We recently received this testimony from a reader of our blog who warns that even people who consider themselves to be devout in their faith can be seriously harmed by dabbling in New Age and/or occult-based practices. As this reader warns: “The devil seduces Christians into the New Age by making it seem harmless.” It’s not!

The reader’s testimony follows:

In 2015-16 I struggled with a severe bout of clinical depression related to trauma I’d experienced. This coupled with work and financial stress led to debilitating anxiety. In my desperation, I turned to crystal energy to help me relax.

I have always had a strong personal faith in Christ and rely on discernment from the Holy Spirit. My anxiety and depression blocked my ability to let go and Let God. I urgently wanted to control my stress.

I am naturally sensitive to energy and the idea of crystal therapy made sense to me as a method to de-stress. I meditated with numerous supposed ‘healing’ crystals while saying the rosary and divine mercy chaplet. . . . I did not recognize my using crystals and having a ‘chakra’ cleansing was occult. To me it was alternative medicine at the worst.

The effects of crystal therapy caused acute trauma psychologically and physical harm. The crystals, including everything from amethyst to carnelian, caused severe energy surging and feelings of being violated and extreme shock. At first, I argued that I was releasing stress and kept repeating ‘Jesus I trust in you.’ The surging would not stop for weeks and I felt the loss of self at times.

The surging caused me to feel like my heart was being ripped open . . . and of being sexually molested by unseen energy. This has left me traumatized and yet I turn it over in hope to God.

Among the other debilitating symptoms were: violent tremors, sweats and chills, headaches and other debilitating symptoms. I was unable to sleep because of the zaps of energy constantly moving up and down from my feet to the top of my head. I had no control over it at all. Things went from bad to worse when I went to an ‘energy healer’ who diagnosed me with having a kundalini awakening.

“A kundalini what?” I asked, completely at a loss.

At my core, I am a Christian female who avoids yoga and is grounded in middle-class cultural values.

According to her the kundalini is a serpent energy at the base of the spine that once awakened triggers evolutionary energy. She claimed that my chakras were being cleansed and the sexual energy was a vital life force to free up my creativity.

I panicked, but trusted God would not leave me even in my failure. I went to confession shortly thereafter and threw out all crystals and anything ‘occult’ related. I turned to God in the crisis and have striven to attend daily mass and regularly go to confession since July of 2016.

The symptoms improved for six months and I thought I was healed. In January, I started feeling strange zaps in my heart during Eucharistic Adoration. I turned it over to the Holy Spirit. After a novena to St. Dymphna, which coincided with the Anointing of the Sick for the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes the energy surging/kundalini came back stronger than ever. Nothing would stop the surging. Prayer and the Eucharist only intensified the symptoms . . .

I spoke with my parish priest who assumed it was an anxiety attack, which given the symptoms of my heart racing and constant panic made sense. I received the sacrament of healing and the symptoms stopped for two weeks.

I felt the Holy Spirit instructing me to recognize this might be diabolical; I . . . [turned] to Women of Grace for advice. They told me to personally renounce having used the crystals using the prayer: ‘Jesus I renounce having resorted to crystal energy healing. I ask for your forgiveness for this sin and your grace of healing.’ [In addition to sacramental confession], this prayer is necessary . . . because when we open the door to a New Age/occult practice with our own free will by turning to powers that are not sourced in God, we must then close that door by using our own free will. [We must then] return to confession immediately, which is more powerful than an exorcism because it "locks" the door and offers us the healing graces of reconciliation.

I met with a local priest with an expertise in the occult, who explained the dangers of practices like crystal therapy. He recognized that our adversary is smart about seducing us and we must be vigilant. Because of Christ’s victory on the cross, we are free from sin and have authority over demons. The devil however does have some authority here on earth; he is a dog on a chain. The eucharist and confession and prayer keeps us healthy but if we decide to get within his striking distance, we can be harmed. Regular confession and Mass keep the soul healthy from psychic attack, but when we open a door of any kind to superstition and the occult it invites evil in.

I recognize now that my fear of being judged and fear of accepting that I could be a target of demons prevented me from fully confessing the sin in July of 2016. When I spoke with my parish priest in confidence in February – I told him everything but it was a meeting, not confession. I know that God had already forgiven the sin and understood the underlying factors but the devil does not care if you are weak – he works to ruin you at your lowest.

I said an act of renunciation and made a sincere confession. The power of confession is absolute. Christ’s grace is an ocean of mercy. . . . It has been seven days and ‘unclean spirits’ continue to be drawn out. This is a painful but healing process. I did not recognize how deeply infected the wounds were by this and God went to work right away to cleanse me.

Words cannot describe this experience because it is supernatural and it hit at the core of my emotions and yet Christ has shown me that He is faithful and understands my hurt, my pain and is going to heal me.

I would encourage anyone who has been involved with any New Age practices to repent and to warn others. Pray to the Holy Spirit for discernment and exercise patience. No storm lasts forever – the devil wants us to drown in the storm, but Christ can walk on water! We must open ourselves to His mercy and admit we failed. We cannot stand on the dunes we must walk on the sand to the water and cleanse ourselves in the mercy. Christ is calling out and we must recognize we need HIS help.

Given my analytical nature and gauging life by ‘seen’ and ‘science,’ although I believed in the spirit world, I did not know that spirits could attach themselves to us in this way. It is a wake-up call. I love God and always have and during a dry spell, battling a biological disorder, I faltered in using discernment. We must be careful. Crystals and New Age [slogans of] ‘love everybody’ ‘you did nothing wrong,’ is a falsehood. . . .

I write this to warn others of the dangers of the New Age movement. Chakra cleansing left me full of unclean spirits despite my being a devout practitioner of the faith. I think it is so important to get the message out there to people that this is dangerous.

I did not go in with the intention of betraying God, [but] because the rational mind started to believe the hype instead of the truth.

Crystals, chakras, energy healing and other New Age methods of ‘healing’ are dangerous and I know it has really hurt me a lot. I hope you will recognize the dangers of the occult. The Holy Spirit is the healer of our body and soul and if you are uncertain about a medical practice ask your priest if it is in [obedience to the] teaching [of our] faith.

I ask for continued prayers for healing and strength.

 

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