*****UPDATE*******September 16th Sunday Paper The Kitsap Sun*******UPDATE*******
This is in the Religion Section
…..Ministerial Association will host Kitsap County clergy, chaplains and spiritual leaders in a second annual retreat day Oct. 16th at Firway House Retreat….The retreat will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the theme “Thank God You’re Here!” The day includes holy leisure, celebration of call and humor. A rustic outdoor labyrinth is available on site for prayer, play and pondering.
WHOA WHOA BACK-UP!!!!!! LABYRINTH????
First it was Taize, then this..this..ECK nonsense, and now a ministerial LABYRINTH?
OH LORD HAVE MERCY ON US…..
September 10th
THE ECK TEMPLE IN MINNESOTA
(notice the pyramid structure)
It wasn’t too long ago that the religious section in my local newpaper was advertising a Taize Service and that all were welcome. Taize service? What was this?
For an explanation click here:
https://kimolsen.wordpress.com/2007/07/30/crisis-in-the-church-taize-what-is-it/
Then i noticed that the religion editor was touting a New Age book by Matthew Fox. I emailed her with the information that Matthew Fox was a New Ager and did she know that she was promoting this kind of material. I guess so, nothing has changed.
Now today. It is Saturday, September 8th and let’s take a look to see what we find. OH, BOY, Rick Warren is speaking at a church in a nearby town, promoting his 40 Days of Purpose: The Next Step. Actually i really want to attend this for research if i can.
Aha, this is what i wanted to share with you. This ad was down in the left hand corner.
“Discover YOUR own ANSWERS to Divine MYSTERIES of LIFE”. For information ….
http://www.eckankar.org/index.html
hmmm….let’s take a look at this website.
********************************
E C K A N K A R, Religion of the Light and Sound of God
Soul is eternal and is the individual’s true identity.
Soul exists because God loves it.
Soul is on a journey of Self- and God-Realization.
Spiritual unfoldment can be accelerated through conscious contact the ECK, Divine Spirit.
The Mahanta, the Living ECK Master is the spiritual leader of Eckankar. (Harold)*
You can actively explore the spiritual worlds through Soul Travel, Dreams, and other spiritual techniques.
“Harold”*
The Mahanta, the Living ECK Master “Harold”*
This is the thing about Soul Travel. It gives you such a glimpse of truth—not just as a piece of knowledge out there—but as a living, breathing part of you, so that you know something as truth. . . .
Often you find out that life is more beautiful and fuller than you had ever expected it to be. And God’s creation is more wondrous.
On this website, there is an invitation to listen to an audio of the word HU (The name of the ECK God) being sung for 5 minutes straight. Uh….this is a monotonous chant of one syllable….very contemplative…..for the full 5 minutes. Skip this droning heresy and go get a snack instead.
****************************
Now i could talk all day about the problems with ECK (teachings of a man instead of the Bible, techniques to contact the spirit world, the elimination of Jesus Christ)…but i just wanted to point out that not everything in the religious section in your newspaper glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. If you think about it, take a look sometime to see if you can identify the New Age advertisements. Look at their terminology and websites. It is a great way to practice your discernment.
The answers to the mysteries of life are found in the Bible……not Harold*.
kim
DiscernIt 
16 comments
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September 10, 2007 at 11:43 am
livingjourney
HU…. you have gotta be kidding me.
I have never heard of this before, thanks for the headsup!
V
December 25, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Kathiroly Raj
Eckankar is wonderful spiritual path. I am loving it.
December 25, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Kim
Where does this spiritual path lead…..?
December 27, 2007 at 12:39 am
marcie
Eckankar is a wonderful path. We do believe in God, one God. Also, we do not criticize anyone’s belief system. We are here to learn about who we truly are and our true purpose in life.
May the blessings be,
Marcie
December 27, 2007 at 1:06 am
IWanthetruth
“Eckankar emphasizes personal spiritual experiences as the most natural way back to God.[2] These are attained via “soul travel” or shifting the awareness from the body to the inner planes of existence. One of the basic tenets of the teaching is that soul (awareness or consciousness) can leave the body in full consciousness and travel freely in other planes of reality.
Eckankar teaches that “spiritual liberation” in one’s lifetime is available to all. The membership card for Eckankar states: “The aim and purpose of Eckankar has always been to take soul by its own path back to its divine source.”
The teaching states that Eckists (students of Eckankar; also called Chelas) must prove the veracity of the path for themselves. Eckists believe it is possible to achieve self-realization (the realization of oneself as soul) and God-realization (the realization of oneself as a spark of God) in one’s lifetime. The emphasis has shifted in current times away from out of body experiences to expansion of awareness through experiencing God’s love in everyday matters. The final spiritual goal of all Eckists is to become conscious co-workers with God.
Certain mantras are used to facilitate spiritual growth. One important spiritual exercise of Eckankar is the singing or chanting of hu. The hu has been used in the Sufi traditions and other paths, and is seen to be a “love song to God.” It is pronounced like the name “Hugh” and is sung for about 20 minutes. Eckists sing it alone or in groups for spiritual upliftment.HU Sample
The use of sacred words (or mantras) is to experience soul travel. This practice is claimed to allow the student to step back from the overwhelming input of the physical senses and emotions and regain soul’s spiritual viewpoint.
Dreams are regarded as an important teaching tool. Members often keep a dream journal to facilitate study.[3] According to followers of Eckankar, dream travel often serves as the gateway to soul travel[4] or the shifting of one’s consciousness to an ever-higher states of being.
December 27, 2007 at 1:07 am
IWanthetruth
Marcie,
Does this pretty well explain Eckankar?
December 27, 2007 at 1:15 am
IBIJ
http://www.religionfacts.com/a-z-religion-index/eckankar.htm
Curious, form of yoga?
December 27, 2007 at 3:14 am
Kim
I just watched the short video of Harold the Eck master on the eckankar site. The second initiation after two years of study involves a meeting with a eck representative for a brief ceremony. The rep will “link you up”,
with the spirit of light and sound, which is a divine spirit. “Little by little your spiritual eye opens”
Now we just had a personal testimony from one who had her spiritual eye (third-eye) opened.
Read Elise’s story in the comments (date Dec 27, 07):
https://kimolsen.wordpress.com/2007/08/31/opening-the-third-eye-christians-beware/
December 27, 2007 at 5:23 am
IBIJ
” it was a prophetic conference in ‘99 in Redding, CA at Bethel Church. Bobby Conner was the main prophet who told everyone that Jesus told him that Y2K was going to “be worse than everyone thinks”. Yah that was a bust.
Then, in that atmosphere of falsehood, he’s laying hands on people and then goes to touching his forehead to others and many claimed to go flying through the spirit realm and were seeing the same things together. This is nothing more than an occultic practice known as Astral Projection. Well, Bobby Conner puts his forehead up on Bill Johnson’s and apparently Bill is blown away by the journey.
Keep in mind, this is done in the midst of totally false prophetic speaking which God hates and claims is delusional (Jer. 23). So this whole “head” ministry is the child of this false spirit in operation and is itself false.
At this conference Bobby Conner also claimed that he woke up one morning (some time earlier that year) and that he put his hand on his head, as many of us do when we’re first getting up, and that for some reason he felt woozy and sorta drunk. He questioned in his mind why he felt that way and claims that God said, “take your hand off your head”. He did and says he suddenly felt fine.
You see, Bobby is so “anointed” that he even makes himself drunk in the spirit.
From another site that I frequent, sound familiar…?
December 27, 2007 at 10:52 am
Kim
My husband learned astral projection in his Sciencetology class in college.
I still beg him not to use it.
December 27, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Lee
Kim,
Does this mean your husband is not a Christian?
December 27, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Kim
He is a Sunday Christian, a believer but unregenerate. He used the method to alleviate a painful situation. I told him it was occult and to please never use it again. I think the implications have not quite sunk in yet.
December 28, 2007 at 12:17 am
Lee
Now I have someone else to pray for!
January 1, 2008 at 12:40 am
mark
Born into a Christian family I had experiences with the Light and Sound of God that the ministers could not explain. I still love and appreciate Jesus but Eckankar really helped me out. I suggest we accept and allow the teachings of others who also love God than attack them for not following our path. This country was based on that, and Jesus accepted and studied other teachings as well….
January 1, 2008 at 12:49 am
Kim
Here is the teaching of Jesus about other paths.
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
Jesus is the ONLY way. As a Christian and a follower of Jesus, i reject the other teachings.
January 1, 2008 at 1:31 pm
livingjourney
Kim… can’t get any more straight forward than that…:)