Showing posts with label Aetherius Society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aetherius Society. Show all posts

Mar 5, 2023

Joe Szimhart/Parick Ryan
Joe Szimhart/Parick Ryan

Interesting time in Perth, Australia - exploring the machinations of the Aetherius Society.

Joe Kelly was practicing his powers of invisibility  (ok, he took the picture).

Feb 19, 2020

CultNEWS101 Articles: 2/19/2020

Event, NXIVM, Light of the World ChurchLa Luz del MundoThe Aetherius Temple
"This group is open to people affected by a wide variety of cults and extremist/exploitative groups (eg political, therapy, religious/spiritual, business, sports - among others).

A short educational presentation on a topic related to the psychology of coercive control will be the basis for sharing experiences and having reflective discussions. The session will be facilitated by those who have educational and/or personal experiences in this area."

February 25, 2020, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM GMT
Manchester Town Hall, Albert Square
Manchester, M2 5DB  

" ... It appears only two parties – the prosecution and Clare Bronfman – can authorize people to speak at her sentencing.

So no, you just can't just walk in off the street, sign up on the day she is being sentenced, and pontificate on sentencing the lately pious heiress.

Clare Webb Bronfman will be 41 when she is sentenced on April 23. And, if you want to speak at her sentencing, you better act soon.

Here's the judge's order:

ORDER as to Clare Bronfman: The parties are DIRECTED to submit a letter setting forth their agreed-upon schedule for sentencing submissions by no later than February 7, 2020. Further, the parties are DIRECTED to provide the court with the names of any individuals who may wish to be heard at Ms. Bronfman's April 23, 2020 sentencing hearing by no later than 10:00 am on April 21, 2020. Ordered by Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis on 1/31/2020. 

In order to speak, you have to be approved no later than April 21, which means you need to be vetted well in advance."


"Naason Joaquin Garcia, the "apostle" of the Light of the World Church which claims five million members in the United States and dozens of other countries, is being held in a Los Angeles jail on $50 million bail following his arrest on sex trafficking charges. In a court filing asking that his bail be reduced, his lawyers say the church leader "is the victim of a concerted conspiracy to frame and extort him."


"The Mexico-based La Luz del Mundo plans to hold its Holy Supper ceremony in February in events across the U.S. even though its leader remains in a Los Angeles jail after he was arrested and charged with numerous sex crimes.

The exact date of the Holy Supper — a sacred rite that church members say memorializes the death and salvation of Jesus Christ — has not been made public. A church spokesman said members will be able to commemorate the ceremony in gatherings held in different states.

Jack Freeman, spokesman and minister for La Luz del Mundo, said the locations and date of the event will not be disclosed at this time. 

In 2018, the church held the first nationwide Holy Supper in the United States at Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino. The five-day convocation was a sign of the movement's growing presence in the U.S."
"... A couple of dozen people are here, convinced that the truth is out there. But that night's speaker goes beyond flying discs and life on Mars. Much further.

Six weeks later I found myself sitting in The Aetherius Temple in Fulham with Mark Bennett, one of nine international directors of the society.

Bennett, along with the rest of the society, believes - among other things - that Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Lao Tzu, and St Peter were all advanced intelligence beings from other planets.

Oh, and that the Earth itself is a living goddess being. But more of that shortly.

The Aetherius Society was founded by Dr George King after he claimed to have been contacted in 1958 by a 'Cosmic Master' - an advanced extra-terrestrial being - called Aetherius and told him that he'd been chosen.

"Prepare yourself, you are to become the voice of interplanetary parliament," was the message. In the society, this is known as 'The Command'.

Dr King became the primary point of human contact for the Cosmic Masters until his death in 1997.

He was, the society claims, able to raise himself - through yoga - to such a level that extra-terrestrial beings could communicate through him, sometimes through telepathy, sometimes through direct channelling.

The recordings and transcriptions of such messages - from a variety of alien intellects - are an important part of services held by the society in present times."




News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.
CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.
CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources.
Cults101.org resources about cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations and related topics.

Selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not mean that Patrick Ryan or Joseph Kelly agree with the content. We provide information from many points of view in order to promote dialogue.

Oct 17, 2016

Sects, cults and UFOs: The fringe groups attracting Australian followers

Paul Anderson
Herald Sun
October 17, 2016

COULD you believe Jesus and Mary Magdalene are alive and well and living in Queensland?

Or would you put your faith in the wisdom of the Elohim, who supposedly created us in their image after coming from another planet?

Some unusual religious groups have taken hold in Australia over the years and none more than these.

MAGNIFICENT MEAL MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL

The leader of this Queensland-based group, a woman named Debra Geileskey, said she survived for 14 months largely on a eucharist diet of wafers and sightings of the Virgin Mary.

Her movement attracted up to 400 followers after she moved from Melbourne to Toowoomba in 1992.

Ms Geileskey, nee Burslem, claimed to have visions of the Virgin Mary and amassed a property empire worth more than $3.5 million, according to a 2003 Courier-Mail story.

“The former schoolteacher whose Magnificat Meal Movement headquarters are based at Helidon, 80km west of Brisbane, also owns four Mercedes-Benz with matching numberplates,” the article said.

“Land title searches show she owns or part owns at least 20 properties, including homes, farms, offices, shops and units.”

It was also reported Ms Geileskey claimed to have Vatican advisers, and to be a multi-millionaire who had no need to ask for money.

According to a group website: “We are aware of the demented controllers who slander & sell their souls to cry out the fear based words of ‘cult’ against us & pump out propaganda against MMMI volunteers & founders … bullyboys’ way to frighten saints away from the natural right to freedom of study & divine knowledge.”


Debra Geileskey, founder of the Magnificent Meal Movement (MMMI).
VIBRATIONAL INDIVIDUATIONS PROGRAM

A South Australian Group, its members wore pink and white underwear, ate offal, rejected medical advice and determined strict diets by listening to the vibrations of food and bodies.

In 1999, one former member of the group provided The Advertiser with a copy of one of her food programs.

It included instructions to drink 756 glasses of water a day and eat brains and tongue 30 times a day.

The program detailed not only what a person could eat, but how it was cooked.


Joan Phillips, leader of the Vibrational Individuation Program

A diet menu of an ex-member of the 'Vibrational Individuation Program'.
SA Liberal Senator Grant Chapman criticised the group in State Parliament in 1999.

According to The Advertiser article, group leaders Joan Phillips and Marie Steinke replied by saying the program did not specify what a person had to eat, but what was necessary to balance an individual’s “vibrations”.

According to a statement from the women, VIP was a “registered self-help group based on Christian principles”.

“It is not a cult targeted at pregnant women,” the statement said.

“Diet is not the core focus of the group. The agreed diets cover a full range of food and are relative to the need of weakened vibrations at the time.’’

THE RAELIAN MOVEMENT (with chapters in Australia)

This cult is led by a French former motoring journalist and test driver named Claude Vorilhon who, following what he says was an alien encounter in 1973, changed his name to Rael and formed the Raelian movement.

Rael believes he is a prophet from an alien race called the Elohim.


Claude Vorilhon aka Rael, founder of the Raelian movement.
Rael’s UFO-based cult believes extraterrestrial beings will determine the fate of mankind.

It says this on their website: “The Raelian philosophy explains that all forms of life were created by human beings called Elohim coming from another planet who made us in their image.

“The original Bible clearly talks about ‘Elohim’ creating life on earth. This Hebrew word is plural and could be translated as ‘those who came from the sky’.

“It has however been mistranslated into ‘god’ leading to the monotheist religions like the Catholic Church.”

One of the group’s press releases states: “Rael to Pope Francis: ‘No need to baptise aliens, they’re the gods of the Bible.’”

The Raelians, who have achieved tax-exemption status in the US, have an earthbound cause — through “Clitoraid” the cult raises funds to staff an African facility called the “Pleasure Hospital” where women who have been subjected to genital mutilation can have reconstructive surgery.

They have also joined other worthy causes, such as the right for women to appear to topless at

North Bondi beach.


Raelian members protest at Bondi to fight for the right to be topless.
THE AETHERIUS SOCIETY

This group, according to the website for its Australian chapter in Brisbane, “co-operates with the gods from space”.

The website states: “The Aetherius Society is an international spiritual organisation dedicated to spreading, and acting upon, the teachings of advanced extraterrestrial intelligences.

“In great compassion, these beings recognise the extent of suffering on Earth and have made countless sacrifices in their mission to help us to create a better world.

The Aetherius Society was founded in the mid-1950s by Englishman George King shortly after he was apparently contacted — in London — by an extraterrestrial intelligence known as ‘Aetherius’.

“The main body of the Society’s teachings consists of the wisdom given through the mediumship (sic) of Dr King by the Master Aetherius and other advanced intelligences from this world and beyond.” the website states.

“The single greatest aspect of the Society’s teachings is the importance of selfless service to others.”

Of its founder, the website says: “Dr. George King is not the only person in history to have had contacts with beings from other worlds, but he is definitely one of the most remarkable.

“He was in contact with the Cosmic Masters from 1954, aged 35, until his death in 1997. During this 43-year period he received a vast amount of spiritual teaching.

“Dr. King also saw and met certain Cosmic Masters, and visited an extraterrestrial spacecraft known as ‘Satellite Number 3’ in a projected state.”

NORTH QUEENSLAND JESUS GROUP

This was a secretive community that revolved around the philosophy of “what’s yours is mine”, according to a report published in the Daily Telegraph in January 2011.

Led by a self-proclaimed prophet, the group came to light after one of its members went public.

It fell under more scrutiny when it was revealed one of Australia’s most wanted killers took refuge with the group after escaping prison in 1996.

There was nothing to suggest the organisation knew that Luke Andrew Hunter – who changed his name to Ashban Cadmiel – was a fugitive or convicted killer.

“Members give up access to their own money,” the Daily Telegraph story said of the sect.

“They are stripped of the ability to make decisions and are told if they leave they will go to hell.

“Members must take a biblical name within weeks of joining, learn the ancient Aramaic language and study spiritual guidelines written by (the leader, Dawid Daniel Yosep Abishai Yokannan Landy-Ariel).

“Women learn their role is to serve their husbands … and mothers are expected to give birth at the commune.”

According to the article, Mr Landy-Ariel denied he dictated how members lived their lives but said individuals abided by the rules out of “respect” for him as the “founding father”.


Family members affected by the Nth Qld Jesus group.

This cult’s presence in Australia declined dramatically from its peak in the 1970s when it was centred in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood.

The traditional theology of the Moonies, or Church of Unification, was based on the belief that founder Sun Myung Moon was a second Jesus Christ.

This cult was best known for marrying together followers in their hordes who, in return for promises of spiritual enlightenment, offered total loyalty.

At the age of 92, Myung Moon — who turned his movement into a multi-billion dollar business empire — died of organ failure after complications from pneumonia.

So far he has not managed a second coming.


Sun Myung Moon and his wife Han Hak Ja sprinkle holy water onn young couples at a mass wedding in 2000.
DIVINE TRUTH

In the late 2000s, a couple claiming to be the real Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene bedded down in Wilkesdale, near Kingaroy — an area known as Queensland’s “Bible Belt” — and began to attract disciples from across Australia.


Alan John Miller and Mary Suzanne Luck.
In a video at the time, Jesus — real name Alan John Miller — said with a straight face: “My name is Jesus and I’m serious.”

His partner’s name is Mary Suzanne Luck.

On the Divine Truth website, Miller explains: “Just a little over 2000 years ago, we arrived on the earth for the first time. My name then was Yeshua ben Yosef, or the Jesus of the Bible, the son of Joseph and Mary.

“Mary’s name then was Mary of Magdala, the woman identified in the Bible as Mary Magdalene.

“Mary was my wife then, and the first person I appeared to after I was crucified.”

On their website, the pair thank people for their donations and offer their latest financial records for examination.

“Mary and I are completely transparent about our financial records,” Miller states on the website.

This is revised version of an article first published in July 2014.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/sects-cults-and-ufos-the-fringe-groups-attracting-australian-followers/news-story/6d9a0dd5142fe7549efb443837a34dbd

Aug 28, 2016

Inside the Aetherius Society: A church stranger than Scientology

AUGUST 28, 2016

Nathan Church

News.com.au

 

IN A leafy suburb of Fairfield, 5km south of Brisbane, there sits a charming white wooden farmhouse.

A tyre-swing hangs from a tree that seems transplanted from the set of Dawson’s Creek, while inside a congregation of believers wait patiently for intergalactic saviours from distant planets.

Rod Middleton and his wife Megan run the Australian chapter of the Aetherius Society, a growing religion that basically cherry picks from different belief systems from throughout the ages, twisting some details, adding a New Age focus, and anchoring everything in the teachings of founder George King, a Yoga-enthusiast-turned-author, who created the religion in the mid-50s after his own extraterrestrial experiences.

Of course, some of its claims are harder than others to swallow; most notably, that their “philosophy and teachings come largely from highly advanced intelligences from the higher planes of Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn” — a statement on their official website.

Obviously I had some questions about the workings of the Society, and Mr Middleton was more than happy to oblige, telling me he welcomes the interest of “open minded media personnel”.

Mr Middleton tells news.com.au that he views the Society as “a spiritual brotherhood, dedicated to healing and service to mankind”.

After a childhood of twice-daily chapel sessions at his boarding school, and a failed attempt with a friend to contact UFOs when 14 — he dismisses this as “youthful ignorance” — Mr Middleton shunned religion in all forms and spent 25 years in what he calls “the wilderness”.

A blind date with his now-wife Megan led to two years of “many expensive phone bills” between their homes of Sydney and Brisbane, before the pair tied the knot.

Megan’s father was “involved in the teachings of The Ancient Wisdom”, and had been a member of the Aetherius Society since 1961. Mr Middleton was soon convinced.

“When exposed to these beliefs and teachings it was like a spiritual explosion, and the amazing part was that none of these revelations seemed ‘new’ to me,” he said.

Unlike most major religions, in which one omnipresent creator reigns supreme, the Aetherius Society — itself named after a being from Venus who founder Dr King claims telepathically communicated with him over many decades — believes all spiritual leaders from throughout the ages are cohorts.

Buddha and Jesus also hail from Venus, Mr Middleton claims, while Krishna calls Saturn home. These “Gods From Space” operate on a different “frequency of vibration” which is why: a) NASA exploration is unable to prove “that Venus is, in fact, teeming with life”, and b) Reports of UFO sightings often include the craft blinking in and out of view.

According to the Aetherius Society, this is them “moving from one plane of existence to another very quickly”.

It must be noted that this idea of different planes coexisting while unable to be sensed by lowly humans isn’t mere fancy, it’s being posited by both scientists and scholars as a legitimate theory. After all, there are colours you can’t see; sounds you can’t hear.

Having said all that, the following official description of these intergalactic deities does seem to slide into fantasy somewhat: “They do not reincarnate like we do; they have mastered the ‘wheel of rebirth’ and are therefore effectively immortal — though they may change their physical structures from time to time. They have colossal psychic powers, and, more importantly, perfect intuition which works in complete harmony with a flawless sense of logic. They are masters of all known sciences, and also masters of what we might call the arts. They are sometimes referred to as ‘Cosmic Masters’, or even ‘Gods from Space’, in deference to their elevated evolutionary status.”

A brochure for the Aetherius Society in Queensland.Source:Supplied

 

Mr Middleton doesn’t claim any first-hand experience with UFOs — “All my experiences with extra terrestrials have come per my research and exposure to teachings of Dr King and many other great teachers”.

Although he doesn’t see his connection with Megan as mere happenstance, either. “I might mention that there is no such thing as ‘coincidence’,” he warns, “so following this thought, we were not brought together by accident.”

The exact number of Aetherius Society members worldwide is undocumented, but sits well into the thousands. There are 58 churches — or “branches” — around the world, with the majority of those in the UK and — surprisingly — Ghana.

Mr Middleton says Australia’s numbers “would compare favourably on a per capita basis with the USA”, with most local expansion coming via appearances at Mind Body Growth festivals, where they dispense literature and give demonstrations, including hands-on healing.

“We do make every effort to expand our footprint in Australia”, Mr Middleton tells me, admitting that limited funds and personnel still acts as a roadblock for growth. Of course, it’s not purely financial struggles, as Mr Middleton freely acknowledges.

“We are of course a Metaphysical organisation, which literally means beyond the physical realms most people relate to. Therefore it requires a certain amount of effort for one to research the Ancient Wisdom,” he said.

“Some are comfortable with our beliefs and teachings up to the ‘Cosmic Link’, and from this point have difficulty in digesting the existence of life on other planets.”

Still, Mr Middleton tells news.com.au he isn’t planning to force anything onto anybody.

 

Dr. George King's Initial Contact in May 1954

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/soul/inside-the-aetherius-society-a-church-stranger-than-scientology/news-story/3ff150cc53b02720a9c1bda4b510ddcf