Holy Order of MANS (Blighton, San Francisco, 1968)

Domain XIV · Western esoteric, divinatory & new spiritual movements · Earl Wilbur Blighton · 1968 · San Francisco

What it is

This is a historical new religious movement, not a therapy. There is no clinical method to deliver. The guide gives (a) what historians document about the order, what remains of it today and how it reaches clients, and (b) the psychotherapist's work with clients who were members, grew up in it,…

Format

• Formation, 1966–68. Classes in esoteric Christianity; Science of Man Church; incorporation in 1968. Séances in 1967 produced "psychic messages" that members later attributed to Jesus Christ.
• Successor groups. Groups keeping Blighton's teaching include the Gnostic Order of Christ (formed by former members in October 1988, with a Marian sub-order), the Science of Man Church (re-formed by Ruth Blighton, who died in 2005), the American Temple (which also promotes chromotherapy) and…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Christianisation, 1971–72. The order as a "Christian initiatory community" (Lucas's chapter title). The Book of Activity (1972) was treated as direct revelation. Raphael House opened in San Francisco in 1971. A 1972 San Francisco Chronicle article questioned the founder's authority, the members' vows and his ordination credentials.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• self-blame; loyalty conflicts; retraumatisation from detailed retelling.
• spiritual emptiness, anger turned on self, or rapid joining of another high-demand group.
• health care delayed in favour of colour or light healing claims; secrecy; financial strain.
• pressure not to talk about the group; urgency to pay for further levels; isolation from family.
• the therapist taking sides between eras; replacing one authority's verdict with the therapist's.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.