A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
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actions <strong>of</strong> some semi-div<strong>in</strong>e or extraterrestrial O<strong>the</strong>r over <strong>the</strong> actions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> terrestrial mortal as<br />
<strong>the</strong> eng<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> radical social change. One central understand<strong>in</strong>g that promotes this tendency is<br />
that our current sense <strong>of</strong> what is real is somehow fundamentally askew. In <strong>the</strong> traditional<br />
Gnostic worldview, a demiurge, a bl<strong>in</strong>d idiot god, created <strong>the</strong> world we live <strong>in</strong>, and our existence<br />
as fleshly forms <strong>in</strong> this world clouds our perception, divid<strong>in</strong>g us from <strong>the</strong> true creator <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
universe and thus from reality. True existence lies outside <strong>the</strong> material realm, and thus true<br />
power does as well. If we are crippled by our embodiment and are imprisoned on this earth, we<br />
must place our hopes for change <strong>in</strong> be<strong>in</strong>gs that have somehow escaped, or at least begun to<br />
escape, <strong>the</strong> material plane. Thus is <strong>the</strong> urge toward disembodiedness <strong>in</strong>extricably l<strong>in</strong>ked with <strong>the</strong><br />
understand<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>the</strong> true fulcrum <strong>of</strong> change lies outside human agency.<br />
It was <strong>the</strong> Comte de St. Germa<strong>in</strong> who, after centuries <strong>of</strong> fruitlessly search<strong>in</strong>g Europe for a<br />
suitable vessel for his wisdom, turned to America and met Ballard on <strong>the</strong> slopes Mt. Shasta. This<br />
meet<strong>in</strong>g comprised <strong>the</strong> found<strong>in</strong>g moment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> I Am Ascended Master Religious Activity, or<br />
<strong>the</strong> Great I Am (an organization that still exists and which provided <strong>the</strong> primary source material<br />
for one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> more <strong>in</strong>famous <strong>of</strong> modern cults, Elizabeth Claire Prophet’s California-based<br />
Church Universal and Triumphant). 181<br />
Upon meet<strong>in</strong>g St. Germa<strong>in</strong>, Ballard was presented with a<br />
cool creamy liquid to quench his thirst. That draught <strong>of</strong> fluid, whose orig<strong>in</strong> Germa<strong>in</strong> claimed as<br />
<strong>the</strong> “Universal Supply,” was <strong>the</strong> first <strong>in</strong> a series <strong>of</strong> lessons through which St. Germa<strong>in</strong> would<br />
reveal <strong>the</strong> wisdom <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ages via his chosen “Accredited Messengers,” Guy Ballard, his Wife<br />
(Edna), and son (Donald) with <strong>the</strong> goal <strong>of</strong> br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g about <strong>the</strong> Seventh Golden Age, The Age <strong>of</strong> I<br />
Am on earth.<br />
181 James R. Lewis and J. Gordon Melton. Church Universal and Triumphant <strong>in</strong> Scholarly Perspective (Stanford:<br />
Center for Academic Publication, 1994).<br />
107