1 – Introduction
2 – Mystery of Spiritual Energy
3 – Authority and Dominion of Christ
4 – Problems in Christianity
5 – Origin of the Western Version of Eastern Mysticism
6 – Theosophy’s Early Days
7 – The Name of Christ, or What’s in a Name?
8 – Dark Undercurrents
9 – Return of the Christ
10 – Conclusion
Appendix – What Theosophy Hopes You Won’t Notice
2 – MYSTERY OF SPIRITUAL ENERGY
To start, we must come to grips with the fact that Eastern Mysticism – this realm of knowledge and skill – has much to offer human society. Those who are adepts in this area have learned how to identify, tune into, access, and use the spiritual energy and “vibes” that exist, not only in our own “spiritual body” or that of others, but also surround us in the environment. This skill can be used in beneficial ways and has had undeniable success in the healing of ailments, both physical and psychological, in multitudes of people.
But there exists always the pitfall that, because of its mysterious nature and reliance on unseen forces, those who are practitioners can easily be exalted, or exalt themselves, into a semi-divine status. Humility is an elusive attribute in this business. So to maintain a humble attitude before the Almighty is extremely important.
Of course, a person can live easily enough without this skill. Nevertheless, a knowledge of energy healing and the spiritual body encourages greater access to the spiritual domain and provides an extra dimension of skill and understanding that’s quite useful. It could be compared to knowing all the back roads in an area, even though you can take the shortcut of the main highway. Such knowledge helps you to enjoy the journey more. In certain situations, such knowledge could come in extremely handy. Or like knowing your car’s mechanics, even though you can still drive it without knowing how the insides of your car works. But if you do, chances are you’ll be a better driver and take better care of your vehicle. Or a knowledge of medicine, alternative or otherwise, can also be very useful, even if you have the faith and know how to claim miraculous healing. Having a skill or special knowledge in a certain area makes a person’s life more interesting and useful.
On the question of spirituality: Almost everyone is fascinated by the supernatural. And well they should be. For us humans, the dreary drudgery of earthly life begs for an outlet – that is, something beyond this material world – in the supernatural, mystical realm. Christianity would, of course, never deny the reality of the supernatural. But sadly, there exists a great deal of wariness and blockage against actually diving into it.
Eastern Mysticism, on the other hand, has explored thoroughly this area of knowledge and offers its adherents a considerable variety of spiritual teachings and experiences: spirit helpers, meditation practices, astral travelling, ESP, clairvoyance, energy healing. And these features have carried on in modern New Age teaching. Christianity, on the other hand, has stunted itself in this area of knowledge and is lagging far behind.
So should we not at least be interested to learn more about that mysterious spiritual energy that practitioners in Eastern Mysticism and New Age teaching have learned to access and use?
We might start by looking at this Scripture, Colossians 1:17, “He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.” (NLT) The “He” in this Scripture refers to Christ. So the energy that “holds all creation together” is the energy of Christ, and since Christ is the Son of God, then it is also the energy of the Father. “The Father and I are one.” (John 10:30; 17:11,22 – NLT) The theology of how this all works is a big subject beyond the scope of this post. But if the reader is interested, a good thorough understanding of this can be found in the article “Energy Healing: a Christian Theological Appraisal” by the International Institute of Original Medicine.
In brief, there is the theology of Redemption and a theology of Creation. Christianity is strong on the theology of Redemption. And true, we can never perfect ourselves, no matter how hard we try; we need the saving grace (favor) of Christ. But there is also the theology of Creation. The universe is upheld by the Spirit of God, and we are spiritual, not just physical, bodies. And herein lies a wealth of untapped knowledge and power that we can avail ourselves of.
The same is true regarding Astrology and the Zodiac. God has designed the spiritual aspects of the physical universe, in such a way that if you comprehend how those aspects work, you can benefit from such knowledge – knowledge which can be used for good or evil.
In pranic [energy] healing, prana or life energy serves as the catalyst to accelerate the rate of biochemical reactions involved in the natural healing process of the body. When pranic healing is applied to the affected part of the body, the rate of recovery or healing increases tremendously… There is nothing supernatural or paranormal about pranic healing. It is simply based on natural laws that most people are not aware of. [from the Ancient Science and Art of Pranic Healing, pg. 6, by Master Choa Kok Sui, first published 1992]
However, besides the energy that holds Creation together, which is harnessed in the disciplines of energy healing or understood in the discipline of Astrology, there is also the supernatural “energy” of the Holy Spirit. This kind of “energy” brings healing, sometimes in very dramatic ways, and works in cases that lie beyond the capacities of other healing methods.
God the Father has sent the Holy Spirit into our Realm to represent Christ – that is, to reconcile and draw Earth-dwellers into fellowship with the Father. On the night before His execution, Jesus spent some intimate moments with His followers and gave them these words of comfort (in the Gospel of John):
No, I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm – I will come to you.
When the Father sends the Comforter instead of me – and by the Comforter I mean the Holy Spirit – He will teach you much, as well as remind you of everything I myself have told you.
I will send you the Comforter – the Holy Spirit, the source of all truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all about me.
When the Holy Spirit, who is truth, comes, He shall guide you into all truth, for He will not be presenting his own ideas, but will be passing on to you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. He shall praise Me and bring Me great honor by showing you My glory.
(John 14:18,26; 15:26; 16:13-14 – TLB)
Note that the above Scriptures refer to the Holy Spirit, not with the word “it”, but with the pronoun “He”. (Some teachers might prefer to use the pronoun “She” because the Holy Spirit can be envisioned as representing the motherly, nurturing, comforting features of the Godhead.) The Holy Spirit, along with Christ Himself, is the “personal” side of the Father who seeks relationship with us Earth-dwellers. Presumably, this “personal” side is not quite the same as the spiritual energy by which the Father, through the Son, “holds all creation together”.
But that spiritual energy in the natural world is there and can be accessed through the disciplined techniques of meditation and related practices. But as in any discipline or realm of knowledge, one must take care to yield to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. For that Holy Spirit of Truth is able to guide us through anything; He (or She if you prefer) cuts through cultural mindsets. In whatever way people respect Christ, whether as a Prophet or Healer or Divine Master, He is happy that they are willing to acknowledge and include Him in their spiritual life. And people come to these realizations by paying attention to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Without giving heed to that Voice, however, it would be easy to spiral off on a tangent of one’s own making and/or into the influence of Dark spiritual beings.
Diving into the spiritual realm can open a person up to the risk of being taken over by a demonic spirit. The same risk happens with those who take psychedelic drugs. Sudden immersion into the spiritual realm without protection or guidance can easily lead to mental imbalance, even insanity.
Another problem: so often it happens to those who have spiritual gifts, that they start to believe they can achieve salvation in themselves rather than looking to God or to Christ. It can foster spiritual pride. And this is a major occupational hazard among those who are adept at accessing and using the energy of their spiritual body or of the environment. It is easy to feel that because one is “spiritual”, or become a “higher spiritual being”, then what need is there to take the step of submission to Christ, to receive His saving grace (favor)?
However, there is simply no getting around the fact that what Christ said about Himself is true: “I am the Light of the world… I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 8:12, 14:6) It is impossible to ignore the One whom God sent into the world as the “express image of His Person”. (Hebrews 1:3)
