Is the occult harmless fun?

I think we're getting a bit off topic, which is whether or not the occult is harmless fun. Frankly, it's never crossed my mind that the occult can be fun, harmless or otherwise. Seems to me, you'd have to be hard up for entertainment to turn to Ouija boards or tarot cards or palm reading for entertainment, unless you really believe in them to some extent--in which case, you need a reality check. What about fortune cookies, or checking out your horoscope in the newspaper. Slightly entertaining, but if you don't believe them, no big deal. I think if a person doesn't take them seriously, no harm, no foul, but not much fun either. The harm might come if a person takes them seriously and acts on them in a way harmful to their interests: selling possessions, restricting activities, distrusting friends, having unwanted sex, etc. (Of course, the same would apply to Christians who sell their belongings because some preacher has told them the end is nigh.) Who is into the occult? Nancy Reagan believed in astrology. So do a lot of Hollywood actors and actresses and rock stars searching for ways to liven up their jaded existence. My idea of nothing to do. So it's hard to answer the question in a general way. It depends on what occult practices we're talking about. Satanic rituals, I'd say watch out--even though they seem to involve no more than getting naked and dancing around a fire. If it means getting sucked into a cult, it's not worth it. Not the kinds of people I'd want to hang out with or give my address to. Attending a seance/? Why do you want to do it? If you really think you're going to communicate with the dead, maybe it's time to see a shrink. On the other hand, I don't share the fears of some Christian fundamentalists in my neighborhood that there really are evil spirits waiting for an opportunity to pounce, in other than a metaphorical sense. I think the folks who shun Halloween as Satanic are weird, and are depriving their kids of a harmless, fun experience. I've enjoyed the TV series Supernatural, and don't have much patience for folks who think such shows are dangerous. Not to normal people. Dungeons and Dragons? I have no experience with it, but I'd expect it's just a game and no problem if you don't go off the deep end with it. Whatever turns you on. To me, it's more fun watching paint dry.than engaging in occult activity.

 

I suspect that Greatest I Am may be holding back because if the laid out the details of his cult. as opposed to general statements about Gnosticism, rational viewers might split a gut laughing. Maybe I could start the ball rolling by answering as best I can the questions I posed to him in my admittedly biased fashion, and if I get it really wrong maybe he'll step in to correct me. I think Greatest I Am may be talking about the I Am Activity, a cult now based in Chicago which holds classes and conclaves at some 300 locations around the world. Although it bandies about the term "Gnosticism", the belief system that it is pushing is a syncretic amalgam of esoteric and occult beliefs and practices differing from classical Gnosticism in viewing material reality as not evil but something to be controlled by mind over matter methods supposedly taught by Ascended Masters of the past.

Who was Saint Germain and what does he have to do with the I Am cult? He was the Ascended Master from whom the Ballards, founders of the cult, supposedly got their secret knowledge and instruction. He seems actually to have been a real person, although so many fantastic stories have grown up around him he's become a legendary figure.Count of Saint Germain - Did the greatest alchemist ever exist?
He claimed to be 500 years old, leading Voltaire to call him sarcastically "The Wonderman". Supposedly, he was an eighteenth century adventurer, magician, alchemist and self-promoter who lived at the time of Louis XV and was a player in the King's court. He claimed to be a Count from Transylvania (not Dracula, but also possessed of remarkable powers). Many of his followers claim he was actually Sir Francis Bacon, the noted English philosopher and statesman who, after developing the scientific method and writing all of Shakespeare's plays, died in 1626--but not really. It seems Bacon had discovered the elixir of youth, and went to Transylvania to take on the pseudonym Francis Racoczi , aka, the Comte de Saint Germain. He died again in 1784, but not really, of course. After occultist Madame Blatavsky got her Theosophy movement going in 1875, putting together a potent syncretic brew of esoteric ideas from Hinduism, Hermeticism, Gnosticism, and the occult, Saint Germain reportedly made an appearance to her, and later to her associate, Annie Besant. They identified him as a Master of Ancient Wisdom. Then the Theosophical Society became racked by internal factional warfare. One of the factions was headed by William Quan Judge, and one of his disciples, Guy Ballard, claimed to have had another encounter with Saint Germain on Mount Shasta, California, where Germain taught him secrets of the Ascended Masters, including Jesus. Ballard and his wife Edna and son Donald .went on to found the I Am Movement, and became became the "Sole Accredited Masters" of Saint Germain. Since their death, the movement continues to operate under the auspices of the Saint Germain Foundation.

The Ballards taught that those who understood and practiced the secret wisdom of the Ascended Masters would ascend to a higher level of existence than ordinary folks, free from the cycle of death and rebirth:, and would acquire eternal youth, health, and boundless wealth.. Best of all, they would discover they were God--more accurately, .the individualized I Am presence of light that has been obscured over the centuries. "I AM God, God is consciousness. I am Awake. I Am the Creator " goes the self-hypnotic affirmation. I Am God. God Is Consciousness. This is the "I" of God. What is the violet flame? "The Violet Consuming Flame is God's Flame of Divine Love. By Its use, any human being can Free himself or herself from his or her own human discord and imperfection of the past and present.""The Great Eternal Law is that every individual must purify his (her) own creation by daily use of the Violet Consuming Flame. It is not possible for anyone else to do it for him. Since he created his imperfections, so must he uncreate and purify them, until all in his being and world manifests Perfection. Then he is free."

Within a few years of its creation, it was evident that not all members who had joined the I AM cult were satisfied with the results. The I AM Activity, Guy Ballard, and St Germain Exposed After Guy Ballard died, there was a crisis of faith, since he had promised members could ascend directly to the great beyond like Jesus did, but he died and was cremated, so Edna had to engage in some fast doctrinal revision. A disgruntled ex-member, Gerald B. Bryan, wrote a book Psychic Dictatorship in America documenting abuses by the Ballards. There were lawsuits which led to the conviction of Edna and Donald for mail fraud--overturned by the Supreme Court on procedural gronds. And the feds suspended their mailing privileges until 1957. But the rise of the Counterculture in the Sixties breathed new life into the movement.
So is it occult? Is it dangerous?

 

As far as I am aware, the original meaning of 'occult' is 'hidden'. So to the extent that all of this is out there in the public domain, that makes me wonder how occult it actually is.
Is it harmful? Probably IMO. But I doubt there's much to be done. People sometimes have to pursue blind alleys right to the end before they can see it is a blind alley. When I say it's probably dangerous, I mean in the same sense that most small cults tend to be. Can only lead to a kind of narrowness and alienation, and as we've seen in the case of Greatest I am, a basically arrogant attitude. Unfortunately one can say the same of some who are members of big religions.

With Greatest in particular and this St. Germaine thing, I think the trouble is it seems to lean toward a falsification of history, something which is always bad. But also, it seems that being satisfied with the cult version of things, they don't actually know much about history at all. And given that gnosticism is an historical phenomenon, it's a recipie for even more falsehood to come into a world that is already drowning in the same.

People seek pre-packaged answers to the problems and mysteries of existence. Cults like this claim to provide that, and you don't have to spend all that time looking into things independently, or exercise any kind of critical thinking. Just a very black and white take on things emerges, and one that can't even deal with the facts concerning the very thing they claim to represent. Or the best you get is someone else's youtube video, never their own considered argument or presentation of facts.

 

After reading the comments, I realized how far people are from the truth. I've been engaged in occult rituals for a long time and then turn to psychologists to clear my mind. I've noticed a very rapid growth in my development and state of mind, which is why I continue to engage in occult rituals, making ritual attributes from the tools at hand. If you have a question about the occult or don't believe in its power, you can always contact free chat rooms, like https://www.themystica.com/free-psychic-chat/, as I once did, and make sure of their power. Even if you don't believe in miracles, never play with occultists, or you'll regret it.

 

you can mess yourself up in the head, by messing yourself up in the head, but how is christianity anything different?
the unknown is unknown and owes nothing to what people, whether they call themselves christians or bowls of oatmeal, try to tell each other to pretend.

 

I can’t post a proper reply to this thread without breaking every rule posted at the head of this forum.

Know that I have lived through some extremely gnarly stuff in the last 14 months of my life.

I cannot in good faith and respect read through this thread and not at least post a staunch warning.

Avoid anything occult like you’d avoid a cheezewhiz and peppermint sandwich.

Take my word for it, it can, and most certainly will completely destroy your life.

 

Yes ^^^ @PhoeNicks I could not agree more.

I came here with the intention of saying basically what you said (leave out 14 months, add in "what I've seen and witnessed over the course of 63 yrs").

The phrase "harmless fun" and occult do not go in the same sentence.

 

Ted Gunderson said it best in one of his interviews, and I paraphrase; because it was in a video and I am not sure if I could find the exact quote in writing.

“It doesn’t matter whether YOU believe it is real or not, because those involved DO. And they think its (reffering to occult practices) worth killing for.”