Open Letter to Community

Open Letter to our Community

posted December 8, 2021

In light of events over the past months and the tragic attack at the Capitol this week, we believe it is time to share our views as TOA Leadership. This is not about politics. We celebrate and honor diversity in our members and our communities and TOA will not engage in political stands or debates. However, there is a distinct diversion in the moral compass and rational thought of some in the greater spiritual community. For this reason, we feel a need to make a distinction between our work and service in Temple of Ascension and others.

We vehemently denounce the fear-based and false narratives spread by those associated with so-called Q and Qanon, Infowars and others who spread bigotry and incite fear and division with their baseless narratives. We categorically take issue with the dismissal of scientific facts and research that affect our health and the future of our planet which have even gone so far as to make the words “climate change” forbidden language by governmental agencies.

The conspiracy theorists have been around for decades and their stories are fear-based but give a kernel of hope that exists out in the future. A growing number of people are almost hypnotized by these stories that can steal hours of time away every day. The narratives they spread are hopeless, but they always contain some relief to come in a person or a future event. This keeps those who follow them powerless and controlled. The event never happens and slightly changes every few years, but they maintain manipulation by saying the timeline has changed.

More recently they have made a strategic move toward drawing spiritual workers by using terms such as “lightworker” and the phrase “Where we go one, we go all.” Their videos use meditation music and seem tailored for the new age community. We wish to make it known that we are differentiating our work and the focus of TOA from these conspiracy narratives. For more information, you may want to listen to the podcast Conspirituality, especially episode #3, on Spotify.

We are not implying that all conspiracies are false or that there are “good guys” and “bad guys” as we know many of our leaders are compromised to varying degrees. There is always more than meets the eye and it’s also true that anyone can find experts who lend credence to any position they may choose to believe and just as easily find experts to support the opposite. What is true and what isn’t is not our debate as we endeavor to raise our awareness above the polarities in our lives and our world, holding a space of love and compassion. It is because current conspiracies seek to oppress, victimize, and disenfranchise with false information packaged in “love and light” that we take a stand. Some of the propaganda suggests there is a war on white men or a war on whiteness. This is especially troubling to us.

We stand in solidarity with the fight against systemic racism and the historic oppression of the Black community. As individuals and within our communities, we are committed to understanding our privilege, recognizing our bias, unlearning our internalized dominance, and investing in anti-racism education. It is not possible for us to center these efforts without calling out the harmful rhetoric associated with much of the conspiracy movement.

Thank you for your sacred work and the love and support that you share with others every day. We are honored to stand with you in working toward a more just and loving world.

TOA Oracles

Raven, Crow, and Be