developed her healing work. She came to feel that the primary experience needed by people in the present era is the clearing of the emotional body.

It is Grissom's opinion that the self is composed of four bodies–the physical, astral, emotional, and spiritual. The emotional body is described as the emotional vehicle of consciousness which vibrates at a low frequency. It is also her belief that now is a time of spiritual awakening which will lead humankind into a new, more enlightened, cosmic human reality. From her initial insights, she has expanded the teachings to cover all aspects of life and through the institute offers a variety of courses teaching people to apply the spiritual teaching in their lives. Grissom is now assisted by a number of facilitators whom she has trained. In 1988 she also founded the Nizhoni School for Global Consciousness as a day school for people age three to adult focused around exploring the individual purpose in the global context.

The institute has an affiliated center in Brazil and contact persons in France, Holland, and Germany.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Grissom, Chris. Ecstasy Is a New Frequency: Teachings of the Light Institute. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988.

——. Time Is an Illusion.

★1733 ★

Lorian Association

(Defunct)

The Lorian was an association of people dedicated to the vision of the New Age, defined as the spirit of wholeness upon the earth. Members believed that humanity was striving for a new level of completeness expressed in a new sense of partnership with creation, the emergence of a wholistic spirit within individuals, and a new covenant between God and the godliness in each person.

The catalyst for the formation of the Lorian Association was the return of David Spangler (b. 1945) to the United States in 1973 after three years as the co-director of the Findhorn Community in northern Scotland, a New Age community founded by Peter Caddy, his wife, Eileen Caddy, and Dorothy McLean. Along with the Universal Link, Findhorn has been one of the most important groups fostering the larger New Age Movement. Spangler led in the founding of the association soon after his arrival in America. Over the next few years, he authored several books which for many people provided the definitive statements of the New Age vision.

The beliefs of the association were summarized in their 15-part "Statement of Interdependence" which committed members to a dedication to sacred, cooperative decision making, the process of growth, one world, harmless interaction with the environment, the building of a planetary village, conservation and wise use of energy, diversity in cultural expressions, an open social order, and the communication with and learning from preaterhuman intelligences who also inhabit earth. Since the 1960s, Spangler has been in contact with a spiritual entity named "John," and he views much of his literary production as a synthesis of John's insight and his words.

In the mid-1980s, the association moved from Wisconsin to a new center in Washington. An active program was built around educational events for the public, publication of new age literature, encouragement of music and the arts and networking with people who share one or more common concerns. The association was made up of a small and dedicated community and encouraged the development of like-minded groups over the growth of the association. It disbanded in the late 1980s.

Sources:

Spangler, David. Festivals in the New Age. Forres, Moray, Scotland: Findhorn Publications, 1975.

——. Reflections on the Christ. Forres, Moray, Scotland: Findhorn Publications, 1977.

——. Revelation, the Birth of a New Age. San Francisco: Rainbow Bridge, 1976.

——. Towards a Planetary Vision. Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Foundation, 1977.

Spangler, David, ed. Conversations with John. Elgin, IL: Lorian Press, 1980.

★1734 ★

Loving Hands Institute

639 11th Ave.
Fortuna, CA 95540-2346

Formerly known as Church of Loving Hands. It is a New Age church founded in 1979 by Rev. Rosalind Beal-Ojala. Beal-Ojala was ordained in 1979 by the Mother Earth Church and her church was chartered in 1980 by the same. Beal-Ojala began her studies in psychic awareness in 1968 with the Inner Peace Movement, the year after her graduation from the University of Arizona. Through the early 1970s she worked with Universal Communications, an organization founded by her father, Robert L. Beal, in Phoenix, before moving to Mill Valley, California, in 1975. By this time, natural healing had become the keystone of her work and she began to concentrate on various forms of healing activity from Swedish massage to diet to spiritual healing by the laying-on-of-hands.

Beal-Ojala is also part Native American, a Meti, and a member of the National American Metis Association. She has found a convergence between New Age teachings and healing practices and those of Native Americans. Much of the work of the church is conducted under her Native American name, Skyhawk. The church also sponsors sweat lodge ceremonies, medicine circles, and wilderness vision quests. Along with theosophical texts, the church considers such books of Native American teachings as The Book of the Hopi, Black Elk Speaks, and Warriors of the Rainbow as authoritative texts for its members.

The church is dedicated to the research, teaching, and ministering of Natural Earth Healing, which combines the Ancient Ways of Native Americans and New Age techniques. The church shares these teachings with all in the hope of rekindling connections between people and the spirit power and Mother Earth. It also supports the Cross Cultural Shamanism Network, Berkeley, California, and the XAT Medicine Society, Nashville, Tennessee. The organizations web site is http://lovinghandsinstitute.com.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: Rosebud College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota is sponsored by the church.

Periodicals: Medicine Ways.

★1735 ★

Mahanaim School of Interpretation

(Defunct)

The Mahanaim School of Interpretation was founded around 1900 in Chicago, Illinois, by George Chainey (b. 1851). Prior to founding the school, Chainey had a long ministerial career first as a Methodist, and after 1877, as a Unitarian. He spent much of the 1880s touring the world as an independent author and lecturer on religion and mysticism. He settled in Chicago during the 1890s and devoted himself to writing an interpretion of the Bible. In 1901 he began publishing The Interpreter, a monthly magazine through which he announced the school's programs and publicized its teachings. The first volumes of the projected 30-volume series, The Unsealed Bible, his occult-metaphysical commentary on the scriptures were published in 1902.

As the school's "conductor," Chainey saw three main purposes in the school: to teach (1) the knowableness of God, the distinctiveness of the manifest life of God in revelation from the unmanifest God, (2) the true relation between God and humanity, and (3) the law of immortal life, which is to be in an embodied state. Chainey viewed his task to be that of interpreter of God's language of revelation. Revelation was of the essence or amrit of God. Present living revelation was to be appropriated through the interpretation of past revelation, hence Chainey's efforts to compose interpretative volumes on the various books of the Bible.

In the formative years of the school, Chainey conducted worship weekly on Sunday mornings and public classes on most weekdays. He also accepted a few private students who did more intense study in a resident home situation, the summer being spent in a resort center in Wisconsin. Chainey's work continued over the next two decades, eventually moving its center to Burnett, California, and in the 1920s to Long Beach, California. By this time, the work expanded to become the Amrita University, which consisted of the Chainey's Mahanaim School of Interpretation, which he personally headed; The School for Parents under the direction of Walt de Noir Church; the Emersonian Delsarte School of Life and Expression; and the School of Metaphysics, Psychology and Healing, headed by Dr. Fredoon C. Birdi. Chainey retained the pattern of interaction with students, most of whom studied through his correspondence course. Only a few actually resided at the school to work under his personal direction.

The final disposition of the school is unknown.

Sources:

Chainey, George. Deus Homo. Boston, MA: Christopher Publishing House, 1927.

——. Time's Garland of Grace. San Diego, CA: Charles Gardner, 1918.

——. The Unsealed Bible. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Truebner & Co., 1902.

★1736 ★

Mindstream Church of Universal Love

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Mindstream Church of Universal Love began in 1979 with a charter from the Universal Life Church of Modesto, California. It is headed by the Rev. Kenneth Donabie-Dixon and Wendie Gilmour Donabie-Dixon. The church has no set doctrine. Its prime mission is to assist members in discovering their own path in life. God is seen as a living part of all that is. Man's purpose is to return to the Godhead. This may be accomplished by living the Law of Love. This Law, the basic truth of existence, is "God is Law, Law is Love, and Love is God." Love for humans means providing the opportunity for others to do for themselves.

The church provides practical tools to assist members. These tools take the form of classes and individual sessions on dream study, development of psychic skills, meditation, spiritual healing, relaxation, goal setting, age regression and reincarnation, and motivation. Age regression is done without hypnosis. Under the direction of the church, monies are set aside to assist the development of self-sufficient communities across North America.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Spiritual Growth and Psychic Awareness. Send orders to R.R. 2, Sutton West, ON, Canada L0E 1R0

★1737 ★

New Age Church of Truth

(Defunct)

Gilbert N. Holloway (b. 1915) began his career as a lecturer and metaphysical teacher in the 1930s. He became aware, as a result of studies in Rosicrucianism and Theosophy, that he had psychic powers. In the 1960s, he became prominent as a psychic on radio and television, and large audiences flocked to hear his lectures and to obtain readings (the statements he uttered while in a psychic state). In 1967, he received a Pentecostal experience and spoke in tongues. In the mid-1960s Holloway established a community and center in Deming, New Mexico. After his conversion, this center became the Christ Light Community.

Through the 1970 and 1980s, Holloway and his wife, June Holloway, who specialized in healing work, continued to travel, lectured and gave psychic demonstrations. They built the Deming community into a New Age Center. There was a free movement in the programming between Pentecostal and psychic categories. Holloway wrote books and booklets and published a monthly newsletter for members and friends of the church. He was particularly adept at prophecy; predictions of future events composed much of the content of his publications.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Newsletter.

Sources:

Holloway, Gilbert N. E.S.P. and Your Super-Conscious. Louisville, KY: Best Books, 1966.

——. Let the Heart Speak. Los Angeles: DeVorss & Co., 1951.

——. New Ways of Unfoldment. Deming, NM: New Age Truth Publications, n.d.

——. Seven Prophetic Years. Deming, NM: New Age Truth Publications, 1969.

——. This Way Up. Deming, NM: New Age Church of Truth, 1975.

★1738 ★

New Age Community Church

6418 S. 39th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85041

The New Age Community Church is an ecclesiastical expression of the New Age, the Age of Aquarius. It is like the new religious consciousness of the older or Picean Age, which made its definitive expression as did Catholicism, in that it draws on all of the major religions of the present time. The New Age fulfills Christianity (and all the other world religions). It believes that the differences between the nine major religions are relatively unimportant, though it does oppose perspectives that emphasize fear and hatred. More important are the many pathways or systems of expression of a relationship with the Divine worship that appear in the different systems. Each of these pathways appears in a variety of the presently existing religions and each one will lead to God. The nine pathways are: social–through relationships and society meditation–through mental discipline revelation–through channeling and psyche karma–through good deeds and service ecstasy–through dance and music ritual–through magic and sacrament knowledge–through wisdom and understanding physical– through yoga, diet, and health worship–through devotion and adoration.

The New Age Community Church speaks of God as all there is. God is not personal and does not reside in a place called heaven. The universe can be thought of as God's physical body. Christ is thought of as the Logos or Higher self. Humans are currently trapped on the wheel of reincarnation. We continually eat of the tree of believing in good and evil and creating emotional values based on that belief. When we cease creating such emotional values the karma can no longer hold us and we will ascend to the level of the divine.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: New Age Seminary Program.

★1739 ★

New Age Samaritan Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The New Age Samaritan Church was incorporated in 1961 by the Rev. Ruth McWilliams of Everett, Washington. The doctrine is eclectic, a combination of material from the New Testament, New Thought, metaphysical beliefs, Theosophy, Zen and Spiritualism. The church espouses no system of beliefs, but professes to help its students and members to discover for themselves the spiritual laws. Its goals include helping the poor in body and spirit, relieving the suffering in the world, eliminating prejudice and teaching the interrelation of all creatures. It practices the various psychic arts, including "treasure mapping" as a means to achieving your heart's desire. This involves visualizing what you want and how to get it.

Membership: Not reported. In 1967 there were 4 study groups and students engaged in correspondence across the United States. Attempts at contact have not been successful for several years and the present status of the church is unknown.

★1740 ★

New Psychiana

℅ Psychiana Study Group
4069 Stephens St.
San Diego, CA 92103

The New Psychiana was formed in 1967 by Jack E. Gardner of San Diego, California. Gardner was an early student of Frank B. Robinson, the founder of Psychiana, a popular New Thought group which had its greatest growth in the 1930s and 1940s. Gardner completed both the regular and advanced courses. Gardner accepted the role of the student who would arise to continue Robinson's work following his death in 1948. In the years since Robinson's death, the whole field of ESP has emerged, and Gardner added teachings on conscious evolution to Psychiana to bring it up to date.

Conscious evolution is the "divine cybernetics to spiritual growth." It teaches techniques of becoming fully aware of the powerful God-presence within you. By learning to control this power, one can heal bodily and spiritual wounds, bring peace and break free from poverty and defeat.

Membership: Not reported.

★1741 ★

The Only Fair Religion

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Only Fair Religion was founded by Saint Kenny and a group of his followers. Neither the identity of Saint Kenny, nor any of his group, is disclosed in the literature. The group teaches modern reincarnationism. The universe is in constant flux, governed by natural laws. Souls progress through lower life-forms to higher ones. When a being evolves to a point of gaining a sense of awareness, it simultaneously acquires an immortal soul. It then moves through a series of incarnations which are necessary for its development. It eventually evolves to become a planetary ruling spirit. The system is the "Only Fair Religion" because it assures a balance of woe and happiness, explains evil and assures eventual salvation for all.

New groups form for the discussion of issues in light of modern reincarnationism. Members seek to unite in their concept of God and in their concern for justice, and true communion results. Telepathy and psychic phenomena will often occur during this process.

Membership: Not reported. In 1972, the "Only Fair Religion" claimed 10,000 members in Southern California, a figure based on the number of people successfully qualified to be group leaders.

★1742 ★

People's Temple Christian (Disciples) Church

(Defunct)

The People's Temple Christian (Disciples) Church was formed in 1955 in Indianapolis by the Rev. Jim Jones. (Though formally a member congregation in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the People's Temple, in the 1970s, developed beliefs and practices that were very much different than those of its parent body.) Jones emerged in the 1960s as a charismatic leader who cared for the poor and the black people of the city and preached a message of equality, brotherhood and socialism.

In 1965, a year after being ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) he migrated with his following to Ukiah, California. From there the People's Church became a communal group modeled on the Peace Mission of Father Divine, whom Jones had known and revered. Though white himself, Jones gathered a largely black following who came to view him as a prophet and miracle worker. By 1972 Jones claimed that over forty people had been raised from the dead. Church services featured psychic readings and healings by Jones, spirited singing, testimonies and sermons. A wide range of social services was supported.

By 1972 congregations flourished in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Indianapolis and followers were to be found in cities around the United States. That same year Jones leased land in Guyana which became a farming community, Jonestown. Jones became a prominent, controversial, but powerful figure in the California religious community, but also became an object of government investigation because of reports of violence directed toward ex-members and abuse of children under his care. Coincidental with the publication of several major media reports on the church and with the filing of several lawsuits, Jones moved with many of his members to Guyana.

By 1977 when Jones moved to Guyana, Jonestown had swelled to a thousand residents. This town was the scene, in 1978, of the murder of Congressman Leo J. Ryan and several of his party, who came to Jonestown to investigate the charges which had been brought against it. Immediately following Ryan's murder was the mass suicide/murder of over 900 of the town's residents, including Jones. In 1978 the church was formally disbanded by the remaining members in California.

In the years since the deaths in Guyana, the People's Temple and its leader have become symbols of the possibilities inherent in religious groups and have frequently been invoked as the end result of cultic practice. As most of the papers assembled for the investigation of Congressman Ryan's death have remained unpublished, the likelihood of substantive future revelations about Jones, the temple, and the deaths in Guyana remains high.

Sources:

Feinsof, Ethan. Awake in a Nightmare. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1981.

Klineman, George, and Sherman Butler. The Cult That Died. New York: G. B. Putnam's Sons, 1980.

Maaga, Mary McCormick. Hearing the Voices of Jonestown: Putting a Human Face on an American Tragedy. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1998.

Mills, Jeanne. Six Years With God. New York: A & W Publishers, 1979.

Reiterman, Tim, with John Jacobs. Raven. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1982.

Yee, Min S., and Thomas N. Layton. In My Father's House. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1981.

★1743 ★

Planetary Light Association

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Planetary Light Association was founded by Jann Weiss, a psychic medium who, in January 1983, began to channel messages from a spirit entity named Anoah. Anoah is considered to be a member of the Melchizedek Order of the White Brotherhood. His work is to assist in a smooth transition from the old age into the new. Under Anoah's direction, Golden Circle sessions were initiated. Each session consisted of a planetary meditation, a dissertation that Anoah delivered through Weiss, and a question and answer period. In July 1983 the Planetary Light Association was formed. It is dedicated to the uplifting of the planet through positive thought, word, and activity. By the fall of 1983 the association had a program that included psychic development workshops, books by Anoah, and a line of "Be Your Light and Be in Peace" products. A regular schedule of events in Texas and Washington was established. Through the cassette tapes and literature derived from the Golden Circle sessions, the organizations spread throughout the country. By 1986 the "Anoah Material" was being communicated internationally.

Membership: In 1987 the association reported 2,700 members in the United States and an additional 500 internationally.

Periodicals: Planetary Beacon.

Sources:

Achad, Frater. Melchizedek Truth Principles. Phoenix, AZ: Lockhart Research Foundation, 1963.

Weiss, Jann. Reflections by Anoah. Austin, TX: Planetary Light Association, 1986.

★1744 ★

Portal Enterprises

PO Box 1449
Columbia, MD 21044

Portal Enterprises is the teaching vehicle for Sri Akhenaton, a teacher of esoteric spiritual philosophy. Out of his mystical experience, he sees himself as transmitting the Divine Light Energy of the One Infinite Creator to facilitate the awakening of humankind to the God-Consciousness Being. It is also his belief that all things born of creation, not just humans, contain a Light/Life vibration of Divine Consciousness and should be treated accordingly.

Sri Akhenaton offers a series of classes, workshops and weekly spiritual gatherings where he teaches LoveLight Meditation and the practice of Trans-Cultural Consciousness. It is assumed that humans are on an evolutionary journey that includes various incarnations in the earthly realm. Sri Akhenaton seeks to assist people on that journey in such a way as to not interfere with the free will or promulgating eccentric exclusivist doctrines. Rather, he attempts to assist people in discovering their divine nature and their ability to cooperate with their own evolution.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Akhenaton, Sri. Crystal Communion. Columbia, MD: Portal Press, 1994.

——. Discussion of Spiritual Attunement & Soul Evolution. 2 vols. Columbia, MD: Portal Press, 1992.

——. Reflections from the Golden Mind. Columbia, MD: Portal Press, 1994.

★1745 ★

Process Church of the Final Judgment

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Process Church dates to 1963, when a group began to gather around the charismatic Robert de Grimston, then a resident of London. The group was primarily psychologically oriented to begin with, but its search led to a spiritual quest. In 1966, members spent several months at Xtul, Yucatan, which is viewed as a place of miracles and a shared religious experience. Those who went were welded into a closely-knit group. Over the next seven years, a theology-in-process developed, primarily through the continued revelations of de Grimston. Development was rapid; significant changes could be noted annually and with each issue of the irregularly-issued Process.

As the theology appeared in 1973, the central emphasis was a dualism of Christ and Satan overcome by a reconciliation expressed in the formula, "The Unity of Christ and Satan is Good News for You. If that conflict can be resolved, then yours can be too." Behind this theme was a belief in the four deities: Jehovah, Lucifer, Christ and Satan–each representative of a personality-type and a spiritual path. All doctrine was set within the context of a Biblical apocalypticism.

To perpetuate the teaching, a strong hierarchical organization was established. Topping the hierarchy with de Grimston was a twelve-member Council of Masters. Ministers were called messengers. Initiated lay members were disciples, and joined the ranks of the Inside Processeans, as opposed to the Outside Processeans who lived according to process teaching without initiation. Inside Processeans dressed in the black uniform and wore the cross with a snake entwined upon it.

The Process Church was delt a fatal blow in 1974 when the majority of the Council of Masters rejected de Grimston's prophetic leadership (particualrly his emphasis on Satanic themes) and reorganized as the Foundation Church of the Millennium (now the Foundation Faith of God). Most of the members, including de Grimston's wife, aligned themselves with the new church.

The Process Church did not die completely with the schism. De Grimston reorganized the Process in a loose fashion and attempted to gather the remnant of followers into a very loose organization. He sent an open letter to his followers from his new home in New Orleans, encouraging them to form local autonomous groups around his teachings. Chapters formed in Boston and Toronto and smaller groups in Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, San Francisco, and London, England. A periodical, The Process, was published from the Boston headquarters. After several years in which it became evident that the organization could not be rebuilt, de Grimston returned to England and obscurity and all sign of the Process disappeared before the end of the decade.

After a period without public manifestation, a remnant of the Process Church reappeared in the late 1980s. It is composed of a small number of former Process members who have remained believers in spite of the reverses of the 1970s. They attempted to establish contact with other members now scattered around the country, but then again disappeared from public sight. Their present status is unknown.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Assemblies and Hymns. Process Church of the Final Judgment, n.d.

Bainbridge, William Sims. Satan's Power. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1978.

de Grimston, Robert. Exit. Letchworth, Herts., England: Garden City Press, 1968.

——. The Gods and Their People. Chicago: Process Church of the Final Judgment, 1970.

Facts and Figures, Some Questions and Answers about the Process Church. Chicago: Process Church, 1973.

★1746 ★

Quartus Foundation for Spiritual Research

PO Box 1768
Boerne, TX 78006

The Quartus Foundation for Spiritual Research was founded in 1981 by John Randolph Price and his wife, Jan Price. It is a New Age organization whose goal is to expand the human mind to its divine origin and thus affect a measurable change in the collective consciousness of humanity. Such a change of consciousness will usher in a new world of harmony and divine order.

To fulfill the foundation's purpose, Price has written a number of books. The first was The Super beings (1981) in which he called attention to the appearance of a new species of human that had overcome limitations and had become Masters to raise the level of human consciousness. In 1984 Price announced the Planetary Commission, that would have 500 million people consent to the healing of the planet and 50 million people mobilized to meditate for that healing at the same time, noon Greenwich time. December 31, 1986, was designated the first World Healing Day. The event was successful enough to become an annual tradition among New Age groups around the world.

Price views the Quartus Foundation as a research laboratory in spirituality and is continually developing new approaches to bring in the New Age. Among the most recent was a 1988 experiment in which he invited several hundred people to live for two months in the realm of the "fourth dimension," i.e., the realm of spiritual causation. It is the foundation's position that causation basically originates in the spiritual world, hence change comes from identifying with that world. The results of this experiment became the subject of his book, A Spiritual Philosophy for the New World (1990). The Quartus Foundation is a member of the International New Thought Alliance (INTA).

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: The Quartus Report.

Sources:

Price, John Randolph. The Planetary Commission. Austin, TX: Quartus Foundation for Spiritual Research, 1984.

——. A Spiritual Philosophy for the New World. Boerne, TX: Quartus Foundation for Spiritual Research, 1990.

——. The Superbeings. Austin, TX: Quartus Foundation for Spiritual Research, 1981.

——. With Wings as Eagles. Austin, TX: Quartus Foundation for Spiritual Research, 1987.

★1747 ★

Quimby Center

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Quimby Center dates to 1946 when its founder, Dr. Neva Dell Hunter (d. 1978), began working in the field of ESP. Though part of her spiritual work assignment from the beginning, the Center did not materialize until 1966 in Alamogordo, New Mexico. The purpose of the Center, besides being a vehicle of Dr. Hunter's continued work, was fourfold: to promote the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, to promote spiritual understanding among men, to provide education by holding classes and to provide facilities for the general public. Like its namesake, Phineas P. Quimby, the founder of New Thought, the Center teaches that man is a direct expression of God. By applying metaphysical teachings, man can gain self-mastery.

Man lives within a universe governed by spiritual laws. These impersonal cosmic laws hold man responsible for every choice. Through the cycle of reincarnation, man becomes aware of the nature of life, assumes his responsibility and becomes attuned to the oneness of life. He realizes that there is life on other planets. He realizes that the present upheavals are preparation for movement into the Aquarian Age.

The Center programs stress workshops, seminars and lectures. A large library is maintained, and books, records and tapes are available to members on loan. One of the unique practices of the Center is a form of spiritual healing called "aura balancing," in which healers work on the patient's auric emanations. (Auras are invisible waves of psychic energy that bodies project.) A booklet on the work, The Auric Mirror, by Ellavivian Power, has been published. Dr. Hunter was a psychic with a wide reputation in the psychic community. She gave karmic live-readings and psychic counseling both at the Center and at her many lectures around the country. When in Alamogordo, she gave weekly channeled classes.

The Center is run by a president-director, a vice-president, treasurer, secretary and nine-member board. Hunter was succeeded as president by Robert D. Waterman. Members are found both in Alamogordo and scattered around the United States in small study groups. Study groups have focused on aura-balancing. An annual Memorial Day picnic is held in Michigan by the Midwestern members.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: Quimby Center Newsletter. Send orders to Box 453, Alamogordo, NM 88310.

★1748 ★

Religious School of Natural Hygiene

PO Box 1011
Boulder Creek, CA 95006

The Religious School of Natural Hygiene was founded in 1979 by Arthur D. Andrews, Jr., its first minister and president. During most of its first decade, the church was headquartered at its California Health Sanctuary located on a farm near Hollister, California.

As spelled out in its primary text, the church teaches a very positive faith that affirms humanity's creation by a loving God. According to the text, God created humans to carry out His will–to become caretakers of ourselves, each other, the other life forms on the planet, and the planet itself. This way is called stewardship. Humans are free to choose to live out God's will or not. The church is officially against all forms of violence, including war and capital punishment.

The major practical conclusion to be drawn from this theological perspective is that God wants humans healthy and has built a plan so they can live out healthy lives. That plan, or Natural Hygiene, involves following both a spiritual program of prayer, the laying-on-of-hands, and a process of fasting and diet derived from the Bible. This method allows God's power to work through us to bring healing. The recommended diet centers on uncooked fruits, nuts, and greens.

The school encountered major opposition to its work in 1987 when the state of California Board of Medical Quality Assurance charged the institution and Andrews with practicing medicine without a license. The state was particularly concerned with the lengthy fasts Andrews oversaw for people staying at the school. In addition, several former students filed suit for damage received from adherence to the regimen (though the suits were subsequently dismissed). While working through these challenges to its program, the church moved from Hollister to Boulder Creek.

Membership: In 1995 the school reported approximately 1,000 members in three centers in the United States and 25 members in Canada.

Periodicals: Naturally, The Hygiene Way.

Sources:

Major Tenets: Heed My Words. Hollister, CA: Religious School of Natural Hygiene, n.d.

★1749 ★

Savitria

2405 Ruscombe
Baltimore, MD 21209

Savitria, formed in 1970 by a group led by artist Robert Hieronimus, is dedicated to sowing the seeds for the Aquarian Age. The spiritual heart of Savitria is a three-and-one-half-acre estate in North Baltimore, Maryland, which houses the core communal group, the Aum Esoteric Study Center and the New Morning School. Hieronimus began with a meditation group at Johns Hopkins University. Savitria was an outgrowth of that group.

It is Savitria's belief that man is a dual being, both mental and immortal. Man's goal is to allow the immortal aspect of being to overshadow the mental. This goal is accomplished through the study of esoteric sciences, which allow man to understand the cosmic process, and meditation, which raises his consciousness without the use of drugs. The high consciousness allows the two aspects of man to work in harmony and will lead to the era of the brotherhood of man and fatherhood of God, the golden age spoken of in all ancient esoteric writings.

Hieronimus had, in the early 1970s, gained a reputation in the psychic community because of his interest in the esoteric history of the United States. He believes that the Masons and Rosicrucians had a large part in the founding of the country. Evidence of their influence is to be be found in the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States (found on the back of the one-dollar bill), which features the eye of God in the great triangle, a Rosicrucian symbol.

The Aum Esoteric Study Center is a state-approved institution and functions as a branch of the World University, founded by Howard John Zitko headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. It was formed as the first step in providing a total alternative education curriculum for all grades through college. At this point, the center has a three-year curriculum, with classes on the mystic arts, occult sciences and religion metaphysics. Certificates are offered in each area. New Morning School was formed in 1971 as a day-care/ nursery school for pre-school children. In the mid-1970s, the Savitria community included approximately 15 people, who follow a strict code of conduct which includes meditation before sunrise and abstinence from drugs, extramarital sex, and wearing shoes in the house.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Hieronimus, Robert. The Two Great Seals of America. Baltimore, MD: Savitriaum, 1976.

Zitko, Howard John. New Age Tantra Yoga. Tucson, AZ: World University Press, 1974.

★1750 ★

Society of Novus Spiritus

35 Dillon Ave.
Campbell, CA 95008-3001

The Society of Novus Spiritus was founded by spirit medium Sylvia Browne who has been channeling a spirit, Francine, since the 1960s. The society was created to disseminate the teachings which have been received over the past 30 years. Novus strives to uncover all of the "mysteries" regarding the nature of life, death, God, and the role humans play in life's scheme. To its understanding, God never withholds information; it is humans who choose to ignore it. The society exists to help prepare individuals for receiving God's wisdom.

Novus affirms the existence of an all-loving God and is dedicated to eliminating what it considers the false concepts of Satan, hell, sin, guilt, and the fear of God, all of which are contrary to its understanding of a benevolent Creator. The pain of life is not punishment from God; rather, it is a learning tool, and a very necessary one in the larger scheme of life.

Observing that nearly everything in nature exhibits a dual nature, most notably in the pairing of male/female, members of the society understand that this pattern extends even to the Most High, to God. They believe in a Mother God as well as a Father God, who reflect the patterns of nature. While God the Father holds creation in a constant state of being, God the Mother actively works with and through human beings for learning and perfection. Each is a distinct entity, not just a nebulous force, and they are addressed as Om (male) and Azna (female).

The society teaches that knowledge provides the key needed to unlock the mind, and considers the society to be a Gnostic organization, by which it means that members are seekers after truth (gnosis). God is the source of all truth, available to all who are ready to receive it. The society seeks to promote a community of people who desire to be guided by the Light and dedicated to living a spiritual life.

The society also affirms that after "death," the human soul goes to the Other Side, which is better known as heaven. This place is the true reality, as opposed to the temporal planet Earth. The Other Side is eternal, a place of total harmony, no physical limitations. The individual's identity is intact. Life exists in its most wondrous and joyous form on the Other Side.

According to the society, even though the Other Side is total beauty and happiness, the soul may not be at peace and will still seek to better itself. This seeking drives an urge again to enter life on Earth to experience God's knowledge, gaining perfection in the process. Each soul decides how much experience it wants. While some may never have a life on Earth, others will choose 50 or more lives.

The society also holds weekly celebration services in Campbell, California, and Seattle, Washington. The work of the society is expanded through study groups which utilize a series of books written by Browne, Journey of the Soul, a set of 16 volumes based upon Browne's mediumship, her seminars, and her sermons. Each month study groups receive two cassette tapes by Browne to assist them. Those who complete the Journey of the Soullessons may choose to take more advanced lessons leading to becoming a deacon and ordained minister of the society.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Browne, Sylvia. Journey of the Soul. 16 vols. Campbell, CA: Society of Novus Spiritus, 1991-1994.

——. Meditation Book I. Campbell, CA: Society of Novus Spiritus, 1994.

——. The Nature of Good and Evil. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2001.

——, and Antoinette May. Adventures of a Psychic. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 1998.

★1751 ★

Spiritual Human Yoga (SHY)

7321 S. Lindbergh Blvd., Ste. 209
St. Louis, MO 63125

Spiritual Human Yoga (SHY), also known as Mankind Enlightenment Love (MEL), was founded in Vietnam as Universal and Human Energy (HUE) by Luong Minh Dang (b. 1942). Biographical data is scarce, but following a time in the Vietnamese Navy (1961-1975) and after the fall of the Saigon government and Communist takeover, Dang moved to America and became a United States citizen (1985). He gained a following as an alternative healer in St. Louis among his fellow countrymen, but in the 1990s his reputation found its way into the larger New Age world of Missouri, firstly among Vietnamese immigrants and later beyond the Vietnamese community. He formally reestablished the SHY movement in 1989, and it quickly spread from the United States to Latin America (Mexico and Brazil), Europe, Turkey, Israel, and Thailand.

Dang formally attributes his teachings to Dasira Narada (1846-1924), an obscure Sri Lankan master who passed his teachings to a successor. This successor, an Asian Indian, apparently initiated Dang in 1972 and subsequently died in Sri Lanka in 1980. Drawing on both Eastern and Western occult teachings, Dang teaches that a universal energy (identified in other systems as chi or prana), permeates the universe. It enters individuals through the chakra system and permeates the body even to the cellular level. Through techniques taught by Dang, one can control the energy and to use it for the well-being of all, especially the healing of the body of various ailments that afflict it. He compares his teachings favorably to other energy healing formats, especially the widely known Reiki system, and claims that his is less complicated and easier to master.

The system is divided into various levels at which the different techniques are taught and at which the student learns new ways to control the energy flow. In the lower levels, the flow is pictured as coming through the healer's hands. Beginning at level 5, the flow is seen as occurring telepathically. Currently, the highest level is 7, the class for which was first offered in 1999. The introductory class introduces students to levels 1-3. By 1998, some 10,000 students had reportedly taken the level 6 class.

The teachings that offer the framework for the SHY healing technique, which become prominent immediately after the introductory class, are drawn from a spectrum of Western Esoteric notables, including Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), from whom the word mesmerism is derived; Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), founder of the Association of Research and Enlightenment, and Abd-ru-shin (Oskar Ernest Bernhardt), (1875-1941), the founder of the Grail Movement and author of The Grail Message. SHY does not perpetuate regular worship/ritual gatherings nor provide members with rites of passage (baptism, confirmation, etc.). Dang also claims regular contact with various spiritual beings.

SHY has fit into the larger New Age community. Without setting specific dates, followers look for events to occur in the near future that will prove a turning point in human history with the introduction of a new heaven on Earth. Eventually, illness and death will disappear.

Membership: Not reported. As with the Reiki healing movement, many who have taken the SHY classes have retained only a loose affiliation to the movement.

Remarks: In January 1999, Dang was arrested in Belgium under the guise that he was a "cult" leader. After 65 days of imprisonment, he was released on bail without being charged or tried, and allowed to leave the country.

Sources:

Mayer, Jean-Francois. "Healing for the Millennium: Master Dang and Spiritual Human Yoga." Journal of Millennial Studies 2, 2 (Winter 2000). http://www.mille.org/publications/winter2000/winter2000.html and http://www.cesnur.org/testi/SHY.htm. 7 May 2002.

Nguyen, Tri-Thien. L'Energie Universelle et Humaine: une methode naturelle de guerison energetique. Romont, Switzerland: Editions Recto-Verseau, 2001.

Spiritual Human Yoga. http://www.mel-hq.com/main-en.asp. 7 May 2002.

★1752 ★

Teaching of the Inner Christ, Inc.

2834 N. Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104

The Teaching of the Inner Christ, Inc. (previously known as the Society for the Teaching of the Inner Christ) was founded in 1965 and incorporated in 1977 as the Inner Christ Administration Center. The founders were the Reverends Ann Meyer Makeever and Peter Victor Meyer. Makeever, who is a "sensitive," claims constant contact with the master teachers, Jesus and Babaji, and with her own I AM Self. The ministers and members accept guidance from these masters and from their own I AM Selves. Counseling, in which the counselor contacts the deeper levels of spirit through the invisible teachers, and a wide range of classes in prayer therapy and inner sensitivity, the Bible, and leadership and ministerial concerns are offered.

Headquarters of the center are in San Diego. The group supports a World Healing Ministry. There are centers and study groups in San Diego, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Luis Obispo, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Edmonton, Alberta.

Membership: Not reported. In 1998 the center reported 500 active members in 10 centers.

Periodicals: Double Heartline Newspaper. • Monthly International Center Bulletin.

Sources:

God's Will. San Diego, CA: Brotherhood, 1968.

Jesus' Love. San Diego, CA: Brotherhood, 1964.

Meyer, Ann. Ann, A Biography. San Diego, CA: T.I.C. Books, 1982.

Meyer, Ann, and Peter Meyer. Being a Christ!. San Diego, CA: Dawning Publications, 1975.

★1753 ★

Teleos Institute

7119 E. Shea Blvd., Ste. 109, PMB 418
Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Teleos Institute, formerly the Love Project, headed by Arleen Lorrance and Diane K. Pike, is an outgrowth of the Foundation for Religious Transition, founded originally in 1969 by Episcopal Bishop James A. Pike and his wife, Diane Pike. The formation of the foundation came after Pike's well-publicized problems throughout the 1960s with a traditional statement on Christian doctrine, the accusations of heresy, his remarriage, and his involvement in the psychic. Bishop Pike's main doctrinal disagreements with orthodox Christianity centered on the doctrine of the Trinity and the inerrancy of the Bible. In the spring of 1969, the Pikes decided to leave the institutional church and begin a ministry to other "church alumni and those on the 'inside edge' of the church." The foundation's program was multi-faceted, with major themes in such diverse areas as social activism, parapsychology, clergy-training, and the study of Christian origins.

The death of Bishop Pike in September 1969, less than a year after the formation of the foundation, necessitated a reorientation. The name was changed to the Bishop Pike Foundation, but during the next two years it became increasingly clear that, without the bishop, the specific missions of the foundation were not materializing. In 1972, the foundation was merged into a structure already being formed by Arleen Lorrance, the Love Project. The Love Project grew out of a teacher-student experience of sharing which turned a violence-ridden ghetto into a center of love, concern, and positive action after the 1970-71 school year. This experience led to a realization of the distinction between inspiring people with a story and facilitating the emergence of love. As the Love Project matured, it was conceived as an active process of creating love.

The Teleos Institute creates an alternative to negative, destructive, violent living and a way in which all seekers of such alternatives may link energies in a universal chain of caring–a chain forged with the strength of the uniqueness of each individual. The way of the seeker is to make his or her very life an alternative, that of being change rather than seeking to change others. The institute has various structures–workshops, group travel experiences, and training people in learning to love universally and unconditionally. Advance work is offered in the School of Consciousness Classes (both in person and by cassette) and in an intensive Theatre of Life program focused upon bringing forth creativity in daily living. Recent programs have focused on "Life as a Waking Dream," a method that facilitates the awakening process by looking at ordinary life experiences as if they had been dreams. The nature of the institute keeps seekers on the move.

Membership: The institute is not a membership organization, but has a network of people who attend institute-sponsored events across the United States and Canada.

Periodicals: Emerging.

Sources:

Lorrance, Arleen. Buddha from Brooklyn. San Diego, CA: LP Publications, 1975.

——. The Love Project. San Diego, CA: LP Publications, 1972.

——. Why Me? How to Heal What Is Hurting You. New York: Ranson Associates Publishers, 1977.

Lorrance, Arleen, and Diane Kennedy Pike. The Love Project Way. San Diego, CA: LP Publications, 1980.

Pike, Diane Kennedy. Cosmic Unfoldment. San Diego, CA: LP Publications, 1976.

★1754 ★

Theocentric Foundation

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Theocentric Foundation was founded in 1959 in Phoenix, Arizona, but is the successor to a series of prior structures dating to the 1920s: The Shangrila Missions of Ojai, California, the Eden Foundation, the Manhattan Philosophical Center and the Theo-centric Temple. The basic teachings of the Foundation are Hermetic, based on the writing of Hermes Mercurious Trismegistus. The Bible and other metaphysical books are also used.

The Theocentric Foundation teaches basic truth, the understanding of the divine self. In this understanding, the seventy-three "Gods of the walking dead," such as anger, fear, grief, domination, limitation, prejudice, etc., and the five basic questions (What am I? What is my origin? Why am I here? Where do I go? and What am I doing about it?) can be dealt with. Before man can recognize his divine origin, he must become fully human and possess attributes such as affection, discrimination, enthusiasm, justice, kindness and tenderness. These attributes lead into the attributes of pure awareness, possessed by the self-governing identity. The self-governing identity has conquered the outside forces that would dominate a person and embodies love, certainty, consideration, understanding, empathy and admiration.

The headquarters of the Theocentric Foundation are in Phoenix. It has established branch centers around the country, and classes are offered in Hermetic theology. Degrees are issued after completion of the courses. Inner-order courses of ten degrees are also offered to students.

Membership: Not reported.

Sources:

Orpheus. The Poimandres of Hermes Mercurius Trimegistus. Phoenix, AZ: Theocentric Foundation, 1960.

★1755 ★

True Church of Christ, International

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The True Church of Christ, International, was formed by Christian Weyand of Buffalo, New York. It is described as the "nonprofit establishment of religion authorized by ecclesiastical authority of the True Bible Society International" (also headed by Weyand) and "the only existing Christian Church founded upon and teaching the True Complete Christian Bible and the True Complete Teachings and Scriptures of God and Christ." The church has published the True Complete Bible, which contains the Old and New Testaments translated from Aramaic; the True New Testament, containing the secret unwritten teachings of Jesus; the Lost Books of the Bibleand the Forgotten Books of Eden, a collection of apocryphal writings, and the Apocrypha.

The True Church teaches psychic development and mediumship, and that the reason why no miracles occur in today's churches is because churches limit themselves to the Old and New Testament. The True Church believes Jesus taught hypnosis, miracle power and ESP. Man's soul, his life spirit, is part of God, the great creative intelligence. Psychic powers are natural to the soul and it is through these powers that all miracles are wrought. The church believes also that the water baptism of John has been replaced with spirit baptism.

The True Church advertises widely and offers its members around the country correspondence courses in the True Scriptures, hypnotism and the psychic. The church also has formed the World Roster of Psychic Contact, a prayer group.

Membership: Not reported.

★1756 ★

Unification Movement

4 W. 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036

The Unification Movement, formerly known as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, was brought to the United States in 1959 from South Korea. After a period of slow growth, it mushroomed during the early and mid-1970s and became a controversial and significant religious force because of its nonconventional beliefs, accusations of improper recruitment techniques, and its attempts to build coalitions of scholars and world leaders around the church's idealistic programs and ideals. The church first gained national attention as a result of a speaking tour that its founder, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, made across the country in 1972. The Unification Church, as it is usually called, came to the United States in the person of Young Oon Kim, who produced the first expression of the founder's teachings. The basic scripture of the church through Moon, the Divine Principle, was translated into English in 1972 by Mrs. Won Bok Choi. A revised translation, Exposition of Divine Principle, by Jin Keum Kim and Andrew Wilson, was published in 1995. During its early years in America, the church was the subject of one major sociological study, and Moon was proclaimed a voice for the New Age by Spiritualist medium Arthur A. Ford.

The Reverend Moon was born in 1920 in what is now North Korea. During his youth, the family converted to Christianity and joined the Presbyterian Church. In 1935, he had a vision of Jesus in which he was told to carry out Jesus unfinished task. The vision occurred and was nurtured at a time when Korean Pentecostal Christians were predicting a Korean messiah. In 1945 Moon began to collect a following and two years later founded the Broad Sea Church. He also spent six months at Israel Soodo Won (Israel Monastery), established by Baek Moon Kim, a self-proclaimed messiah, and changed his name from Yong Myung Moon to Sun Myung Moon (meaning someone who has clarified Word or Truth). From 1946 to 1950, Moon was in prison in North Korea much of the time for his refusal to cooperate with Kim II Sung's regime and in 1950 became a refugee. He eventually settled in Pusan, and in 1954 he founded the Unification Church in Seoul. The new church grew slowly, but by 1957 a Korean edition of the Divine Principle was in print. Meanwhile, church members established several corporations dealing in such varied products as ginseng tea and titanium. Missionaries were sent to Japan where they had their greatest success.

In December 1971, Moon moved to the United States. During the early 1970s, as the church began to grow, a variety of buildings were purchased to house its expanding program. Facilities for the Unification Theological Seminary were acquired near Barrytown, New York; an estate used for training sessions was purchased in Tarrytown, New York; and a conference center, which also serves as Moon's American residence, called "East Garden," is located at Irvington, New York. In Manhattan, a headquarters building and mission center (the former New Yorker Hotel) completed its major organizational facilities.

Beliefs: Unification belief is built around three basic concepts of Creation, Fall, and Restoration. The Principle of Creation asserts that God created the world and by that act became known. The world, reflective of God, has two expressions as Sung Sang (internal, causal) and Hyung Sang (external, resultant). It also has a second set of dual characteristics, masculine and feminine. These two kinds of relations are quite distinct and express different qualities of the created order. Sung Sang and Hyung Sang express the relatedness of spirit or mind and matter while masculinity and femininity express the complementarity between male and female or yang and ying. God created the world out of His inner nature, His heart, and His impulse to love and to be united in love. The purpose of creation is to experience the joy that comes from loving.

The principle of The Fall began with Adam and Eve's lack of realization of God's original purpose in creation. They fell away from God because of disobedience resulting in a premature sexual relationship (a misuse of love) and their resultant inability to create a perfect family. Their failure placed the fallen archangel, Satan, in control of the world. Since that time God has been trying to restore His primal intention and replace the order of selfish love with the ethic of true love.

The Principle of Restoration outlines the conditions necessary for restoration to occur. Since God created humankind with free will and some measure of responsibility, the restoration process has been repeatedly prolonged because of human failure. God's ultimate design is to send one sinless man, the Messiah, through whom humankind can be engrafted and achieve salvation. The Messiah must meet a variety of qualifications.

According to the church's beliefs, the Messiah must be born on earth as a substantial, physical being, since the Messiah must accomplish the original task of becoming an ideal person, the person who has perfected his character, and thus has fulfilled the First Blessing, to be fruitful (Gen. 1:28). He can carry out this responsibility only in the flesh. He must also take a bride and realize the ideal family that God has desired, and thus become the True Parent, one who has realized God's Second Blessing, to multiply (Gen 1:28). His parental heart will implant God's Heart and love in the hearts of everyone following him and will help them to perfect themselves by giving rebirth to them and showing each one how to accomplish true marriage and family life. This is how all humans can achieve complete physical and spiritual salvation, and create the Kingdom of God on earth, fulfilling the Third Blessing (Gen. 1:28)

Members believe that due to the failure of the chosen people (chiefly, John the Baptist and the religious leaders) to accept and follow him 2,000 years ago, Jesus was not able to complete these tasks. Instead, he was killed, contrary to God's original will. Nevertheless, through his resurrection, Jesus established the possibility of spiritual salvation for all humankind. Thus, if human beings accept Jesus as their savior, they can attain spiritual salvation and live with Jesus in Paradise. This spiritual salvation does not provide complete and physical salvation for humans on earth. Therefore Christ must come again to complete the salvation process on the earth. He will come to fulfill the Lords Prayer: "Thy Kingdom come on earth as in Heaven." This will be a world where there is no sin, no Satan, and where humankind will live in peace and harmony as God's children.

The Reverend Moon has come to fill the conditions of the Lord of the Second Advent. In 1960 he married Hak Ja Han, with whom he has parented 14 children (two of whom, Hye Jin Moon, a daughter, and Heung Jin Moon, a son, have died). Through Rev. and Mrs. Moons's fulfillment of the position of True Parents, according to Unification belief, God has brought the opening of complete restoration. Couples participate in the restoration by their marriage blessing. Many are at first called to a period of sacrificial work and personal celibacy. At the end of that period, church members are engaged and blessed in marriage in a public ceremony conducted by Moon and his wife. The events surrounding the marriage are the primary events in the messianic mission. As part of their engagements, members participate in a holy wine ceremony (somewhat analogous to Christian communion) whereby their original sin is conditionally absolved. Couples are married in large mass ceremonies, the most recent having been in 1997(39.6 million couples on November 29, 1997) celebrated in Washington D.C. with 28,000 couples present and broadcast to over 50 satellite locations worldwide. After the wedding, the couples may separate for no less than 40 days before the union is consummated. The so-called three-day ceremony, during which consummation occurs, ritually dramatizes the restoration. Organizations: The Unification Church is headed by the Reverend and Mrs. Moon who have complete authority over major decisions. The American church is advised by church elders who reside in America. The board appoints the various national presidents; currently Dr. Tyler Hendricks heads the church in America. To carry out the Messiahs program for restoration and bring forth the kingdom of God, Rev. Moon has created a variety of evangelistic, political, cultural, charitable, and religious programs.

Evangelistic programs include the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (referring to the church's basic principles), a prime educational outreach on the nations campuses. Church families around the United States reach out through "Tribal Messiahship." The Church's theistic beliefs lead members to advocate a strong ideological opposition to Communism, a prominent part of the church's public expression through the 1980s. One reason Korea is identified as the land in which the New Lord will appear is that it is on God's front line as well as Satan's. The 38th parallel is referred to as the confrontation line between Communism and democracy. The major expression of the critique against Communism in the 1970s, the Freedom Leadership Foundation, was replaced by CAUSA, which found significant success in Latin America. CAUSA has finished it mission and Rev. Moon has turned his attention to the creation of true families through the non-sectarian Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU).

A cultural program is promoted under the International Cultural Foundation, the most important aspect being the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences, which is one of the Unification community's most successful programs and annually brings scientists together to discuss the convergence of science, morals, and values. Growing out of the Conference has been the Professors World Peace Academy and the Washington Institute for Values in Public Policy. The various ecumenical religious programs were reorganized in the early 1980s under the International Religious Foundation (IRF) and under the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace (IRFWP) in the 1990's. Some of its major programs include ecumenical conferences for theologians and other scholars (New Ecumenical Research Association (NEW ERA), conferences for clergy (True Family Values Ministry), and the Religious Youth Service (RYS).

The prime charitable activity, finding its greatest response in the urban minority community and the developing world, is the International Relief Friendship Foundation (IRFF), which later spawned the United to Serve America organization.

The church grew very slowly until 1972. By 1976 it had grown from a few hundred to approximately 6,000 members. It also began a worldwide expansion that has seen church centers opened in many countries on every continent. In the United States and western Europe, the church became an object of controversy and public hostility. Church membership in the United States dropped below 5,000 by the end of the decade and continued to decline. During the early 1980s, centers were established in every state; most, however, remain small.

The group has an Internet site at http://www.unification.org.

Membership: In 1998 the church reported an estimated core membership of 50,000 in America, and some 3 million worldwide. However, in addition to this membership, more than 70 million couples worldwide have received the holy wine and Rev. Moon's marriage blessing, though they often remain in their own faith.

Educational Facilities: Unification Theological Seminary, Barrytown, New York.

University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Sun Moon University, Korea.

Periodicals: Dialogue and Alliance. • Todays World True Family Times. • Unification News.

Remarks: Alarmed by the growth of the Unification Church in the early 1970s, opponents have organized and carried on a steady program of opposition that has succeeded in making the church an object of continued controversy. By the 1970s the church had become the prime reference for the popular derisive term "cult." Attacks have been launched from a variety of sources. These attacks culminated in the conviction of Moon for tax evasion. For details on other controversies the church has been involved in, please refer to the volumes listed below as well as other titles covering the church and/or contemporary cult controversies.

Sources:

Barker, Eileen. The Making of a Moonie. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1984.

Breen, Michael. Sun Myung Moon: The Early Years, 1920-53. Hurstpier-point, UK: Refuge Books, 1997. 191pp.

Bromley, David G., and Shupe, Anson D., Jr. Moonies' in America. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1979.

Divine Principle. New York: Holy Spirit Association for the Unification for World Christianity, 1973.

Durst, Mose. To Bigotry, No Sanction. Chicago: Regnery Gateway, 1984. Forty Years in America: An Intimate History of the Unification Movement, 1959-1999. New York: HSA-UWC, 2000.

Outline of the Principle, Level 4. New York: Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, 1980.

★1757 ★

The United Spiritual Church of the Spiritual Advisory Council

14345 SE 103rd Terr.
Summerfield, FL 34491

The United Spiritual Church of the Spiritual Advisory Council is an ecclesiastical body associated with the Spiritual Advisory Council, an open-membership united spiritual society of friends. The council was founded in Chicago in 1974 by Paul V. Johnson (1924-1996) and Robert Ericsson, both former leaders in the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, a church-related organization that explored psychic and spiritual experiences. The council differed from the fellowship in its adoption of a mystical perspective within which to operate. Soon after its formation, Johnson relocated to Florida and in 1979 opened the New Age Centre for Alternative Realities in Orlando. The council sponsors several national conferences annually and has nurtured the formation of study groups.

Among the members of the Spiritual Advisory Council were some who had manifested leadership in their abilities as teachers and in the exercise of various spiritual gifts, especially in spiritual healing and offering psychic readings and counsel. The United Spiritual Church of the Spiritual Advisory Council emerged for those who saw the council as their spiritual home and who wished to exercise their ministry within its context. The first ministers were ordained at the council meeting in Chicago in 1979.

The church has no organized creed or dogma, but generally accepts a metaphysical, esoteric perspective. Ministers are encouraged to continue their growth in understanding of spiritual truth and to develop their awareness for channeling healing energies to those in suffering, pain, or want. The council exists as a national body with many members and the church as a smaller fellowship within the council. Following Johnson's death, leadership of the church has been assumed by David Beede.

Membership: In 1995 the Church reported approximately 1,000 members and 56 ministers.

Periodicals: Spiritual Advisory Council Out-Reach Newsletter.

★1758 ★

Universal Brotherhood

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The Universal Brotherhood is an occult group headquartered in New York City and headed by the Rev. Ureal Vercilli Charles. The Order is under the guidance of the Great White Brotherhood and offers lessons on the "Seven Immutable Laws of the Universe," man's key to health, success, and happiness. These laws are the laws of gender, cause/effect, rhythm, polarity, vibration, correspondence, and mentalism. Mr. Charles runs the First Church of Spiritual Vision in New York City. Other centers of the Brotherhood are in Jamaica, New York City, and the Bronx. Lessons from the Great Masters is a correspondence course taken by students across the United States. The Brotherhood also publishes Wake Up and Learn!, a series of pamphlets by Krishnahara, a Master of the Great Lodge who dictates through Elizabeth Dean.

Membership: Not reported.

Periodicals: The Light Beyond. Send orders to Box 366, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10017.

★1759 ★

Universal Oneness United (UOU)

500-B Prairie Ln.
Hudson, WI 54016

Universal Oneness United was founded by Oreon Masters and Arianni Masters, a couple who have individually as children has a variety of experiences with the world beyond normal experience and who came into contact with spiritual guides. As they found themselves in a spiritual quest, they studied the spectrum of the world's religions and came to the conclusion that "Love is All There Is and We're All One." That principle became the guiding axiom upon with Universal Oneness United operates.

Universal Oneness United is envisioned as a worldwide organization attempting to build a global metaphysical spiritual family, to assist individuals in personal and spiritual growth, and to engage in service. The perspective of UOU draws heavily on the western Esoteric tradition and assumes that love is the essence of God/Goddess within which we all possess, and that the goal of the spiritual life is the expression of Divine essence during this lifetime. That expression takes the form of service. We reincarnate repeatedly until we understand this basic truth and live by it. UOU also assumes that there are many paths to the one truth and that all of these paths are true for those who follow them.

To assist people who are searching, UOU has created a mystery school that offers lessons on making connection to Oneness, the Whole. Included with these lessons are channelings from the archangel Raziel speaking through Arianni. This material is said to introduce the student to the language of Angels.

UOU also sponsors Light Haven Interfaith Seminary, which provides a self-directed study program for UOU members who might like to be ordained as Interfaith ministers. Besides the masters, Paula Sunray, who previously headed her own spiritual correspondence educational program, the National Interfaith Seminary, merged her work into that of Light Haven Interfaith Seminary. The program allows one to receive certification as a Minister of Metaphysics, a Minister of Spiritual Counseling, a Minister of Spiritual Healing, or a Minister of Religious Studies. The seminary is affiliated with both the Association of Interfaith Ministers, and the Association for Global New Thought.

UOU promotes the organization of study groups in which a small number individuals gather periodically to discuss UOU material produced monthly.

Membership: Not reported.

Educational Facilities: LightHaven Interfaith Seminary.

Sources:

Universal Oneness United. http://www.uou.to/. 23 April 2002.

★1760 ★

The Urantia Book Fellowship

529 Wrightwood Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614-1794

Founded in 1955 as the Urantia Brotherhood, the Urantia Book Fellowship believes The Urantia Book, a collection of material received from celestial beings, will eventually unify all religionists from every race and culture, and bring forth the reality of spiritual equality and the universality of cosmic citizenship. The fellowship comprises people representing all walks of life, and it offers secondary works, study aids, Internet access, international conclaves, numerous seminars, and home study groups in 80 countries, all of which fuel steady interest in the Book's "revelation to all humanity." (A passage from The Urantia Book: "The pursuit of knowledge constitutes science, the search for wisdom is philosophy, the love for God is religion, the hunger for truth is a revelation") (102:3.12).

The Urantia Book Fellowship reports that it is "the largest, most inclusive organization of reader-believers." Internet site is http://www.urantiabook.org.

Membership: In 2002, the fellowship reported 1,500 members including chartered societies, affiliate groups, and members-at-large.

Educational Facilities: The fellowship conducts annual in-depth workshops and presentations, ongoing web-based study, and sponsored programs for scholarly works.

★1761 ★

URANTIA Foundation

533 Diversey Pkwy.
Chicago, IL 60614

The URANTIA Foundation was founded in 1950 in Chicago, Illinois, for the dissemination of the teachings of The URANTIA Book. The book is a 2,097-page collection of messages received from numerous celestial beings; the name of the person who received these messages has never been revealed. It represents the first major revelation since the coming of Christ. The contents, according to the Foundation, "differ from all previous revelations, for they are not the work of a single universe personality, but a composite presentation of many beings." The URANTIA Book was first published in 1955, the twelfth printing being issued in 1995. It has been translated into French, Spanish, Finnish, Russian, and Dutch, with Korean, Swedish, Estonian Italian, Chinese, and German translations underway as of 1997. The URANTIA Book is divided into four parts. Part I describes the nature of Deity, the reality of Paradise, the organization and working of the central and superuniverse, the personalities of the grand universe, and the high density of evolutionary mortals. Part II deals with the local universe, the handiwork of a Creator Son of the Paradise order of Michael. Our world, Urantia, belongs to a local universe whose sovereign is Michael, the Son of God and the Son of Man, known on this world as Jesus of Nazareth. Part III is a history of Urantia, the geologic development, the establishment of life, and the evolution and history of man. Part IV contains a biography of Jesus Christ, including a detailed discussion of the hidden years (from birth to the beginning of his public ministry). According to The URANTIA Book, Jesus was born August 21, 7 b.c.e., had an excellent education, became a skilled carpenter, began a Mediterranean tour in his twenty-eighth year, and began his public ministry in 27 c.e. After more than three years, his ministry ended in the crucifixion and resurrection. Objectives of the URANTIA Foundation include promoting the teachings of Jesus, primarily the appreciation of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of Man, in order to increase the comfort, happiness, and well-being of Man.

The foundation is a tax-exempt, common-law, educational foundation operating under a Declaration of Trust. It is managed by a board of five trustees who are appointed for life and serve without compensation. The duties of the foundation are to publish The URANTIA Book, "to perpetually preserve inviolate the text of The URANTIA Book," and "to retain absolute and unconditional control of… media for the printing and reproduction of The URANTIA Bookand any translation thereof." The URANTIA Foundation is headquartered in Chicago and has additional offices in England, France, Spain, Finland, and Australia.

Associated with the foundation is the International URANTIA Association (IUA), a reader membership organization also headquartered in Chicago. The purpose of IUA is the in-depth study of The URANTIA Book and the orderly dissemination of its teachings. The association's long term task is to encourage the formation of study groups, and to foster and facilitate the voluntary transformation of stable and mature study groups into URANTIA Associations. These Associations function on a regional level and operate with great autonomy. The Association emphasizes its non-sectarian nature, and maintains that members of diverse religions may be students of The URANTIA Book and receive its revelations as an enrichment to rather than a contradiction of their own faith. It is a fraternal organization with a spiritual objective.

Membership: In 1997 the International URANTIA Association comprised three national associations (Australia-New Zealand, Finland, and the United States) and fourteen local associations in the United States.

Periodicals: • JOURNALURANTIAN NEWS (URANTIA Foundation). (of the International URANTIA Association).

Remarks: Since 1955, the Foundation has protected the text of The URANTIA Book through its ownership of the copyright. In addition, since 1950, in order to preserve the unique identity of The URANTIA Book and the URANTIA Foundation, the Foundation established and began using the "URANTIAN," the concentric-circles symbol that was registered in 1952 as a service mark and in 1971 as a trademark. The use of the circles by the Foundation in association with The URANTIA Book assures a prospective reader that he or she has the original text. The Foundations ownership of the marks will continue in perpetuity, which means that after the copyright expires, only those copies of The URANTIA Book published by the URANTIA Foundation can bear the concentric-circles symbol, assuring future readers of the authenticity of the text.

Sources:

Bedell, Clyde. Concordex to the URANTIA Book. Laguna Hills, CA: The Author, 1980.

Faw, Duane L., comp. The Paramony. Malibu, CA: The Author, 1986.

Myers, Martin W. Unity, Not Uniformity. Chicago: URANTIA Foundation, 1973.

Renn, Ruth E. Study Aids for Part IV of The URANTIA Book, The Life and Teachings of Jesus. Chicago: URANTIA Foundation, 1975.

Special Report to the Readers of THE URANTIA BOOK: URANTIA Foundation Ends Its Relationship with the Former URANTIA Brotherhood. Chicago: URANTIA Foundation, 1990.

The URANTIA Book. Chicago: URANTIA Foundation, 1955.

★1762 ★

World Catalyst Church

Current address not obtained for this edition.

The World Catalyst Church seeks to be a catalyst in moving from old ideas to new. The church believes that there is an inner light that is beyond ourselves in wisdom, power and scope. The church's job is to lead men from their present ignorant state to the eternal something within. Man's forward movement can be accomplished through his own efforts. Man is bound, however, by natural law and by his oneness with others. No man will enter eternal perfection until all are able to. Man is a microcosm of the macrocosm. He is reincarnated in any given dimension long enough to learn the necessary lessons. Prayer and meditation are useful tools in learning to live.

The World Catalyst Church has members around the country, drawn from those who have taken the basic correspondence study course, "That Man May Find Himself." The course also is the beginning material for any who wish to become teachers for the church. The church refuses to put money into religious edifices. There is no charity assistance of a material nature. All monies go into communities. The church was formed in 1967 at Butte, Montana by Helen Muschell (author of Wells of Inner Space), Margot Jones, Ese Jasper, Ernest Hanson, Ruth Adams, Beata Kamp, and Matt Gleason.

Membership: Not reported.