Beyond the Looking Glass: An Escape From the New Age

Episode 15

Hello, and welcome to In the Lighthouse: your safe harbor from the storm. This is Daphne Collins, your Lighthouse Keeper and host for our time together. Today we’re going to delve into a topic that many of us have personal stories and real-life experiences to relate – including myself. For years, prior to becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, I was fascinated by, and heavily involved with New Age philosophies and occultic practices like astrology, numerology, palmistry, and tarot reading. 

Although I was a practicing Roman Catholic, or, in layman’s terms, I regularly attended church on Sundays, my life did not reflect a Catholic upbringing. I basically looked like the world and I indulged in worldly things. Being a Catholic did not pause my moral compass into thinking of the consequences of my actions. My heart was not aligned nor in a relationship with Jesus Christ, therefore, I had no problem with pursuing something that I felt would improve my life and make me a stronger and self-sufficient woman. My life was falling apart all around me and I was rapidly losing control. Like many who turn to quick fixes when the challenges of life are overwhelming, I searched all over to find answers on how to harness control and change things through the power of my mind and will. Much of what I learned came to me by way of the latest and greatest authors of self-help. I couldn’t get enough of these reading materials. I didn’t know that Jesus could give me exactly what I needed during these tumultuous times; I needed only to ask, but I didn’t know and understand that it could be this simple. I was taught to pray to the many Catholic saints – people who were already dead. But they never helped me in the past no matter how many times I prayed to them. This time, I wanted something different. I was seeking enlightenment and believed that for anything to be realized, I needed to be the one to do it. 

This episode is entitled, Beyond the Looking Glass: An Escape From the New Age, and my guest here In the Lighthouse is Brielle Arvizu, a young woman who will share what happened when, out of loneliness and despair, was willing to cross into areas beyond the realities of our world – through the gateway of New Age philosophies – and, because of her saving faith, returned with lessons learned. Naturally, there are experiences that leave indelible scars, and when we enter into the darkness beyond the realm of our reality, we cannot return unscathed, and oftentimes, the door is left open for unwanted guests. The world that we once knew is turned upside down and the only One who can set it right is Jesus Christ. The question is, how can you know for sure if what you see and hear is your true reality? Well, there is only one path to the truth, and it is a narrow one. Okay, let’s get started!

When we look at our image in a mirror, there are many who will inevitably find flaws and turn away perhaps feeling one way or another. Others may choose to speak directly to the image and express their thoughts aloud. We all look for emotional avenues to express how we feel and much of it occurs when we’re alone. Unspoken truths and feelings can be expressed in the presence of that cold image staring back at us behind the looking glass. If we don’t possess a firm foundation found only in the saving grace of Jesus Christ, the temptation to turn to worldly philosophies to satisfy an immediate need that is accompanied by a deep-seated hurt is imminent. Our hurts make us look for answers or a solution that we can control ourselves. We have a need to be right, to be noticed, and to be praised. The Apostle Paul describes the basic condition of the human heart in Romans 3:10-11, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good.”  

Years back when my life was unraveling, I didn’t seek answers from the Creator of the universe – the God of the Bible. Instead, I pursued anything that would make me feel good about myself and was attractive to anyone who wanted something within the agency of their control. 2 Timothy 4:3 says, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” The New Age Movement provided the kind of solutions that were attractive to me despite Paul’s warning in Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirit of the world, and not according to Christ.”  

Like me, Brielle chose to seek answers in the New Age Movement too, and like me, she began to experience the consequences of going beyond the looking glass and entering into a faux reality that promotes the deification of self. Proponents of the New Age believe that there is a divine energy inherent in the universe, therefore, we must tap that source of energy and become one with it to manifest our deepest desires. But they don’t warn about the after-effects of “tapping into the universe.” Sometimes we invite into our lives unintended guests. 

Some parts of what is heard may trigger bad memories, and may not be suitable for certain audiences; therefore, I caution adults and parents to use discretion with their young ones when listening to this episode. 

Show Notes

Opening Theme: Going For Gold

Introductory Theme: Call of the Dark by CineMedia

Transition Theme: Epic Dark Trailer by Olexandr Ignatov

Conclusion Theme: Emotional Piano Inspiration by Olexandr Ignatov

Exit Theme: Meditation Ambient by KakaduCreation

Transcript of “Beyond the Looking Glass: An Escape From the New Age” by Daphne Collins

Transcript of “Holy Kiss” by Laine Wilder