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JZ Knight, founder of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment, was born in Roswell, New
Mexico where she experienced psychic and paranormal phenomenon from an early age. An
elderly Yacqui Indian woman held JZ in her arms when she was a mere infant and
declared that she was destined to "see what no one else sees." Then, when JZ was
older, she and some friends saw "blinding red flashes of light" while at a sleepover.
The light abruptly stopped, and the girls apparently forgot the bizarre incident.
Years later, JZ recalled the strange flashing lights. She was intrigued by their cause
and why she had forgotten about them. JZ believed UFO's or some higher power may have
been responsible, beginning her interest in the paranormal.
Despite a turbulent childhood caused by an alcoholic father, she graduated high school
and went on to a small business college. Financial difficulties forced her to quit
school, but she managed to get a decent job with a cable company. In 1973, she started
her own communications company. Her coworkers quickly found that JZ had an uncanny
ability to determine when (and to whom) to sell. In fact, some of them believed she
could predict the future.
Whatever psychic influence JZ had might have been inherited from her mother, who
claimed she could foresee the future in her dreams. JZ's mother knew about a family
member's death or even whether JZ made the school majorette team before the event
occurred.
JZ's psychic experiences continued, helping her to realize that she was indeed special.
One psychic saw a great force within JZ, a force nearly as powerful as Jesus Christ.
This force would help bring peace to the world. Later, an event occurred that can only
be described as a miracle. A friend had forced JZ to see an evangelical healer due to
her faltering health. JZ, who had become disillusioned with the hypocritical church
long ago, openly denounced the minister's healing powers. In that instant, a flash of
blue light knocked the minister down. The congregation was stunned. JZ was cured of her
ills. She believed she had seen the hand of God.
One of the most important events in her life occurred when she accompanied her friend
to a psychic reading one afternoon. The psychic took a strong interest in JZ. She
predicted that JZ would move to a place with "great mountains" and "tall pines." This
was where she would meet The One. This entity, the psychic foresaw, would give JZ "great
influence" and destiny. Sure enough, JZ received a job offer in the mountain country
of Tacoma, Washington. She took the job with the psychic's powerful words echoing in the
back of her mind.
The next few years were uneventful in terms of paranormal phenomenon, but JZ and her
second husband Jeremy dabbled in psychic communication and mysticism. Jeremy
, in particular, became interested in the properties of pyramids, which were believed to
harness psychic energy. One day in February, 1977, while JZ and Jeremy were playing
with some pyramids in their home, The One appeared before her.
Standing in her kitchen a mere ten feet from JZ was an enormous figure, dressed in
flowing robes and surrounded by purple light. He proclaimed, "I am Ramtha, the
Enlightened One. I have come to help you over the ditch." He went on to say to a
bewildered JZ: "It is the ditch of limitation and fear I will help you over. For you
will, indeed, beloved woman become a light unto the world." Ramtha then warned JZ that
she was in danger and she must leave the house immediately, at which point he
disappeared. JZ heeded this warning, moving her family into a new home. Days later, the
house was ransacked by thugs. The trusting relationship between JZ and Ramtha was thus
cemented.
The Beginning of RSE
With the help of experts in the field of psychic communication and channeling, JZ was
able to turn her body over to Ramtha so that he could spread his teachings. Ramtha first
spoke to the public in 1978, when he made an impact with his vast knowledge and
insight. The local media soon picked up on this story helping Ramtha's (and JZ's)
popularity to spread. The fact that Ramtha emerged in the heart of the New Age movement
considerably helped his cause; people were lining up to hear him speak. JZ became a full
time channel and began charging money for admittance (an idea brought to her by Ramtha
himself). Even Actresses Shirley McLean and Joan Hackett became disciples of Ramtha
(The Enlightened One predicted McLean would win the "highest award" for her role in
Terms of Endearment). Knight's popularity among the stars lead to her appearance on the
Merv Griffin Show in 1985.
The RSE Today
JZ's school has earned her millions of dollars and lots of adoration. She is among the
leading New Age channelers with 3000 followers. Disciples come to her ranch in Yelm,
Washington to learn the Great Work (see Beliefs and Practices). Ramtha offers courses
for beginners and advanced students which are designed to let the disciples harness their
divine powers. Aside from lectures by Ramtha, the students participate in "field work"
which is designed to focus their concentration and energy (C&E;). Field work usually
involves searching a vast field for index cards while blindfolded. JZ also built a
massive maze known as the Tank in her ranch which she uses for various lessons. Although
the lessons seem strange to the students and outsiders, each one has a specific purpose
that progresses them on the path to enlightenment.
Ramtha's School tends to attract an older audience than most New Age Movements. The
average age for a beginning student is mid-thirties, with some starting as young as age
6, however. According to a study of the advanced students, the typical students "are in midlife,
have high levels of education and occupational prestige, and are now choosing to orient
themselves in a new direction."
The RSE has become more commercial in the late 1990's. Students must purchase and watch
an introductory video before attending classes. The sale of Ramtha books, video's, and
audio cassettes has become a profitable business.
JZ's success, however, is not without a price. Critics claim that JZ is a fraud, and that she uses mind control techniques. Lawsuits have hurt her in recent years, including a case brought by her ex-husband who says she used Ramtha's influence to coerce him out of a fair divorce settlement (see controversies).
Ramtha's teachings are encompassed in a work known as the White Book, and these ideas
are based on ancient Gnosticism of the Mediterranean. The core principles of Ramtha's
School are 1) a supreme deity is a part of every man, and 2) the key to reaching the God
within us is through Gnosis or knowledge.
Who Is Ramtha?
Ramtha is a 35,000 year old warrior from the ancient city of Lemuria. The Lemurians
were oppressed by highly advanced citizens of Atlantis because they believed the
Lemurians were "soulless." At age 14, Ramtha led a small army against the Atlantians and
defeated them. More people joined his army, and he soon became a great warrior. He was
stabbed severely during one battle, but miraculously he did not die. His enemies began
to believe he was immortal. Ramtha "learned the mysteries of the unknown god and became
enlightened" during the seven years he was recovering from his wound. He rose through
higher levels of consciousness and eventually transformed into a being of light. He
ascended as a God, but vowed to return.
Indeed, 35,000 years later, Ramtha returned to meet JZ Knight. Ramtha chose to channel
through JZ rather than present himself in human form for several reasons. First, he did
not want to be worshipped as a deity, but rather an equal. He felt that if he presented
himself, he would be idolized by his students. Second, his human form limited him to a
male entity. Channeling himself through a woman presented the dual male/female nature of
God. Third, for reasons of his own, he believed JZ Knight was especially suited to the
task at hand.
Ramtha's Worldview
Ramtha's goal with beginner students is to break them away from the traditional Western
worldview. This worldview limits the individual and suppresses his power as a divine
being. Ramtha aims to make the student not only believe in his divine power, but to
manifest it.
The universe started as a Void of nothingness. This Void "turned in upon itself"
creating consciousness and energy. Conciousness and Energy fused together causing the
Void to become aware of itself. This awareness was represented in the Void as single-
dimensional entity called Point Zero. Other dots of awareness formed, and the high
energy reactions between the various dots created time and space. As these dot entities
interacted, seven energy levels developed. The entities of awareness left Point Zero to
"explore" other levels of the Void in order to "make known the unknown." As the entities
progressed from Point Zero (the highest level) to level 1, energy and time slowed. At
the lower levels, the entities took on form and substance. When the entities reached the
first level, they "coagulated" into human form. It was at this level that life as we
know it began.
This theory of Creation is difficult to grasp. The main point, however, is that
consciousness exists on multiple levels, with human form being the lowest. The higher
the level, the greater the level of consciousness. The entities (Gods) used
consciousness to create objects at their whim. In other words, they manifested their
dreams to create all the objects in the world. The Gods came down to the lowest levels
to experience life in its material form, but they still had their divine powers.
The early humans could easily move between levels and manifest their dreams or desires.
Over time, however, this ability was lost. Ramtha's School of Enlightenment allows
students to regain these powers, and carry on the task of Gods: to make known the
unknown.
Humans often move to other consciousness levels without realizing it. The most common
occurrence is moving up to the second level while dreaming. Near-death experiences,
psychic visions and other phenomenon can be attributed to moving to another plane of
consciousness.
When humans lost the power of the Gods, they fell into the "ditch of limitation," the
same ditch that Ramtha mentioned during his first encounter with JZ. Ramtha holds the
Church partly responsible for this limitation when it "took God outside of Man, [and]
put him far, far away." The Church "unenlightened" man by claiming that God is far
superior to humans. Ramtha's teachings indicate that the Church "created" God to keep
men in line. He even goes so far as to say Hell and the devil were "created through
religious dogma for the purpose of intimidating the masses into a controllable
organization."
The Great Work
The Great Work of Ramtha's teachings is literally manifesting dreams and desires. In
essence, the Great Work requires reaching maximum potential of the mind. The key to
manifestations lies in the cerebrum, which, according to Ramtha, has the power to make
dreams a reality. In the past, humans would hold a dream or desire in their mind, and it
would manifest. Today, humans play a passive role to manifestations. They absorb the
world around them in their mind, and this then becomes reality. In a sense, they are
trapped in the present reality. Ramtha desires to teach students the power to manifest
any desire and make known the unknown.
Is JZ a Channeler?
JZ has undergone a lot of scrutiny as one of the most prominent American channelers.
Her overall performance as Ramtha is seamless. While she is channeling, her posture,
walk, voice and the color of her eyes changes. Actress Linda Evans, a student of
Ramtha's, argued that if JZ is a fraud then "she is the greatest actress in the world."
Other evidence points to the contrary. One of JZ's business managers saw her
"practicing" the Ramtha personality. Her husband Jeff Knight also noticed her slip in
and out of the trance to take cigarette breaks (JZ, unlike Ramtha, was a smoker).
Criticism of the RSE
Publicity surrounding Ramtha's School has been negative for the most part in recent
years. A 20/20 segment portrayed JZ as a fraud who was exploiting peoples' beliefs in
Ramtha for money. The show also claimed that Ramtha was teaching people that they are
above morality due to their divine status. These beliefs, they surmised, could only lead
to amoral behavior. The 20/20 exposure led to more attacks from the press on JZ and the
School.
J. Gordon Melton, a leading scholar on new religious movements, thoroughly investigated
the RSE and found that these criticisms were unfounded. Melton attributes most of the
bad press to sensationalist journalism that critiques unconventional beliefs for a good
story. Furthermore, anti-cult and counter-cult sentiments are popular with Americans,
which intensifies the controversy.
Anti-cultists respond that Melton's book is biased because (1) Melton was hired to
testify for JZ in a court case against her in 1992, (2) JZ provided funding for the book
and (3) Melton established close ties with JZ and the school during the research thus
damaging his credibility as an objective researcher. Melton also neglected to mention
several incidents where people were injured during blindfolded field activities.
Criticism from the public caused JZ to withdraw from the public in the early 1990's.
During this period she devoted her time to her school and to Ramtha. Under Ramtha's
guidance, she reappeared to the public in the late 1990's. As Ramtha's school continues
to succeed, it is receiving "signs of a certain legitimacy among the religious
community."
Scandals
Several scandals have marred JZ's reputation among the religious community. The first
involves a student of Ramtha's who was hired to run stress management programs for the
Federal Aviation Administration in 1984. This student, Gregory May, a psychologist from
California, used techniques that were "far beyond routine." Some of the training
activities involved tying employees together for long periods of time, forcing women to
shower together, sleep deprivation and verbal abuse. Several employees brought charges
against the FAA for trauma occasioned by May.
Another scandal occurred because of JZ's fondness for horses. Overstepping her
boundaries as a religious leader, she advised some of her students to invest in Arabian
horses. These students followed her advice as if advised by Ramtha himself. Many of them
lost money in this venture and bitterly left the school. Later, JZ compensated them for
their losses, but the damage had been done. She had given the critics ammunition to use
against her.
In addition to these scandals, JZ had a turbulent personal life. She was married five
times, and at least once she was caught in an affair with a young student. She divorced
her fifth husband, Jeffrey Knight, in 1989. Jeffrey claimed that JZ used Ramtha's
influence to coerce him out of a fair divorce settlement. He took the case to court,
embroiling JZ in an intense legal battle.
Conclusion
Although Ramtha's School of Enlightenment is surrounded by controversy, there is no clear evidence that JZ is a fraud or that the school is a danger to anyone. Sociologists and psychologists do not believe that students are "brainwashed" to follow this movement, nor are they held against their will. Ramtha's students are searching for answers to life's most important questions, and the School is helping them resolve these issues. Until undisputable evidence arises that JZ is harming people, the media and anti-cultists should be careful with their criticisms.
V. Links to Ramtha/Knight Web Sites
Ramtha Meets the
Scholars
Investigates the authenticity of JZ's channeling.
http://www.newtimes.org/issue/9705/97-05-jz.html
The Skeptics Dictionary
A cynical view of JZ and her school.
http://skepdic.com/channel.html
Book Review/Essay on Melton's Study.
Breaking Through the "Relativity Barrier": How to Make Points Effectively with New Agers.
Created by
Joseph M. Khattab
For Soc 257: New Religious Movements
Fall term, 2000
University of Virginia
Last modified: 07/23/01