CULTS

    In today's society, there are groups that use the fourth dimension to explain some of their concepts of spirituality. These people, commonly known as cults, attempt to use the fourth dimension to help people understand things such as clairvoyance, astral projection, and an eventual ascension into the world of the fourth dimension, after leaving behind that of the third. It is relatively easy to find cults or groups online that have these beliefs. They claim that they are broadening the spiritual consciousness of the readers, explaining paranormal concepts not discussed in most everyday conversation.
    Astral projection is perhaps better known as an "out of body experience". There have been all sorts of descriptions or references to this projection, including that of a psychic twin or glowing emanations from a living person. The idea of astral projection in itself shows the fourth dimension at work. Since a person is a living three-dimensional being, the idea that the "soul" of the person could travel and project themselves around the world separate from the body already gives the presence of another dimension. It is not uncommon to hear about dying people who are able to exit their solid bodies and watch surgery being performed by doctors. By entering into another dimension, they are allowed to see all facets of the third dimension, including what is happening to their actual bodies. Also known as traveling clairvoyance, the idea that a person could travel without their physical body leads to the conclusion that there must be some sort of entrance into another dimension, leaving behind the third.
    Clairvoyance itself is also a topic which relates to higher dimensions. We all must remember stories about clairvoyance from when we were younger. There were children's books in which someone was described as knowing the cards in another person's hand during a game. Sometimes it was referred to as having a sort of sixth sense. However, there is also a plausible dimensional argument that relates directly to clairvoyance. For those who are clairvoyant, there is so no such thing as an edge, line, or point. These things don't exist. Also, those who are clairvoyant often claim that they are in both places at once, but in neither place at once.
    Cults not only stress these paranormal phenomena, but an unavoidable shift to the fourth dimension. This discussion shows a group of people who believe that there will come a time when we all will leave this three dimensional world, and progress to that of four dimensions. Drunvalo Melchizedek was interviewed by Diana and Kevin Burke about this topic for the Leading Edge. When asked about the upcoming fourth dimensional shift, Drunvalo answers that all of our souls are moving around the universe to the geographic area which is best for where we're at vibrationally. Drunvalo also believes that someone is happening in our dimension which is forcing light to move up one dimension, making the third dimension eventually incapable of supporting life, which will prompt the shift of all beings into a higher dimension. He refers to the fifth dimension as the ultimate destination, formlessness. Drunvalo doesn't give an exact time or place when he believes that this shift will occur, but only advice on how people can stay together during these dimensional shifts. He mentions overtones of the fourth dimension, stating that people may end up in different overtones, but all will ultimately make the bigger jump and transition into the higher dimension, moving very quickly.
    While Drunvalo does not give an exact date for the transition into a higher dimension, another group talks about the move into the fourth dimension which was supposed to have taken place on December 12, 1994. This "World Ascension Day" was supposed to be the shift from the third to fourth dimensions, and only for those of a "sacred number". The group leaders associate themselves with the former high priests of Atlantis who were forming a new order, and also cite the works of certain prophets in their justification of a dimensional shift in which they are involved. They claim that the federal government will have been dismantled, and that people will be led by councils of elders. The shift, according to this group, from the fourth to fifth dimensions will occur in the year 2000. The next shift to the sixth dimension would be to the place of Christ, which they are not yet prepared for.
    All cults rely a great deal on faith. Members of the cult need to believe in what the cult believes will happen in the future. The members of Heaven's Gate believed that by shedding their physical bodies, they could join the Hale-Bopp comet which would enable them to arrive at a better place. David Koresh's cult in Waco stayed with him even through confrontations with the police and authority, believing that he was the one who was right.
Cults are characterized by a couple of shared views or tactics. Many cults mention transcendence, and how an individual can join them in their quest for higher power. This "promise of imminent transcendence" as it was called by cnet, is one way in which cults draw in followers. They mention "higher knowledge, immortality, extraterrestrial saviors, cosmic consciousness." Another characteristic is reliance on a prophet, like David Koresh in Waco or Marshall Applegate in Heaven's Gate. Cult leaders believe that they were selected to bring people to a better world, or are "superior intelligence from another world or dimension." For more information on cults, see the cnet article on how to tell if a group is a cult.
    In conclusion, there are many different views on faith, and what people should believe in. Faith in a leader or in a concept may make people only see one side of an issue, and totally side with one opinion. However, it is true that many spiritual cults attempt to explain facets of their beliefs or ideas about their existence with the use of dimensional transcendence. The information presented above is by no means enough to use to describe all the views of cults when it comes to higher dimensions, transcendence, and the astral plane. It is an overview of the types of views that have resulted from using dimensions to explain radical spiritual ideas. Dimensions are their way of explaining how either the select few or a large group may move into a higher world.