I wrote recently about Mount Shasta, the spiritual place in northern California. I thought I would write a little about an interesting character called Guy Ballard who is closely linked with this place.
Living at the base of the California volcano Mount Shasta in 1930, Ballard frequently hiked on the mountain. According to Guy Ballard, while hiking on Mount Shasta, he encountered a man who introduced himself as Count of St. Germain, who is said to have started Ballard on the path to discovering the teachings that would become the “I AM” Activity religious movement.
‘It came time for lunch, and I sought a mountain spring for clear, cold water. Cup in hand, I bent down to fill it, when an electrical current passed through my body from head to foot. I looked around, and directly behind me stood a young man who, at first glance, seemed to be someone on a hike like myself. I looked more closely and realised immediately that he was no ordinary person. As this thought passed through my mind, he smiled and addressed me saying:
“My Brother, if you will hand me your cup, I will give you a much more refreshing drink than spring water.” I obeyed, and instantly the cup was filled with a creamy liquid. Handing it back to me, he said: “Drink it”.
The young man later identified himself as the Count of St. Germain. Ballard provided details of his encounters with St. Germain and other Ascended Masters in the books Unveiled Mysteries and The Magic Presence, under the pen name Godfré Ray King.
Guy Ballard, his wife Edna, and their son Edona Eros “Donald” Ballard claimed to be the sole “accredited messengers” of Saint Germain. Their teachings constitute the original nucleus of what are today called the “Ascended Master Teachings” and are still used in “I AM” places of worship all over the world.
According to the group’s teachings, ascended masters are believed to be individuals who have left the reincarnation cycle of re-embodiment. The “I AM” Activity Movement is the original ascended master teachings religious movement founded in the early 1930s by Guy Ballard and his wife Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard. It’s an offshoot of theosophy and a major forerunner of several New Age religions. The movement had up to a million followers by the late 1930s and is still active today albeit on a smaller scale. They are Christian and believe Jesus is one of the more important ascended masters.