Spiritual Education: Who is Alice Bailey and How Did We Get Here?

This article originally appeared on Freedom In Education.

It would be difficult to deny the fact that education in the United States has changed drastically over the last several years- and even decades. The way we teach our kids and govern our schools has been slowly transforming over the last century, but nothing paints a better picture of modern day American education than what the year 2020 ushered in- the pandemic and remote learning, where we finally got to witness firsthand what our children are being taught. 

If you’re like me you might’ve pondered to yourself, “How did things get so out of hand?” “Where did all of this begin?” Let me give you some answers. 

Who is Alice Bailey?

Through hours of researching and finding very little, I came across a name that soon became my ‘Holy Grail.’ That name was Alice Bailey. Alice Bailey was a well-known occultist and writer of esoteric philosophy, writing over twenty-four books on the subject. She is thought to have coined the term “New Age,” which inspired the New Age movement.  After much study, I discovered that many of her writings appeared to mirror those of common modern-day Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs and initiatives. In this article, I will be comparing the writings of Alice Bailey to those of our modern education initiatives that are running rampant in America. 

Let’s start with a quote from Alice Bailey:

• “I have suggested that the textbooks be rewritten in terms of right human relations and not from the present nationalistic and separative angles. I have also pointed out certain basic ideas which should be immediately inculcated: the unique value of the individual, the beauty of humanity, the relation of the individual to the whole and his responsibility to fit into the general picture in a constructive manner and voluntarily; I have noted the imminence of the coming spiritual renaissance. To all of these, I would like to add that one of our immediate educational objectives must be the elimination of the competitive spirit and the substitution of the cooperative consciousness. Here the question at once arises: How can one achieve this and at the same time bring about a high level of individual attainment? Is not competition a major spur to all endeavors? This has hitherto been so, but it need not be.” – Alice Bailey

Now this is a complex statement that demands an even more complex explanation. Allow me to simplify: the first sentence talks about rewriting the textbooks! Instead of teaching children about the hardships and perseverance of our country to become the most free still to this day, it teaches a curriculum solely based on human relations. So basically, “Who treated who better?” In some cases, America will lose that battle from a certain perspective. Students do not have context in these matters, the why we fought. The reason why America trudged through tyranny to become a nation of freedom. Without the context of history, the why loses its value. 

Next, we have the elimination of the competitive spirit. In future articles, we will delve further into this element, but for now, I will keep it short. This statement has a strong socialist lean, descending into the concept of ‘World Government.’ Students will no longer learn to strive to be the best– but only to fit the mold of the group. They do not want free thinkers, they want a cooperative humanity that can be steered to their liking. As stated above, the individual only has value when welded to the group. This is a dangerous concept. 

Let’s take another quote: 

• “All human beings are born with a natural capacity for spirituality, which is an integral dimension of full human development. Spirituality fosters a way of being that provides a foundation for a young person’s intellectual, emotional, moral, social and physical development.” – Collaborative for Spirituality in Education

How does Spiritual Education impact us today?

The Collaborative for Spirituality in Education (CSE) is one of the most recent SEL organizations to emerge onto the scene. With the Rockefeller family being a core funder, their mission is fast-tracking at an alarming rate. They were the first organization I found to admit SEL can be a spiritual practice. Let’s compare their mission with another quote from Bailey. 

3. “In the future, education will make a far wider use of psychology than heretofore. A trend in this direction is definitely to be seen. The nature-physical, vital, emotional and mental-of the boy or girl will be carefully investigated and his incoherent life purposes directed along right lines ; he will be taught to recognise himself as the one who acts, who feels and who thinks . Thus the responsibility of the central “I,” or the occupant of the body will be taught . This will alter the entire present attitude of the youth of the world to their surroundings and foster, from the earliest days, the recognition of a part to be played and a responsibility to be assumed and that education is a method of preparation for that useful and interesting future.” – Alice Bailey

Did you notice the similarities? What Alice Bailey has been suggesting for schools is finally coming to fruition. But how? And why? These are the same questions I had. Come to find out Alice Bailey’s writings had an immense influence on UNESCO. Robert Muller, the creator of the “World Core Curriculum” was also heavily impelled by the writings of Bailey. She seemed to have laid the foundation for what we now know as SEL. Her vision was to raise the consciousness of humanity to that of ‘enlightenment.’ To do that, she knew you must start the process at a young age, sacrificing commonly held values of this country. 

4. “Today the average child is, for the first five or six years of his life, the victim of his parents’ ignorance or selfishness or lack of interest.” – Alice Bailey 

The true colors of Alice Bailey shine in this statement. She believes that parents are nothing but a hindrance to the child’s development. She assumes the destruction of the family unit is the only path forward to a “global humanity” with no borders or means of separation. I’ll leave you with one last quote, I would like you to ponder on this statement and I hope it sheds some light on the real plan behind SEL and global citizenship. 

5. “The family group (like all else in human affairs) has shared in the general separativeness, selfishness and individual, isolated exclusiveness, based on class distinctions, inherited tradition, racial attitudes and national custom. Families (under any category and bracket) present a united front to the world ; parents defend their own children and position and situation, right or wrong ; family pride, tradition, pedigree are overemphasized, leading to the different barriers which today separate man from man, family from family and group from group.” – Alice Bailey

If you get anything from this article, I hope you see a clearer path to where education in America is going and where it came from. The New Age Movement has its claws in our education system, creating children who only know of group interests and World government. Their history is being skewed and distorted, their emotions analyzed and dissected, and their ideas of right and wrong are being blurred into “whatever feels right.” 

The only way to reverse this is to fight, and the time is now.

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Author bio: Brody Petska is currently the manager of the Teacher Coalition for Freedom in Education. His journey in education reform started when he was in high school when he pushed back against Common Core, political indoctrination, and the unwarranted collection of student data with his organization, SPARK. Brody has taken a keen interest in exposing the occult takeover of American education by writing about topics such as Alice Bailey, the origins of Social Emotional Learning, the Rockefellers, and the United Nations. He hopes to create a positive change in the American Public School System by implementing practical solutions with the help of Freedom in Education.