58 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 9, 2018
request soul readings and astrological readings
that the group delivered via cassette. In later
years, the soul readings were mostly reserved for
instrument keepers and GWP members (Bergin,
2003, para. 18). The readings would give
individuals an idea of their purpose in life, how
far along the path of spiritual evolution they
were, expected challenges they might face, and
specific current problems in their lives. Soul
readings supposedly gave information from the
Brotherhood (whom I define following) and
therefore, were far superior to any and all other
sources of spiritual information.
According to the group’s ideology, since
humans are ignorant about the idea that “they
have souls, nevermind [sic] ...that they are
souls” (Carreiro, 1987, pp. 1–2), many people
will spend “thousands of years incarnating
without any spiritual growth at all” (Carreiro,
1987, p. 2). This line of thought creates a
worldview in which the goal of human life is
spiritual evolution, and the afterlife is
reincarnation (i.e., a new life) in order to further
this goal. GWP once more set itself apart from
religion by asserting that religion stunted a
person’s spiritual growth by teaching only
“personal salvation rather than individual
evolution” (Carreiro, 1988a, p. 13). Between
death and rebirth, GWP explained, souls spend
time in the spirit world.
The spirit world allegedly differed from the
human world since the spirit world is
characterized by “satisfaction, ...peace, ...
[and] real beauty. ..[and is] based upon honesty
and reality” (Carreiro, 1988a, p. 128). Residing
in the spirit world, GWP doctrine claimed the
Brotherhood was “a group of male and female
souls dedicated to the evolution of humanity”
(Carreiro, 1987, p. xi) and was the source of
knowledge for the healing instruments and
spiritual matters.
444F
445 In fact, books written and
published by GWP (The Psychology of Spiritual
Growth [1987], Modern Religion &The
Destruction of Spiritual Capacity [1988a], and
Modern Education: Once Size Fits All [1988b])
445 John Miller asserted that members of this spiritual authority
were not aliens, but were tall humans who wore unusual, or
unrecognizable, clothing (John Miller dep., 2005, p. 119).
were accompanied by notes on the covers, which
stated that the information within them was
“Channeled from the Brotherhood.” GWP
leaders claimed to “maintain continuous
telepathic communication with the Brotherhood”
(Carreiro, 1987, p. vii). Through this
communication, GWP staff supposedly received
“telepathic impressions ...of engineering
blueprints” (WERU, 1999) for the healing
instruments. By insisting that the leaders were in
constant communication with the spiritual
authority of the Brotherhood, one would have
had difficulty distinguishing when the speech
was of the sacred or the profane. A member
would have to assume that the spirit world, at
least on some level, influenced anything and
everything that the leaders said.
The implied infusion of the sacred within the
leadership’s words was further elaborated by
experiences of some members. When Garvey
offered to edit the GWP material before it was
disseminated, “the offer was refused with a
smiling face or a blank look” (Bergin, 2003,
para. 29) and often with the “risk of receiving an
insulting ‘soul reading’” (Bergin, 2003, para.
29). Eventually, Bergin and Garvey came to
“rationalize [that they] were ‘giving up our egos’
by letting mistakes go through without
commenting” (Bergin, 2003, para. 29).
Furthermore, GWP staff gave the group
publications’ grammatical and spelling errors
spiritual authority by asserting that “the ‘spirit
world’ want[ed] it and they [were] the only ones
who kn[ew] how to communicate with human
beings. We [were] wrong and they [were] right”
(Bergin, 2003 para. 29). This assertion not only
served to justify the writing mistakes in GWP
literature, but also established the infallibility of
the spirit world, the Brotherhood, and by
extension the authority of the leaders
themselves.
Another aspect of Horie’s definition is selective
syncretism. GWP blended Eastern religious
concepts with Western theosophy. The adoption
of Eastern religious terminology was evident in
some of the healing instruments’ names—for
instance, the Sacred Instrument of the Tao, and
the Shambhala Instrument. GWP also borrowed
other terminology from Eastern religions,
request soul readings and astrological readings
that the group delivered via cassette. In later
years, the soul readings were mostly reserved for
instrument keepers and GWP members (Bergin,
2003, para. 18). The readings would give
individuals an idea of their purpose in life, how
far along the path of spiritual evolution they
were, expected challenges they might face, and
specific current problems in their lives. Soul
readings supposedly gave information from the
Brotherhood (whom I define following) and
therefore, were far superior to any and all other
sources of spiritual information.
According to the group’s ideology, since
humans are ignorant about the idea that “they
have souls, nevermind [sic] ...that they are
souls” (Carreiro, 1987, pp. 1–2), many people
will spend “thousands of years incarnating
without any spiritual growth at all” (Carreiro,
1987, p. 2). This line of thought creates a
worldview in which the goal of human life is
spiritual evolution, and the afterlife is
reincarnation (i.e., a new life) in order to further
this goal. GWP once more set itself apart from
religion by asserting that religion stunted a
person’s spiritual growth by teaching only
“personal salvation rather than individual
evolution” (Carreiro, 1988a, p. 13). Between
death and rebirth, GWP explained, souls spend
time in the spirit world.
The spirit world allegedly differed from the
human world since the spirit world is
characterized by “satisfaction, ...peace, ...
[and] real beauty. ..[and is] based upon honesty
and reality” (Carreiro, 1988a, p. 128). Residing
in the spirit world, GWP doctrine claimed the
Brotherhood was “a group of male and female
souls dedicated to the evolution of humanity”
(Carreiro, 1987, p. xi) and was the source of
knowledge for the healing instruments and
spiritual matters.
444F
445 In fact, books written and
published by GWP (The Psychology of Spiritual
Growth [1987], Modern Religion &The
Destruction of Spiritual Capacity [1988a], and
Modern Education: Once Size Fits All [1988b])
445 John Miller asserted that members of this spiritual authority
were not aliens, but were tall humans who wore unusual, or
unrecognizable, clothing (John Miller dep., 2005, p. 119).
were accompanied by notes on the covers, which
stated that the information within them was
“Channeled from the Brotherhood.” GWP
leaders claimed to “maintain continuous
telepathic communication with the Brotherhood”
(Carreiro, 1987, p. vii). Through this
communication, GWP staff supposedly received
“telepathic impressions ...of engineering
blueprints” (WERU, 1999) for the healing
instruments. By insisting that the leaders were in
constant communication with the spiritual
authority of the Brotherhood, one would have
had difficulty distinguishing when the speech
was of the sacred or the profane. A member
would have to assume that the spirit world, at
least on some level, influenced anything and
everything that the leaders said.
The implied infusion of the sacred within the
leadership’s words was further elaborated by
experiences of some members. When Garvey
offered to edit the GWP material before it was
disseminated, “the offer was refused with a
smiling face or a blank look” (Bergin, 2003,
para. 29) and often with the “risk of receiving an
insulting ‘soul reading’” (Bergin, 2003, para.
29). Eventually, Bergin and Garvey came to
“rationalize [that they] were ‘giving up our egos’
by letting mistakes go through without
commenting” (Bergin, 2003, para. 29).
Furthermore, GWP staff gave the group
publications’ grammatical and spelling errors
spiritual authority by asserting that “the ‘spirit
world’ want[ed] it and they [were] the only ones
who kn[ew] how to communicate with human
beings. We [were] wrong and they [were] right”
(Bergin, 2003 para. 29). This assertion not only
served to justify the writing mistakes in GWP
literature, but also established the infallibility of
the spirit world, the Brotherhood, and by
extension the authority of the leaders
themselves.
Another aspect of Horie’s definition is selective
syncretism. GWP blended Eastern religious
concepts with Western theosophy. The adoption
of Eastern religious terminology was evident in
some of the healing instruments’ names—for
instance, the Sacred Instrument of the Tao, and
the Shambhala Instrument. GWP also borrowed
other terminology from Eastern religions,
