Cosmic ordering is a belief system centered on positive thinking that gained a following around the start of the current century. The practice, which has roots in the New Thought movement of a century earlier, holds that individuals can achieve personal or professional goals by clearly stating them as “orders” to the universe. Followers typically… Continue reading

The Church of Eden was founded by JC Gordon after he experienced a near-death experience in 1996. Gordon, who describes himself as a “Spiritual Futurist,” defines the church’s mission as the dissolution of fear, which it calls the “hidden operating system that has enslaved humanity for over 6,000 years.” It presents itself as existing outside… Continue reading

Centrepoint was a commune established in Albany, New Zealand, in 1977 by Herbert “Bert” Potter. At its height, around 275 people lived on the property, making it one of the largest alternative communities in the country. It drew middle-class families searching for support, intimacy, and alternative approaches to living. While initially seen as a social… Continue reading

Breatharianism, also known as inedia, is the belief that a person can survive without consuming food or water, instead subsisting on prana or “life-force energy.” While the notion has roots in ancient spiritual traditions and appeared in a 17th century esoteric text, it is today associated primarily with the claims of two modern individuals. Wiley… Continue reading

Andrew Blake was born in Virginia in 1983 and became immersed in the world of online fandoms in the early days of the Internet. Around 1999, the teenage Blake began posting on “Star Trek: Voyager” fan boards under the handle “Strwriter,” claiming to be a brilliant 15-year-old college student who was also an actor and… Continue reading

Avatar, also called the “Avatar Course,” is a self-development program founded by Harry Palmer in 1986, operated through his company Star’s Edge. Since its inception, Avatar has expanded globally, with its materials translated into over 30 languages and reportedly reaching over 100,000 participants in more than 150 countries. Palmer was born in 1944 and after… Continue reading

Astral Doorway is an online community focused on astral projection that was founded by Gene Hart, who claims to have been astrally projecting for more than a decade. Hart says he has achieved out-of-body experiences and astral travel that has enhanced his spiritual understanding, and that these experiences motivated him to teach others how to… Continue reading

Bolivian philosopher Oscar Ichazo developed a theory that he called “protoanalysis,” out of which he developed the Enneagram of Personality. Ichazo argued that nine “ego fixations” are formed early in life, each becoming the core of a self-image and linked to a specific “passion,” or disordered emotional energy. The relationships between these fixations can be… Continue reading