"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast
of the field which the LORD God had made."
(Genesis 3:1)
How can anything as apparently so utterly innocuous as a colouring book actually be HARMFUL? Preposterous, yes? Hasn't such a thing been an essential part of everyone's childhood? Haven't we all sat down with a set of pencils or crayons or felt-tip pens or inevitably filthy water colours, and endeavoured (and usually failed) to keep within the lines and not end up with an indescribable daub? Surely to even suggest that a colouring book of all things can be potentially DANGEROUS is to have completely lost the plot? I only wish that was indeed so, but sadly it is all too true! That old serpent is nothing if not subtle in the way he baits his traps...
Have you perhaps noticed that a huge market has now sprung up for colouring books, a market that is catering not for children but for adults? It has taken off massively, with the activity being enthusiastically promoted as being a wonderful way of "taking time out" and creatively "chilling" in the midst of an increasingly chaotic and furiously paced lifestyle, that has become the 21st. century norm.
The Works' enticing window display in Neath, South Wales.
"Appearing at the top of every book chart, adults are going crazy for the therapeutic task of doodling and colouring in and here at The Works you can find a great range of Adult Colouring books!"
(Source: http://www.theworks.co.uk)
They aren't exaggerating. The range of books in this category currently available from this retailer alone extends to 200+ items! Let's trawl through their lengthy list, and note some of the titles available:
Meditative Mandalas
Mandala Colouring Book
Mandala Art Therapy
Mandala Design
The Meditative Mandalas Colouring Book
Tranquil Oceans Mandalas
Art Therapy Mandalas
The Mandala Colouring Book
Mandalas For Mindfulness
The Art of Mindfulness
Art For Mindfulness
Colour Yourself To Mindfulness
Mindfulness Colouring
Dream Catchers Mindfulness
Dream Catchers Mindfulness
The Little Book of Mindfulness Colouring
Cats - Colouring For Mindfulness
Sacred Nature Colouring Book
Sacred Symbols Colouring Book
Enchanted Colouring Book
Spiritual Colouring book
The Meditation Colouring Book
Art Therapy: Buddhism
Zen Doodling Mandalas
The Zen Colouring Book
Zen Doodle Origami
(And so on and so forth...)
Are you getting the picture? (No pun intended!) If you are a born-again believer reading this, and are not feeling quite sickened in your spirit, or not at the very least raising a quizzical eyebrow in reaction, then that should be a cause for considerable concern... because all this is a veritable tsunami of New Age seduction! And New Age in a nutshell is simply Hindu-Buddhist spirituality re-packaged for the Western mindset, and standing in complete pagan opposition to the Christian Faith.
The vast majority of the people rushing to buy these books and sharpen their brightly coloured pencils, undoubtedly have no idea at all as to what exactly they are really getting themselves into. What they see as a pleasant stress-relieving pastime of creating pretty patterns, is in reality a soft and subtle introduction to and initiation into the world of the occult!
You will note in the above titles the prominence of two particular M words: MANDALAS and MINDFULNESS. So let's look at what these actually are.
MANDALAS are essentially the visual equivalent of mantras, serving the same purpose through the formulation of a pattern as does the repetition of a word or words in a mantra. Mandalas and mantras are both occult methods of assisting a person to "centre" i.e. enter into an altered state of consciousness, or "the silence" as it is often referred to. It is all about putting the mind "on hold" so to speak, an "emptying" which can even involve entering into a trance. Emptying, by its very nature, leaves a void which can then be filled with an alternative to what has been displaced. When the natural is suspended in such a way, the supernatural easily comes to the fore. It's why meditation is a time-honoured fast-track method of making contact with "the spirit realm."
MINDFULNESS might be described as "entry level" Eastern meditation. If you've not encountered this word and concept before, you'll soon come across it everywhere. In educational establishments for all ages, and in all manner of workplaces, mindfulness is coming in big time! It's seen and promoted as an aid to focus, non-confrontational behaviour and enhanced productivity, and is being sold to society at large as the greatest thing since sliced bread. In mindfulness, the New Age has stealthily and successfully invaded every sector of society, and its rapid advance seems as unstoppable as a runaway train, with so many singing its praises so loudly. But make no mistake about it, mindfulness = meditation, and as stressed above, meditation is a classic occult discipline, allowing a practitioner to thereby make contact with and have dialogue with what are demonic entities, presenting themselves as being "the Ascended Masters" and "spirit guides."
AS THE OLD SAYING GOES, CAVEAT EMPTOR: LET THE BUYER BEWARE! THESE COLOURING BOOKS ARE A BARBED HOOK, CUNNINGLY DISGUISED WITH AN EYE-CATCHING FLY. THE UNSUSPECTING FISH BITES THE BAIT, AND IS CAREFULLY REELED IN. THEY NEED TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR WHAT THEY ARE, AND AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS!
The vast majority of the people rushing to buy these books and sharpen their brightly coloured pencils, undoubtedly have no idea at all as to what exactly they are really getting themselves into. What they see as a pleasant stress-relieving pastime of creating pretty patterns, is in reality a soft and subtle introduction to and initiation into the world of the occult!
You will note in the above titles the prominence of two particular M words: MANDALAS and MINDFULNESS. So let's look at what these actually are.
MANDALAS are essentially the visual equivalent of mantras, serving the same purpose through the formulation of a pattern as does the repetition of a word or words in a mantra. Mandalas and mantras are both occult methods of assisting a person to "centre" i.e. enter into an altered state of consciousness, or "the silence" as it is often referred to. It is all about putting the mind "on hold" so to speak, an "emptying" which can even involve entering into a trance. Emptying, by its very nature, leaves a void which can then be filled with an alternative to what has been displaced. When the natural is suspended in such a way, the supernatural easily comes to the fore. It's why meditation is a time-honoured fast-track method of making contact with "the spirit realm."
MINDFULNESS might be described as "entry level" Eastern meditation. If you've not encountered this word and concept before, you'll soon come across it everywhere. In educational establishments for all ages, and in all manner of workplaces, mindfulness is coming in big time! It's seen and promoted as an aid to focus, non-confrontational behaviour and enhanced productivity, and is being sold to society at large as the greatest thing since sliced bread. In mindfulness, the New Age has stealthily and successfully invaded every sector of society, and its rapid advance seems as unstoppable as a runaway train, with so many singing its praises so loudly. But make no mistake about it, mindfulness = meditation, and as stressed above, meditation is a classic occult discipline, allowing a practitioner to thereby make contact with and have dialogue with what are demonic entities, presenting themselves as being "the Ascended Masters" and "spirit guides."
"They encourage themselves in an evil matter:
they commune of laying snares privily;
they say, Who shall see them?"
(Psalm 64:5)
