Wacky Groups and Unlikely Messengers. The Messiah Maitreya Found?

Photo by Andrea Ismert

Raj Patel reported to be proclaimed the messiah Maitreya by followers of Share International.  Mr. Patel has emphatically and publicly denied being Maitreya. Bad move, according to NY Times writer Scott James. According to the predictions, “Maitreya will neither confirm, or will fail to confirm, he is Maitreya,” said Cher Gilmore, a spokeswoman for Share International.  Ms. Gilmore said SI founder Benjamin Creme would not say if he believed Mr. Patel was the messiah.  I have followed this story for the past 20 years, and was a little surprised at this.

Maitreya 1988

Hmmm, if he is The One, who was this one who was The One back in 1988?   I posted the question on Facebook. Facebook friend Jeanne Crescenzo wrote: Hopefully everyone will use discernment. There will be no “the One”. WE are the “Ones” who are going to be the guiding force of light on this planet. We are the gods and goddesses. We should be more responsible with whom we share our “power” with. Thanks for this post hopefully it will open some eyes if not our own!

Wise words.  Another wrote: “In my view, Creme is not to be trusted one bit. I believe he is a tool for the NWO/ Illuminati / Luciferians… Creme was a devotee of Alice Bailey (who)  founded Lucis Trust established in 1922 as Lucifer Trust as the publishing company to disseminate the books of Bailey, (Helena) Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society.”  There was a bit of a rant about Bailey, copied from conspiracy theory websites, stuff I know to be untrue.

My (real life) friend Joan Crutcher said:  Thanks for all that info. I’m not a “Lucifer” believing kind of person, but I sensed the negative vibes too. I was also getting periodic newsletters about Maitreya and “predictions” for the future from Creme, and it never quite resonated…let’s put it that way I am confused tho’ that anyone connected with the Theosophical Society would be as ominous as this Alice Bailey appears. Steiner’s philosophy emerged about the same time as Baker-Eddy, Holmes and Fillmore’s “New Thought.” And I’m sure we agree they are all positive and light-filled

You can read the entire Facebook thread in its entirety here The Whole Facebook Thread

I knew my reply would be too long for Facebook.  Alice Bailey is not ominous, I read what the conspiracy theorists have plastered all over the web about her Lucifer Trust.  Just because someone types it doesn’t mean it’s true. A few computer geeks who know search engine optimization can make it so that when you Google anyone’s name, it can direct you to their 200 websites as the first choices.  So I can’t blame someone for reading something they thought was true because they saw so many websites criticizing it and saying the exact same thing.  What these masters of misinformation lack in independent thought, they make up for in keyboard time.  They live for this stuff.

I studied the Alice Bailey books in depth years ago. I know her work and found it to be immensely helpful.  I saw Benjamin Creme in 1991 or 1992. Benjamin Creme turned me on to transmission meditation, which I have found to be transformative.  I knew and attended transmission meditation groups with a former assistant and secretary of his. I never got any impression that he or she were anything but honest, devoted and wanting to be of service.

If the info you read at the websites seems weird and flakey and airy fairy and just plain stoopid, consider it an exercise in translation and reading between the lines - what can I bring away from this experience, from this unlikely messenger?  Bear in mind that messages do not always come to you in a form you expect or even recognize.  When I study something, I thrown myself into it.  If I sat with these groups and thought “how absurd” or whatever, I had no chance of experiencing what they experienced so I could know what they know.

At the time I was studying the Alice Bailey books, I understood why they used the phrases they used, and the exoteric and esoteric meaning and implication of each.  The writing is a wonderful mechanism for training the mind to organize information, read between the lines, contemplate words spoken and unspoken and see the bigger picture.  They give processes or call it techniques or call it rituals or call it exercises the reader can do to stimulate thought in particular directions, and directing thought within a group setting.

The value in directing minds to be alert for a coming Messiah brings hope to lots of lives.  Just as the conspiracy theorists who flood the internet about Alice Bailey, likely 98% of them have never read her work.  They don’t properly cite the text they attribute to her.  That means they don’t tell you on what page in which book she said what they claim, so you can’t check it for accuracy or context.

But, back to the remarkable headline that Share International announced the Messiah Maitreya was here.  Well, Share didn’t exactly announce it.  The media headlines said they figured out “from clues” who it was.  So Share International DID NOT make the announcement.  It could be just another example of the media trying to get someone to make a comment on the record to prove or disprove something they’ve made up.  We don’t know yet.

I can see why Benjamin Creme will not say if he thinks Raj Patel is indeed the Maitreya he has heralded for lo these many years.  Creme has always talked about the importance of not removing free will.  If he were to say yes, Raj is the One, that would automatically remove free will from thousands of followers.  They would automatically stop seeking truth from all corners of the Universe.  Having a large group mind focused together in hopeful anticipation can be a very powerful force. That thoughtform alone attracts an upliftment to everyone it comes in contact with.  We all want to be part of a solution.  We can do that without removing anyone’s free will.

That’s the trouble with having someone tell you who to watch for, who to have faith in, who to believe in.  What if they’re wrong and their guy turns out to not be The One?  Have you only lost faith in your friend’s ability to discern truth for you, or have you lost faith in all things for all time?  Can you keep it in perspective?   Do you thereafter think everyone is lying or misguided and not to be trusted?

Or do you stay hopeful, and strive to extract the truth and the goodness from whatever you come in contact with?  Do you read between the lines, knowing that Divine messages are found everywhere, even in seemingly wacky groups on unorthodox subject matters by unlikely messengers?

I will not let what the media reports be my guide for whether I believe there is hope for a better tomorrow.  I don’t listen to music on a regular basis, so when I have a song running in my head, it’s always relevant to what’s going on In The Moment.  As I contemplated all the people who read headlines that may or may not be true, and devotees who put their faith in the One they are waiting for, Steve Perry’s Foolish Heart began playing in the background in my head.  I listened for awhile, then had to find the lyrics.

FOOLISH HEART 1984 Steve Perry, Randy Goodrum

I need a love that grows
I don’t want it unless I know
With each passing hour
Someone somehow
Will be there
Ready to share

I need a love that’s strong
I’m so tired of being alone
But will my lonely heart
Play the part
Of the fool again
Before I begin

Foolish heart
Hear me callin’
Stop before
You start fallin’
Foolish heart
Heed my warnin’
You’ve been wrong before
Don’t be wrong anymore

Feelin’ that feelin’ again
I’m playin’ a game I can’t win
Love’s knockin’ on the door
Of my heart once more
Think I’ll let her in
Before I begin

Foolish Heart
Hear me callin’
Stop before
You start fallin’
Foolish heart
Heed my warnin’
You’ve been wrong before
Don’t be wrong anymore
Foolish heart

So how do you not be wrong anymore?   I do it by recognizing the divine perfection in every moment, yet staying expectant for even more grace to come.

That works for me.  What works for you?

In case the FTC is wondering, I am not endorsing anyone.