Dr. David R. Hawkins, arguably the foremost authority on the path to Enlightenment, spends considerable time and energy warning spiritual seekers about the dangers of the “Spiritual Circus” and other pitfalls.  I, too, having explored many of these realms and narrowly escaping, more times than I wish, find myself compelled to add my voice of warning.  Of course, there are those who refuse to “give that energy” by discussing it. But they, like Eve, are truly being naïve.  It is important to be mindful that there are many things out there, just waiting to feed on the innocent and unwary.

Having been a willing participant and at times somewhat of a ringleader, I can attest to the allure and the seduction that these paths offer.  Alice Bailey devoted an entire volume on the subject “Glamour: A World Problem “; detailing in great depth the allure of the non-integrous.  I am constantly bombarded with stories of the New Age and the meaning of the times, messages from some entity over in one of the Astral Realms, etc., which are forwarded to me by some well meaning person. 

Years ago, when I myself was channeling energies/consciousnesses from elsewhere, I was frequently asked for help by people, who themselves had been ensnared by channeling outside entities. These entities had taken up residence and had no intention to vacate.  They were not only feeding on their hosts but also all those they were able to connect to.  When told that this was happening, about half of these victims refused to let go of the glamour of being the channel, and would not let these entities go.  The time I spent in spiritualist seminaries were marked by sessions where everyone who attended a séance or channeling emerged ravenous, with a big energetic hole in their solar plexus.  This, of course, is not true of all channeling sessions, but is a very common occurrence. Of course, I myself was being used by the other side, and my ego was caught by the idea that we were clean, and of a higher consciousness and intent.  And we all know how important intent is to the New Age..

At some point I got to see things in a clearer light and walked away from that circus act, only to be seduced by another and then another yet.  I got caught up in teachers whose lure was glamour, money and/or sex.  They all showed up as loving father, mother or lover figure; freely took all of my money, and sucked up my energy.

I had a conversation with an old friend who spoke of working with a teacher who reportedly calibrated at the level of Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, etc.  Supposedly this teacher was connected to “Source” and reprogrammed some aspect of the personality or other. When I calibrated the teacher, what came up was the level of the intellect; integrous, and highly erudite.  When I went to calibrate “Source” as related to this teacher it came up as below the level of integrity.  The teacher was integrous, but was duped by this Lower Astral consciousness who fed off the juice of being “Source”.

On the other end of the spectrum, is the late Christian Mystic who was a beloved teacher and healer who, out of respect for his wishes, will remain nameless. He was in close communion with his spiritual guides from the Angelic Realm.  He retained the memory of their past lifetimes together, over thousands of years. While his communion with his guides was a guiding force in his life, he never channeled them and actively campaigned against the practice. His level of consciousness was in the range of sainthood and his devotion to spiritual truth and integrity was inspiring.  All those whose lives were impacted by his presence as a healer and teacher, are indelibly impressed by his love and compassion.

Now, not all of the entities being channeled out there are from the Lower Astral. There are also the Middle Astral Realms which, although calibrate at or above the level of integrity, are coming from other dimensions with totally different laws and realities.  They can be very convincing with abilities to read what is happening here, but - so what?  Their information doesn’t change what is here.  It doesn’t take you beyond your Karma.  It may help you bypass something temporarily, but you will only have to deal with it at some point down the road.

I have followed some very popular teachers over the years only to find that they themselves were either hooked by some entity or had serious flaws in their development. They, each in their own way, were perfect teachers for me in that the lessons learned were exactly what I needed at the time.  The ability to see what lies beneath only opens when I am willing to let go of what I want to see, or what I was sold, and be willing to face truth.  When I finally woke up and walked away from the last one I knew I had outgrown the syndrome of blindly following a mirage.  I gave up the seduction and the glamour of the Circus. 

Recently I had a group of circus members show up at one of my classes here in Sedona.  The meditation and clearing which are an integral part of these classes was one of the most arduous and disagreeable I have facilitated in years.  What came loose and released made the bar scene from Star Wars look gray in comparison.  They were sticky, some were malevolent, and not at all happy at being dispossessed, if only temporarily.  I say temporarily because chances are, these “Masters” of a particular healing modality probably went right back to their practices and let them back in again. 

A lot of the healing practices out there are channeled energies. They come from the middle Astral Realms and while they can help some people get better, they often calibrate lower than the people who are practicing them.  These modalities are often associated with initiations, lineages and titles. They come with symbols and “special“meditations which connect the aspirant with that particular modality along with its attending entities.  They can be effective vehicles for change as they usually have more energy than the physical body.

Are all of these things bad? Not really, at least as far as the Middle Astral are concerned.  They do represent, at times, a significant step down in the evolution of many people’s consciousness, as they are often connecting to things which calibrate much, much lower than themselves.  Most of the Gurus out there do not calibrate very high, although they pull many followers in with their slick ads and their constructed aspects of Divinity.  What they are, is simply a diversion from the quest for Spiritual Truth, and in that light just a waste of time.  My own research suggests that over 95% of the entities presently being channeled are from the lower and middle astral planes. That leaves less than 5% coming from the heavenly realms.  Not great odds, especially if you are not absolutely clean in your ability to discern truth from falsehood.

©2008 David Lowell – Permission is granted to forward, publish or otherwise distribute this article as long as this resource box is attached. David Lowell has been working with energy and healing for 30 years. His clients and students include people from all walks of life on 5 continents. He is the author of “The Struggle to Surrender: Love, Consciousness & The Quantum Field” and publishes “Perspectives” an irregular free Ezine. To see more articles by David and find out about his work go to => http://davidlowell.com/1home.html