Seeking the Light: Uncovering the Truth About the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness and Its Founder John-Roger [Hardcover]

James R. Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1998

Researcher and expert in nontraditional religions James R. Lewis explores the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA) from the inside out. His comprehensive study looks at MSIA under a microscope, examining the religious and spiritual heritage of MSIA, and presenting the truth about this so-called controversial movement. His conclusions are enlightening and informative, interesting not only in the context of MSIA, but in relation to our politics, our culture, and our response to alternative religious movements.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Lewis' case study of MSIA is pioneering a maturing phase of the study of New Religious Movements. By combining insights from a generation of studies by sociologists historians and comparative religion scholars he has produced a thorough and balanced study of an important new religion though one little known apart from the several public controversies in which it has been involved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 234 pages
• Publisher: Mandeville Press; First Edition edition (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914829424
• ISBN-13: 978-0914829423
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,334,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN EXCELLENT, SCHOLARLY APPRAISAL OF "JOHN-ROGER'S" MSIA, July 22, 2011

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seeking the Light: Uncovering the Truth About the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness and Its Founder John-Roger (Hardcover)

"John-Roger" (Roger Delano Hinkins, born 1934, and raised as a Mormon in Utah) is the founder of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA), as well as several other New Age spiritual and self-help organizations. James R. Lewis is a researcher who has written other books such as Perspectives on the New Age (SUNY Series in Religious Studies), The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements (Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology), Controversial New Religions, The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions, etc.

Here are some quotations from this 1997 book:

"J-R (John-Roger) himself jokingly commented on his lack of personal magnetism when he jokingly remarked that 'MSIA can't be a cult because a cult is supposed to have a charismatic leader!' This remark seemed to speak directly to the thoughts that were in my mind at the moment. John-Roger was, indeed, one of the least charismatic people I had ever met." (Pg. 7)
"John-Roger thus acknowledges that he studied with Eckankar, but was not, at least according to his own account, every formally initiated into that organization." (Pg. 21)
"J-R ... was also careful to emphasize that MSIA's goal was Soul Transcendence, NOT astral travel." (Pg. 31)
"...very few people became involved in the Movement as a direct result of reading John-Roger's books ... In my survey of 500 current and former members, only two mentioned such books as being primary factors in prompting their participation in the Movement." (Pg. 105)
"If anything, MSIA's spiritual atmosphere seems to be permeated by an anticonversionist ethic. I received the impression that if anyone were to attempt to collar strangers and bring them to MSIA events, he or she would be censured by other members." (Pg. 111)
"Although John-Roger's teachings on wealth are placed in a larger context of well-being (e.g., as presented in the books Wealth & Higher Consciousness and Wealth 101), they nevertheless encourage members to seek a state of healthy prosperity." (Pg. 174-175)
"I must say that, when compared with other movements stigmatized as destructive cults, MSIA is one of the most innocuous groups I have ever studied." (Pg. 218-219)

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's a balanced, no-agenda look at an unusual organization, October 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Seeking the Light: Uncovering the Truth About the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness and Its Founder John-Roger (Hardcover)

I found Seeking the Light to be both interesting and helpful because apparently Dr. Lewis looked at the controversy and decided its sensationalism had no place in a balanced work. He presents a clear account of the historical facts ... .

What I appreciated was learning of the long and deep spiritual roots of the practices presented through MSIA, and the history of the organization that seemed to me to neither play up or play down any part of the story. It is a fascinating objective academic study, not a tabloid tell-all.

Pick apart the book on its literary merits. Leave the personalities and the politics out of it.

I liked the book. I found value in it. I think people who are interested in non-traditional religions - or just in an interesting story of a contemporary spiritual movement will like it too. It's readable. The author is well versed in both the field of spirituality/religion and the specifics of this organization. He presents the story with taste, humor and clarity. What more can one ask of any book?

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lucid, scholarly, imminently readable and useful study., November 29, 1998

By 

J. Morgan "Will B. Spirit-Led" (Topanga, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seeking the Light: Uncovering the Truth About the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness and Its Founder John-Roger (Hardcover)

When I met Jim Lewis in 1996, he was introduced to me as a scholar who was doing field research on the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness as a "New Religious Movement." My immediate reaction was, "Oh-oh," in the wake of some difficult past experiences with journalists and former colleagues who ended up misquoting me and others or using remarks out of context. I have read Jim Lewis's account of MSIA with great satisfaction and admiration, both because of its clarity and quality and also because of Jim's mastery of research and reportage. It is, simply put, a very good read, even for someone who has studied and practiced teachings through MSIA since 1976, as I have.

If you are at all curious about what all the talk about John-Roger has been about, or if you are looking for an experience-based, genuine teaching to "lean into" but are wary of hucksters, ego-maniacs, and others scary points of call, I highly recommend Dr. Lewis's book as a good starting point. If you are doing research on the various so-called new religious movements of the latter 20th Century, you couldn't find a better mentor or example to emulate. And if you are a parent or member of the clergy (I am both), whose child or parishoner has pursued an interest in MSIA, this book should do much to allay your fears and perhaps offer some reassurance.

With his impeccable credentials and breadth and depth of study in both Western and Eastern practices, Jim Lewis is someone who can tell you what some of us have known for many years but could not put so well on paper for a general readership. Here is a scholar not afraid to immerse himself in his subject, allow himself to actually experience what he studies, and then stand back and faithfully report his findings in an appropriately objective way that also expresses great humanity.

As a fellow educator, researcher, and writer with a 30-year background in "New Age" and esoteric/mystical practices here in the West, I take my hat off to Dr. Lewis. Jim, you set a high standard for all of us, and I am especially grateful as a student in MSIA to be able to encounter this subject area through a more objective viewpoint. This book is a great gift and makes a great gift. Thank you.