There is an EXACT correlation between:

• All Pentecostal/Charismatic churches today

• The Serpent Power of the Awakening Kundalini 
• Sathya Sai gurus 
• Subud worship manifestations 
• Qigong healing manifestations 
• Shakers manifestations
• African Kung Bushmen of the Kalahair
• Stage Hypnotists

We can't tell the difference... can you?

Summary Chart

Manifestation

Kundalini Yoga

Sathya Sai

Subud

Qigong

Shakers

Pentecostal Today

Bible Examples

Slain in the spirit

?

Uncontrollable laughing

?

Physical jerks

?

Animal sounds, roaring

?

Smelling fragrances

?

?

?

?

New spiritual insights & revelations

No: Bible competed 96 AD

Demon possession of adherents

?

?

?

Spontaneous movements

Leaders is Divine

Revival like meetings

Feel energy surge, electricity or fire

?

Repetitive singing, chanting

?

?

Clearing the mind, emotionalism Anti-intellectual:

?

Leaders Rich

?

Tongues

?

Acts 2

Awakened through laying-on-of-hands

Acts 8:14-19; 19:5

Leaders directly sent from God

Gal 1:12

Leaders inspired

2 Tim 3:16

Leaders miraculous

Paul

Many miracles and healing

Acts 8:13

Prophecy

Acts 2:17

Trances

Acts 10:10

Seeing visions

Acts 9:10-12

Mind reading

?

?

Jesus

Manifestation

Kundalini Yoga

Sathya Sai

Subud

Qigong

Shakers

Pentecostal Today

Bible Examples

Go to Documentation Section

(Very long file: 400 KB, wait then save)

Shakers manifestations

Kundalini Yoga and Pentecostals
Identical Manifestations Identical source!

Serpent Power of the Awakening Kundalini:
In Hinduism there are several forms of yoga (yoking) which all have the goal of giving the practitioner cosmic consciousness and unity with God. The origins of Kundalini Yoga (sometimes called Raja or roya Yoga) come from the form of Hinduism known as Kashmir Shavism. This form of yoga comes from the Kashmir region of India and the god these Hindus worship is Shiva.

Shiva was the Hindu god represented in the movie "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."

Kundalini Yoga
"the serpent power." 
Sanskrit kund, "to burn"; kunda, "to coil or to spiral": a concentrated field of intelligent, cosmic invisible energy absolutely vital to life; beginning in the base of the spine as a man or woman begins to evolve in their first incarnation; fed by the chakras along the spine and by the cosmic energy entering through the feet from the earth; as wisdom is earned in each incarnation, this electromagnetic, ultrapotent energy moves slowly upward through the spine; Kundalini is feminine polarity in nature. Sim. (Donning International Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary, June G. Beltzer, Ph.D., p. 343).

Kundalini Yoga: "the serpent power."

1. Kundalini in English means "the serpent power." It is the common Hindu belief that within each person resides a "serpent" coiled tightly up at the base of the spine. Through practicing Kundalini yoga, along with chanting, mediation, and an impartation from the guru one can have their Kundalini Awakened. Kundalini Yoga is the "power yoga" of Hinduism. It is the pathway to supernatural power and godhood. Kundalini Yoga can also lead to mental collapse, psychosis, and demon possession or oppression.
2. "Asian cultures have used these teachings of the Chakra System for about 4,000 years and it's only the last approx. 10 years that this information has filtered into the west. Chakra literally translated from the Hindi means 'Wheel of spinning Energy'. Within our bodies are contained seven major energy centres. They are located within the body in front of the spinal column and are aligned vertically up and down the spine. Each wheel has a colour of the rainbow and vibrates to a musical note... ." (Inner Star Magazine)
3. Kundalini is at least 1000 years old occult practice. It involves bodily manifestations as a consequence for the "awakening of an individual's Kundalini'' and is related to, for example, Qigong (a Chinese occultic tradition). 
4. Kundalini energy is typically described as a powerful energy source lying dormant in the form of a coiled serpent at the base of the human spine. When freed it reputedly has the capacity to effect great physical healings. Christina and Stanislov Grof, New Age authors of the book "The Stormy Search for the Self," describe how the awakening of Kundalini energy can be triggered by an advanced spiritual teacher or guru. And how the awakening can bring up memories of past psychological traumas. The Grofs state that "individuals involved in this process might find it difficult to control their behavior; during power rushes of Kundalini energy, they often emit various involuntary sounds, and their bodies move in strange and unexpected patterns. Among the most common manifestations ... are unmotivated and unnatural laughter or crying, talking tongues ... and imitating a variety of animal sounds and movements" (p. 78-79). The Grofs state that "careful study of the manifestations of Kundalini awakening confirm that this process, although sometimes very intense and shattering, is essentially healing" (citing Warren Smith by permission in an article for Spiritual Counterfeits Project entitled "HOLY LAUGHTER or Strong Delusion" (Fall, 1994, Vol. 19.2), p. 14).

Charismatic Preachers

Kundalini Yoga Gurus

We can't tell the difference... can you?

Sri Ramakrishna
(Kundalini Yoga Guru)

Sri Ramakrishna
[1836-1886]
An Indian saint

1. Sri Ramakrishna, [1836-1886] represents the very core of the spiritual realizations of the seers and sages of India. His whole life was literally an uninterrupted contemplation of God. He reached a depth of God-consciousness that transcends all time and place and has a universal appeal. Seekers of God of all religions feel irresistibly drawn to his life and teachings. Through his God-intoxicated life Sri Ramakrishna proved that the revelation of God takes place at all times and that God-realization is not the monopoly of any particular age, country, or people. In him, deepest spirituality and broadest catholicity stood side by side. The God-man of nineteenth-century India did not found any cult, nor did he show a new path to salvation. His message was his God-consciousness. Drawn by the magnetism of Sri Ramakrishna's divine personality, people flocked to him from far and near -- men and women, young and old, philosophers and theologians, philanthropists and humanists, atheists and agnostics, Hindus and Brahmos, Christians and Muslims, seekers of truth of all races, creeds and castes. His small room in the Dakshineswar temple garden on the outskirts of the city of Calcutta became a veritable parliament of religions. Everyone who came to him felt uplifted by his profound God-consciousness, boundless love, and universal outlook. Each seeker saw in him the highest manifestation of his own ideal. By coming near him the impure became pure, the pure became purer, and the sinner was transformed into a saint. (Swami Adiswarananda, Ramakrishna- Vivekananda Center of New York)
2. "He daily went into 'samahdi,' a trance in which one involuntarily falls down unconscious and enters a rapturous state of super-conscious bliss (ananda), complete with beautiful visions and often involving astral projection. These states could last anywhere from a few minutes to several days and were often accompanied by uncontrollable laughter or weeping. He could send others into this state with a single touch to the head or chest" (unpublished article by John Rice on file at SPIRITUAL COUNTERFEITS PROJECT), (citing Warren Smith by permission in an article for Spiritual Counterfeits Project entitled "HOLY LAUGHTER or Strong Delusion", Fall, 1994, Vol. 19.2)

involuntarily falls down unconscious and enters a rapturous state of super-conscious bliss 

beautiful visions and often involving astral projection

accompanied by uncontrollable laughter or weeping

He could send others into this state with a single touch to the head or chest" 

Swami Muktananda
(Kundalini Yoga Guru)

Swami Muktananda

Swami Muktananda (1908-1982) began living as a sadhu, a mendicant in search of spiritual fulfillment, at an unusually early age. Though as a young man he gained renown for his yogic attainments, Swami Muktananda often said that his spiritual journey didn't truly begin until 1947, when he received shaktipat, spiritual initiation, from the holy man Bhagawan Nityananda. It was then that his spiritual energy, kundalini, was awakened and he was drawn into profound states of meditation. In the 1970s, on his guru's behalf, Swami Muktananda brought the venerable tradition of his master's lineage to the West, giving the previously little-known shaktipat initiation he himself had received to untold thousands of spiritual seekers. Before his death, in 1982, Swami Muktananda wrote many books; sixteen are still in print. He also established more than six hundred meditation centers and several ashrams around the world. His work, through the auspices of the Siddha Yoga Dham Associates (SYDA) Foundation, is carried on by his spiritual heir, Swami Chidvilasananda. He was the disciple of Nityananda and in 1947 he received his impartation of power from Nityananda. Nityananda was called Gurudev and was seen as a Jivan-Mutki or liberated one, and thus worthy of worship as a god. This too is what Muktananda became to millions.

"I understood nothing about the various experiences such as the vision of dissolution and the radiant light that had come to me on the first day. Only afterwards did I learn that they were all part of a process pertaining to shaktipat (the divine power-touch of the guru). Shaktipat is simply another name for the full grace of the supreme guru. This as the awakening process of the kundalini - the serpent-like energy the yogis believe is curled at the base of the spine. And its rising upwards can only be handled by a well-initiated adept, driving most people irretrievably mad should they even get a mild taste of it. Sometimes I would jump and hope like a frog, and sometimes my limbs would shake violently as though shaken by a deity. The goddess of consciousness, and was shaking me with his inner shatki (power). This power of the gurus grace enters the disciples body in a subtle form and does many great things.

Sometimes my body would writhe and twist like a snake's while a hissing sound would come from inside me. Sometimes my neck moved so violently that it made loud cracking sounds. I roared so much that the cows nearby broke their ropes...sometimes roar like a tiger.

was given the ability to know past and future events

Muktanada was "slain in the spirit"

Muktanada gave his grace away to his followers through shatkipat initiation laying on of hands.

"Muktanada's impact was overwhelming. He was fierce with energy. People vibrated in his energy field as he threw out waves of power into the audience, thunderbolts of shatkipat through gesture and powerful gazes." (Tal Brooke, Riders of the Cosmic Circuit. pg. 58)

"The voltage surging through Muktananda was no joke. It had to move on before the body dropped away. It needed-this kundalini- a very prepared host. (Tal Brooke, Riders of the Cosmic Circuit. pg. 64)

"For the next three days my body was pulsating with the energy that surged through it. I laughed ecstatically, wept with happiness, felt energetic enough to hold the universe in my hand, and hungry enough to devour all the earth's food. (Tal Brooke, Riders of the Cosmic Circuit. pg. 68)

"(physical touch)... . various physical and emotional manifestations. Manifestations included uncontrollable laughing, roaring, barking, hissing, crying, shaking, etc. Some devotees became mute or unconscious. Many felt themselves being infused with feelings of great joy and peace and love. At other times the "fire" ... was so overwhelming they would find themselves involuntarily hyperventilating to cool themselves down.... (Spiritual Counterfeits Project)

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
(Kundalini Yoga Guru)

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

"Never born, Never died, only visited this planet between: 11 Dec. 1931 - 19 Jan. 1990"

1. Osho, formerly often referred to as Rejneeshism, was founded by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931-1990). He was born Rajneesh Chandra Mohan in Kuchwara, a town in central India. One source states that "Bhagwan" means "God" and that "Shree" means "Master". He was raised in the Jainism faith as a child. He received "samadhi" (enlightenment in which his soul became one with the universe) on 21 March 1953 at the age of 21. At its peak, they had about 200,000 members and 600 centers around the world.
2. His followers practiced meditation, chanting, naturism, primal screaming, extreme forms of violent exercise, shouting a mantra, and free love. These were expected to lead the individual to overcome repression, lower their personal inhibitions, develop a "state of emptiness", and attain enlightenment. Although most members lived a frugal, simple lifestyle, Rajneesh himself lived in luxury. His collection 27 Rolls Royces, given to him by his followers, was well known. He taught a form of Monism, that God was in everything and everyone. There is no division between "God" and "not-God". People, even at their worse, are divine. Rajneesh, had a huge following. His goal was to release godhood on a large scale and have his disciples infiltrate the world.
3. By merely appearing to his disciples they would begin to weep and laugh uncontrollably, they would dance, hop, and pass out just by his presence.
4. "Rajneesh slowly moved to his throne, his hands in the namaste prayer position, as he pivoted slowly to face his entire audience. The hush was electric. One could just feel the guards psychically trying to control the surges passing across the audience... Rajneesh's body was a glove covering a naked force...I felt it with an intensity...It did have a supernatural consciousness--but its origins and flavor were well disguised from this adoring and desperate throng." (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, "Dance Your Way To God" pg. 92)
5. "A bolt of electricity passing through his body. Passing from one person to the next, moving around the circle, coming back to him. The group began shaking violently. It was as if they were all possessed, taken over by a powerful impersonal energy." (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, "Dance Your Way To God" pg. 148)
6. "Suddenly her body was shaking, she was screaming. Somendra was moving around her - touching her on the back of her neck, on the chest, on the belly. As he'd touch her, his hands vibrating with energy, the part of her body where he touched her would begin shaking more violently. Shaking, screaming, crying - she became a dynamo of energy...she was on fire, from the opposite corner they could feel her energy." (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, "Dance Your Way To God" pg. 149)
7. "Many of his Sannyasins would fall to the floor in ecstasy after their encounters with Rajneesh."
8. "just be joyful ... God is not serious ... this world cannot fit with a theological god ... so let this be your constant reminder - that you have to dance your way to God, to laugh your way to God" (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, "Dance Your Way To God" pg. 229)
9. "Bahgvan's spiritual "wine" was often passed along with a single touch to the head."

Rajneesh's body was a glove covering a naked force...I felt it with an intensity...It did have a supernatural consciousness

A bolt of electricity passing through his body. Passing from one person to the next

Many would fall to the floor in ecstasy after their encounters with Rajneesh.

passed along with a single touch to the head.

disciples would weep and laugh uncontrollably, dance, hop, and pass out just by his presence.

group began shaking violently.

laugh your way to God

It was as if they were all possessed, taken over by a powerful impersonal energy.

followers practiced meditation, chanting, primal screaming, shouting a mantra

"Suddenly her body was shaking, she was screaming. Somendra was moving around her - touching her on the back of her neck, on the chest, on the belly. As he'd touch her, his hands vibrating with energy, the part of her body where he touched her would begin shaking more violently. Shaking, screaming, crying - she became a dynamo of energy...she was on fire, from the opposite corner they could feel her energy."

just be joyful ... God is not serious ... this world cannot fit with a theological god

Rajneesh himself lived in luxury. His collection 27 Rolls Royces, given to him by his followers, was well known. (all high profile Pentecostal preachers are multi-millionaires)

Mahamandaleshwar Swami Nityananda
(Kundalini Yoga Guru) 

Mahamandaleshwar Swami Nityananda 

In 1962, Swami Nityananda was born into the heart of an Indian family. The rock upon which Nityananda's spiritual training rested was his close, lifelong relationship with Swami Muktananda. From 1978 Nityananda travelled the world with his Guru. In 1980 he was initiated into the order of Saraswati monks and given the name of Muktananda's own Guru, Nityananda. Two years later, Swami Nityananda was formally installed as Muktananda's successor. In May 1995, the spiritual leaders of Hindu society, (the revered Acharyas and Mahamandaleshwars ), elevated him to the rank of Mahamandaleshwar - the youngest in history. Through 'Shanti Mandir', Swami Nityananda fulfils the role handed to him by his Guru, sharing with us the process of inner awakening and transformation.

RAJNEESH: "the former Oregon guru tells one of his followers in his book, "Dance Your Way To God," just be joyful ..."

It is typical teaching that Rodney Howard-Browne tells people God likes to have fun with His children and wants them to laugh; this laughter is equated with "the joy of the Lord." (seen in video of Browne)

RAJNEESH: "God is not serious ... this world cannot fit with a theological god ..."

Rodney Howard-Browne: "One night I was preaching on hell, and laughter just hit the whole place. The more I told the people what hell was like, the more they laughed." "The Holy Ghost ... might have you do something that no one's ever done before, and he might have you do something that's totally unique. But don't question, and don't argue, and don't ask, and don't try to devise and to plan it out but just follow the prompting of the leading of the Spirit of God and, oh, great and wonderful things shall be done, for God will move in diverse ways and with diverse anointings in these last days." According to the August Charisma article, Rodney Howard-Browne "disparages" people who "try to apply theological tests" to what he does (SPIRITUAL COUNTERFEITS PROJECT article).

RAJNEESH: "drunk on the divine"

RODNEY HOWARD-BROWNE: "We're drinking of that new wine. It's the wine that is divine." (seen in video of Browne)

RAJNEESH: "Rajneesh encouraged his followers to come and "drink" from him.

RODNEY HOWARD-BROWNE: "Take another drink ... the bar is open... . Be filled! We loose the power! Have another drink!" (seen in video of Browne)

RAJNEESH: "Bahgvan's spiritual "wine" was often passed along with a single touch to the head."

RODNEY HOWARD-BROWNE: This same phenomena is typical of Rodney Howard-Browne in his services. (seen in video of Browne)

RAJNEESH: "Many of his Sannyasins would fall to the floor in ecstasy after their encounters with Rajneesh."

RODNEY HOWARD-BROWNE: This same phenomena is typical of Rodney Howard-Browne in his services. (seen in video of Browne)

Researched by Ed Tarkowski

Kundalini Yoga Manifestations

Feelings

Ecstasy and intervals of tremendous joy, love, peace and compassion 

Energy rushes or immense electricity circulating the body 

Itching, vibrating, prickling, tingling, stinging or crawling sensations 

Intense heat or cold 

Strange activity, and/or blissful sensations in the head, particularly in the crown area. 

Intensified or diminished sexual desires 

Vibrating, tingling sensations

feeling of heat flashes

Aches

weeping; crying; anxiety because of the childhood traumas now being healed

Actions

Uncontrollable Laughing

Spontaneous vocalization of animal sounds

Jerking, Tremors, Shaking

yoga postures, stiffness

Muscle twitches or spasms

Energy rushes, electricity circulating in the body

Postures or moving one's body in unusual ways

Muscle twitches, cramps or spasms. 

Emotional outbursts; rapid mood shifts; seemingly unprovoked or excessive episodes of grief, fear, rage, depression 

Alterations in eating and sleeping patterns 

Episodes of extreme hyperactivity or, conversely, overwhelming fatigue 

Sounds

Hearing an inner sound or sounds, classically described as a flute, drum, waterfall, birds singing, bees buzzing but which may also sound like roaring, whooshing, or thunderous noises or like ringing in the ears. 

Smells

Experiencing the smell of flowers, incense

Mind

Mental confusion; difficulty concentrating 

Altered states of consciousness: heightened awareness; spontaneous trance states; mystical experiences (if the individual's prior belief system is too threatened by these, they can lead to bouts of psychosis or self-grandiosity) 

Psychic experiences: extrasensory perception; out-of-body experiences; pastlife memories; astral travel; direct awareness of auras and chakras; contact with spirit guides through inner voices, dreams or visions; healing powers 

Spontaneous trance states

Guidance through inner voices, visions, dreams

Mental confusion, difficulty concentrating

Out-of-body experiences

Kundalini

Toronto Blessing

Broadly speaking there are two radically different direct approaches to awakening kundalini. One approach requires initiation by a guru and relies upon a technique called shaktipat, or "descent of shakti." It is variously called: Siddha Mahayoga, Kundalini Mahayoga or Sahaja Yoga (Spontaneous Yoga)... 

While not every long-term student ... necessarily shows signs of kundalini awakening it is amazing how many people have had instant awakenings of kundalini through initiation from siddha gurus... 

[Kundalini FAQ: So how do I awaken kundalini? and the next section] 

Shaktipat means "the descent of power (literally: kundalini)'". The most common form of shaktipat is a touch by the guru on the individual's forehead. This is exactly the method that is used greatly to impart the "anointing'', for example by Rodney Howard-Browne. This is also the most common way to receive the power. 

Kundalini

Toronto Blessing

There is no doubt that shakti is contagious. The mere presence of a single being whose shakti is strongly active can awaken the shakti of those around him. Similarly being in the presence of many people whose shakti is awakened to some degree can awaken one's own shakti. 

[Siddha Mahayoga FAQ: Can one receive shaktipat just by being in the presence of those with awakened shakti?] 

The "anointing'' is known to be contagious by nature and easily transferred from one to another. John Arnott compared it to a "spiritual virus''. 

It also spreads from men to men in macro scale (between towns) and occasionally regionally even in smaller scale (in the midst of a meeting, for example when the members of a group of people keeping another's by hand fall simultaneously). 

Kundalini

Toronto Blessing

Ultimately the validity of any spiritual tradition rests in its ability to transform the beings of its followers. The real value of siddha mahayoga is in transforming the minds of those who practice it. 

[Siddha Mahayoga FAQ: Are these kriyas some sort of self-hypnosis or some sort of New Age phenomenon?] 

The Toronto Blessing advocates say that they cannot understand why these phenomena are happening. They continue by saying that, however, that the phenomena belong to a genuine work of the Spirit is clear because of the transformations appearing as a result in the minds of the believers. 

So we see that the experience is justified by the same means. 

Kundalini

Toronto Blessing

To continue the analogy, in theory "anyone on fire'' can give shaktipat, i.e. anyone who's kundalini is already awakened. The more relevant question is: "Who should give shaktipat?''... 

Giving shaktipat is a science and it is helpful, if not essential, to be instructed in that science... 

Therefore, it is desirable that the guru be empowered to give shaktipat by his own guru and has been trained in an unbroken lineage back to a great master who was fully aware of the science of shaktipat. In this way some quality control is maintained. 

[Siddha Mahayoga FAQ: Who can give shaktipat?] 

In general, TB is known to be easily transferred further from anybody "already on fire''. However, usually short courses are held to direct intercessors before they go on to minister people. 

The method for distributing the TB anointing is different from the traditional view of Christian intercession. When in the traditional intercession focus is on God and His work needs no control, surveillance or intervention from people, in TB the intercessors are instructed to watch people and their bodily manifestations to know what the spirit is doing. In this way, TB ministry resembles science more than the traditional intercession. 

In Toronto meetings, usually only appointed ministers are allowed to pray for people. This is because of some quality control. In a sound Christian assembly, all are required and allowed to pray for another's, not just appointed ministers. 

Who can give Shakti-pat?: anyone who has received the ability from the guru or one of his disciples.

Who can administer the "blessing": anyone who has received it from a person already "blessed."

How one receives Kundalini Awakening: Through the laying-on-of-hands during "Shakti-pat" initiation

How one receives this "Blessing": Through the laying-on-of hands called an impartation by someone.

Kundalini

Toronto Blessing

KundaliniKriyas, literally "activities'', are spontaneous movements that occur after kundalini awakening. These include bodily activities such as trembling, shaking and spontaneous yoga postures; vocal activities such as yelling, or spontaneous chanting and mental activities such as visions. These kriyas eliminate the blocks to kundalini rising within the spine or central channel. 

[Siddha Mahayoga FAQ: What are kriyas?] 

Blocks, known as samskaras or impressions, do not just obstruct kundalini, but they embody attachments, conceptions and other mental afflictions that limit the freedom of our consciousness. Left unattended these attachments lead to actions which only reinforce the attachment. For example if we have impressions of anger then we will manifest anger in our activities which only reinforce our impressions. As kundalini rises it will purify the anger and as a result of the purification process the kriyas will occur... 

It seems more useful to think of kundalini as a natural intelligent force whose natural movement untangles the knots which limit its expression. The garden hose analogy makes another point clear as well. Imagine what happens if the hose is very tangled. Turning up the water pressure may be a very dramatic and perhaps even counter-productive process. 

[Siddha Mahayoga FAQ: How do kriyas purify one's consciousness?] 

The common explanation for the "kriyas'' happening in TB meetings is that the God is doing some inward work on the people's lives and that it results in the outward manifestations. 

Also, more generally, that the touch of the power from God results in the manifestations. 

Also, one alleged purpose of the manifestations is to remove blocks from people's lives (such that pride, self-control etc.) that sustain the Spirit from moving freely in one's life. 

So we see that the supposed purpose and reason for the manifestations is -- below the surface of religious terms -- exactly the same. 

Kundalini

Toronto Blessing

The unique perspective of Siddha Mahayoga is that because kundalini is an intelligent force it will, upon awakening, naturally direct the practice of the student. All that is required is that the student completely surrender to this force. As a result of kundalini's unfoldment spontaneous purifying movements, called kriyas will occur... 

Even to reach the point of simply surrendering to shakti takes some practice for people. Some aids in cultivating surrender are chanting and selfless service. These practices open the heart and make one more susceptible to the influence of shakti. 

[Siddha Mahayoga FAQ: So what happens after shaktipat? What's the practice of Siddha Mahayoga?] 

In Toronto Blessing the receiver is asked to surrender to the "power of the Holy Spirit'' and to receive the good work ("purifying kriyas'') of Him without questioning. So this is exactly the same initial condition that is required for the awakening of kundalini. 

Also, chanting spiritual songs is done abundantly in Toronto meetings. This is supposedly to pray to God, but at least as a side-effect it moves people to light trance (this is widely known in psychology) and so enables one to receive counterfeit spiritual experiences. 

Charismatic Preachers

Sathya Sai Gurus

We can't tell the difference... can you?

Bhagawan Nityananda
(Sathya Sai Organization Guru)

Bhagawan Nityananda
[died 1961]

Bhagawan Nityananda, died August 8, 1961, supreme Avadhut and Siddha Guru of Ganeshpuri, India. He was considered by everyone who knew him to be a janmasiddha, one born in the state of enlightenment. His name, which means "everlasting bliss," is a description of his exalted state. During Bhagawan's lifetime, thousands of people flocked to his ashram, just to be in his presence. They might sit for hours waiting for him to appear. It did not matter. Bhagawan rarely spoke. It was not necessary. What mattered and is well documented, is the transformation that occurred in countless people's lives. As early as the 1920s he traveled northward across Kerala and Karnataka states, gaining a reputation as a miracle maker wherever he went. Many hundreds of people gathered around him for blessings and for cures. Many miracles (including spontaneous healings) and instructive stories are attributed to him. His successor is Sathya Sai Baba (Sathya Sai Organization, pamphlet)

"a reputation as a miracle maker wherever he went. Many hundreds of people gathered around him for blessings and for cures. Many miracles (including spontaneous healings) and instructive stories are attributed to him"

Sathya Sai Baba
(Sathya Sai Organization Guru)

Sathya Sai Baba

Sai Baba was followed by millions of people globally. He had the "goods" that is, he had supernatural power flowing in his ministry. He was and is seen by millions as a true Avatar, a human incarnation of God.

1. Sathya Sai Baba is a highly revered spiritual leader and world teacher, whose life and message are inspiring millions of people throughout the world to turn God-ward and to lead more purposeful and moral lives. His timeless and universal teachings, along with the manner in which he leads his own life, are attracting seekers of Truth from all the religions of the world. Yet, he is not seeking to start a new religion. Nor does he wish to direct followers to any particular religion. Rather, he urges us to continue to follow the religion of our choice and/or upbringing. He succeeded Bhagawan Nityananda. (Sathya Sai Organization, pamphlet)
2. Born on 23rd November 1926 Sri Sathya Sai Baba demonstrated remarkable materialization phenomena from an early age. At the age of thirteen, after a two month period of illness and unconsciousness, he announced to the startled villagers that he was an avatar- a teacher sent directly from God. This, he said, was his second incarnation, the previous being as Sai Baba of Shirdi a Muslim fakir who had died in 1918, and there would be a third to come as Prema Baba. Over these three lives he intends to bring the religions of the world together as one brotherhood with universal love as their foundation stone.
3. On the evening of Tuesday 3th December 1991 the National Italian language Swiss Television Channel broadcast a documentary entirely devoted to Sai Baba as part of the Thesis, Issues and Witnesses program. Sai Baba had been seen producing "vibhuti", a kind of ash that it is said he is able to create out of thin air. Sai Baba also materialized other objects such as valuable rings encrusted with diamonds. After this a Dane woman suffering from cancer witnessed her miraculous healing after being admitted to Sai Baba's presence in India. In addition S. Bhagavantam, a known Indian physicist, also declared these "miracles" as real and unexplainable by science. S. H. Sandweiss a teacher of psychiatry in San Diego University witnessed the healing of one of his patient's thanks to Sai Baba and various other people have also spoken on behalf of Sai Baba. At the IV Euroskeptics Conference held in St. Vincent on the 17th-19th July 1992 a report was given by B. Premanand a Indian that devoted years pursuing Indian marabous and disclosing the clever tricks used by most of them to deceive their followers. Particularly he feigned for months to be a Sai Baba's disciple till he understood all the skilled conjurer's methods. Recently he was beaten up by some fanatics and has being recovering after a period of time in hospital. Premanand at St Vincent showed how to handle fire, eat glass, pierce your arm with needles, stop the heart beating and produce apparently enormous amounts of "vibhuti" (the holy ash that Sai Baba get from perfumed starch and sometimes dried cow dung... !). (Sai Baba And Television, by Marco Cagnotti Caflish, from Scienza & Paranormale, year IV, n.1)
4. Isaac Tiger, the restaurant chain's founder, believes that Sai Baba saved his life when his Porsch careered at 90 mph over a 300 ft drop. "Sai Baba appeared beside me in the car and put his arm around me. The car was totally destroyed but I got out without a bruise."
5. Never before has anyone displayed such remarkable PK powers. The reports coming out of India are mind boggling. Sai Baba has raised the dead, multiplied food as Christ did at the Last Supper, materializes jewelry out of the air and turned water into petrol when his car ran out of fuel. There are tales of him materializing sweets directly into people's mouths, appearing in two places at once and making a photograph of the face of Christ appear on film. Most of his manifestations have been demonstrated in front of highly respected professional people and are particularly well documented by Dr John Hislop and Howard Murphet.
6. There are of course skeptics who argue that Sai Baba's miracles are nothing but cleaver conjuring tricks. The fact that he has levitated in front of hundreds of people or can materialize jewelry from thin air can be explained by simple trickery and sleight of hand. But when you read the thousands of testimonials or meet intelligent people whose lives have been completely transformed after an encounter with Sai Baba you soon realize that to trick people on this scale would be impossible. For example Sai Baba will often ask people "What do you want" and many people will ask him to materialize very obscure things: fruits out of season, a perpetual motion watch, a map of the world in the future, some wood from the original cross and specific medicines. To keep all this up the sleeves of his robe would be an impossibility.
7. Amongst the 'Sai Stories' told by devotees are some very strange stories. For example: Knowing that every Rolex watch has its exclusive serial number, an Australian visitor asked the swami to materialize one for him. Sai Baba obliged with a wave of his hand. On his return the serial number enabled the Australian to identify where the watch had been purchased. He asked the proprietor if he remembered who bought it. The owner remembered the occasion well. He could hardly forget the unusual orange clad Indian gentleman with strange fuzzy hair. The shop owner was a meticulous man who kept accurate sales records that gave not only the day of purchase but the time as well. Together they checked the records. It corresponded exactly with the time and day that Sai Baba had materialized the Rolex. Sai Baba had been in two places at the same time! 
8. Another intriguing story, although accounts differ, concerns an Australian who visited Sai Baba in the hope that he could cure his wife of terminal cancer. Sai Baba spoke to him saying "You shouldn't be here. Your wife needs you. She will be well." He then tapped the Australian three times on the forehead. The man vanished in front of a crowd of people and reappeared besides his wife's hospital bed in Australia. Baffled by what happened he checked his passport. It was stamped correctly with that day's date yet only moments ago he was in India. His wife recovered. 
9. All over the world there are people who have had similar impossible experiences many of whom I've met or have written to me at my columns. Sai Baba's most frequent materialization is of a healing ash called vibhuti. Hindus consider this to be very holy and on a par with the holy sacrament of Christianity. In the Daily Telegraph of March 6th 1992 a reporter witnessed vibhuti ash forming on photos of Sai Baba and objects in the room at the home of Mr. G Patel in Wealdstone, Harrow London. In honour of Sai Baba's 70th Birthday, Mr Patel carved a life-size wooden statue of his guru. As soon as the task was complete vibhuti ash began to form on the statue's hands, gown and feet. Mr Patel took a photograph of this but when the film was developed it was not the statue in the picture but a photograph of the real Sri Sathya Sai Baba!
10. Remarkable as these stories about Sai Baba are, they are unlikely to convince traditional scientists until he is tested by researchers under laboratory conditions. Sai Baba considers that this is unnecessary. "Miracles are my visiting cards" he says and on another occasion "My greatest miracle is Love" (Craig Hamilton-Parker)
11. Joan and her husband Richard first heard about the miracles and teaching of Sai Baba over eleven years ago. Their search for spiritual truth began within Spiritualism and says Joan "we found that without a shadow of a doubt that life goes on after death". Joan and Richard have since had a number of private interviews with Sai Baba over the years. "On many occasions we've seen him materialize objects from thin air" continues Joan "On one occasion he materialized a silver medallion with his image imprinted on it which was passed round. He then blew on it and it changed into a little golden statue of the Hindu elephant god Ganesha with three rubies hanging from it. This again was passed around. Sai Baba then looked at one of the visitors and said 'What do you want?' 'You Swami was the reply' so Sai Baba blew on it again and back came the medallion. "I've seen him materialize rings with pictures of Christ on them, vibhuti ash, silver boxes.. a whole list of things." But Joan stresses that the phenomena Sai Baba displays are unimportant. "When he looks at you know that he knows everything about you. I cannot explain the feeling of overwhelming love you feel in his presence. It's not hysterical, it's a silent, inward transformation." (Joan and Richard Brake Ph: 01275 848039)
12. I went to India this year to see Sai Baba with a group of followers. On 20th January I saw him materialize a gold and diamond watch for a young devotee. He then took another devotee's steel ring from his finger and blew on it. We saw it change into a diamond ring. Baba recently also materialized a small Bible containing facts about Jesus. Tears of joy flooded my eyes to see such wonders. Later I witnessed another marvel. I saw a statue of Sai Baba- as his first incarnation as Shirdi Baba- drink milk from a little pot [this same miracle was reported on 21 Thursday September 1995] which was offered by the Hindu priest. In India this is called the abhishekam ceremony and your readers may remember how this hit the headlines sometime ago when statues, even brass statues, from all over the world started drinking milk. These miracles are interpreted as proof that the formless God can also take form. The statue of Baba that I saw drinking milk was five feet high and made of solid marble. There was no hollow for the mouth. As it drank the milk I could hear it slurp. It drank half a pot every day. (Bhupendra Desai- Edgbaston, Birmingham.)
13. Dr Madhini Bhanu tells of Sai Miracle. About myself: I'm a medical doctor of about 20 years experience in this field. Now I'm in private practice. I'm born in year 1955. The background: I came to know about Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, India about 3 years ago, and ever since it I got stuck to Him as it was beyond my explanation his miracles.
14. The incident: Now I don't write about second experiences. I write first hand experiences, that's what I've myself observed. I pray Sai Baba. One day I noticed liquid coming out the picture of Sai Baba from outside the glass. It was pouring out from the site of his blessing palm, but only little in quantity. It dripped down slowly. My wife is also medical doctor. I've 2 daughters, one 7 years, one 9 years. There's no foul play. The question is: How can this liquid issue forth from the picture of Sai Baba, from the glass outside? In fact the neighbouring Lord Ganesha picture was 'sweating' similar amrith also from all over the glass. How do you explain this? This's the question. Since you expound the unexplainable, please explain this phenomena.
15. A student really wanted to know if UFO's were or were not real. Swami looked at the young man and started to answer, but at that moment in the field behind him, in broad daylight, a UFO appeared and just hovered there in the sky above the group. Not even looking back behind him, Baba calmly said `UFO's are just imagination', and the craft vanished.
16. I was talking to John, a customer at my newspaper shop, about the miracles of Sai Baba and I felt so sorry for him that gave the man some of vibhuti ash. Sometime ago he had damaged his neck and the doctors said that there was nothing more they could do for him. He had over the years visited many specialists and private doctors. I gave him four packets of vibhuti and a photograph of Sai Baba. The vibhuti I gave him had been given to me by Dr D Gadhia who is a very old devotee of Baba's teachings. This vibhuti was in fact extracted from his own body coming out of his hands and from his legs particularly at night. This phenomena lasted for three months and everyday devotees from all over the UK were going to his home in Leicester to see him and would see vibhuti everywhere- even in his bed sheets. I told him to keep these packets under his pillow and under his bedsheet. I also told him to pray to his own chosen God incarnation. I believe he prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ. John also told me how during the healing process the photo of Sai Baba would move from room to room yet there were no children or pets in the house that could of done this when his back was turned. This is just one example of healing that Baba can do. Within a week John could turn his neck 45 degrees. I two weeks he was fully cured and could hold his head straight and without any pain. He returned to my shop to thank me "It has nothing to do with me" I said "It is Baba who has blessed you." (Bhupendra N Desai- Birmingham.)
17. And here's another miracle. Mr Desai enclosed a pack of vibhuti with his letter to me. [exactly the same as Pentecostal preachers sending out their trinkets] My father was in the terminal ward of a hospital dying of terribly painful bone cancer. I gave him the vibhuti. That night he dreamed about Sai Baba. Everyone else on my father's ward died but he is now back at home, his morphine has been reduced and he has begun walking again. I'm sure a miracle is beginning to happen.

Sathya Sai Baba revival meeting!

He conducted Pentecostal style revival services as pictured to the left.

He gave his grace (enlightenment and power) to selected followers by the laying on of hands

He had the ability to know people's thoughts.

He claimed to perform genuine miracles. His slogan was: "Miracles are my visiting cards"

Sai Baba has raised the dead, multiplied food as Christ did at the Last Supper, materializes jewelry out of the air and turned water into petrol when his car ran out of fuel. There are tales of him materializing sweets directly into people's mouths, appearing in two places at once

He miraculously healed the sick. A Dane woman suffering from cancer witnessed her miraculous healing after being admitted to Sai Baba's presence in India.

He could make vedhuti appear out of thin air (sacred ash).

He would send out articles to cause cures to happen like "a pack of vibhuti" [exactly the same as Pentecostal preachers sending out their trinkets]

He could materialize gold rings and jewels which he gave to his followers. (note: Pentecostals promise 100 fold financial blessings: ie give $1 and get $100 from God)

He regularly appeared to his followers at night in their dreams and reveal their dreams to them the next day

He gave his followers visions

Many followers heard his voice as an inner-guide which lead them in making decisions in life

Charismatic
Manifestations

Subud
Manifestations

We can't tell the difference... can you?

Subud
(founded by Muhammad Subuh)

Muhammad Subuh, Founder. [1901-1987]
 

1. The story of the Subud Association begins in 1924 with a man named Muhammad Subuh. At that time, he was a 23-year-old clerk who worked for the municipality of Semarang in central Java, Indonesia. During an evening walk, he was suddenly surprised by an unusual bright light that appeared to fall on him causing his whole body to tremble. Assuming he was having a heart attack, he hurried home and lay down, not knowing what to expect. From then on, for many years, every evening he received a similar spontaneous experience which continually expanded and deepened in its nature. In time, through many profound experiences, it became clear to Muhammad Subuh that what he was receiving was a gift from God- a gift of Divine Power which brings individuals into contact with their inner nature and the power of God. Muhammad Subuh passed on in 1987. It is estimated that by that time well over a half a million people of all races and religions from around the world had shared what he had received. (World Subud Association)
2. The founder of Subud was an Indonesian named Bapak Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo. Bapak (as he is known among Subud members) spontaneously received the latihan for the first time in the summer of 1925 when he was 24 years old. Bapak died in Indonesia in 1987, at the age of 86. Are there any leaders in Subud? No, the only leader in Subud is Almighty God. What actually is Subud? Subud is an association of people who worship God through a spiritual training called (in Indonesian) "latihan", or more formally, latihan kejiwaan. The membership is made up of people from different religions, countries, cultures and philosophies. What's the latihan? The latihan is the spiritual practice around which the Subud Association exists. It is an exercise in which one surrenders to, opens up one's inner feeling to and comes into contact with the Power of God. During the latihan, one follows whatever arises spontaneously from within at that moment. (Faq: World Subud Association)
3. SUBUD is an abbreviation of the words Susila, Budhi and Dharma. Subud is not a new religion nor a sect of any religion; nor is it a teaching. Susila means to be able to live according to the Will of God as really true human beings. Budhi indicates that in every creation, in every creature of God, including man, there is a Divine Power which works within him as well as outside him. Dharma means the possibility for every creature, including man, to surrender completely to the Will of God, of whom man is only a creation and has, therefore, inevitably to submit to the Will of his Creator. Susila Budhi Dharma is the symbol of what we are practicing in the spiritual exercise (latihan) of Subud; it means that whatever happens in the spiritual exercise of Subud is entirely the Will of God and comes to us because God wills it for us. ... What we have to surrender is our mind, our hearts and our desires, because those are the instruments that form an obstacle to our coming closer to God. ... This is what we do in the spiritual exercise of Subud -- we surrender ourselves completely; we do not make use of our mind, heart or desires -- but we only accept and receive whatever God sends. ... The only thing we do is surrender ourselves completely and only accept and receive whatever God sends or wants us to have. This is indeed what every prophet has said: "Surrender yourself entirely, submit completely to God, and then God will take care of you and give you guidance." In this spiritual exercise we do not expect anything in particular. We do not make for ourselves any image, but we only receive whatever God may send us. So this Divine Power, which works in us during the exercise, will bring to each person what is already in himself. ... Good night and thank you. (lecture, Pak Muhammad Subuh, founder of Subud)
4. I remember the first time I went to the latihan on Los Altos. The room was divided by a thick curtain against which had been placed a few chairs. I sat in one of the chairs with some other applicants. Over the next ten minutes or so, some thirty men came into the room and went behind the curtain. All was quiet for about fifteen minutes and then a terrific din broke out. There was howling and shouting, screaming and laughing, grunting and weeping, moaning and groaning. There was clapping and stamping and the sound of bodies thumping about. Mingled with this, were snatches of singing of great beauty. Most of the sound was inarticulate, but amongst it were fragments of prayers and invocations. It seemed completely unorchestrated, pure cacophony, though over the next half hour, I did detect a kind of shape or rhythm to it. There was a build up of intensity which seemed to reach a crescendo after twenty minutes or so, and then it gradually died away until there were just a few isolated moans and groans and the odd sob. The men emerged from behind the curtain, looking none the worse for wear. On the contrary, they were relaxed, bright-eyed and smiling. I learned that what went on behind the curtain was called the latihan, or more accurately the latihan kejiwaan. It is a completely spontaneous experience. Nobody organizes or directs it. There is no set form, no prayers or ritual movements. Everyone follows their own feelings and whatever sounds and movements might arise from inside. A couple of months later I was opened. ("Opening" is the word used for when someone does the latihan for the first time and experiences the contact with the Power of God.) At the moment of my opening, I felt as of there was a bowl of molten gold in my solar plexus and this warm fluid ran out through my veins to touch every particle of my body. One night I was lying in bed when an inner voice said: "Get up and walk." I ignored it, but it kept on. "Get up and walk." Finally, feeling ridiculous, I got up and put on my clothes and walked out of the house. Where was I supposed to walk to? But it seemed that my feet were guided. (Author unknown, World Subud Association pamphlet)
5. The latihan cannot be taught or imitated, for it arises spontaneously from within after the contact with the Power of God has been received by transmission through a person in whom it is already established, and it is different for each individual according to his or her needs. Those who are authorized to transmit the contact -- the "helpers" -- do nothing to or for the person who receives it. They simply follow their own latihan together with the new member who has come to receive it, and of its own accord the same process then begins in him or her, and continues thereafter to work in them without the need for any use of heart and mind or any act of will beyond the initial consent. ... In the beginning it usually takes the form of physical movement and sounds. This is the normal outer manifestation of the touch of the Power of God. (First introduction to Subud, Roseanna Sawrey-Cookson, World Subud Association)
6. The Subud Experience: Subud members meet regularly, usually twice a week for a half hour, and practice their receiving together in groups. An individual who wishes to partake of the Subud experience can receive it by standing quietly, with a feeling of patience and surrender, in the presence of a member or members who are at that moment experiencing it for themselves. Experiences vary enormously. At the beginning, they usually take the form of spontaneous motions or sounds. (World Subud Association)
7. Subud has no dogma, teaching, or theology. It is a pure experience. The latihan is different for each person, and even for the same person takes different forms at different times. Sometimes people experience an inner vibration or a sensation like electricity running through their body. The latihan initiates a process of purification. At the same time you receive what is necessary for your life. Most people feel a sense of relaxation and well-being after doing the latihan. Over a period of time, people report beneficial effects such as improved physical health, the eradication of character defects and the emergence of new talents and capacities. Some people have had remarkable healings, and others have been blessed with visions, voices and other mystical phenomena. ... Subud should bring proof. (An Introduction to Subud, 16 Steps, Harris Smart, 1988)
8. Subud is a way to make contact with the Power of God, the Great Life Force. It needs no effort of will or special intellect, just patience and perseverance. ... The way is the 'latihan', an Indonesian word meaning spiritual exercise or training. The latihan is done with other members, men and women separately. In the latihan you stand, eyes closed, with a readiness to accept whatever happens. Sooner or later you may feel an inner vibration, and may then find yourself swaying or moving your limbs or singing. You do not decide to move, you just move, spontaneously, and when this happens it is unmistakable: you know with certainty that it is not your will but a Force within you. (Leaflet About Subud Published by Subud Britain in 1983)
9. To practice the latihan is to stand relaxed in a group of people, men and women separately, and allow the process to take place. Many people feel a vibration, most soon feel an impulse to move, to utter sounds or to sing. The impulse is spontaneous, not suggested or controlled by thought, but during this time a member is fully alert, with mind and desires passive, reacting to their need at the time. The latihan continues for about thirty minutes and is repeated twice a week. The experience varies, indeed it is different for each person. For some the development is gradual and changes are noticed in the outer life before there is much movement in the actual latihan. ... For some there is a considerable pain. The process of purification brings out problems, reminds forcibly, agonizingly, of past mistakes. Many things have to be faced and in a way re-lived before they can be left behind. (A simple view of Subud, Loudwater Farm Group)
10. Subud: "the central element of the Subud faith is the practice of "latihan." Latihan is the way one surrenders to the power of God. It is a group process." "the latihan proper is a time of moving the consciousness beyond mind and desire and allowing the power to enter and do its work... . often accompanying the spontaneous period are various body movements and vocal manifestations - cries, moans, laughter and singing. These occur in the voluntary surrender of the self to the power. During this time, people report sensations of love and freedom and often, healings. All reach a higher level of consciousness" (Encyclopedia of American Religions, J. Gordon Melton and Spiritual Counterfeits Project, 1994, Vol. 19.2)

Some people have had remarkable healings, and others have been blessed with visions, voices and other mystical phenomena

spontaneous period are various body movements and vocal manifestations - cries, moans, laughter and singing. These occur in the voluntary surrender of the self to the power. During this time, people report sensations of love and freedom and often, healings. All reach a higher level of consciousness"

suddenly surprised by an unusual bright light that appeared to fall on him causing his whole body to tremble

Those who are authorized to transmit the contact -- the "helpers"

One night I was lying in bed when an inner voice said: "Get up and walk."

whatever happens in the spiritual exercise of Subud is entirely the Will of God

What we have to surrender is our mind, our hearts and our desires, because those are the instruments that form an obstacle to our coming closer to God.

we surrender ourselves completely; we do not make use of our mind, heart or desires -- but we only accept and receive whatever God sends

The only thing we do is surrender ourselves completely and only accept and receive whatever God sends or wants us to have.

Latihan is the way one surrenders to the power of God. It is a group process.

All was quiet for about fifteen minutes and then a terrific din broke out. There was howling and shouting, screaming and laughing, grunting and weeping, moaning and groaning. There was clapping and stamping and the sound of bodies thumping about. Mingled with this, were snatches of singing of great beauty. Most of the sound was inarticulate, but amongst it were fragments of prayers and invocations.

you may feel an inner vibration, and may then find yourself swaying or moving your limbs or singing. You do not decide to move, you just move, spontaneously, and when this happens it is unmistakable: you know with certainty that it is not your will but a Force within you.

Many people feel a vibration, most soon feel an impulse to move, to utter sounds or to sing. The impulse is spontaneous, not suggested or controlled by thought

opens up one's inner feeling to and comes into contact with the Power of God. During the latihan, one follows whatever arises spontaneously from within at that moment. (Faq: World Subud Association)

It seemed completely unorchestrated, pure cacophony, though over the next half hour, I did detect a kind of shape or rhythm to it.

I felt as of there was a bowl of molten gold in my solar plexus and this warm fluid ran out through my veins to touch every particle of my body.

it arises spontaneously from within after the contact with the Power of God has been received by transmission through a person in whom it is already established

Sometimes people experience an inner vibration or a sensation like electricity running through their body.

Subud should bring proof.

For some there is a considerable pain. The process of purification brings out problems, reminds forcibly, agonizingly, of past mistakes. Many things have to be faced and in a way re-lived before they can be left behind.

Charismatic
Manifestations

Qigong
Manifestations

We can't tell the difference... can you?

Qigong
(Dr. Yan Xin, Qigong Master)

Dr. Yan Xin
Qigong Master

1. Qigong pronounced "chee-gong", is Chinese medical meditation, and Dr. Yan Xin is the leader of its most popular form. Of the estimated 160,000,000 people worldwide now doing qigong, perhaps a third are following Dr. Yan's basic nine-step method. Yan Xin qigong is one of the least physically active and most mentally active of the some 150 approaches that exist. Qigong is very scientific, not superstitious. It works for people of whatever religion or faith because it has nothing to do with religion or faith. It has everything to do with nature and we are part of nature. Qigong, consists of two Chinese characters: Qi: the vital energy that is found in all things. Gong: the practice and method to cultivate the Qi. In short, qigong is a process of obtaining the vital energy from the universe through the cultivation of mind and body.
2. Dr. Yan Xin was born in 1950 in a small village in Sichuan province, China. At the age of four he was chosen by a qigong master (living as a hermit) with whom he began his training. He subsequently received comprehensive instruction in Traditional Chinese Internal Qigong from near thirty of China's most talented qigong masters, many of whom remain unknown to the public to this day. After pursuing and excelling at a rigorous course of study in Western medicine, he attended and graduated with highest honors from Chengdu Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He was a physician for a number of years at the Chongqing Research Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine where he combined qigong power with standard medical therapies. His practice was extremely successful and he became known as "The Wonder Doctor" for his seemingly extraordinary cures. 
3. More than forty papers have been published in science journals reporting Dr. Yan Xin's researches. By emitting qi, a form of bio-energy, Dr. Yan was able to produce some extraordinary results. He has demonstrated scientifically that external Qi can change the molecular structure of water, which constitutes over 65% of the body fluid in a human being; the molecular structures of saline and glucose solution, which are critical to the physiological functions of the human body; the structure of DNA and RNA, which are the bases of genetic codes; the decay rate of radio-isotope Am-241 as well as the rotation angle of the polarization plane of a laser beam. All of these experiments were performed either at close range or at ultra-long distances of 2000 km to 10,000 km. These unprecedented results suggest that Qigong may be associated with certain fundamental forces of the universe and hence, it may be harnessed for practical use. In fact, Dr. Yan has successfully applied Qigong to improve large scale agricultural and industrial production.
4. Dr. Yan Xin, a Chinese Qigong master known to most of the over one billion people in China, gave a talk in San Francisco in 1991. Seventeen hundred devotees, most of them Chinese, showed up at the Masonic auditorium to listen to Yan. The San Francisco Chronicle on may, 16 1991 reported that "minutes into his talk, several began experiencing what Yan Xin calls spontaneous movements." The Chronicle reporter said that "before long, the scene resembled a Pentecostal prayer meeting with many people waving their arms and making unintelligible sounds." Yan told his audience, "Those who are sensitive might start having some strong physical sensations - or start laughing or crying. Don't worry. This is quite normal."
5. In order to share the benefits of his qigong practice with others, Dr. Yan Xin created the "qi-emitting lecture". At such lectures, while discussing qigong principles and practical techniques, he has emitted qi to audience numbering as many as over two hundred thousand people in one lecture. The effects of these lectures were phenomenal. Thousands of people have been cured of diseases, including such "incurables" as cancer, heart disease, and traumatic paraplegia. As a result Dr. Yan Xin became a national celebrity. He has lectured throughout China as well as in Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, the United States, Canada, Mexico, and France. According to journalists' estimation, the direct audience of his qi-powered lectures could have been as many as sixty million people. The number of indirect audience, i.e., those who have been exposed to Dr. Yan Xin's lectures through television, radio, audio tapes, video tapes, newspapers, books, magazines, and so on, should be much larger than the number of direct audience. 
6. Looked at from a purely Western perspective, qigong is a form of positive thinking. It combines meditation, breath control and gymnastics (Porkert, Manfred with Christian Ullmann. 1982. Chinese Medicine. Mark Howson, trans. New York: Henry Holt). There are breathing exercises, muscular exercises involving both tension and relaxation, and meditation. Qigong induces a whole-body relaxation response (Benson, Herbert, w/William Proctor. 1984. Beyond the Relaxation Response. New York: Berkeley). One clinical research fellow at the Harvard Medical School has written: "A one-hour session of Qi Gong combines aerobic, isometric, and isotonic exercise with the relaxation response, meditation, guided imagery, and probably several unrecognized behavioral techniques. It evokes simultaneously almost every behavioral intervention known to Western medicine" (Eisenberg, David with Thomas Lee Wright. 1985. Encounters with Qi: Exploring Chinese Medicine. New York: Penguin.).
7. Dr. Yan Xin often tells audiences that practicing qigong should be a regular part of everyday secular life, "just like brushing your teeth." Qigong helps restore the harmony of ourselves, of our beings, in nature and with nature. This cures an enormous range of the illnesses and diseases that plague our species. One student finds his arthritis suddenly disappear, another notices that her visual acuity has improved, a third finds a chronic pain has vanished. A fourth is surprised to find himself driving more courteously (UAQA. 1996. "Thoughts from Daily Life: Driving Courteously." University of Arizona Qigong Association: UAQA Friday Special Issue, March 22, p6). all sense what it means to be happier, more alive, more at home on the planet. We all have latent potential abilities that qigong can help us realize. Qigong is a consciousness-raising activity par excellence.
8. After practicing for several months, one who does qigong faithfully will begin to experience spontaneous physical movements. As the Chinese doctors like to say, "life has to move." Paradoxically, only when the mind becomes calm and serene does one's bioenergy becomes strong enough to produce spontaneous movements. The first appearance of spontaneous movements represents significant progress along the qigong learning curve. One cannot seek them out. They must come along spontaneously, in their own good time.
9. After a lot of practice, one will begin to sense the activation of a small qi channel. This channel runs from the top of the head down the front of one's chest, between the legs, up the spine back to the top of the head. Activating one's qi will make a person feel "sore, numb, hurt, cold, cool, warm, hot, floating, sinking, big, small, dizzy, etc. (Wozniak, Jo Ann, Stevenson Wu and Hao Wang. 1991. Yan Xin Qigong and the Contemporary Sciences. Champaign IL: International Yan Xin Qigong Association). This is another major advance along the qigong learning curve. With sufficient practice, one may eventually become able to move one's qi at will anywhere inside the body. A person's own willpower can then effect miraculous cures. Once the flow of qi can reach the site of disease or illness, the cure can be astonishingly rapid.
10. Today, there are millions of people in China regularly practice Qigong. With numerous scientific proofs of the multifarious benefits gained by regular, diligent practice of Qigong, Qigong treatment has been officially recognized as a standard medical technique in the hospitals in 1989. It has also been inserted into the curriculum of major universities in China. 
11. Dr. Yan Xin believes that in order for Qigong to be accepted by the modern world, it must pass the test of rigorous scientific study. Without such a test, Qigong runs into the danger of being dismissed as "Superstition". His goal is simple and yet profound - "Use science to promote Qigong and use Qigong to gain breakthroughs in science". Therefore along with other masters in China, he came forward in mid 1980's and collaborated with prominent scientists in many prestigious research institutions in China. More than 20 papers have been published in top scientific journals. 
12. Dr. Yan Xin accepts NO payment for his tireless Efforts to share and bring an understanding of this powerful Chinese Qigong to the world and for the good of mankind.
13. "The potential for healing is way beyond what our Western minds can comprehend," says Judith Poole, who has been practicing the technique since June. "In the West, we say, `Tell me how it works and then I will try it.' What happens here is the person must do it and not understand how it works." It doesn't look like much. At a practice session one recent Sunday at Harvard University, about 40 people sat erect on the edge of their seats, quite still. Eyes closed and hands cupped palm-up in front of their stomachs, they breathed deeply and calmly, seemingly oblivious to the Chinese and English instructions blaring from a boombox in the darkened room. Visualizing blooming lotus flowers floating on water above a fire near their navels, imagining themselves as 6-year-olds, and picturing their skin pores opening and closing, these people searched for Qi, or bio-energy. According to Chinese philosophy, maintaining a balanced level of Qi through practice and cultivation, or gong, equals good health. Qigong helps restore the harmony of one's being and balance with the universe. Soon, the energy flow in the room was palpable. In one corner, a woman squatting on the floor belched thunderously. Her left arm jerked wildly, poking the air and snapping back down every few minutes. An elderly man shook in his chair, as did the much younger man nearby. Loud collective yawning drowned the droning tape. Poole stood. With her eyes still closed, she stretched her back and bent down toward her toes. "The spontaneous movement is just a delightful feeling," Poole said later. "For someone who was immobilized and in great pain most of the time, it's just delicious." Poole, 54, of Watertown suffers from arthritis and Crohn's disease, an autoimmune disease that causes an inflammation of areas in the intestines. She also says she has two ruptured disks. While she won't say Yan Xin Qigong or the other mind-body methods she practices have "cured" her, Poole says they have "healed" her: She's no longer debilitated or needs medication. Literature from the International Yan Xin Qigong Association asserts that Dr. Yan Xin, a Chinese physician of Western and Chinese medicine and a Qigong master who developed the method bearing his name, has cured thousands of patients with diseases such as diabetes, paralysis, cancer and AIDS. His method of Qigong, a national phenomenon in China and an increasingly popular practice in the West, is one of about 200 Qigong methods. It is said to predate martial arts, tai chi, and acupuncture. Hung-Kuan Chen, a reknowned concert pianist from Newton, turned to Yan Xin Qigong after his right hand was severely damaged in a 1991 accident. Chen, 39, said he consulted with hand specialists up and down the Eastern seaboard, but as his hand was not broken and there was seemingly no internal damage to nerves or muscles, no one could identify the problem. But Chen could no longer play the piano. In fact, he could barely hold a pencil or his chopsticks. Through his sister, he found Qigong, and attended a one-week workshop in Connecticut led by Dr. Yan himself. "My life was roughened up and nearly in shambles," said Chen, a prize-winner in numerous piano competitions including the Chopin International in 1980 and the Arthur Rubenstein International Piano Competition in 1983. "At first, Qigong restored a sense of order. I immediately became calmer psychologically, calm enough for my body to begin to heal itself." In about a year's time, Chen was ready to maneuver his fingers. Two years ago, he played in public for the first time since the accident. Last year, he gave seven performances here, in Europe, and in his homeland of Taiwan. He's not 100 percent better, but he's at least 70 percent better, he said. Ming Zhou, a senior research chemist for an electro-magnetic shielding business in Woburn, started practicing Yan Xin Qigong five years ago out of scientific curiosity only. Zhou, who has a doctorate in chemistry, was skeptical of the claims made about Yan Xin Qigong. He's not anymore. Zhou said he experienced a personality change after only a little practice. Generally more relaxed, he no longer loses his temper. Problems have become challenges. And his energy is so high now that he requires little sleep -- only three or four hours a night -- and little food. During 49 days in 1994, he said, did not eat or sleep at all and was more productive than ever. "I developed some kind of energy accumulation process," said Zhou, 35, who became a vegetarian after his fast. "I could visualize my whole body translucent and clear and full of light." The personality change, Yan Xin Qigong practitioners say, is almost inevitable. An essential part of Yan Xin Qigong is De, which translates as virtue or morality. To achieve a calm mind-body state that will allow the free flow of Qi, or energy, participants must cultivate De, being unselfish, helpful to others, respectful, and truthful. Yan Xin Qigong theory calls for 70 percent cultivation of De and only 30 percent practice of the actual method. "Through Qigong, I was able to recognize what life really is," said Chen, the pianist. "I cannot put it simply into words, but I was able to see that to be alive is an opportunity. I was able to recognize the wonders of our lives." "Compassion," he said, "is the ultimate technique of Qigong practice." (They Can See The Lotus Flower Blooming, Boston Globe, October 19, 1997, Tatiana With Ribadeneira) 

 Leader claims to perform miracles:

Dr. Yan Xin "The Wonder Doctor" for his seemingly extraordinary cures.

Dr. Yan Xin has cured thousands of patients with diseases such as diabetes, paralysis, cancer and AIDS.

demonstrated scientifically that external Qi can change the molecular structure of water, saline and glucose, DNA and RNA, the decay rate of radio-isotope Am-241 as well as the rotation angle of the polarization plane of a laser beam.

Thousands of people have been cured of diseases, including such "incurables" as cancer, heart disease, and traumatic paraplegia.

cures an enormous range of the illnesses and diseases that plague our species. One student finds his arthritis suddenly disappear, another notices that her visual acuity has improved, a third finds a chronic pain has vanished. A fourth is surprised to find himself driving more courteously

A person's own willpower can then effect miraculous cures. Once the flow of qi can reach the site of disease or illness, the cure can be astonishingly rapid.

"minutes into his talk, several began experiencing what Yan Xin calls spontaneous movements." The Chronicle reporter said that "before long, the scene resembled a Pentecostal prayer meeting with many people waving their arms and making unintelligible sounds." Yan told his audience, "Those who are sensitive might start having some strong physical sensations - or start laughing or crying. Don't worry. This is quite normal."

Soon, the energy flow in the room was palpable. In one corner, a woman squatting on the floor belched thunderously. Her left arm jerked wildly, poking the air and snapping back down every few minutes. An elderly man shook in his chair, as did the much younger man nearby. Loud collective yawning drowned the droning tape. Poole stood. With her eyes still closed, she stretched her back and bent down toward her toes. "The spontaneous movement is just a delightful feeling,"

After practicing for several months, one who does qigong faithfully will begin to experience spontaneous physical movements.

Activating one's qi will make a person feel "sore, numb, hurt, cold, cool, warm, hot, floating, sinking, big, small, dizzy, etc.

What happens here is the person must do it and not understand how it works.

only when the mind becomes calm and serene does one's bioenergy becomes strong enough to produce spontaneous movements. The first appearance of spontaneous movements represents significant progress along the qigong learning curve. One cannot seek them out. They must come along spontaneously, in their own good time.

Charismatic
Faith Healers

African Kung Bushmen Of The Kalahair

We can't tell the difference... can you?

African Kung Bushmen Of The Kalahair & Pentecostalism Compared:

Wiessner: "They believe in a deity, much like you believe in Allah. This high deity, //gangwa, the creator, created a lesser trickster God who is associated with misfortune. These deities don't interfere with their daily lives. There is no such thing as praying or holding mass and different individuals hold opinions about the spirit world and its relation to humans. Underneath these deities are the //gangwasi, or the spirits of the dead, who are the major source of death and misfortune. The spirits of the dead inhabit the heavens, and longing for their kin on earth, sometimes come back and try to take them with them. That's why, they believe, people fall ill and die. In that case, they may initiate a healing dance. People gather in the evening and the women and children sit around the fire, clap, and start singing. The men dance around the inner circle of singers and as the evening passes some fall into a state of trance, passing through a what they call half-death, a very frightening state. Then these "healers" embark on a spiritual journey and experience. Their journey is a frightening one, but they persist, supported by the women's song. They plead with the spirits not to take the sick away. They tell them that they love the sick person and don't want to see them leave. When in trance, healers can walk on fire. At times they fall into the fire and though one can smell singed flesh, they feel no pain. Other men and women watch them carefully and protect their bodies from harm. Healers not only center attention on the sick, but inspect every person present, pulling substances out of them that can cause sickness or putting preventative medicine into them. The whole thing has a tremendous psychological impact in supporting the afflicted, easing social tension through community efforts, and reinforcing ethics of sharing and mutual support. The patient feels loved, wanted, and filled with hope for recovery. Other ethnic groups have great respect for !Kung powers of healing and often hire well-known healers to cure their people." ... "The dance starts at dusk and continues into the night. It is a !Kung ritual which supports healers as they slip into trance and journey to the spiritual world to combat the spirits of the dead who cause sickness in their living relatives by trying to take them to the spirit world with them. Not only are the sick healed, but preventative medicine is shared with all community members and visitors. This ritual of harmony is aimed at healing both physical illness and social discord." (Quoting Polly Wiessner, an American anthropologist who has been studying the !Kung of the Kalahari periodically over the last 20 years. Currently attached to the University of Namibia. This is an excerpt from an ATLAS interview in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Photo: Ahmet Ozyurt)

The Grofs, in their book The Stormy Search for the Self, also cite an interesting parallel between the Kundalini awakening and the trance dance of the African Kung bushmen. During rituals the bushmen "enter a profound altered state of consciousness associated with the release of powerful emotions such as anger, anxiety, and fear. They are often unable to maintain an upright position and are overcome by violent shaking. Following these dramatic experiences, they typically enter a state of ecstatic rapture. According to the bushmen tradition, the dance releases from the base of the spine a cosmic healing force called ntum or `medicine.' This is then passed by direct physical contact from one person to another."

 initiate a healing dance. People gather in the evening and the women and children sit around the fire, clap, and start singing.

 The men dance around the inner circle of singers and as the evening passes some fall into a state of trance

 Not only are the sick healed, but preventative medicine is shared with all community members and visitors. This ritual of harmony is aimed at healing both physical illness and social discord.

 enter a profound altered state of consciousness associated with the release of powerful emotions such as anger, anxiety, and fear

 unable to maintain an upright position and are overcome by violent shaking

 Following these dramatic experiences, they typically enter a state of ecstatic rapture.

 passed by direct physical contact from one person to another

Charismatic
Faith Healers

Stage Hypnotists
Identical methods used

We can't tell the difference... can you?

Manifestations common to Pentecostalism and Hypnotism
by Dr. Nick Needham, UK
In the magazine The Briefing, Tony Payne lists the following experiences undergone by people who receive the "Toronto Blessing"

Peter Reveen

Feelings of weightlessness
Feelings of heaviness
A feeling of being stretched
Catalepsy
Shaking
Repetitive movement of body parts
Rapid eye movement
Changes in breathing
Tinglings
Alleviation of pain and diseases
A feeling that body parts are changing in size or swelling
A feeling of being detached from your body
A powerful feeling of energy or electricity coursing through the body
Hearing a buzzing noise
Changes in hearing
Smelling a sweet aroma, like flowers
Seeing a bright light
Being aware of hot and cold areas on the body
Feeling drunk
Feeling washed clean
A distortion in the awareness of time passing, age regression (vividly recalling and even acting out childhood incidents)
Uncontrollable laughter

Tony Payne then comments: "all of these phenomena are also well-documented as being the common results of hypnosis. Subjects undergoing mass hypnosis regularly exhibit precisely these manifestations, sometimes by auto-suggestion and sometimes spontaneously." (The Briefing 152, pp 5-6) So here we have what seems to be one possible source of many of these experiences - hypnotic power and influence. It has been known for centuries that hypnotism can generate these experiences. Hypnotism is sometimes called Mesmerism, after Franz Mesmer, an Austrian doctor and faith-healer who flourished in France in the 1780's. He was in many ways the founder of modern Western hypnotism. Here is a description of one of Mesmer's meetings:

The most effective of the "anointed men" like Benny Hinn and Rodney Howard-Browne are arguably nothing more than Christianized hypnotists, who have reduced their Mesmeric practices to an art, and conduct it with method, upon subjects who have faith. As a result, their simplest gestures and signs can haw the most powerful effects, and they can act on others almost at will by striking their imaginations. We can see this hypnotic element at work through the various "warm-up" techniques used by Benny Hinn, Rodney Howard-Browne and others in their meetings, to soften people into the right emotional frame of mind: lots of repetitive chorus singing, emotionally seductive music, getting people to hold their hands up in the air for a long time or to stare into each other's eyes, all geared to breaking down people's inhibitions and rational self-control. Then there is the all-important psychological climate of expectancy; people expect something to happen - they expect the Spirit to work, they expect to fall over and so on when Benny or Rodney touch them. So we can account for much that goes on simply through the psychological forces of hypnotism and mesmerism.

Actual name of Hypnotist Method

from, Shadow's Stage Hypnosis, "How to Hypnotize"

Pentecostalism

In response to direct and specific suggestions the hypnotized person may be rendered happy or sad, angry or pleased, liberal or stingy, proud or humble, pugnacious or passive, bold or timid, hopeful or despondent, insolent or respectful. He may be made to sing, to shout, to laugh, to weep, to act, to dance, to shoot, to fish, to preach, to pray, to recite a poem or expound a theory. The expressions of the subject in response to the suggestions is most significant, as its very earnestness and profound. The attitudes and gestures are equal to the best effort of an experienced actor. Delusions and Illusions or Hallucinations may be induced by hypnotic suggestions, for instance, when a chair is taken for a dog, or a broom for a lovely women. Various physiological effects can be produced in the state of hypnosis. A subject can be caused to cry and shed tears on one side of the face and laugh on the other. The pulse can be quickened or retarded, respiration slowed or even accelerated, and perspiration produced all by suggestion. Even the temperature of the body can be affected. If a subject is told he has a high fever, his pulse will become rapid, his face flushed, and his temperature increase. If suggested that he is cold, goose bumps could develop. Hunger and Thirst, could be created or retarded. (Shadow's Stage Hypnosis)

Almost a perfect description of what happen in Pentecostal churches!

Sudden Jerk Method

Hypnotist Jim Hoke used this method of instantaneously hypnotizing with great skill. Whilst passing through the audience, when he notices a spectator showing symptoms of susceptibility to hypnosis. He will suddenly reach out, grip the persons hand, and give a forceful jerking forward causing the persons head to flop down to their lap. At that very instant he will command "Go the sleep this very moment!" Immediately he will then place his free hand on the back of the party's head and press down, while rapidly continuing suggestions, "Melt down, melt down into deep hypnosis now." From experience the hypnotist can become expert in seizing the "moments of anticipation" of members of his audience resulting in instantaneous hypnosis. It looks miraculous. Hoke will pass through an audience snapping person after person into hypnosis by this method. The effect is compounding on the spectators, seeing it work in another excites expectations that it will work on oneself. (Shadow's Stage Hypnosis)

Precisely what Pentecostals do in their meetings! Phrases like, "receive the Spirit", "here it comes", "get ready for it" are very common just before slaying in the spirit. Touching often occurs. Faith healers actually shake heads, give sharp hits to the head.

Head Tap Technique for Deepening

It is suggested that every tap in the top of the head will increase the depth of hypnosis. The operator commences a series of regular tapping upon the top of the subjects head. The subjective effect of the method being that each tap is recognized by the subconscious meaning, "You are going down deeper and deeper into hypnosis." It is an effective technique for deepening hypnosis. (Shadow's Stage Hypnosis)

Pentecostals will use a whole series of different touches. Touch head, chest, palms etc. All the while saying, "open up to God" types of phrases.

posthypnotic suggestion

Possibly the surest way to obtain instantaneous hypnosis is to give the hypnotized subject a posthypnotic suggestion that when you do such and such he will immediately become hypnotized. The "such and such" can be any cue desired. A simple one would be to suggest: "When I look into your eyes and tell you to 'GO TO SLEEP' you will instantly become hypnotized. The subject is then awakened. You can then test the response. Passing by the subject, suddenly turn and look in his eyes and forcefully state: 'GO TO SLEEP.' Immediately hypnosis is induced. (Shadow's Stage Hypnosis)

This is seen often in Pentecostal churches. The audience is trained so that when the faith healer says or does certain things, the result is slaying in the Spirit. One faith healer turned the slew the entire choir, except for an old deaf man who didn't HEAR the cue!!!

expectancy method

Expectancy to being hypnotized is a great factor in being hypnotized, instantly. That is why subjects watching others being hypnotized become excessively responsive themselves. By way of example : A person is sitting beside a subject being hypnotized on stage. They see him "go to sleep" on you command. If you suddenly turn your attention to that person, look him squarely in the eyes and shout, "SLEEP!" Down he goes. It takes experience to use this method effectively. The hypnotist has to learn to recognize the symptoms of readiness in the potential subject. i.e. Intensity of interest, a focusing of the eyes, even an increasing of the breathing rate. The skill of successful instantaneous hypnotizing comes through an instinctive recognition of anticipation plus forceful boldness! (Shadow's Stage Hypnosis)

What more can be said, identical to Pentecostals!!! The audience is expecting people to be slain in the spirit!!!

The Head Rap Method

A sudden pain will often snap the subject into hypnosis. This method is related to the foregoing. Passing by a subject, suddenly catch his eye. You can tell when this occurs as his eyes set upon yourself on the instant with something of a surprised, bewildered blank look in their focus. Having captured such attention, suddenly snap the knuckles of your right hand with a rap (not too gentle) on the top of his head. At the moment of contact with the skull, shout, "SLEEP!" The subject will instantly snap into hypnosis. You can then soften things by suggesting: "The pain from the rap is all gone now, for you are in hypnosis. You feel all comfortable now. Go deep to sleep now in profound hypnosis" (Shadow's Stage Hypnosis)

Pentecostal preachers actually use this!!! They PUNCH people in the head with their palm as if they were serving a volley ball! The blow knocks the head back! The faith healer shouts all kinds of things at the point of contact, exactly like the hypnotists!

Facts of hypnotism

Hypnosis has a certain air of mystery about it. On the one hand, most psychologists would agree that hypnosis is scientifically valid and hypnosis has been the subject of numerous scientific studies. On the other hand, there is an assortment of entertainers and quacks who have imbued hypnosis with almost a magical element through nothing more than trickery and deception. In general, hypnosis seems to have the greatest value as a tool for inducing relaxation, as means of controlling pain and as an aid to maintaining motivation. (Reiger, 1976).

Facts of Pentecostals

Cannot Hypnotize against the will.

You cannot be hypnotized against your will. More and more people are starting to believe that hypnosis is nothing more than self-hypnosis and that the hypnotist is nothing more than a guide to help the subject achieve an altered state.

Only open minded willing audience members are affected. Small children, non-believers and believers who are unwilling ARE NEVER AFFECTED!

Never do the impossible or immoral.

People, through hypnosis, cannot be made to perform beyond their normal abilities or do things they would not normally do

Nothing truly supernatural ever happens in Pentecostal churches.

Pain relief

Studies have shown that hypnosis can relieve pain.

Audience members claim to have pain relieved! People who think they are healed, run around and pay for it DEARLY the next day when their BODIES tell them the truth about the fake healer!

Sensory changes

It has been demonstrated that hypnosis can successfully fool human senses. Thus people can be made to believe that ammonia smells like a wonderful perfume, onions taste like apples, cold water to feel hot and so on.

All things happen in Pentecostal churches.

We've all seen some of the amazing things that hypnotist can make people do on stage. Nicholas Spanos and Theodore Barber did more than just wonder they made a study of this phenomena. Their conclusion is that little or no hypnosis is necessary to do a good stage hypnosis act. To prove it they have been able to recreate every stunt performed by the stage hypnotist without resorting to hypnosis. Their view is that stage hypnosis produced a normal mental state in which suggestible people act out the role of a hypnotic subject and behave as they think hypnotized people are supposed to. Stage hypnotists make use of certain characteristics of the stage to perform their act. Here are SIX methods stage hypnotists use. Notice they are identical to Pentecostal faith healers in their revival meetings!

Actual hypnotist name of Method

How to Hypnotize

Pentecostal Faith healers use the identical methods!
How to run a Revival:

1. Getting the right subjects

Only volunteers are allowed to appear on the stage. This alone ensures that participants are relatively uninhibited and ready to participate. Next the group is hypnotized and anyone who doesn't succumb (or go along ) is eliminated. This means the hypnotist has a group of subjects who are ready to perform.

The call to the front to be slain in the spirit or healed at the end of the service is a method of filtering for those in the audience who are most willing to perform!

2. Suggestibility

We are all more or less open to suggestion, but on stage people are unusually cooperative because they want the hypnotist to succeed - they don't want to ruin the act. As a result, they will readily follow almost any instruction given by the performer.

Those who come forward have a strong desire to believe they are going to be slain in the spirit. (hypnotized).

3. No responsibility

The movies, TV and such stage acts have instilled a common perception about how hypnotized people should act. One of these perceptions is that "hypnotized" people are not responsible for their actions. They therefore can sing, dance, act silly or whatever without fear of embarrassment.

Pentecostals are taught how to be slain in the Spirit. (there is nothing like it in the Bible) When they go up, they know they should shake uncontrollably, get emotional and make themselves fall to the ground!

4. Directing the actors

It doesn't take long for participants to loosen up and after responding to a few suggestions suddenly find themselves the star of the show. The audience response often brings out the "ham" in many participants so that all the hypnotist has to do is direct the action.

Getting slain in the Spirit on a regular basis is a central part of many Pentecostal members. They know how they should act during the "show" and ham it up right on cue!

5. Using tricks

Stage hypnotists use impressive stage tricks for impact. A common one is to rigidly suspend a person between two chairs and then stand on the person's chest. This is impressive only because the audience doesn't question it. The reality is, as Nicholas Spanos has shown, that anyone can do it.

ALL Pentecostals faith healers are fakes and frauds, both knowingly and unknowingly. Their list of tricks is long and well documented. The fact remains that NOTHING MIRACULOUS EVER HAPPENS! It is all personal testimonials and deception.

6. Inexperience

People who have appeared on stage will generally always say they were hypnotized or felt they were hypnotized. But since most people don't know what it is like to be hypnotized, the combination of bright lights, nervousness and the things they did convince them that they were.

Pentecostals have always confused emotionalism for the presence of God. Pentecostals walk away claiming they were touched by deity, when in fact they are entirely self-deluded by their own emotions!

Charismatic
Manifestations

Shakers
Manifestations
Click here to review Shakers history and official creed

We can't tell the difference... can you?

Shakers: Who were they?
Click here to review Shakers history and official creed

Mother Ann Lee
[1736-1784]
Shaker Founder

The Shakers: (Charismatics of the 1700's)

1. Holy Laughter 
2. Being Drunk in the spirit 
3. Being Slain in the spirit 
4. New revelations 
5. Prophetic utterances 
6. Physical immortality 
7. A type of present day truth not revealed in the first century
8. Jerking, spasms, hopping, rolling on the ground 
9. Dancing in the spirit 
10. Getting songs while in trances 
11. Cultural redemption 
12. Belief they were becoming the manifest sons of God 
13. Belief in their establishing the Kingdom of God 
14. Low Biblical emphasis, Anti-intellectual
15. High experiential and emotional emphasis 
16. Equality of women in the ministry 

• Shakers denied the true humanity & deity of Christ.
• Shakers deny eternal damnation of the lost
• Shakers believe in universal salvation
• Shakers deny the atonement of Christ on the cross (as does the WOF movement)
• Shakes deny the Trinity of God and believe God is dual - father and mother 
• Click here to review Shakers history and official doctrines and creed

1. Historically, the Shakers got their roots from the Quakers, and were known originally as the Shaking Quakers. The Quakers trace their roots back to a heretical group known as the French Prophets.
2. "Shaker dissent from orthodox beliefs and practices was so extreme as to be heretical: hence the prejudice, alarm, and violent opposition." (The People Called the Shakers, p44, Edward Deming Andrews)
3. About the year 1747, some members of the Society of Quakers, who had become subjects of the revival, formed themselves into a society, of which Jane and James Wardley were the lead. Of this little society Ann Lee and her parents were members. They were all devoutly sincere in the cause of God. James was gifted in public speaking. This infant society practiced no forms, and adopted no creeds, as rules of faith or worship; but gave themselves up to be led and guided entirely by the operations of the Spirit of God. Their meetings were powerful and animated, and were attended with remarkable signs and operations, and with the spirit of prophecy and Divine revelation. Sometimes, after sitting awhile in silent meditation, they were seized with a mighty trembling, under which they would often express the indignation of God against all sin. At other times, they were exercised with singing, shouting, and leaping for joy, at the near prospect of salvation. They were often exercised with great agitation of body and limbs, shaking, running, and walking the floor, with a variety of other operations and signs, swiftly passing and repassing each other, like clouds agitated with a mighty wind. These exercises, so strange in the eyes of the beholders, brought upon them the appellation of Shakers, which has been their most common name of distinction ever since. They continued to increase in light and power, with occasional additions to their number, till about the year 1770, when, by a special manifestation of Divine light, the present testimony of salvation and eternal life was fully revealed to Ann Lee, and by her to the Society, by whom she, from that time, was acknowledged as Mother in Christ, and by them was called Mother Ann. Mother Ann said: "I saw in vision the Lord Jesus in his kingdom and glory. He revealed to me the depth of man's loss, what it was, and the way of redemption therefrom. Then I was able to bear an open testimony against the sin that is the root of all evil; and I felt the power of God flow into my soul like a fountain of living water. From that day I have been able to take up a full cross against all the doleful works of the flesh." About the year 1774, Mother Ann received a revelation, directing her to repair to America; also that the second Christian Church would be established in America; that the Colonies would gain their independence; and that liberty of conscience would be secured to all people, whereby they would be able to worship God without hindrance or molestation. This revelation was communicated to the Society, and was confirmed by numerous signs, visions, and extraordinary manifestations, to many of the members; and permission was given for all those of the Society who were able, and who felt any special impressions on their own minds so to do, to accompany her. (Ch #1, Origin of the Society, Compendium, 1859, F. W. Evans)
4. Besides the wonderful operations of spiritual power upon their bodies, the subjects of this work were greatly exercised in dreams, visions, revelations, and spirit of prophecy. In these gifts of the Spirit they saw and testified that great day of God was at hand, that Christ was about to set up his kingdom on earth, and that this very work would terminate in the full manifestation of the latter day of glory. (Ch #2, Rise, Progress, And Present State Of The Society, Compendium, 1859, F. W. Evans)
5. It is pretty generally known that the Shakers serve God by singing and dancing; but why they practice this mode of worship is not so generally understood. It should be recollected that "God is a Spirit," and can be worshipped only "in spirit and in truth." Without the presence of the Spirit there can be no true worship. And whatever manner the Spirit may dictate, or whatever the form into which the spirit may lead, it is acceptable to Him from whom the Spirit proceeds. (Ch #9, Mode Of Worship, Compendium, 1859, F. W. Evans)
6. "On an August day in 1837 a class of young girls, ten to fourteen years old, was meeting for instruction at the Gathering Order in Niskeyuna. Suddenly some of them began to shake and whirl. In the evening, after they had retired, the senses of three of the children appeared withdrawn from the scenes of time, and absorbed as in a trance. They began to sing, talk about angels, and describe a journey they were making, under spiritual guidance, to heavenly places." (The People Called the Shakers, p152, Edward Deming Andrews)
7. "Finally, on a Sabbath's afternoon in the early spring of 1839, the "work" opened when Philemon Stewart, a member of the Church Order, came into the meeting so agitated that he needed the support of two brethren, and delivered the first direct communication from Jesus and Mother Ann, the sacred parentage of the order...It was a common case, Young relates, that those Instruments who spoke by Inspiration would be suddenly seized by that mysterious power of influence, with a trembling or shaking, and severely disciplined, apparently to compel them to yield and speak what was given by the spirit. Often they would be struck to the floor, where they lay as dead, or struggling in distress, until someone near lifted them up, when they would begin to speak with great clearness and composure. Frequently the seizure was accompanied by a complete loss, for hours or days, of native speech: the subject would be able to speak only in an unknown tongue or 'mongrel English.' to sing but not be able to speak in English, or able to only talk to the elders. The gift came unexpectedly, usually in meeting." (The People Called the Shakers, p153, Edward Deming Andrews)
8. "Native songs and dances, vision tunes, inspirational messages, spiritual presentations, and various gifts continued with little or no abatement until 1845. The old warring ceremony was revived. In the 'laughing gift' the worshippers held their sides and reeled in their chairs till they became exhausted; and there were laughing songs so contagious that the room rocked with merriment. Spiritual birds brought instruments of music which were placed on the head or shoulders, whereupon all who owned the gift would join the bird chorus. Mysterious signs --'colored sheets, cloths, and girdles - were seen in the sky." (The People Called the Shakers, p171, Edward Deming Andrews)
9. "Thompson's following indulged in various involuntary acts of mortification, chief among these were the 'rolling exercise,' the jerks, and the 'barks.' In the first of these, the stricken subject would roll over and over on the ground like a log, or like a wheel with the body doubled head to feet.. The jerks began in the head, which would be suddenly jolted, or twitched backward and forward, or from side to side ---- a movement impossible to suppress. The subject would stagger about, McNemar wrote, 'bounce from place to place like a foot-ball, or hop round with head, limbs and trunk twitching and jolting in every direction.' Features became distorted, as if they must inevitably fly asunder...The jerks were often accompanied by the barks, a 'disgracing' operation in which the victim would take 'the position of a canine beast, move about on all fours, growl, snap the teeth, and bark.' (The People Called the Shakers, p138, Edward Deming Andrews)
10. "It has been said that the Shakers were the forerunners of modern spiritualism. Certain instruments had prophesied, in fact, that similar manifestations would break forth in the world... Unique and inexplicable though it was, Shaker spiritualism was nevertheless not a wholly isolated phenomenon. It was in the year 1827, when the Believers had a brief revival, that the angel Moroni revealed to Joseph Smith the sacred plates of Moroni... The years during which "Mother Ann's Work' was most active coincided with the focal periods of both Fourierism and New England transcendentalism" (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 175)
11. In the best part of their worship every one acts for himself...one will stand with his arms extended, acting over odd postures, which they call signs, another will be dancing, and some times hopping...another will be prostrate on the floor...nor was their public prayer or preaching. (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p28)
12. the power will take their hand, stretch it up, pull the other down, they interpret it - the hand up, is a sign of mercy, the hand down of judgment:" (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p30)
13. A Concise Statement Of the Principles of the Only True Church according to The Gospel of the Present Appearance of Christ, Oct. 9th, 1785. (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p65)
14. At Cane Ridge, near Paris, Elder Stone welcomed them (the Shakers) warmly and invited them to attend his next camp meeting. (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p74)
15. "The revivalists had been foretelling the second coming of Christ; but He had already come to lead the Believers (Shakers), 'step by step in a spiritual travel, and separating farther and farther from the course of a corrupt and fallen nature,' until they should arrive at 'the perfect stature and measure of the sons of God.' (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p76)
16. The Shakers used analogies and an analogous method of Bible interpretation. (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 98)
17. "Perhaps the entrance of Indian spirits, and later those of Eskimos, Negroes, Chinese, Abyssinians, Hottentots et cetera, into the bodies of the instruments reflected an eagerness, on the part of the believers, to share their light with those primitive peoples..." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p169)
18. "In the best part of their worship every one acts for himself...one will stand with his arms extended, acting over odd postures, which they call signs, another will be dancing, and some times hopping...another will be prostrate on the floor...nor was their public prayer or preaching." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 28)
19. "...the power will take their hand, stretch it up, pull the other down, they interpret it - the hand up, is a sign of mercy, the hand down of judgment:" (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 30)
20. "A Concise Statement Of the Principles of the Only True Church according to The Gospel of the Present Appearance of Christ, Oct. 9th, 1785. (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 65)
21. "Divine revelations were known as "gifts of God." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 142)
22. "Quaffing spiritual wine from 'bottles' fetched by instruments, they felt quite merry, and one medium struck up what was known as the 'fool-song,' during the singing of which, 'fool' was gathered, thrown, and caught, and all acted foolishly,' the Shaker scribe wrote of this incident, 'so that old stiff self conceit was pretty well worked up..." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 165)
23. "It was rumored that each Believer thought himself a Christ, that the Shakers consequently saw no need for Bibles, that they boasted they would never die." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 90)

Mother Ann said: "I saw in vision"

Mother Ann said: "I felt the power of God flow into my soul like a fountain of living water."

Mother Ann received a revelation which was communicated to the Society, and was confirmed by numerous signs, visions, and extraordinary manifestations, to many of the members

In the best part of their worship every one acts for himself

one will stand with his arms extended, acting over odd postures

another will be prostrate on the floor

the power will take their hand, stretch it up, pull the other down

Their meetings were powerful and animated, and were attended with remarkable signs and operations, and with the spirit of prophecy and Divine revelation.

Often they would be struck to the floor, where they lay as dead, or struggling in distress, until someone near lifted them up

Claimed to possess the gifts of the Spirit

special manifestation of Divine light

they were seized with a mighty trembling

singing, shouting, and leaping for joy, at the near prospect of salvation.

great agitation of body and limbs, shaking, running, and walking the floor, with a variety of other operations and signs, swiftly passing and repassing each other, like clouds agitated with a mighty wind.

strange in the eyes of the beholders

spiritual power upon their bodies, the subjects of this work were greatly exercised in dreams, visions, revelations, and spirit of prophecy.

by Inspiration would be suddenly seized by that mysterious power of influence, with a trembling or shaking, and severely disciplined, apparently to compel them to yield and speak what was given by the spirit.

Frequently the seizure was accompanied by a complete loss, for hours or days, of native speech

able to speak only in an unknown tongue or 'mongrel English.

"Native songs and dances, vision tunes, inspirational messages, spiritual presentations, and various gifts continued with little or no abatement until 1845.

In the 'laughing gift' the worshippers held their sides and reeled in their chairs till they became exhausted; and there were laughing songs so contagious that the room rocked with merriment.

Mysterious signs --'colored sheets, cloths, and girdles - were seen in the sky.

rolling exercise,' the jerks, and the 'barks.

The jerks began in the head, which would be suddenly jolted, or twitched backward and forward, or from side to side ---- a movement impossible to suppress.

The subject would stagger about

bounce from place to place like a foot-ball, or hop round with head, limbs and trunk twitching and jolting in every direction.

The jerks were often accompanied by the barks, a 'disgracing' operation in which the victim would take 'the position of a canine beast, move about on all fours, growl, snap the teeth, and bark.

should arrive at 'the perfect stature and measure of the sons of God.

Divine revelations were known as "gifts of God."

In the best part of their worship every one acts for himself

The Shakers used analogies and an analogous method of Bible interpretation.

It was rumored that each Believer thought himself a Christ

that the Shakers consequently saw no need for Bibles

but gave themselves up to be led and guided entirely by the operations of the Spirit of God.

And whatever manner the Spirit may dictate, or whatever the form into which the spirit may lead, it is acceptable to Him from whom the Spirit proceeds.

Without the presence of the Spirit there can be no true worship.

Shakers manifested these Charismatic signs:

 Shakers believe these damnable doctrines:

1. Holy Laughter 
2. Being Drunk in the spirit 
3. Being Slain in the spirit 
4. New revelations 
5. Prophetic utterances 
6. Physical immortality 
7. A type of present day truth not revealed in the first century
8. Jerking, spasms, hopping, rolling on the ground 
9. Dancing in the spirit 
10. Getting songs while in trances 
11. Cultural redemption 
12. Belief they were becoming the manifest sons of God 
13. Belief in their establishing the Kingdom of God 
14. Low Biblical emphasis, Anti-intellectual
15. High experiential and emotional emphasis 
16. Equality of women in the ministry 

1. Shakers denied the true humanity & deity of Christ.
2. Shakers deny eternal damnation of the lost
3. Shakers believe in universal salvation
4. Shakers deny the atonement of Christ on the cross (as does the WOF movement)
5. Shakes deny the Trinity of God and believe God is dual - father and mother 

The Shakers:
(Charismatics of the 1700's)

Charismatics today

"In the best part of their worship every one acts for himself...one will stand with his arms extended, acting over odd postures, which they call signs, another will be dancing, and some times hopping...another will be prostrate on the floor...nor was their public prayer or preaching." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 28)

In both Toronto & Pensacola services end with people doing their own "thing" i.e. dancing, being slain in the spirit, laughing, etc...Also the primacy of preaching God's Word has been severely reduced and in many cases done away with altogether.

"...the power will take their hand, stretch it up, pull the other down, they interpret it - the hand up, is a sign of mercy, the hand down of judgment:" (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 30)

These seemingly new manifestations have also begun to be subjectively interpreted to mean various "Biblical" signs. Barking - one is a watchdog of the sheep, roaring - one is bold as the Lion of Judah - groaning - one is an intercessor, etc.

"A Concise Statement Of the Principles of the Only True Church according to The Gospel of the Present Appearance of Christ, Oct. 9^th, 1785. (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 65)

Great emphasis on being "Present Day Truth" Christians.

At Cane Ridge, near Paris, Elder Stone welcomed them (the Shakers) warmly and invited them to attend his next camp meeting." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 74)

Like to trace their manifestations back to early revivals including Cane Ridge. The Shakers may have influenced the Cane Ridge meetings with their spurious manifestations.

"The revivalists had been foretelling the second coming of Christ; but He had already come to lead the Believers (Shakers), 'step by step in a spiritual travel, and separating farther and farther from the course of a corrupt and fallen nature,' until they should arrive at 'the perfect stature and measure of the sons of God.' (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 76)

The New Order of the Latter Rain and their descendants (Prophetic, Apostolic, and Signs & Wonders movements) have all set aside the belief in the rapture. 

Latter Rain teaching stressed a coming of "Joel's Army" or "Manchild Company" who would become the Manifest Sons of God. (The Shakers had that heresy first)

"Divine revelations were known as "gifts of God." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 142)

Revelation knowledge concept is held. New insights, prophecies, and prophets seen as "gifts of God."

The Shakers used analogies and an analogous method of Bible interpretation. (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 98)

"Kingdom" teachers, Paulk, Joyner, Monroe, etc. all use farfetched analogies to attempt to prove their doctrines.

"Quaffing spiritual wine from 'bottles' fetched by instruments, they felt quite merry, and one medium struck up what was known as the 'fool-song,' during the singing of which, 'fool' was gathered, thrown, and caught, and all acted foolishly,' the Shaker scribe wrote of this incident, 'so that old stiff self conceit was pretty well worked up..." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 165)

Today it is very common to observe believers 'drunk in the spirit.' The following song (sung to the tune of when the roll is called up yonder) is written by Richard Riss's wife: 

"Now I laugh like an idiot and bark like a dog, If I don't sober up, I'll likely hop like a frog! And I'll crow like a rooster 'till the break of day, 'cause the Holy Ghost is moving, and I can't stay away..."

"It was rumored that each Believer thought himself a Christ, that the Shakers consequently saw no need for Bibles, that they boasted they would never die." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 90)

WOF teaches we are "little gods" and "little Christ's, little anointed ones." 

Latter Rain/Manifest Sons doctrine preaches (to this day) victory over physical death before Christ's return. The Word of God is being downplayed in many services.

"Perhaps the entrance of Indian spirits, and later those of Eskimos, Negroes, Chinese, Abyssinians, Hottentots et cetera, into the bodies of the instruments reflected an eagerness, on the part of the believers, to share their light with those primitive peoples..." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 169)

C. Peter Wagner and other prophetic ministries are 'redeeming' pagan cultural practices, dances, songs. Wagner has stated other pagan contact with the spirit world is valid!

"On an August day in 1837 a class of young girls, ten to fourteen years old, was meeting for instruction at the Gathering Order in Niskeyuna. Suddenly some of them began to shake and whirl. In the evening, after they had retired, the senses of three of the children appeared withdrawn from the scenes of time, and absorbed as in a trance. They began to sing, talk about angels, and describe a journey they were making, under spiritual guidance, to heavenly places." (The People Called the Shakers, Edward Deming Andrews, p 152)

The testimonies of the two young girls at Pensacola mark a major shift in that revival.

Summary Chart

Manifestation

Kundalini Yoga

Sathya Sai

Subud

Qigong

Shakers

Pentecostal Today

Bible Examples

Slain in the spirit

?

Uncontrollable laughing

?

Physical jerks

?

Animal sounds, roaring

?

Smelling fragrances

?

?

?

?

New spiritual insights & revelations

No: Bible competed 96 AD

Demon possession of adherents

?

?

?

Spontaneous movements

Leaders is Divine

Revival like meetings

Feel energy surge, electricity or fire

?

Repetitive singing, chanting

?

?

Clearing the mind, emotionalism Anti-intellectual:

?

Leaders Rich

?

Tongues

?

Acts 2

Awakened through laying-on-of-hands

Acts 8:14-19; 19:5

Leaders directly sent from God

Gal 1:12

Leaders inspired

2 Tim 3:16

Leaders miraculous

Paul

Many miracles and healing

Acts 8:13

Prophecy

Acts 2:17

Trances

Acts 10:10

Seeing visions

Acts 9:10-12

Mind reading

?

?

Jesus

Manifestation

Kundalini Yoga

Sathya Sai

Subud

Qigong

Shakers

Pentecostal Today

Bible Examples

We can't tell the difference, can you???