America - The Dangerous Influx of Gnosticism, Cults

Cults are groups, not always small, that view themselves as in some way separate from the mainstream. In and of itself, that may be harmless. There are cults that obsess with certain artists or works of art. Even certain teams and sports figures develop a cult-like following. But, things sometimes get a bit weird.

Often, cults build around a charismatic figure who seems to be teaching a new approach to life. They are convincing in their ability to make others believe that they have the answers and, they will share them with all who follow obediently. If this sounds like religion, it is. Many religions, including Christianity, started as small cultish gatherings. However, many cults are really only about one man's love of power. Remember, Jesus said, 'by their fruits shall you know them,' so let us look at three examples. These were all from the 60s, all ultimately failed and all produced sorry fruit. These were relatively small cults; it is easier to chronicle them instead of the mega-cults like Scientology, but the process is the same.

First, Ken Kesey and The Merry Pranksters. Kesey, in interviews admitted that he loved power. He was kind of the ringmaster fro this travelling circus that was devoted to acid evangelism. Ken set the tone and was the primary teacher. What did they do? Well, they convinced a whole lot of young people that it was a great idea to scarf down acid, speed and grass in huge quantities, anytime and anywhere. They had no truck with the urgings of Tim Leary and Alan Watts that the drugs be used carefully with proper attention to the state of mind of the user and the proper, safe setting. This finally led to the infamous Acid Tests where groups as diverse as kids, artists, intellectuals, street people and Hells Angels gathered to get ripped in the most chaotic environment imaginable. To say this was a bad idea is an understatement. Why do this? All I can say is look at financial and logistic issues. The Pranksters were not a group of wealthy folks. most being grad students, struggling artists and a few recently discharged GIs. Ken was a published author but let me assure you, newly published authors are not rolling in cash. Yet, the group was kept on the move and supplied with a seemingly endless supply of weed, speed and acid. Now, we know that this was the era of MKUltra and they were fascinated with the idea that psychedelics could be used to control group behavior. In the Pranksters and the Acid Tests they had a travelling laboratory. Make your own conclusions, but I think it all had an unsavory odor. Then, suddenly, it all stopped. Kesey went back to writing and running a dairy farm, others back to various artistic pursuits and a few just burnt out and died. Strange, is it not?

Next, take a look at the Fort Hill Community. In Boston, there was a fine musical group. the Jim Kweskin Jug Band that hired a skinny little guy name Mel Lyman, a good singer and banjo player and an awesome harmonica player. Just where Lyman came from and how he arrived in Boston is a bit mysterious, but he showed up and in an era when most folks barely had knew a thing about  marijuana, he was already deeply experienced with LSD. No one knows how he gained that knowledge but he went right to work. He rapidly took control of the group, using acid as a programming tool. The group knew this. They later said that they knew what he was doing and that was just fine because he was improving them. New members were given massive doses of acid and required to spend the last few hours of their trip with Mel.  It was there that he programmed his world view into their brain. His was an extremely Gnostic view of the World as evil and ready for destruction and that he, as God's emissary, or God Himself (his position varied) was going to see to the coming destruction. The group was disciplined, polite, neat and hardworking. Many were skilled craftsmen, besides being musicians, and they built a thriving home remodeling business that morphed into construction and real estate. They still exist, although Mel died years ago, are prosperous, and still think of themselves as a community. All they had to do was surrender their minds. Mel is the key and the question, Where did he come from? How did he understand mind programming so well? Where did he get his seemingly endless supply of acid? I think I detect the fine hand of the Government again, but those folks were always good at hiding their trail.

Finally, I mention the Manson Family. I will not bore you by rehashing their already well known history. I would like to raise a point or two. Charlie and the girls were well known to the LA Sheriffs office and several times plans to raid the ranch were in the works. Each time, orders came down from higher ups to call off the raids and leave the group alone. Several former Sheriffs have mentioned their surprise at this and their suspicions that something was definitely askew. After all, isn't Law enforcement supposed to go after known criminal operations. Second, Charlie had an interesting friend, a known CIA agent named Ronald Hadley Stark. There are pictures of the two together and they were often seen strolling and chatting.  Interesting because Charlie's neighbors in San Francisco were The Process Church, an infamous off shoot of Scientology. Well, their founders, Robert and Mary Ann Degrimston, were also good buddies with Stark who also links with Tim Leary, William Mellon Hitchcock, a rather shady financier whose dear family friend was CIA agent and later head of operations of the nasty little group, Richard Helms,  and the biggest drug smuggling ring in the Land, The Brotherhood of Eternal Love. All buddies it seems right at the time when their was a violent power struggle going on over who would run the massively lucrative drug distribution business in California. Funny, that one of the Tate massacre victims. Wyjtold Frykowski, was trying to corner the distribution of psychedelics among the Hollywood elite. And, funny how all sorts of weird folks always end up at the same place, at the same time, but authorities never seem to make the connections. One last point. The CIA claims that they, with a massive budget and many top flight scientists, developed nothing really useful from the MKUltra research. How strange then that Manson, a near illiterate who had spent most of his life in penal institutions, managed to take such control over a group of men and women. Contrary to popular belief, most of Manson's group were from fairly decent backgrounds, Troubled yes, but not horrific. Squeaky Fromme, for example, had a father who was involved in aero-space research. Tex Watson was a well liked respected young man from Texas, a top athlete and decent student. Yet Charlie managed to do what the CIA with all of its resources, could not. There are those who believe that Manson was a puppet of the CIA, an experiment in mind control and violence. Seems about right to me.

Cults do not get as much mention these days. We seemed to have grown so weird that this has become the era of the lone nut. I believe that so much was learned from the manipulated cults of old that the Powers that Be, have taken those techniques, refined them and through their media outlets, feed them to every one at once. Most folks are still strong and centered enough to remain little effected, but some grow deeply disturbed. thus, the lone nut.

Will the cults make a comeback? Sure. When you see ISIS, that is what you are looking at. In this Nation, I believe you will see similar things plus a corresponding rise of variations on the KKK/ Christian Identity/Nazi cults. What may seem like just a bunch of oddballs may have a more sinister purpose and that charismatic leader may just be a shill, a frontman for some very powerful folks.

If you see friends or family becoming obsessed with any group, especially one with a very charismatic leader, if they start separating themselves from old friends and loved ones and spending all their times with their new group, if they speak of how loving everyone in that group is, be worried. Try to reach them. Try to get them into a different place. Try to reason. They may respond, they may not, but be aware that they are in serious trouble.  Next post: the spooky world of the occult and magick.

America- - The Dangerous Influx of Gnosticism, Terms

I do not mention other blogs on my site because I do not often  have time to spend reading them. Also, I find that many of them turn into forums for people to dart off on tangents, pick  on others, fawn all over the writer, and generally spout nonsense. I welcome comments, but only if pertanent to the subject and only if reasonable and constructive.

Having said that, I do on occassion read a little here and there; especially those dealing with the stranger things out society is going through, and I have grown apalled and a bit alarmed by the prevalence of sites dealing with 'gnosticism.' In itself, gnosticism is perfectly valid topic and quite fascinating, but folks who do not really understand it should stay away from it. Gnosticism has become a catch phrase for all sorts of weirdness. So, in the next few posts, I would like to try and explain a few things.

First, let me go through a few terms you see bandied about.

Occult: Occult simply means hidden. The CIA's actions are occult. Military secrets are occult. Hiddden business plans are occult. The term is used on many sites to refer to the aspects of religious beliefs hidden from all but the elite of the religion's leaders or to the inner most workings of a Magick society, ie the OTO or the Golden Dawn. The reason for hiding the material is said to be that a certain degree of initiation or preparation is needded befor ethe initiate can accept the full truth. Realistically, material is hidden from the neophyte becuase any sane person would reject it and run the other way when presented it. The group first wants to work on breaking down his/ her personality before fully letting them in on what is really going on.

Mystery Religion: In the past, as far back as we have records of civilizations, religions were very hierarchical. The priests kept secrets, 'mysteries,' that they revealed in a series of initiations to individuals. The higher up you went, the deeper the mysteries. Often the initiations involved some sort of ritual imitaing death and rebirth. Often, from what we can gather, they degenerated into a very slick method of controlling the thoughts and actions of individuals. There are groups today that mimic the Mystery Religions. Many, like the much maligned Freemasons, are social organizations, at least on the lower levels, that do a lot of good. We do not know what happens on the upper levels because, well, it is a mystery not revealed to most. Some groups, like the Skull and Bones, with the political and economic power of its members, are a bit more problematic. Others, such as Scientology are very problematic which leads to our next term-

Cults: Cults are basically close knit groups of like minded people. That is all. There is not necessarily anything wrong with that. A celebrity fan club is really a cult. Small religious sects may be thought of as cults and many are quite beneficent. There are, however, dark cults. Scientology is such an example. Going back to the 60s and 70s  you can see many such examples, the Process Church, the Children, the 22 Disciples, the 4 Pi, Hari Krishna, the Children of God, then in later years, Heaven's Gate, The Order of the Solar Temple, The Raelians, Jonestown, The Branch Davidians, The City of Elohim and others. These things pop in and out of existence frequently. A current, nasty example, is the 5 Angle movement.

Magick: Magick, not David Copperfield, is bending the fabric of space-time to your will. It is that simple. Technology is magic. Making a ham sandwich when hungry is magick. Growing crops is magick. The problem comes when you try and use your will to force others to do as you want or to force the Cosmos to follow your will. Then you have 'black magic.' Stay away from that.

Extraterrestraisl/Aliens: Beings not of this Earth, or at least not from the same 4 dimensions we live in. Are thay physical beings or spirits? From other planets or other dimensions? Friendly or hostile? Yes, no, maybe, all, some. Who knows? It is also, to make things a whole lot stranger, manifestations of our own mind and/or manifestations of thoughts put in our minds by certain unsavory humans. Confused? You should be. I am, but I will try to sort all that out, as much as it can be.

In my next post, I will explain a bit more about Gnosticism. Do not worry. It will be light on history because, contrary to what you may read elsewhere, we know very little of its history. There will also be very little philosophy or theology because what we do know of Gnostci thinking is a muddled mess. But, I will let you know why I think the fascination with these ancient loonies is important and upsetting.