In colonial times, Puritan leaders distributed pamphlets that offered self-improvement tips on leading good, honest, God-fearing lives. A century later, in the 1830's, Frenchman Alexis de Toqueville commented on contemporary American culture. "Strange sects endeavor in America to strike out extraordinary paths of eternal happiness. Religious insanity is very common."

By the close of the nineteenth century a crop of modern "positive thinkers" had arisen, preaching the miracles of "mind cure principles..." The philospher William James called to task the nineteenth century positive thinkers for failing to grapple with the existence of evil. James observed how the various mind-cure groups seemed to share a revealing emphasis on self-absorption, on feeling good, on instant gratification. In 1902 James wrote, "The mind cure principles are beginning to so pervade the air that one catches their spirit second hand. One hears of 'The Gospel of Relaxation,' of the 'Don't Worry Movement,' of people who repeat to themselves 'Youth, health, vigor!"

This excerpt is from the book, "Outrageous Betrayal: The Dark Journey of Werner Erhard from est to Exile" written by Steven Pressman.

Werner Erhard, a salesman, created the est movement in the 1970s. In the beginning it consisted of attending 2 week-end seminars. At the first seminar the rules were laid out:

No one could move from their seat unless told to do so. No smoking, eating or drinking at any time in the room. The sessions started at 9am and might end anywhere between midnight and 4am. No one could leave to go to the bathroom except during short breaks. (Similiar rules at RSE.)

If anyone asked, "What is the reason for all of the rules?" the response was, "Because that's what works." (At RSE if someone asks about the same rules the answer is, "Because Ramtha says so.")

Erhard concocted est out of a myriad of self-help, self awareness, motivational, and psychological theories using these to convince people they could "experience" transformation just by suspending logic and understanding. (Ramtha teaches that the only truth is personal experience.)

Erhard packaged his program in a way no one had done before. (JZ has certainly done that!) He claimed the est training was a new technology of transformation. (Also the RSE pitch.)

Erhard led "processes," a series of meditation exercises to enable people to "create their own experience." (Ramtha teaches C&E to "create what you want.")

Another est process was called the "Truth." The goal of the "Truth" process was to discover the cause of a person's self chosen affliction, after which the problem was supposed to disappear. (Ramtha teaches this and calls it the "Truth" teaching.)

As I heard "Ramtha" say many times, "There is nothing new under the sun."

only new packatches

Very good post, virtualreality!

There is nothing new under the sun.
Perhaps the only new-age-thing - is the copyright.

There is a book, regarding this subject, pointed out by Comte St. German: The Master Key System (1912!!!).

Probably it is not the teaching/food that is wrong, but the way we swallow it!

It is not what we put in the mouth - but what we put out of the mouth (or something like that).

IO

The following book is from the early part of the 1900's. One of the chapters (I own the book)...I think #14, is title, The Law of Attraction !!

I haven't read anything in that book that is any different from the core teachings at RSE, or any other New Age movement. Except, I don't recall that the book addresses UFO's.

For background info, if you want to check it out (not that I am promoting it, but for educational purposes), here is the link:

http://www.masterkeysystem.com/

The New Old Age is what it's all about.
A former (now dead) Mormon, Herbert Benson, put out some audio tapes a long time ago. The sound quality was poor, they were so old. Anyway, he spoke about what I will simply summarize as Doom & Gloom. Some of the things he spoke of (credit/debit cards, ID numbers), has come to pass. But, the degree of negative spin he put on it, has not.

V.R......"There's nothing new under the sun Haratio."

Very interesting quote!

For me........and this is only my experience, so those of you with another take on things don't get your feathers ruffled as the wolf passes passes through the hen house. He's not here to slaughter. No need. He has already already eaten. Unlike Dracula the vampire.

This quote is directly related to what the GREAT WORK is all about.

If the student is in any mode of thinking then he is in the past mind patterns of another that has already thought, lived and experienced that, and any other thought. Vampires entice ones to their thoughts so that those thoughts can grow. They have no other way of propagating except by consuming the innocent that don't know any better due to ignorance.

The GREAT WORK is not about re-inventing the wheel, or for that matter social consciousness either.
Its already all been done somewhere in space and time.

The GREAT WORK is about BEING without OPINIONS.

"To be or not to be, that is the question," and that is the work.

The "Being Verb" (be, was , been) is what makes the English language even more powerful than magickal Latin or symbolic Chinese. It denotes the power of the God within to be exacted upon reality though the individuals awareness and the ability to digest what ones mouth has spoken. (ever hear the saying, that ones eyes are bigger than ones stomach?)

The SOURCE is all around for the taking, but how much of it can one handle.

Cancer is a source that becomes a force that marches on the body and most see it as a fight for their lives.

No one I have ever known except for one has invited cancer to have its way with them. They prefer to chalk it up to a cause and then fight agaisnt it.

Most are afraid of it. Why not revel in it and let it have its way in you.

Now that being.

If we would have used only symbols on this forum, instead of American English,
I would not have wasted so much time.
Perhaps, using the human language, you never can be exactly correct.
And people keep on talking till they die, just because trying to correct themselves.

Of course I meant: "…it is not about what you feed/put in your mouth,… but it is more about what is COMING out of your mouth".
You find this in some OldAge books and stated by Ramtha too.
You will not find this statement in NewAge books – because NewAge is not existent.

It seems that NewAge is existent only in the mind of some humanoid judge, using this term to qualify or disqualify something.

Similar to the terms doctorate, 33-degree, PhD, scientific, substantiated, narrowminded …blablabla

The human mind uses those valence-poluted terms, to defense his little chest-box-system.

Once the veil is dropped there is no need to rebuild those small sand-boxes of social-consciousness-good-or-bad-ratings, because the mind will explode again, as soon as the nonsense of this is understand…
and there will be a LA-LARSE again, where you may try to rebuild those useless sand-casteles.

human-language blablabla..

"Don't get your feathers ruffled as the wolf passes through the henhouse."

Too funny, Wolfie. And yes, I know exactly what it feels like to have "already been eaten."

To Life? or To Be or not?

IO said: "Of course I meant: "…it is not about what you feed/put in your mouth,… but it is more about what is COMING out of your mouth".
You find this in some OldAge books and stated by Ramtha too."
It's from the Bible, New Testament, Matthew 15:11. Jesus said: Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a person; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defiles a person.