Did you know that Social Emotional Learning (SEL) “circle time” practices used in schools across the nation are actually based upon a specialized form of dialogue drawn from Theosophical, Buddhist and Native American Church practices called the Way of Council?
I'm grateful for your work. I find it difficult to open a conversation with my school teacher friends on the subject. They seem to not be interested to hear how deep and dark SEL is; they minimize it. Have you done an interview with a teacher who has responded to your research? I'd love to hear from a teacher who found out about the occult roots and what they did.
There was a teacher that quit here over teaching Second Step back when I started this work in 2021. He could sense that it was anti-parent, and like many educators that oppose SEL, recognized the critical race and queer theory coming through. So many of them don’t understand the occult roots, though, because it’s a hard pill to swallow and I think up until recently, there wasn’t as much solid proof, which is why I felt writing this piece was so necessary. There is a friend who teaches at a preschool and after I was showing her some of the Buddhist connections, the very next day she sent me a screen shot of the poem they were studying in class from Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Once you see it, you see it everywhere and can’t unsee it.
Agreed. I practice Yoga but I'm an adult and understand its roots. I choose to practice it in a way that is not religious. Children don't know any better. Using singing bowls, meditation, group visualization exercises, etc. are all meant to put participants in an alpha state. Again, the issue for me was and continues to be the intent of the people who put this into the schools in the first place. It is the collective worldview that is behind the religion of Marxism.
Please be aware that even adults are being lied to about hatha yoga. It is worship. All the asanas are named for deities, and all the body movements are expressions of submission which invite that deity to 'yoke' with you. Especially the Sun Salutation, which you are instructed to do while facing the rising sun. The very name "Ha-Tha" is Sanskrit for "Sun-Moon", and "yoga" means to bind yourself in union with them.
In the far East, they aren't shy about saying that you cannot practice yoga in a way that is not religious. Or not for long.
If you practice hatha asanas long enough, the expectation is that you will unintentionally "awaken the kundalini serpent" -- "The Hatha Yoga Pradipika tells us that the goal of all yoga practice is to awaken kundalini shakti."
Shakti is the energy burst of a personalized deity. That deity can take over your body, leading to spontaneous kriyas, where you are no longer in control. Minimally, hatha will give you a high and lead to addiction.
All the above can be verified on sites where the issues are honestly discussed.
Most fascinating was his devotion to Alice Bailey. She (or rather her spirit guide Djwahl Kuhl) was insistent that the coming of Maitreya and the ascension of humanity was dependent on fixing "four world problems", one of which was "the Jews"... who had a "racial karmic debt" to repay to the Universe.
The God of Israel was a particular obstacle - and where the Great Invocation mentions sealing "the door where Evil dwells", they mean Him.
Since it's inevitable that with a library full of Bailey's works Fetzer would have come across that notion, and since he was fond of reciting that prayer, I wonder how that influenced his master plan for education.
Thanks for the very insightful comment! I definitely believe Fetzer was influenced by Bailey in creating social emotional learning. James Lindsay did a great breakdown of this in his podcast. “WTF is SEL.” I highly recommend.
Very thought provoking. The Esalen Institute makes an appearance in the final season of Mad Men. I have indeed encountered progressives who are into esoteric stuff invoke the concept of "we are all one" to justify their beliefs on more than one occasion.
The non-dualistic ideas advanced by the Theosophists and Esalen Institute seem to come specifically from the non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta interpretation of Hinduism, but within Hindu thought there are dualistic schools such as Dvaita Vedanta. I wonder if the Theosophists found the Advaita school more interesting because it was so different to the Western worldview to which they were accustomed?
We also don't seem to see the ideas promulgated by the Esalen Institute originate, or even be widely adopted in India (if anything Theosophy came TO India). Likewise, countries like Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, or Japan where Buddhism is widely practiced, while more community-oriented than the West, don't seem to push the monism "global ascension" concept either. But few countries are purely Buddhist: far eastern Confucianism, with its emphasis on the value of specific relationships like parents, siblings, rulers, friends and parent/child, puts up guardrails that keep things particularized. Even the Western Inscription of Zhang Zai took pains to say that distinctions between relationships matter even if it championed egalitarianism by noting we are "all under heaven".
It's also worth noting that in Hinduism and Buddhism, enlightenment is a deeply personal journey and occurs one person at a time, with the goal of uniting with Brahman or one's Buddha nature. Even Bodhisattvas who return to help others achieve enlightenment do so with the expectation of helping people on a case by case basis, especially when you introduce the concept of masters to whom disciples must actively seek out.
So the idea of enlightenment or monism on a global scale is very much a Victorian era Theosophical invention. It seems to be a marriage of Christian eschatology, Western legends of lost continents (Atlantis, Hyperborea, Thule, etc.) with Eastern individual enlightenment. That and Blavatksy basically fabricated much of her ideas out of whole cloth when she was not throwing tantrums or staging seance effects.
Esalen is very much connected to this. Joan Halifax mentioned in the article was married to Stanislov Grov and they stayed at the Esalen Institute when they were doing experiments on LSD on end of life patients. Many of the other people I’m planning to write about in my second article on how the Way of Council made its way into business and government are also connected to Esalen and its Track II Diplomacy Project (Citizen-Soviet DIALOGUE). You are right about much of what you said about Theosophy and Buddhism and how this is very much a creation of the New Age/New Thought crowd that is a hodgepodge of a lot of different belief systems that combine Eastern religions with occultism. What’s scary is that these people found their way into positions of power and influence.
I was a teacher at important elite preschools in São Paulo, Brazil, in the 80s and 90s. I saw and participated without knowing or understanding it properly. I am a witness to this movement of Eastern philosophies being introduced with full force into the educational system in Latin America. It seemed beautiful and modern, but now I realize that it was violent indoctrination, contaminating people from early childhood. SEL (it had other names) took root, grew and spread like mud, destroying the traditional and moral values of society in Latin America. The seed of the Marxist Revolution was sweeping away real education, like a flood destroying the scene. No one was aware of what was happening.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I think so many participated and didn’t know what it was and/or the harm that it could do. I appreciate your comment, and your imagery to explain what you saw happen gave me chills.
I'm grateful for your work. I find it difficult to open a conversation with my school teacher friends on the subject. They seem to not be interested to hear how deep and dark SEL is; they minimize it. Have you done an interview with a teacher who has responded to your research? I'd love to hear from a teacher who found out about the occult roots and what they did.
There was a teacher that quit here over teaching Second Step back when I started this work in 2021. He could sense that it was anti-parent, and like many educators that oppose SEL, recognized the critical race and queer theory coming through. So many of them don’t understand the occult roots, though, because it’s a hard pill to swallow and I think up until recently, there wasn’t as much solid proof, which is why I felt writing this piece was so necessary. There is a friend who teaches at a preschool and after I was showing her some of the Buddhist connections, the very next day she sent me a screen shot of the poem they were studying in class from Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Once you see it, you see it everywhere and can’t unsee it.
Agreed. I practice Yoga but I'm an adult and understand its roots. I choose to practice it in a way that is not religious. Children don't know any better. Using singing bowls, meditation, group visualization exercises, etc. are all meant to put participants in an alpha state. Again, the issue for me was and continues to be the intent of the people who put this into the schools in the first place. It is the collective worldview that is behind the religion of Marxism.
Please be aware that even adults are being lied to about hatha yoga. It is worship. All the asanas are named for deities, and all the body movements are expressions of submission which invite that deity to 'yoke' with you. Especially the Sun Salutation, which you are instructed to do while facing the rising sun. The very name "Ha-Tha" is Sanskrit for "Sun-Moon", and "yoga" means to bind yourself in union with them.
In the far East, they aren't shy about saying that you cannot practice yoga in a way that is not religious. Or not for long.
If you practice hatha asanas long enough, the expectation is that you will unintentionally "awaken the kundalini serpent" -- "The Hatha Yoga Pradipika tells us that the goal of all yoga practice is to awaken kundalini shakti."
Shakti is the energy burst of a personalized deity. That deity can take over your body, leading to spontaneous kriyas, where you are no longer in control. Minimally, hatha will give you a high and lead to addiction.
All the above can be verified on sites where the issues are honestly discussed.
This is so eye-opening. I had heard bits and pieces of this, but your essay is comprehensive and deep.
Thank you!
Thank you for all that you do, Lisa Logan! ❤️
You’re welcome. :)
Thank you Lisa. This is very helpful
Wow, I thought I knew all the names behind the global push for spirituality, but Fetzer was new to me. Thank you for the thorough analysis.
I checked him out, and I see that he was obsessed with spiritualism and psychic stuff for most of his life. Look at this summary in his library:
https://www.fetzerlibrary4.com/uploads/pdf/1560704202_John_E__Fetzers_Spiritual_Search_Context.pdf
Most fascinating was his devotion to Alice Bailey. She (or rather her spirit guide Djwahl Kuhl) was insistent that the coming of Maitreya and the ascension of humanity was dependent on fixing "four world problems", one of which was "the Jews"... who had a "racial karmic debt" to repay to the Universe.
The God of Israel was a particular obstacle - and where the Great Invocation mentions sealing "the door where Evil dwells", they mean Him.
Since it's inevitable that with a library full of Bailey's works Fetzer would have come across that notion, and since he was fond of reciting that prayer, I wonder how that influenced his master plan for education.
Thanks for the very insightful comment! I definitely believe Fetzer was influenced by Bailey in creating social emotional learning. James Lindsay did a great breakdown of this in his podcast. “WTF is SEL.” I highly recommend.
Very thought provoking. The Esalen Institute makes an appearance in the final season of Mad Men. I have indeed encountered progressives who are into esoteric stuff invoke the concept of "we are all one" to justify their beliefs on more than one occasion.
The non-dualistic ideas advanced by the Theosophists and Esalen Institute seem to come specifically from the non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta interpretation of Hinduism, but within Hindu thought there are dualistic schools such as Dvaita Vedanta. I wonder if the Theosophists found the Advaita school more interesting because it was so different to the Western worldview to which they were accustomed?
We also don't seem to see the ideas promulgated by the Esalen Institute originate, or even be widely adopted in India (if anything Theosophy came TO India). Likewise, countries like Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, or Japan where Buddhism is widely practiced, while more community-oriented than the West, don't seem to push the monism "global ascension" concept either. But few countries are purely Buddhist: far eastern Confucianism, with its emphasis on the value of specific relationships like parents, siblings, rulers, friends and parent/child, puts up guardrails that keep things particularized. Even the Western Inscription of Zhang Zai took pains to say that distinctions between relationships matter even if it championed egalitarianism by noting we are "all under heaven".
It's also worth noting that in Hinduism and Buddhism, enlightenment is a deeply personal journey and occurs one person at a time, with the goal of uniting with Brahman or one's Buddha nature. Even Bodhisattvas who return to help others achieve enlightenment do so with the expectation of helping people on a case by case basis, especially when you introduce the concept of masters to whom disciples must actively seek out.
So the idea of enlightenment or monism on a global scale is very much a Victorian era Theosophical invention. It seems to be a marriage of Christian eschatology, Western legends of lost continents (Atlantis, Hyperborea, Thule, etc.) with Eastern individual enlightenment. That and Blavatksy basically fabricated much of her ideas out of whole cloth when she was not throwing tantrums or staging seance effects.
Esalen is very much connected to this. Joan Halifax mentioned in the article was married to Stanislov Grov and they stayed at the Esalen Institute when they were doing experiments on LSD on end of life patients. Many of the other people I’m planning to write about in my second article on how the Way of Council made its way into business and government are also connected to Esalen and its Track II Diplomacy Project (Citizen-Soviet DIALOGUE). You are right about much of what you said about Theosophy and Buddhism and how this is very much a creation of the New Age/New Thought crowd that is a hodgepodge of a lot of different belief systems that combine Eastern religions with occultism. What’s scary is that these people found their way into positions of power and influence.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment!
I "liked" it, but I don't like it.
I was a teacher at important elite preschools in São Paulo, Brazil, in the 80s and 90s. I saw and participated without knowing or understanding it properly. I am a witness to this movement of Eastern philosophies being introduced with full force into the educational system in Latin America. It seemed beautiful and modern, but now I realize that it was violent indoctrination, contaminating people from early childhood. SEL (it had other names) took root, grew and spread like mud, destroying the traditional and moral values of society in Latin America. The seed of the Marxist Revolution was sweeping away real education, like a flood destroying the scene. No one was aware of what was happening.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I think so many participated and didn’t know what it was and/or the harm that it could do. I appreciate your comment, and your imagery to explain what you saw happen gave me chills.