Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness
Encyclopedia
The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (or MSIA, sometimes pronounced "messiah
") is a 501(c)(3) non-profit religious corporation
, incorporated
in California
on June 25, 1971. Before incorporation, the group was founded in California in 1968 by John-Roger (formerly Roger Delano Hinkins). The church has about 5,000 active students, mainly in the United States, as well as in 32 countries around the world. MSIA is alleged by some sources to be a religious cult.
technique known as Spiritual Exercises. Spiritual Exercises (or SEs) are an active meditation technique based on chanting specific sacred Sanskrit
words internally, in a similar fashion to the Transcendental Meditation
(TM) techniques. MSIA also offers its students a twelve-year study support subscription called Soul Awareness Discourses. Discourses are a program designed to educate students on the teachings of MSIA and assist readers stay focused on their spiritual practices. Both the tones and discourses are held sacred to each student.
The Founder John-Roger (formerly Hinkins) and John Morton are considered to be the leaders of the group and are both referred to as the "Traveler".
Often called a 'church without walls' by its members, MSIA is a religion per se, that provides a set of tools and techniques to teach Soul transcendence. Soul Transcendence, as defined by MSIA, is the process of becoming aware of yourself as a soul and as one with God
. The MSIA teachings draw primarily on the ministry of Jesus Christ ("The Christ Consciousness is the spiritual line of energy undergirding MSIA"); they also include elements of Buddhism
, Taoism
, Judaism
, and the Sant Mat
/Radhasoami tradition.
was born on September 24, 1934 to a Mormon
family in Rains, Utah
. Hinkins was raised in Utah and received a Bachelor of Science
degree in psychology
from the University of Utah
in 1958 before moving to San Francisco to work as an insurance claims adjuster
before getting a job teaching English at Rosemead High School
in a suburb of Los Angeles
.
According to Hinkins' official web site, he first attended the University of Utah, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 1958 and a Secondary Teaching Credential in 1960; he later performed post-graduate work at the University of California, Los Angeles
, the University of Southern California
and California State University, Los Angeles
. Hinkins also holds a California Secondary Life Teaching Credential, and a Doctorate of Spiritual Science from the Peace Theological Seminary & College of Philosophy
, an unaccredited institution which Hinkins founded in 1977.
In the early 1960s Hinkins took a correspondence course with the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis
and occasionally attended the Agasha Temple of Wisdom
. Eckankar
asserts that Hinkins also joined their group in 1967 and was given a second initiation by its founder Paul Twitchell
in 1968 but this is disputed.
In late 1963 Hinkins underwent a kidney stone
surgery
, which led to a nine-day coma
and reputed near-death experience. Shortly after this, Hinkins visited two trance-channelers and claimed to have encountered a higher consciousness
named 'John within himself', and began referring to himself as John-Roger.
In 1971 Hinkins formally organized MSIA, a new religious movement
based in California, United States.
and Peter McWilliams
provide the most substantive body of criticism, both of which focus on the role of founder John-Roger
. The gist of Lane's criticism of Hinkins is that he uses spiritual teachings taken from Paul Twitchell
's Eckankar
, who in turn took them from Radha Soami Satsang Beas
, with which Lane is actively involved.
Ex-MSIA Minister Peter McWilliams wrote Life 102: What to Do When Your Guru Sues You,
, which was critical of Hinkins. McWilliams also dismisses MSIA as little more than a personality cult. In his book McWilliams asserts that Hinkins suffers from narcissistic personality disorder
, possibly due to his 1963 coma.
McWilliams chronicles his extended relationship with Hinkins, accusing him of various misrepresentations and improprieties. However, McWilliams later agreed to abandon the copyright to MSIA to settle libel litigation over the contents of the book, and later asked that the book be removed from circulation in a notarized letter http://www.life102.com/life102.pdf, stating "the content of the book is no longer one with which I would like to have my name associated".http://www.life102.com/.
In his book The Missionary Position author Christopher Hitchens
criticizes both Mother Teresa
and John-Roger for a staged photo shoot where the two posed together in a studio with a blank backdrop. A blurred backdrop of Calcutta's poor was added later. Hitchens questions the ethics of such a shoot, as well as Mother Teresa for accepting US$10,000 as part of an "Integrity Award" from MSIA, which he describes as having been "exposed in print as corrupt and fanatical".
. Whether or not MSIA should be labeled a cult
is a matter of dispute. Both the movement and its founder have been through alleged scandals (published in People Magazine and the Los Angeles Times among other publications) suggesting financial improprieties as well as sexual misconduct by Hinkins. MSIA gained widespread attention during the senatorial campaign of Michael Huffington
, whose wife, Arianna Huffington
, denied that she was a member of MSIA. [1]
Some researchers of new religions object to the pejorative
term "cult" because all religions go through internal and external disputes. These conflicts are often stereotyped in the press and by others as evidence of cult practices.
On the topic of MSIA's potential to cause harm to its members or the world, James R. Lewis further asserts:
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
") is a 501(c)(3) non-profit religious corporation
Religious corporation
A religious corporation is a type of religious non-profit organization, which has been incorporated under the law. Often these types of corporations are recognized under the law on a subnational level, for instance by a state or province government...
, incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on June 25, 1971. Before incorporation, the group was founded in California in 1968 by John-Roger (formerly Roger Delano Hinkins). The church has about 5,000 active students, mainly in the United States, as well as in 32 countries around the world. MSIA is alleged by some sources to be a religious cult.
History and teachings
MSIA teaches a meditationMeditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
technique known as Spiritual Exercises. Spiritual Exercises (or SEs) are an active meditation technique based on chanting specific sacred Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
words internally, in a similar fashion to the Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
(TM) techniques. MSIA also offers its students a twelve-year study support subscription called Soul Awareness Discourses. Discourses are a program designed to educate students on the teachings of MSIA and assist readers stay focused on their spiritual practices. Both the tones and discourses are held sacred to each student.
The Founder John-Roger (formerly Hinkins) and John Morton are considered to be the leaders of the group and are both referred to as the "Traveler".
Often called a 'church without walls' by its members, MSIA is a religion per se, that provides a set of tools and techniques to teach Soul transcendence. Soul Transcendence, as defined by MSIA, is the process of becoming aware of yourself as a soul and as one with God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. The MSIA teachings draw primarily on the ministry of Jesus Christ ("The Christ Consciousness is the spiritual line of energy undergirding MSIA"); they also include elements of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
, Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and the Sant Mat
Sant Mat
Sant Mat was a loosely associated group of teachers that became prominent in the northern part of the Indian sub-continent from about the 13th century...
/Radhasoami tradition.
Founder
Roger Delano HinkinsRoger Delano Hinkins
Roger Delano Hinkins , known and published as John-Roger, is an American author, public speaker, and founder of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness , as well as several other New Age spiritual and self-help organizations.-Early life and education:Hinkins was born on September 24, 1934, and...
was born on September 24, 1934 to a Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
family in Rains, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Hinkins was raised in Utah and received a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
from the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
in 1958 before moving to San Francisco to work as an insurance claims adjuster
Claims adjuster
Claims adjusters investigate insurance claims by interviewing the claimant and witnesses, consulting police and hospital records, and inspecting property damage to determine the extent of the company’s liability. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, the Caribbean and New Zealand...
before getting a job teaching English at Rosemead High School
Rosemead High School
Rosemead High School is a secondary school located at 9063 East Mission Drive in Rosemead, California, in the ZIP Code 91770. It is a secondary school in the El Monte Union High School District...
in a suburb of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
According to Hinkins' official web site, he first attended the University of Utah, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 1958 and a Secondary Teaching Credential in 1960; he later performed post-graduate work at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles is a public comprehensive university, part of the California State University system...
. Hinkins also holds a California Secondary Life Teaching Credential, and a Doctorate of Spiritual Science from the Peace Theological Seminary & College of Philosophy
Peace Theological Seminary & College of Philosophy
Peace Theological Seminary & College of Philosophy is a theological seminary and the educational arm of the Church of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness...
, an unaccredited institution which Hinkins founded in 1977.
In the early 1960s Hinkins took a correspondence course with the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis
Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis
The Ancient and Mystical Order Rosæ Crucis , also called Rosicrucian Order, is a philosophical and humanist worldwide fraternal organization. Members are known as students...
and occasionally attended the Agasha Temple of Wisdom
Agasha Temple of Wisdom
The Agasha Temple of Wisdom is a spiritualist group founded in 1943 by Richard Zenor. After the publication of James Crenshaw's book Telephone Between Two Worlds in 1950, in which both Zenor and the temple were prominently featured, the temple became more popular...
. Eckankar
Eckankar
Eckankar is a new religious movement founded in the United States in 1965, though practiced around the world long before with a solid following in China. It focuses on spiritual exercises enabling practitioners to experience what its followers call "the Light and Sound of God." The personal...
asserts that Hinkins also joined their group in 1967 and was given a second initiation by its founder Paul Twitchell
Paul Twitchell
Paul Twitchell was an American spiritual writer, author and founder of the group known as Eckankar. He is accepted by the members of that group as the Mahanta, or Living ECK Master of his time. He directed the development of the group through to the time of his death...
in 1968 but this is disputed.
In late 1963 Hinkins underwent a kidney stone
Kidney stone
A kidney stone, also known as a renal calculus is a solid concretion or crystal aggregation formed in the kidneys from dietary minerals in the urine...
surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
, which led to a nine-day coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
and reputed near-death experience. Shortly after this, Hinkins visited two trance-channelers and claimed to have encountered a higher consciousness
Higher consciousness
Higher consciousness, also called super consciousness , objective consciousness , Buddhic consciousness , cosmic consciousness, God-consciousness and Christ consciousness , are expressions used in various spiritual traditions to denote the consciousness of a human being who has reached a...
named 'John within himself', and began referring to himself as John-Roger.
In 1971 Hinkins formally organized MSIA, a new religious movement
New religious movement
A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...
based in California, United States.
Related organizations founded by John-Roger
- Peace Theological Seminary & College of Philosophy (PTS)
- University of Santa MonicaUniversity of Santa MonicaThe University of Santa Monica is a private unaccredited graduate school in Santa Monica, California, offering master’s and doctoral degrees in spiritual psychology.-Mission:...
(USM) - Institute for Individual and World Peace (IIWP)
- Insight SeminarsInsight SeminarsInsight Seminars is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The first seminar was led in 1978 by founders John-Roger and Russell Bishop under the name Insight Training Seminars. Insight has held seminars in 34 countries for adults, teens, and children, in...
- Heartfelt Foundation
- Mandeville Press
Criticism and controversy
MSIA has been criticized by a variety of people over the years, but David C. LaneDavid C. Lane
David Christopher Lane is a professor of philosophy and sociology at Mt. San Antonio College, in Walnut, California. He is most notable for exposing Eckankar as a cult and its founder, Paul Twitchell, as a plagiarist in his book The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul...
and Peter McWilliams
Peter McWilliams
Peter Alexander McWilliams was a writer and self-publisher of best-selling self-help books. He was an advocate for those suffering from depression. And, in his later years, he was a cannabis activist. Terminally ill with AIDS and cancer, he became a vocal campaigner for the legalization of medical...
provide the most substantive body of criticism, both of which focus on the role of founder John-Roger
Roger Delano Hinkins
Roger Delano Hinkins , known and published as John-Roger, is an American author, public speaker, and founder of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness , as well as several other New Age spiritual and self-help organizations.-Early life and education:Hinkins was born on September 24, 1934, and...
. The gist of Lane's criticism of Hinkins is that he uses spiritual teachings taken from Paul Twitchell
Paul Twitchell
Paul Twitchell was an American spiritual writer, author and founder of the group known as Eckankar. He is accepted by the members of that group as the Mahanta, or Living ECK Master of his time. He directed the development of the group through to the time of his death...
's Eckankar
Eckankar
Eckankar is a new religious movement founded in the United States in 1965, though practiced around the world long before with a solid following in China. It focuses on spiritual exercises enabling practitioners to experience what its followers call "the Light and Sound of God." The personal...
, who in turn took them from Radha Soami Satsang Beas
Radha Soami Satsang Beas
Radha Soami Satsang Beas is a spiritual society founded by Jaimal Singh in 1891 at a site called Dera Baba Jaimal Singh on the West bank of the Beas River, Punjab, India....
, with which Lane is actively involved.
Ex-MSIA Minister Peter McWilliams wrote Life 102: What to Do When Your Guru Sues You,
Life 102 (book)
Life 102: What to Do When Your Guru Sues You is a controversial book by the best-selling self-help author Peter McWilliams. Couched in the tone of the author's Life 101 manuals, it levels a series of personal allegations against John-Roger , founder of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness and...
, which was critical of Hinkins. McWilliams also dismisses MSIA as little more than a personality cult. In his book McWilliams asserts that Hinkins suffers from narcissistic personality disorder
Narcissistic personality disorder
Narcissistic personality disorder is a personality disorder in which the individual is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity...
, possibly due to his 1963 coma.
McWilliams chronicles his extended relationship with Hinkins, accusing him of various misrepresentations and improprieties. However, McWilliams later agreed to abandon the copyright to MSIA to settle libel litigation over the contents of the book, and later asked that the book be removed from circulation in a notarized letter http://www.life102.com/life102.pdf, stating "the content of the book is no longer one with which I would like to have my name associated".http://www.life102.com/.
In his book The Missionary Position author Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
criticizes both Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
and John-Roger for a staged photo shoot where the two posed together in a studio with a blank backdrop. A blurred backdrop of Calcutta's poor was added later. Hitchens questions the ethics of such a shoot, as well as Mother Teresa for accepting US$10,000 as part of an "Integrity Award" from MSIA, which he describes as having been "exposed in print as corrupt and fanatical".
Cult allegations
MSIA has frequently been accused of being a Cult of PersonalityCult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
. Whether or not MSIA should be labeled a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
is a matter of dispute. Both the movement and its founder have been through alleged scandals (published in People Magazine and the Los Angeles Times among other publications) suggesting financial improprieties as well as sexual misconduct by Hinkins. MSIA gained widespread attention during the senatorial campaign of Michael Huffington
Michael Huffington
Michael Huffington is an American politician, bisexual activist, and film producer. He was a member of the Republican Party, and a member of the United States House of Representatives for one term, 1993–1995, from California...
, whose wife, Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
, denied that she was a member of MSIA. [1]
Some researchers of new religions object to the pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
term "cult" because all religions go through internal and external disputes. These conflicts are often stereotyped in the press and by others as evidence of cult practices.
On the topic of MSIA's potential to cause harm to its members or the world, James R. Lewis further asserts:
when compared with other movements stigmatized as destructive cults, MSIA is one of the most innocuous groups I have ever studied .. MSIA specifically states that ... anything ... relating to a person's physical life ... is up to each person to decide for himself/herself. In fact, as with joining any mainstream denomination, almost nothing changes in one's lifestyle when one becomes involved in this church ... Given the lack of outward requirements, I have a difficult time imagining how the organization would go about operationalizing "destructiveness" even if the group's leadership decided it wanted MSIA to start acting like a destructive cult – it would be like the Elks ClubBenevolent and Protective Order of ElksThe Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
trying to transform itself into a destructive cult.
Notable persons who have studied in MSIA
- David AllenDavid Allen (author)David Allen is a productivity consultant who is best known as the creator of the time management method known as "Getting Things Done" .He grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana where he acted and won a state championship in debate...
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-10/ff_allen?currentPage=all - Sally KirklandSally KirklandSally Kirkland is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Kirkland was named after her mother, fashion editor Sally Kirkland, who was a fashion editor at Vogue and LIFE magazines, and was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father, Frederic McMichael Kirkland, worked in the scrap...
http://www.sallykirkland.com/pages/ministry.html - Peter McWilliamsPeter McWilliamsPeter Alexander McWilliams was a writer and self-publisher of best-selling self-help books. He was an advocate for those suffering from depression. And, in his later years, he was a cannabis activist. Terminally ill with AIDS and cancer, he became a vocal campaigner for the legalization of medical...
http://www.life102.com/ - Carl WilsonCarl WilsonCarl Dean Wilson was an American rock and roll singer and guitarist, best known as a founding member, lead guitarist and sometime lead vocalist of The Beach Boys...
http://www.sallykirkland.com/pages/ministry.html - Arianna HuffingtonArianna HuffingtonArianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
http://gawker.com/5064930/ariannas-mandatory-cult-meetings