I’m a very private person. You might not guess that based on my blogging and previous social media sharing. But it’s true! Vulnerability doesn’t come easy to me. I can craft perfectly measured words. Yes. But I don’t normally share the inner depths of my soul. Because there are just some things that are better kept within.

But this story is meant to be shared. This post has been imprinted on my heart for almost a year…but I have held it closely. Turned the words over and over in my mind. I have searched the scriptures. Prayed. Discussed with close friends. And weighed my motives.

And now it’s time.

It’s time to share the details about how I turned back to Jesus ALONE after 7 years of pursuing a faith of “Jesus PLUS”.

Jesus + Energy work.
Jesus + Crystals.
Jesus + Affirmations.
Jesus + Yoga.
Jesus + Angels.
Jesus + Manifestation.
Jesus + Oracle cards.
Jesus + Enneagram.

I thought that I was just discovering deeper truth. I thought that these new age practices were a way for me to expand my relationship with God. But the problem is this: Satan will lure you with nine truths and then slip in one lie. Pretty soon, those lies start to pile up…there’s a reason why he’s called the ‘father of lies’.

It started innocently enough. With an energy work session recommended by a friend. I didn’t really even know what that meant at the time, but I had a new business and thought that it would be good to get some mindset coaching. We would talk about God and recite affirmations and she would tell me how my angels were helping me and learn what crystals to use for this or that. Scripture was recited as well, but out of context…and I began to view God in a new way. More like a magical being who could grant me my desires if I just “aligned” my thoughts with his. I could speak into creation whatever I wanted…with God’s help of course.

It was new to me.
And mystical.
Like I had found a secret.
And it felt…good.

But pretty soon, energy work led to oracle cards, which led to smudging the house with sage (fully believing it to purge darkness and evil from the house), which led to manifestation workshops, yoga retreats, and down and down the rabbit hole I went.

I started to feel more and more obsessed with learning more.
I spent tons of money on new age books and paraphernalia.
I went to trainings and seminars to be around the best new age teachers.

“New Age practices are similar to alcoholism, they are progressive and people crave more and more intensity. They may start out with something that seems innocent, but it always leads to darker experiences.” - Doreen Virtue

Little by little, I become desensitized to practices that used to alarm me. In the past I would have been freaked out by everything in that list above…because I have been a Jesus-loving Christian for as long as I can remember. Our family went to church multiple times a week. I was a counselor at Bible camp. I went to every Christian music festival. I never stopped following Jesus…but I did stop seeking Him.

When people who knew my love for Christ would question me about it…I would blow them off and tell them that it’s all light. It’s all truth.

But it wasn’t. It was SO far from the truth that we find in the Bible.

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” 1 John 1:6
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” 1 Cor 10:21

Darkness cannot co-exist with light. And yet…that’s the very thing I was trying to force every day. I thought that if I stuck to the “love and light” side of new age…and never worshipped a statue of Buddha, that I wasn’t truly doing any harm. But behind the love and light message is exactly where the darkness hides.

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Cor 11:14

Eventually my Bible got dusty and instead, my oracle cards and crystals and sage were being used daily. Yoga took the place of my time in the word. Being “spiritual” instead of being committed to Christ became my new goal. My bookshelves were filled with more and more new age books…all with the same messages:

We are all one.
No one is going to hell.
There is no evil in the world.
There is more than one way to heaven.
There is no absolute truth.
God is within you.
You are like God.

As I was swept further and further away, one of the strange things that happened was that I never wanted to listen to worship music…I would tell Matt to turn it off in the car because it drove me crazy. He would look at me like I was crazy and then turn it off.

And then I would turn on secular music. Music that glorified self and the world and it’s evils. Funny enough, I’ve read accounts of other people who were deceived by the new age who have had a similar experience.

Thinking back on that is so weird to me, because now I can’t get enough worship music into my day. But back then, my kids could sing every word in step with Lizzo, and that fact still didn’t wake me up from this coma. I know there are many beautiful songs that aren’t created specifically for worship, but for me in that moment…it represented rebellion.

I was watching Netflix shows that glorified witchcraft and pagan practices. Everyone else was watching these shows too…so I never stopped to think whether that was grieving the heart of God. Our culture is filled to the brim with opportunities to choose sin. You don’t have to go far to have a buffet of options.

I personally didn’t have to go far at all…because I had started to choose friends who were pursuing the same things. These friends claimed to be “Christian”, so at the time it seemed ok. But looking back, those friends had neither a relationship with Christ, nor a true knowledge of what the Bible actually said.

I have always been a super happy and well-adjusted person…I handle difficulty well. I rarely have days that I feel “down”. BUT…during my time dabbling in all of this, I started to sense true darkness WITHIN. I just felt sad. And cynical. At one point…during a particularly challenging season of life, I had fleeting thoughts of “What would it be like if I was just gone?”. I had NEVER once in my life ever had a thought like that cross my mind. And to be clear, I was never even close to being suicidal or harming myself. What it felt like to me at the time was that someone or something “planted” that thought in my mind. It felt demonic and dark. I immediately prayed to Jesus to get these thoughts out…and they left.

I absolutely believe that because of what I had allowed in my life, a door of opportunity for demonic attack had been opened.

We were still going to church during this time…but we had transitioned to a church that preached a “new” gospel that aligned with progressive Christianity theology. Many attending questioned the Bible and what it truly said about lifestyle choices. They preached a faith that was based more on emotions and feeling good than on Biblical truths. And that led me into further confusion.

Around this same time, certain people started to “disappear” from my life. One after the other. Some quite dramatically and in strange ways. People I had relied upon for energy work and “guidance”. People I valued and loved dearly.

But those people had taken GOD’s place in my life.

Every day, I looked to these people instead of God. I sought their opinions and their wisdom instead of God’s word. And I may never know if it was God’s hand that removed them…but it sure seems likely.

Because as soon as they were gone, EVERYTHING changed.

Over the course of 2020-2021, I received a heart transplant. The spirit within me was NEW. It didn’t happen in ONE moment that I can pinpoint, but it did happen while I read the entire Bible from cover to cover and studied it for hours each day. I craved God’s word…and He spoke to me through it in such a personal way.

As I read, I was blown away by the number of times God talks about divination (to uncover hidden knowledge by supernatural means), “interpreting omens”, mediums, magic, and fortune telling. I had never thought about how looking for answers outside of God and the Bible was a sort of “spiritual adultery”. A true act of rebellion. It was a huge wake up call. I got rid of EVERYTHING related to new age beliefs that I had acquired…books, cards, crystals, sage, jewelry, and more.

Our home became filled with worship music 24/7. My girls started studying the Bible with us and singing and memorizing scripture. My relationships were richer and filled with meaning. God brought NEW friends in…friends who knew him and who encouraged me along the way. We moved across the country and started our new life in South Dakota.

God is patient and merciful beyond measure. And for that I am so grateful. But there are always consequences when you walk away from God. When you drive off the path He has for you, it gets bumpy.

You lose time.
You lose relationships.
You lose yourself.

I had unknowingly entered a war zone…and the battle was for my soul.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. 1 Pet. 5:8-9

I’m so thankful for my friends and family (and my sweet Matt…bless him) who prayed for me during these 7 years of wandering. They saw where I was headed and cared enough to petition God to keep me safe during the war. And HE DID. He pulled me out of sinking sand and put my feet on the solid rock.

He held his arms out to me…and I ran home.

If you’re headed down this same path…I’m begging you to open your eyes to what the Bible says about these practices. If you’re confused and not sure what to think…just read your Bible and ask God to show you the truth. The holy spirit will speak to your heart. He wants you back.

I realize that some of you may not understand why certain practices I listed above are considered new age. I’ll do my best to briefly describe why below and give you some additional resources to check out. This is not a list of me telling you all the things that “aren’t ALLOWED” as a Christian, it’s simply a list of practices that turn you away from God. Every single one puts the focus on something or someone else.

God wants your WHOLE HEART. None of the things on this list need to be added for you to be fulfilled spiritually. Use discernment and pray about each item that you might be struggling with. And READ THE BIBLE! God will speak to you through His word.

Disclaimer: I share many links below…and while I always try to share only super solid teachers and testimonials, I can’t personally endorse everything that is said or written.

Energy work
This seemed so innocent to me in the beginning. But deceiving, because there are MANY energy workers who consider themselves to be Christian. But the problem lies in this: “The use of energy healing encourages us to put our full trust in ourselves and our own bodies, which is a form of worship. For most who participate in energy healing, no recognition is given to the one true God, nor does He receive any praise for healing. The person using these methods of healing has made himself into his own god. Getting involved in energy healing is spiritually dangerous, to say the least.” (gotquestions.org)

I never felt lasting peace from these sessions…not the kind of peace Jesus offers. I was constantly trying to “fix” myself or make sure I was thinking the right thing. New age practices are exhausting to maintain, and are very works-based. It was a relief to be done with all of it!

If you are taking part in reiki or energy work and feel that there is nothing wrong with it…remember that just because something “feels good” or “appears to work” doesn’t mean it’s biblical. Consider the source of their healing “powers”…demons can mimic God’s powers (which is why it may appear to be successful). Reiki and energy work is not from God.

*Energy work/energy healing, reiki, and chakra work are also discussed in some of the other videos I link below.

What does the Bible say about energy healing?
Reiki Deception

Crystals
Crystals are beautiful! It’s no wonder people love to collect them and look at them and display them. Crystals and precious gemstones are talked about in the Bible…but not the USE of crystals in the way we see them being used today. They are widely used in new age practices for energy healing/reiki, mood altering, and protection. Crystals have been associated with new age for a LONG time. It’s just recently that they have become somewhat of a “trend” or fascination in our culture.

When you start to believe that crystals are healing you, that they have power to change your life, or that you need to “cleanse” your crystals or arrange them in a specific shape to get their power…you’re starting to rely on them for something that only God can provide.

I personally chose to get rid of all of my crystals. They represented that time of my life and I didn’t want to see them. But if you’ve never used them that way, it could be totally fine for you to use them as decor or in jewelry. I find it to be a very slippery slope…and if you look at the history of crystal use, it’s mainly for occult rituals, new age practices, and witchcraft. I think this one isn’t quite as black and white…so pray and ask for discernment.

Can Christians use Crystals? The Biblical Answer.
Crystals: A Christian Perspective

Yoga
This was initially a hard one for me, because I was heavily entrenched in the yoga scene. It started innocently…like it does for many. I wanted to get in shape and relax. But the National Institute of Health did a study, and statistics say that 62 percent of students and 85 percent of teachers reported having changed their primary reason for practicing (source). I absolutely found this to be true. My experience with yoga (I even pursued teacher training) spurred my interest in new age probably more than anything.

When someone says to me, “yoga is ok because Jesus has redeemed it”…I don’t believe that to be a true statement. There isn’t one instance in the Bible where Jesus redeems a pagan practice. The bottom line is that yoga is a religious path that is wholly focused on Hindu deities. The word yoga means “to yoke” and the goal is to yoke your spirit to God (but not the God of the Bible). It’s in direct opposition of our faith in Christ. When you dig deeper in the origins, you might be quite surprised. I would encourage you to read through the site I’m linking below.

This site (Truth Behind Yoga) helps explain the deception that happening with yoga and her book “The Shattering” is also a powerful account of her experience with the dark side of the new age.

Former Kundalini Yoga Teacher Reveals All
The Truth About Yoga - Angela Marie Ucci
Why I Stopped Teaching Yoga and Reiki, to Follow Jesus
Yoga Isn’t What it Seems (interview with Rae Darabont)
10 Yoga Poses that Offer Worship to Hindu Deities
Non-Yoga Stretching YouTube channel - Caitlin Englebert

Angels
Worshipping and elevating angels as a guiding force in your life is found no where in the Bible. The Bible does talk about angels and how they help us and how God uses them. But true angels will never accept worship from us. In fact, praying to angels is strictly forbidden in the Bible. I was not clear on this when I was working with my energy workers…and when they were telling me I should pray to this angel for this, and another angel for this…it all sounded good! I wanted help from them!! But Jesus teaches us that we are to pray only to God our father for our needs.

Affirmations and Manifestation
This one goes along the same lines as energy work and it’s WILDLY popular right now. Once you open your eyes to it, you’ll see that it’s everywhere. It’s the belief that I alone CREATE MY REALITY with my words and thoughts. It is SELF-centered vs. GOD centered. Affirmations and positive thinking aren’t anything new on the scene…but they have never been associated with Christ. The “power of positive thinking” gets mistakenly thought of as being in the Bible…but in fact, it originated with Norman Vincent Peale and his new age beliefs. The idea revolves around the premise that “what you say determines what will happen to you”. The biblical truth is that what God ordains is what happens to you. He alone is in control of our lives. So what should we be thinking about?

…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8-9

When our thoughts are on Jesus, our eyes are on scripture, and the fruit of the spirit is growing in our life, These are the things that create a beautiful life.

This is a fantastic video that will dive deeper into these beliefs and why they are so popular today:
The Law of Attraction Explained & Debunked
Why Positive Affirmations Don't Work and Self-Love is Toxic
Starving the Fairytale: A New Model for Self-Discovery

Oracle cards
This is one thing that I thought I would never dabble in…because I KNEW that tarot cards were definitely not in alignment with what I believed. But I gradually started to put oracle cards in the category of “not as bad as tarot cards” and I tried them. Turns out, they are super addicting. Similar to tarot, you choose cards…turn them over, and then read what they say about you and your life. But because they were so pretty and full of rainbows, I justified it and even involved my girls in it, which now grieves my heart. Nowhere in scripture does it tell us to get our wisdom in this way. Only the opposite is true…the Bible warns continually about it!

Doreen Virtue, one of the well-known new age teachers I loved and whose Angel Cards led me into my card obsession, completely turned from all of it and started following & teaching about Jesus instead. She now interviews people who have a similar story of leaving the new age.

This is also a fascinating video about the objects in your home: Occult Objects in Your House Give Demons Legal Ground

Enneagram
I dove head first into this one…as many have these days. The Enneagram is EVERYWHERE and has infiltrated our churches as well. I LOVED it. I did. I told everyone about it. I thought it was so helpful and insightful. But after learning about it’s occult origins and complete lack of science, I stopped using it and recommending it immediately. I’ve seen the enneagram become an idol in so many people’s lives…as well as an excuse for sin in their life (i.e. the test told me I’m just an angry confrontational person…I can’t help it!).

Within the church, we are unfortunately seeing a growing love affair with generalized new age ideas as well as hedonism, gnosticism, spiritism, and extra-biblical revelation. And now the enneagram is being embraced by many churches as well. It’s pretty startling…but what I’m finding is that many who are promoting it have never looked at it’s origins or thought about how it may be leading them astray.

Here are a couple of resources for you to learn more about it:

Richard Rohr & The Enneagram Secret
Why Christians Should Avoid the Enneagram

Resources for further study
I found all of these helpful…but just a little disclaimer. I can’t endorse everything that is said or put out by anyone. Please use your OWN discernment and compare everything you hear from a human to the actual word of God! Humans make mistakes. Humans learn and then change their minds. Also…when I was first starting to “wake up”…super black and white teachings turned me off. But the more I read and compared what I learning to scripture, it all started to click. So if you’re immediately offended by something here…be sure to examine that offense closer and use the Bible, not your heart’s reaction.

YouTube Channels:
Melissa Dougherty
Doreen Virtue
Steven Bancarz

YouTube Videos I have found helpful:
Angela Ucci’s testimony (while I was never into astrology or tarot, it’s ALL the same)
Her Instagram and YouTube channel always have great stuff too.

Jenn Nizzo - a former psychic, now believer. In many cases, the energy work I was having done would be considered psychic work (to include communicating with the dead), even though I hated calling it that. Much a Jenn’s content rings true to my experiences.

Book List on Amazon

I hope this post has been helpful for you! My desire is to shed some light on these practices that have “snuck into” many people’s Christian faith. Please share it with friends and family who want to know more about the deceptions of the New Age.

If you don’t know Jesus as your savior…He can set you free! He is such a kind and patient father who wants your heart! Reach out to me…I would love to talk with you you and show you how simple it is to welcome Him into your life.

i want to know jesus!

I would like write more about many of these topics…and will be adding related posts. I also blog about our life on our farm and gardens quite regularly! We’re currently remodeling our 1895 farmhouse, so there is a lot of fun to share. Be sure to subscribe to my email list below to get notified when I post!