My years spent as an Ishaya and practicing Ascension Attitudes

I took my "First Sphere" weekend course in Houston, Tx in the Spring of 1998.  I was taught a few simple phrases based on praise, gratitude, love, and compassion.  They are to be repeated in your mind with your eyes open or closed.  I was very intrigued and wanted to practice it and hoped to learn and advance through all "Seven Spheres" someday.  The Ishayas had a teacher training course in western North Carolina in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.  It was a place on the side of a mountain called the "Society for Ascension".  But, that cost money.  I was thrilled to find out they offered a yearlong work/study program to earn the tuition for the 8-month long teacher training.  I could not think of a more important thing to do for myself and immediately after receiving my college degree I left my life to join the Ishaya monks.

Being A Monk
This "new" doctrine gave me hope.  I was ready to drop everything to be what I understood was "one with God".  I knew that if I could achieve "enlightenment" or "Christ-consciousness" then I would no longer struggle with health problems and low self-esteem.  Plus, I could help heal the world even just by healing myself!  I saw it as being like a nun but way more practical (so I presumed.).  I loved the simple meditation.  I quickly became friends with many folks from around the world.  Many of us shared beliefs regarding our energetic bodies, the law of attraction, how we are "God expressing itself", reality is what you make it, you can heal your life, how raising your vibration can heal the world, how our thoughts create our reality...etc...  I finally felt like I was actually living these teachings being with these people.

The Society for Ascension was started by an ex-Transcendental Meditation guru.  As I understood, he studied under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi until he himself became a guru with the name of Maharishi Sadashiva Isham (MSI.)  He wrote a number of books based on teachings he had learned, evidently, through meditation and inspiration from the spirit world.  These books were stories about the Hindu gods.  

His meditation was called "Ascension" and the organization was a "branch-off" kind of cult called "Society for Ascension" (SFA.)  We took vows that are monastic in nature.  To achieve enlightenment, a soul has to be without attachment or self-indulgence. This can be achieved only by the monks taking certain vows:  Ahimsa (Non-violence), Satya (Truth), Asteya (Non-stealing), Brahmacharya (Chastity) and Aparigraha (Non-attachment).

I never got to meet MSI because he died from cancer a year before I got there.  The more advanced monks took over leadership.  I took my vows as a novitiate.  I worked for a year on the property to earn my teacher training the following year of 2000.  The program was to meditate in our bunks for at least 8 hours a day with two sessions of yoga stretches; diet of mostly fruit with a vegetarian dinner.  Every evening we participated in long meetings and participated in a puja (which was a prayer song to the 108 Hindu/Ishaya teachers of the past.)  The Ishayas taught me "ascension attitudes" that I would repeat in my mind...and this did not require belief, albeit....but we were to "just do it".  The more advanced you got, the more you were taught until you learned all seven "spheres".  Then you would be ready to go out and teach.  I witnessed a few "miracles" and felt drawn to the more advanced monks.  I wanted to be like them as they seemed very confident with themselves.  

(The Society for Ascension located on a mountain near Waynesville, NC.  The main dinner & meeting hall named "The Sri Om". 

(An "ice angel" that formed at the edge of "The Angel Pond" one winter.  This happened the winter before I arrived.  Many who saw it believed it to be a miracle and were encouraged by it.  Perhaps the angelic world was showing their approval of the special pond dedicated to angels.)

My life as an Ishaya lasted 2 years, even though I meant to be in it for the rest of my life.  This lifestyle seemed ideal to me, but I increasingly felt uneasy.  I was urged to let go of every belief I ever held for I was to surrender everything to the "Ascendant".  So, I did...but I soon found myself behaving abominably according to my own standards.  I looked around and saw most others who lived there struggled with overindulging in food, sex, etc...  It turned into an on-going joke.  We were urged to stay out of our heads and speak only from our hearts.  Oh gosh...how I didn't know the extreme danger I was in!!  I was practically rolling out the red carpet for Satan to manipulate and torment me all the more.  I thought I was in a good place for there were all types of people from around the world, all backgrounds...even an ex-Catholic nun and professionals like doctors who took a sabbatical for this teaching.  

Funny...but the Sanskrit name I was given was "Shanti" meaning "peace".  I'm sure it was because I was sweet and kind.  However, I didn't have real peace.  It wasn't until years later at nearly the age of 40 did I come to find true peace - I was born again by the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  I look back with new eyes and see why I was seduced into that kind of teaching.  Little did I know that I was practicing many abominations God hates...according to His Word. 

Jeremiah 17:9-10 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."

1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"

Deuteronomy 18 has many verses describing all the New Agey practices that God hates:

"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.  For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD:"

Isaiah 8:20

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

1 John 4:1-4

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.””