Last week we shared Katie’s story ‘From New Age to Jesus’ and this week we thought we’d follow it up with some of her reflections on how many of the activities popular within alternative spirituality find correspondence in Christianity.
Her comments are eye-opening and helpful for several reasons, not least among them is the reminder that spiritual powers will always aim to imitate and mimic Christ’s work and ministry.
This ‘counterfeiting’ is common and in our Bibles dates as far back as the second book of the Bible ‘Exodus’ where God’s powers are copied by the Egyptian sorcerers. In fact, much of Jesus’ ministry can be understood as being a battle between the spiritual forces being played out in people’s lives. The apostle John reminds us that ‘the reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the Devil.’ (1 John 3:8).
Over to Katie…
A few practices common in spirituality that I am not familiar with firsthand are: Mediums, Dark witchcraft and Ouija/'angel' boards. Thankfully my God given instinct has always known to stay FIRMLY away from all of these for very good reason.
I believe that these particular practices aim to open up the unseen forces that have been bound by God, and they make a person's energy and spirit 'up for grabs' (so to speak) to the dark, malevolent forces in the world.
They are, in terms of 'spiritual hygiene’, in the absolute NO GO zone. I have numerous friends and extended family members who practice or have practiced in the past the dark occult, and every single one of them have experienced/currently still experience a decline in their mental and physical health in some form or another.
Commonly diagnosed among people who engage in these practises include: depression, anxiety and energetic fatigue conditions including Fibromyalgia. This isn’t to suggest that the presence of these conditions in a person’s life indicates involvement in the occult, it’s just that I have seen, and continue to see first hand, the effects on the mind and body that meddling with these unseen forces can do to a person.
When people practise occult forms of spirituality malevolent spirits can literally attach themselves to people’s energy/soul if they are given the opportunity to. Then, like a leach, they will start to suck away at their very life force.
No wonder in the Bible we are told not to engage or indulge in such practices! It is for our own protection.
Practises that I had engaged in for years that I have seen mirrored in Christian communities include the following:
'Meditation'
As we know we can all access that meditative state through praising and worshipping Jesus and can enjoy meditating on god's word.
Yet in the new age spiritual community it usually doesn't include Jesus at all.
'Intuition'
This is a big word nowadays, particularly as new age spirituality gains momentum!
People are becoming aware of their 'intuition'. All these years I attributed my 'psychic' gifts to ' MY' intuition.
I now believe that all along it was MORE than something I did myself, and is instead a God given prophetic gift.
there were many years I could've expressed THANKS to God for gifting these knowing's and moments to me which is what anyone with common courtesy would want to do! I now look back sadly at the distraction that believed it was all my own doing.
Instead of acknowledging God, I would essentially take the gift handed to me, unwrap it hastily with excitement and then just walk away without thanking profusely the very source that gifted it to me. This (self-centred) way of thinking about intuition is a very common deception in the spiritual community of our current times.
'Reiki'.
In new age terms it is a form of energy healing, performed from a reiki healer or practitioner to a person seeking the healing.
The general consensus is that the 'healer' places their hands gently over or upon a person in specific areas and then utilising what the reiki practitioner's perception of a 'higher power', 'Angels' or Divine force of energy is, they then ask it to assist them in performing healing on the participant through them and their hands.
By comparison we as Christian's naturally and instinctively do this when praying over or for one another with the safety of Jesus present.
I experienced this for the first time at my baptism and made the connection of comparison instantly, the only difference is of course every single person praying over me was one in Christ.
And did I notice and the difference feeling and intention wise in comparison to a reiki session? I of course did.
It was an ancient, all omnipotent yet peaceful experience.
All the while knowing I was safest, I had ever been.
I now go straight to Jesus, the most powerful, the most loving, the most high.
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