Spring Clean Your Mind Of New Age Part 3
Many Christians today are jumping over the fence to explore new areas of spiritual power. There are two closely related areas of the New Age practice and these are Meditation and creative visualization or guided imagery. I found out many years ago that in deliverance ministry that these two techniques are being used and it's not of God but its demonic/New Age. Creative visualization is believe today by so many Christians and pastors and deliverance ministers to be a wonderful technique in having one's prayers answered along with getting people set free from demonic spirits. It is also goes right along with ''the New Age teaching on ''positive confession,'' and'' positive thinking.'' New Agers also believe strongly in the power of internal imagery. New Agers will tell you it's a technique: They also teach to create what you truly want, such as love, fulfillment, enjoyment, health, beauty, prosperity, inner peace and harmony...whatever your heart desires...and they say It's not necessary to ''have faith'' in any power outside yourself. So do you think guided imagery should be a part of the believers life? Or does creative visualization techniques belong to the New Age Movement? I know the other night, I happen to set down in the living room and my husband John had the history station on, and there it was talking about this very thing as if it was part of the believers life, I was shocked to see just how they came across like it was something that would bring peace and joy into your life. I believe the ability to see things in our mind is a gift of God. We also know that thoughts do have a visual component. So any plans we may make are based on how we imagine the outcome. Like if we say words like Cat, or Dog, or the ocean, the color red or green; even pain, or sickness, or beauty. What happens when you hear these words? A picture will flash in your mind, if it didn't then words would be meaningless right? The Bible would be a lifeless book if we have no ability to flash out words in our imagination. Not to long ago I was thinking about the lady who press through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus garment; I could just picture that in my mind. And a few years ago I did a message on Peter walking on the water and could see that picture in my mind. When Jesus taught in parables, He was saying, ''imagine what it would be like if a sower went forth to sow, or a lady lost her expensive pearl necklace.'' Parables ''guide'' the reader through scenes in a movie. So don't you think Jesus himself intended the hearers to picture themselves in those scenes, to ask themselves how they would have acted? I do! So we can see just how close, meditation and visualization are closely related. But we need to understand, while both can be practiced biblically, either or both can be used to produce altered states of consciousness. Creative visualization is not just a technique, but ultimately it is a state of consciousness. It is a consciousness in which we deeply realize that we are the continuous creators of our universe and we take responsibility for that at all moments. There is no separation between us and God; we are divine expressions of the creative principle on this level of existence...Manifestation through creative visualization is the process of realizing and making visible on the physical plane our divine potential.'' Creative visualization, as taught by New Agers, involves creating. ''a sanctuary within yourself where you can go anytime you want to...In this inner sanctuary, you can meet your spirit guide whenever you need ''guidance, wisdom, knowledge, support, creative inspiration, love or companionship.'' So you see the dangers are real--and scary. If guided imagery or creative visualization becomes a means to an altered state of consciousness, and/or spirit contact,it is wrong. It is equally wrong when it becomes a ''technique'' to experience Christ. New Agers believe strongly in the power of internal imagery to achieve health, wealth, and success. ''Try to get a feeling in yourself that your mental image is possible; experience it as if it is already happening.'' This is the same demonic stuff that is taught behind many pulpits today. Then we also have Affirmations which are spoken resolutions which, when used properly align the physical, mental, and spiritual energies..If anyone says audibly I am God, the sound vibrations literally align the energies of the body to a higher place. Chanting under their breath, ''I am God in strength,'' ''I am God in happiness,'' or '' I am God in health,'' This demonic technique is also used by these health and prosperity prophets. What they do is theorize that since God created the world and all that is therein by speaking them into existence, a believer's words are what the call infused with the same Divine creative energy. Affirmations or positive confessions are a powerfully effective means for Christians to get what they want. Maintaining that a believer can speak any want into existence accords with the New Age belief that we are co-creators of the universe. True Jesus said speaking the word of faith moves mountains. But faith is a gift of God for moving mountains He wants moved. Jesus also said, ''when you pray, do not keep on babbling empty phrases like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. What really matters to our Lord is not how many words we threw out at him but its our heart and attitude as we pray to Him. The transformation of one's life and having one's needs met springs out of personal relationship to God the father, not repetitive affirmation that sets up vibrations aligning ''the energies of the body to a higher place.'' Affirmation for the Christian should be the verbal expression of the aligning of our will with the will of God. our sole intent should be the pursuit of God for himself, seeking ''first his kingdom and his righteousness.'' When this is the focus of all we say and do, we have Christ's promise, ''all these things will be given to you as well.''
And also that spreading world-wide into the churches today is Meditation. This started back in the 1960s and 1970s and it is Hinduism that was real nicely packaged up for the American people and was gobbled up by young, and middle-class white Americans. Without making any demands for a change of lifestyle. For the young people it promised a sense of control, through meditation. Also now we see that this Hindu yoga has now made it's way in our churches with placing a different name to it, so it's now modified with a Christian face on it but it's still Hindu practice of yoga/meditation. You can dress it up however you want but it's still a New Age Hindu practice.
I just seen on my facebook the other day of a speaking coming to a church to speak in March, so I decided to look up the speaker and my heart dropped as I read He was into transcendental Meditation. I can see that Transcendental Meditation is very popular today. The New Agers say this is not a religion, that it is only a form of meditation called japa. Which japa is names of deities or of brief verses usually from the Hindu scriptures.
So the New Age Movement practice has now moved in our churches as a means of relieving stress and tension, some churches have invited in Transcendental Meditation training sessions. Others have copied with what ill call the modified New Age meditation techniques and come up with courses in ''calling it Christian Meditation.'' Meditation upon Gods Word is one thing but another thing for Meditation in the form of Transcendental Meditation which come from the Hindu practice. We must turn to the word of God. The book of Psalms is our handbook on meditation--the true way. It opens with the Psalmist declaring the person blessed who meditates on the law of
