Long ago, the
Greek philosopher Plato introduced humanity to a mysterious civilization which
supposedly flourished 9000 years before his own time. He called it Atlantis and inspired
his followers with grandiose descriptions of its power and politics, its amazing flying
machines and its majestic temple to Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. But Zeus, the
reigning god on Mt. Olympus, wasn't pleased. And so, we are told in Plato's Dialogues,
the island continent with its magnificent city was swallowed up by the Atlantic
Ocean in a massive cataclysmic event.
This violent
finale breathed lasting life into the myth. Exciting stories don't die quickly, and the
magic of Atlantis [1]
seems to rise out of obscurity whenever a culture is ripe for pseudo-historical visions
of popular occultism. It
happened in the 1930s, when Edgar Cayce, the "sleeping prophet," linked the
mythical continent to "Mayan land" and, while in a trance, described its
technological marvels and the re-incarnations of its inhabitants.
It
happened five decades earlier, when
Madame Helena Blavatsky was writing The Secret
Doctrine for the Theosophical Society. It told about "revelatory spirits from
the Orient" who brought insights from Atlantis and described
its people as one of humanity's seven "root" races.[2]
Blending western occultism with Hinduism, she founded Theosophy with its occult
hierarchy of ascended masters and laid the foundation for the New Age movement. (For
more information about Theosophy, see Star
Wars and The
International Agenda)
The list of
leaders that followed in Blavatsky's theosophical footsteps include Rudolf Steiner, who
founded the Waldorf Schools; UN leader Robert
Muller, whose World Core Curriculum provided a framework for global education; and Dr.
Shirley McCune, keynote speaker at the
1989 Governor's Conference on Education. In the book
Dr. McCune co-authored, The Light Shall Set You Free, the mesmerizing myth of Atlantis
soars into new realms of mysticism. Basing her understanding of spiritual realities on a
blend of Buddhism and channeled messages from various spirit guides, she writes,
"All humans
have the natural ability to perceive dimensions higher than the Third... In Atlantis,
humans in embodiment accepted this mode of operation and perception as normal
behavior. The Atlanteans operated on this superior level of existence, connected to
their Higher Selves. With the fall of Atlantis, humanity experienced a struggle for
survival and became aware of the lower self, dominated by the will of the ego.
Now after thousands of years of evolution, most people have forgotten ... how to
connect with higher dimensions...."
"Walt
Disney is a newly Ascended Master who is well known as a cartoonist, illustrator,
movie maker and futurist. His mission on Earth was to create an awareness of the
elementals and animals and to integrate the existence of these kingdoms into human
consciousness." [3]
Today, some of
the most demonic facets of this occult belief system is marketed to our children through
Disney's latest animation, Atlantis: the Lost Empire. Featuring a brilliant but
unappreciated Harry Potter look-alike named Milo Thatch, it quickly draws young
audiences into a captivating quest to find the mythical city and turn fantasy into
reality.
Milo's knack for
ancient languages unlocks the secret that puts Atlantis on his map. And when stodgy old
civic leaders mock his dreams, the determined young seeker gains support from a
yoga-loving old friend of his deceased grandfather. With such diverse companions as a
karate-kicking feminist and a crude creature called Mole, he begins his quest.
At the end of a
noisy, fast-action journey, the adventurers find a civilization bathed in New Age
imagery, colors and idealism. Ancient symbols, especially variations of the ever-present
spiral and triangle, are carved into
ceremonial stones and painted on masks that resemble the ritual attire of American
Indians. "I've seen them back in North Dakota," observes a member of Milo's
crew.
A life-giving
power-source energizes all life, lights and flying vehicles in Atlantis. Each
person is connected to this force through a personal crystal amulet worn as a pendant.
Princess Kida uses her amulet to heal Milo's bleeding wound after she scratched
him -- apparently to see if he was truly a flesh-and-blood person like herself. Later
she uses the same magic amulet, like a car key, to start a vehicle.
The crystal
power-source that fuels these individual crystals is far more than an impersonal force.
It "feels our collective emotions," explains the dying king of Atlantis, whose
ghostly white eyes seem to be virtual windows for its mysterious light. This evolving
force had "developed a consciousness of its own," he continued.
But this
spiritual life-source was not the only deity in Atlantis. Blending ancient polytheism
(many gods) with Americanized Buddhism and New Age cosmic consciousness, the Disney
movie gives its own reason for the city's disappearance: the "gods became
jealous." In this story, the otherwise immoral Greek gods showed a politically
correct intolerance for the Atlantean capitalism which had replaced the virtuous oneness
of earlier times.
This
timely moral message is stressed by the Dalai
Lama in his foreword to Spiritual Politics. The book's co-author, Corinne
McLaughlin, taught mediation (group consensus) strategies at the Department of
Education, at the EPA, at the Pentagon and to the President's [Clinton] Council on Sustainable
Development.[4]
In her book she summarizes one of many occult messages given Theosophist
Alice Bailey by her spirit guide, the ascended
master Djwhal Khul. Notice how her vision of a collective society matches UN ideology:
"According
to Ageless Wisdom, during the time of Atlantis there was a tremendous battle on the
astral [emotional] level between the Forces of Light, who wanted to lift human
evolution of materialism and separateness, and the involuntary Forces of Darkness, who
wanted to enslave human will and more deeply immerse humanity in matter. This
resulted in the sinking of that ancient continent...." [4]
It seems fitting, then, that Milo's
final battle should be against the heartless materialism of two mutinous team members
who had stolen both the life-giving power source and Princess Kida. Actually, the two
have become one. Having merged her own being with the life-force, the princess appears
translucent as crystal -- perhaps as pure energy or spirit like the ascended masters of
Blavatsky's Theosophy.
Naturally, the "good" hero
wins over the capitalistic villain. In the end, the glowing, trance-like princess floats
down from the skies in a beam of light and melts into Milo's arms where she regains
consciousness and her human, flesh-and-blood form. The two gaze in awe at the glorious
city now rising from the fiery waves.
The
temple that emerges seems to be a blend of Hindu and Mayan temples. Yet the film's
featured symbol -- a stylized
eye in a triangle -- resembles the peak of the Masonic pyramid on our dollar bills. It,
in turn, combines the Egyptian symbol of the all-seeing eye with the ubiquitous triangle
featured in eastern as well as western magic. All
these occult images and subtle suggestions lead the audience through a virtual
experience in 21st Century multiculturalism
that should please any globalist educator.
Children and parents go home
with a fresh appreciation for "the beautiful side of evil." They might even
stop and buy Disney's new Atlantis toys and Milo action figure on the way home. Few will
be able to shut the doors of their minds to the movie's enticing myths, symbols,
delusions and world view. Disney's mighty marketing arm will keep the lights burning for
a long time.
To resist its lures, follow
Job's example. He had committed himself to look away from attractions that might cause
his mind and emotions to sin against God:
"I
have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why
then should I look upon a young woman?
For
what is the allotment of God from above....
Is
it not destruction for the wicked,
And
disaster for the workers of iniquity?
Does
He not see my ways, and count all my steps?" Job 31:1-4
What
we see affects our thoughts and values. To help us guard our spiritual purity and
safety, Jesus reminds us that forbidden scenes are out-of-bounds to our eyes as well as
our hearts: "Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has
already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:28).
Like
pornography and sensual images of violent thrills, occult visions inspire occult
cravings. Delighting in forbidden fantasies will dull our understanding of reality no
matter how well our minds know the difference between the two. For the focus of
thoughts helps shape the mental filter through which we understand reality and make our
daily choices. The only safe guide to peace and purity in a pagan world is His Word. It
tells us,
"...whatever
things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are
of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is
anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and
received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with
you." Phil 4:8-9
Chronology
-
348
BC - The death of Plato.
-
1500
BC - Volcanic eruption destroys Thera and possibly brings an end to the Minoan
civilization.
-
1675
AD -
Olof Rudbeck locates Atlantis in Sweden.
-
1880s
- French archeologist and advanced Mason, Augustus le Plongeon, links Mayan ruins to
Mu, a lost continent resembling Atlantis.
-
1882
- Atlantis - The Antediluvian World by Ignatius Donnelly is published.
-
1888
- Madame Blavatsky finished writing The Secret Doctrine for the
Theosophical Society. It indicated that "revelatory spirits from the Orient had
taught her about" Atlantis. [5]
-
1890s
- a wave of spiritualism fuels public appetite for supernatural occurrences and
occult practices.
-
1912
- Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf Schools and a follower of Madame
Blavatsky, adapts her Theosophy to his own liking and calls it Anthroposophy: "a
philosophy based on the premise that the human intellect
has the ability to contact spiritual worlds." Steiner's visions from his
occult spirit guides includes some bizarre descriptions of Atlantis.
[6]
-
1924
- The Problem of Atlantis by Lewis Spence is published.
-
1936
- Psychic Geraldine Cummings claims to have received mental messages from the Irish
medium Percy H. Fawcett who died in Brazil in search of the lost continent. [7]
-
1937
- Edgar Cayce's spirit guide explains the judgment on Atlantis as "those
disturbing forces... that brought the first destruction of the continent through the
application of spiritual things for self-indulgence of material people."[8]
See a similar statement by the Tibetan Buddhist
leader in "Dalai
Lama Celebrating the Medicine Buddha."
-
1960
- The ruins of ancient cities on Thera are discovered by A. G. Galanopoulos. Many
believe the Atlantis myths refer to this ancient civilization.
-
1994
- Spiritual Politics is published with a foreword by the Dalai Lama
who writes: "In our present state of affairs, the very
survival of mankind depends on people developing concern for the whole of humanity,
not just their own community or nation... Narrow-mindedness and self-centered
thinking may have served us well in the past, but today will only lead to disaster.
We can overcome such attitudes through a combination of education and
training." In this book, co-author Corinne McLaughlin states:
"According
to Ageless Wisdom, there really is only one sin -- separateness. In the early years
of World War II, Alice Bailey noted that we will achieve peace in the world only
after we first create unity. ... The persistence of war is more likely to spring
from rampant nationalism, ethnocentrism, and intolerant religious
fundamentalism--all extreme and separative attitudes...." [9]
(See "The
Global Quest for Solidarity"
-- the opposite of
"separateness." )
Endnotes:
1.
See "The
Story of Atlantis," Encyclopedia Britannica online. Excerpts: "Atlantis
was the domain of Poseidon, god of the sea. When Poseidon fell in love with a mortal
woman, Cleito, he created a dwelling at the top of a hill near the middle of the island
and surrounded the dwelling with rings of water and land to protect her.... At the top
of the central hill, a temple was built to honor Poseidon which housed a giant gold
statue of Poseidon riding a chariot pulled by winged horses.... For generations
the Atlanteans lived simple, virtuous lives. But slowly they began to change. Greed and
power began to corrupt them. When Zeus saw the immorality of the Atlanteans he gathered
the other gods to determine a suitable punishment."
2.
Mystic Places (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1987), page 28.
3.
Norma Milanovich and Shirley McCune, The Light Shall Set You Free (Albuquerque,
NM: Athena Publishing, 1996), pages 104, 38.
"...a favored symbol of the Bronze Age was the spiral. And spiral
images cropped up at old sites in Scotland, in Switzerland and in the rock-face carvings
of the Zuni Indians in New Mexico. On a far larger scale, Donnelly contemplated the
similarities between the pyramids of Egypt and those in Teotihuacan, Mexico." Mystic
Places, page 23.
4.
Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson, Spiritual Politics (New York: Ballantine
Books,1994).page 257. See also "Bush,
Gorbachev, Shultz and Soviet Education," scroll to 6th paragraph. She mentioned her
involvement with the EPA, DOE, Pentagon and PCSD during a workshop Berit Kjos attended
during a 1995 commemoration of the United Nations' 50th anniversary titled Celebrating
the Spirit.
5.
Mystic Places (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1987), page 28.
6.
Ibid., 30. See also anthroposophy.
7.
Ibid., 25
8.
Ibid., 33.
9.
Corinne
and Gordon Davidson, Spiritual Politics
(New York: Ballantine Books, 1994),147.
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