New Age? or New Lie? You decide.

What's wrong with the new age movement? Why shouldn't I participate in relaxation techniques such as guided imagery?

Guided imagery is a technique for relaxation in which a speaker in a calm voice suggests thoughts to the listeners. Suggested thoughts often include tensing and relaxing muscle groups, picturing images such as animals or places. The spoken or unspoken goal of guided imagery is to enter a trance-like state of mind, where listeners are very suggestible. Guided Imagery and such are nothing new. Most such practices originated in Eastern Mysticism and pagan religions.

Eastern Mysticism is a kindred spirit of humanism, and the guided imagery techniques seek to bring the mind & spirit to a higher level of consciousness. However Mysticism is not Christianity. In fact, the mystics were prevelant before Christ in the form of the religions of the nations which Israel conquered (2 Chronicles 33:2-3). The Bible states clearly not to seek after other Gods (Exodus 20:3). In the early days of the church, Mysticism took the form of Gnosticism, which claims that man's spirit is good and can be developed into eternal life.

  

The development process of raising ones level of knowlege or consciousness. The book of first John was written to rebuke the heresy of Gnosticism (1 John). Similar techniques are used by dabblers in witchcraft to enter the spirit world, and witchcraft is a sin (Galatians 5:19-21). Mysticism, Gnosticism, Witchcraft, and New Age humanism are all kindred spirits, and they are all wrong . They will bring you to relaxation and suggestability, and perhaps with practice you may be able to visualize things in the spirit and trances. However without the protection of Jesus, you are susceptable to deception (Ephesians 6:11).

Satan and his servants can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). In the condition of a mystic trance, the susceptibility to an angel of light should be obvious and frightening.

In contrast, Jesus taught that all have sinned (John 8:7), and if we confess our sins he forgives us and cleanses us (1 John 1:9).

  

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to God except by him (John 14:6). No spirit guides or mystic trances will bring us to God, no one but Jesus. Jesus told us to worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24), through prayer and thanksgiving seek him, and we will have a peace which passes all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). That peace is what guided imagery and the other counterfeits seek, but they will never find it outside of Jesus (Luke 13:24-25). Through prayer and worship, we become closer to God and sometimes, when God speaks to us, we do enter into a trance (Acts 10:10 and Acts 22:17). This is the real thing, not the counterfeit and it is always God initiated as we humble ourselves to him in prayer and thanksgiving. Don't be fooled by the counterfeit, we are taught to stay away from the "unfruitful works of darkness" as these deceptions are called in the Bible, and to expose them to the light (Ephesians 5:6-12).

If you want the real thing, make Jesus the Lord of your life today.


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