I Am

Approx. 1934-present
"While climbing Mount Shasta one day, Guy Ballard came face-to-face with the spectral vision of St. Germain, a 'majestic figure' clad in a 'white jeweled robe' with 'light and love sparkling in his eyes.' According to Ballard, the spirit handed hima cup full of 'electronic essence' and a water of 'concentrated energy.' Pretty soon he was flying through space and time toward uncharted lands. That experience encouraged Ballard to start the 'I Am' church, a secular denomination devoted to the worship of St. Germain. And by the end of the 1930s, he had convinced thousands of Angelenos that he could help them overcome anxiety, financial losses, and the Great Depression by chanting daily 'I Am' affirmations written by St. Germain himself. He also taught that one could achieve extraordinary results by focusing the mind on the'Mighty I Am Presence,' a kind of divine power hovering over each individual like a guardian angel. And to prove that it worked, he 'dissolved' three Japanese subs off the coast of Panama in the early 1940s by 'thinking really hard.'" [Paul Young, L.A. Exposed: Strange Myths and Curious Legends in the City of Angels (New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Griffin, 2002): 182.]

(created 15 December 2002)
SOURCE: Paul Young, L.A. Exposed: Strange Myths and Curious Legends in the City of Angels, New York: Thomas Dunne books/St. Martin's Griffin, 2002.