MY TESTIMONY

Dear reader,

I don’t know what led you to this site precisely. It could of been a friend, a parent, or a coworker. In any case, you are not here by accident.

On this page, I share the deep spiritual journey I went through as a soul on planet earth. I ask that you please respect my journey and don’t judge it too rapidly, for I know it may sound very different than from what you are used to. The ideas I present here are ideas that I am convinced of now as a Christian, so I also apologize if my conception of the world seems different from yours and offends you. I pray that my words are not too harsh and bring you light on your journey as a soul on earth. We are all here to help each other after all.

Without further due, here is my testimony.

I grew up in a household with two Catholic parents. Unfortunately, going to church on a Sunday always felt like a burden for me. Reading the Bible was something I had done only in childhood and it was the easy version of the Bible – one with lots of images for kids. I had some notion of Christianity and whom Jesus was, but no real understanding of the message of the gospel. 

From a young age, I was always interested in the paranormal side of this world. I am referring here to watching documentaries about ghosts when I was just a child. They were my favourite! As I grew slightly older, I got interested in near death experiences. Many of the survivals of near death experiences explained what they had seen on the other side. Therefore, even as a teenager I always knew there was an unseen side to this world that was hidden to the physical eye.

A lot of my journey throughout college & university had me searching, reading and studying every single religion, but Christianity. I dived into Buddhism, Hinduism, Scientology, Wicca, Yoga (both the exercise and the spirituality) and of course the popular New-Age that is so widely marketed today. 

I didn’t like the idea of religion, but I preferred the idea of spirituality. One fact is certain, I wanted to get away from anything that had to do with Christianity, because my understanding of it was too “religious” and traditional. 

Although I grew up with Catholic parents, I had no notion of what Christianity truly stood for. I did not grasp it. Logically, I should have picked up a Bible to actually understand the message of it which is : Jesus died for our sins so that whomever believes in Him & obeys Him may have everlasting life. 

I was young and being Catholic simply meant going to church on Sunday, reciting an automatic prayer and knowing there is a God, but somehow I longed for something more. I was soon to be attracted in other dangerous directions. 

MY NEW-AGE DECEPTION PHASE 

The spirituality that was most attractive to me as a young adult was the New-Age and everything that went with it. This included activities such as:

• yoga
• crystal healing
• reiki healing
• guided meditations
• group meditations
• mantras & affirmations
• astrology
• numerology
• birth-chart reading
• fortune telling
• practicing the law of attraction packaged into the famous book “The Secret” presented by teachers such as Oprah or Abraham Hicks
• tuning into the power of the goddess or the divine feminine
• participating in cacao ceremonies
• communicating with spirit guides
• hanging dream catchers & using them for rituals
• observing moon rituals
• trying out the Hawaiian ritual ho’oponopono

The New-Age movement is aggressively marketed today in our modern world, but most of the world is completely blind to its problems. It only takes a walk down the street to see that almost every corner includes a yoga studio. Once a member of a studio, you are easily sucked into the world of incense, healing crystals and New Age books that are sold in them. The New- Age is also presented to us in a deceiving, but very charming light. It is often focused on universal tolerance, holistic health, self-love & self-care. The New Age puts man or woman as a co-creator with the universe which it sometimes equals with God.

In the western world Yoga is presented to us as a form of exercise, but it is actually a spiritual discipline from India that has simply been sold to the western world as an exercise form, which it was never meant to be.

Why was I swept in such a dangerous direction if my family remained Catholic? There are many theories that I have debated over time, but in the end only God knows the answer to this question. 

The biggest deception that the yoga world has offered is that it is “healthy” for you and that it can heal you from your health issues. There are many stories all over the internet where individuals claim it has helped them rehabilitate their body. I know a few of them personally. While it may offer temporary healing or “miraculous” cure for your spine, it’s important to know what authentic power stands behind it. Moreover, despite an appearance of miraculous cure to your problems, this practice comes with a spiritual yoke in the spirit realm. For Yoga is not just a form of exercise to help you re-align your spine as a chiropractor would, it truly is a spiritual discipline that is meant to open you to the spirit of Kundalini – the serpent spirit.

MY YOGA DECEPTION PHASE 

How did I begin each Yoga class? I began it with sun salutations (a series of repetitive movements that you are told are being done to “warm you up”). Do you know what are sun salutations? If you have ever been to a Yoga class they are part of the beginning of every yoga class. They are also known as Surya Namaskar in Hindu. They are actually a form of worship to the Sun. The Hindu refer to the symbolism of the Sun as the soul and the source of all life. Therefore, you can see that there truly is a meaning behind this repetitive movement that the western world has embraced as a meaningless form of exercise to tone the body.

Should Christians practice religious movements that are designed to worship the sun? Because that is what they are. They are not JUST a movement made for exercise. That is what you need to understand. 

Now you may tell me that you simply practice the movements, but that your INTENTION is not to worship anything other than the God of the Bible. I think that if you truly understood what you are doing – a spiritual/religious practice; you wouldn’t. I think that you are trying to justify an action that you have grown to embrace, because it is so well marketed as exercise. Do not underestimate the power of mass marketing and the power of suggestion.  As Christians, we need to remember that the one true God of the Bible is jealous for you and does not want us bowing or worshipping anything else, but HIM.

The point is, you cannot remove the spiritual root of these Yoga movements, because they go hand in hand. 

Here is an quote from a Yoga website confirming the importance of Sun salutations and their spiritual root in a daily yoga routine (also known as asana practice): 

“… let me repeat that no asana practice is complete without sun worship. Without its focusing of mental energies, yoga practice amounts to little more than gymnastics and, as such, loses meaning and proves fruitless. Indeed the SURYA NAMASKAR SHOULD NEVER BE MISTAKEN FOR MERE PHYSICAL EXERCISE –for something incidental, that is, that simply precedes the asanas of yoga. Therefore, it is necessary, before beginning the sun salutations, to PRAY TO SURYA […] to bestow upon us the good fortune of having only good thoughts, of hearing and speaking only good words, and of attaining a sound and strong body, so that we may have a long life and, one day, achieve oneness with God.”

-Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, “Suryanamskara”

As you can see, no yoga practice is complete without sun worship and they should not be mistaken for mere physical exercise. These words are coming from a Yogi. I have yet to see a yoga class that did not practice them. To take this point further, every yoga posture has a spiritual meaning and spiritual purpose. Therefore, even if you were to “skip” the sun salutations, every consequent movement has a spiritual design to it. Each yoga pose is a prayer to a different (Hindu) god/goddess. They claim their purpose of doing the poses (praying to their occult spirits) is to “awaken” (conjure) the “kundalini” spirit – which is – a “serpent spirit”. It supposedly resides at the base of your spine – and once “awakened” (conjured up) it starts wrapping itself around and around your spine til it reaches the back of your head – and supposedly covers your mind/brain. So basically – when you do the yoga poses and meditation, whether you realize it or not, you have just invited the kundalini demonic spirit into your soul/body.

Yoga was NOT invented to exercise your body. It was invented to awaken your spiritual energy – the energy of the Kundalini. 

If you want to simply stretch, please do yourself a favour and don’t do yoga! Do not join a Yoga class, because unfortunately every yoga class is associated with the spiritual side of it. There is NO such thing as just yoga exercise. It always comes with a spiritual side. And yes I have heard of Christian Yoga and unfortunately I believe that is a blasphemy in itself. The world we live in today is very confused about what is from God and what is from the Satan and he will use that to his advantage.

To take it further, the word itself “yoga” means to yoke. So what are we yoking to? The yoke meant to be experienced through yoga is with the spirit of Kundalini I mentioned above – the energy of the serpent. Kind of ironic if you remember who the serpent is in the Bible.

The following videos can be of interest to you :

Should Christians Do Yoga

Is it wrong for Christians to do Yoga?

I know this can be incredibly hard to believe, since every yoga studio is welcoming and has that peaceful vibe to it. I went to Yoga class every month, if not every week for many years. I still remember the smell of sandal wood incense that made me feel so peaceful each time I walked into a Yoga studio. However do not be deceived…what you think is peace, love & light is an illusion. 

“But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” – 2 Corinthians 11:14

Now that I have explained to you only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the dangers of Yoga – let’s get back to how I came to believe in Jesus Christ again. 

GOD SENDS ANGELS IN THE FORM OF CHRISTIANS: HEATHER

I had just come back from a Yoga Ashram that was created to train new yoga teachers. At work, I had a mature Christian colleague named Heather that I often had lunch with. I would share with her about my experiences with whom I thought was “God”. I told her that I felt him at the Ashram and that it was wonderful. I thought I had levitated outside of my body or something of the sort and I thought this was an experience of God.

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I saw her as someone who could use more “enlightening” due to her rigid christian beliefs. She asked me about “how” exactly did I feel him, but she never made me feel judged. I now know that she prayed secretly for my soul, because we are friends today and she told me so, lol.

Coming back to Jesus Christ was a gradual process. There was another background story that was simultaneously taking place at that time in my life. Heather was the person that was a support for me in that very difficult time of my life. The enemy was slowly destroying the relationships between my family and I, and we were experiencing a tremendous amount of stress & toxicity. In fact, I needed to move out as it was becoming impossible to stay in the current conditions. She told me more than once to simply ask Jesus to come into my life and I had reached such a desperate point in my life that I had nothing to lose…so I did. Nothing really seemed to change at first. 

Prior to moving from my parent’s house, I turned back to whom I pictured God was as a Catholic child.

I prayed The Lord’s Prayer :

“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.”

Afterwards, I asked God if I could move out, since I was helping them out and I heard an inside voice/thought say to me “I will take care of them” referring to my family. 

Fast-forward to having moved out in the most ghetto apartment I could find myself in. Living on my own, I was still very much involved in the New-Age and everything that went with it for at least 6 months. I also had a lot of time on my hands to continue my search for meaning and purpose. So I did what most people do nowadays, I watched youtube! 

Except that my choice of channels included everything that had to do with the hidden side of this world. I watched conspiracy theories by christian theologians, real exorcisms done by catholic priests, ex-satanists coming to Christ and so on. My choice of videos was rather – unique.

One day, a Catholic priest was explaining that demons only come out by the name of Jesus and that his name is the most powerful name in this universe. I think in that moment, I finally got it.

A lightbulb went on in my head! And more! I realized in that very moment that everything I have been involved in so far may have not been of God! I also instantly realized that I had to quit EVERYTHING I was involved in, from meditation groups, yoga to a secret spiritual sisterhood I was part of. In that moment, I KNEW the TRUTH.

So I quit meditation. I also quit a spiritual sisterhood I was part of that was involved in moon rituals and seeking of abundance through gifting each other and playing a spiritual game by taking roles in a dream catcher. It was a form of inner circle for women that ran on the idea of feminism and female empowerment. I remember thinking twice about leaving, because a large sum of money was involved in that group and an even larger sum of money was at stake had I stayed for the remaining part of the “game”. I recalled that we are not of this world and I proceeded to exit. Finally, I quit Yoga. I really decided to turn my life around. I had come to freedom in Christ.

Around that time, I posted my first testimony on Instagram. At first, it kept giving me an error message…

I spent a good amount of time writing it, so I looked up at the ceiling of my ghetto apartment and I said “God, this is for you, not for me – do whatever you want with it”. 

I pressed the button again and it worked! The testimony went somewhat viral from that account and I believe it is still shared today. 

It’s a little blurry, thinking back, but I remember I also got physically sick for 3 weeks in that time. I did not leave my house in those 3 weeks although I really had to work full-time to support myself. At first, I thought I had just a cough, but when I went to the doctor’s and they gave me penicillin, I had an allergic reaction to it, although I have never been allergic to penicillin in my life before…

It caused a red rash all over my body, fever and some serious difficulty breathing. You see, the enemy often tries to knock new Christians down in the beginning of their journey in any way he can. 

One of the first thing I did was to call Heather. She came over with my first bible, prayed with me & her daughter, and blessed my apartment with oil. I guess all those years of her praying for me really worked!

I had come to Christ! I had seen the light ! When they left I continued to heal with Jesus at home. 

I continued to watch Youtube videos and I fell upon testimonials of people like Steven Bancarz (New-Age blogger turned to Christ) who only confirmed my journey. My favourite was seeing Doreen Virtue come to Jesus! Doreen was a medium that I followed when I was in the New-Age, a world-wide known author & speaker. It was incredible to see all those people come to Jesus right after I had discovered the TRUTH. It validated the journey I was on and made me feel less crazy, less alone. Bloggers like Steven Bancarz opened my eyes rapidly to what I needed to rid my life of to live in freedom with Christ.

One of Steven’s videos made it very clear of what to get rid your house of if you were part of the occult. I threw out all of the books I had and I kept one : the Bible. I got rid of the new-age jewelry and quickly developed discernment with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Heather kept in touch with me via the phone. She suggested that I find a church filled with the Holy Spirit. I really had no idea what she was talking about back then, so I simply walked across the street from my lovely ghetto apartment. 

I walked into a non-denominational bible based church and the first song that was playing was “Amazing Grace”. The first words I heard were “I once was lost, but now I am found”. Oh how I could relate to that dear Jesus! Tears began to run on my cheeks. I literally cried for the entire service. I couldn’t control myself. I was weeping and I did not stop until 1h30 had passed. At the end of the service they mentioned that there will be a prayer team. I walked towards a blonde lady called Angelina. She prayed for me and we cut ties with the spirits of the occult right there and then.  I have had more serious deliverance sessions done since then, and I can say that all is well.

For some Christians reading this, it makes a difference what denomination I have been involved since.

Personally, I think I could have walked into ALMOST any Christian church at that moment of my life and God would have made an impact on me. It was not about the denomination at that moment of my life. It was about turning my life back to God. I was ready to surrender to HIM and He used the church that I walked into at that precise moment.

 It is a continuous journey for a soul to seek after the heart of Jesus. Since then, I have begun to study denominations and their history. 

-Written by my Born-Again Protestant self

NEW COMING BACK TO THE Catholic Church 2019

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In April 2019, I prayed to God and he led me into a fast from social media. How? I asked if I should fast for a week and I felt my head being physically moved into a “yes”. It was freaky, but I knew it was God.

I fasted from social media, and on the second day of having closed down all of my social media platforms I had discovered the miracles of the Eucharist.

It took me 2 years in a Protestant church before I was ready to see the truth about the Real Presence of Christ in Communion.

Then there was the challenging belief of Sola Scriptura, the Bible as being the sole authority for truth. But who compiled the bible to begin with ? Well, it was the Catholic Church. It was worth to take a look at it more closely, despite the many conspiracy videos on Youtube about the Catholic Church.

It was a long journey home, but I am a now a Catholic – again. I believe that I was what you call “Born Again” when I had this epiphany about Jesus back in my apartment, but as time passed the Holy Spirit has led me back to the original house of God to discover the miracles of the Eucharist and hence the Real Presence of Christ.

I don’t have anything against my former protestant church, but I simply can’t see myself going back when there is no real presence in communion. Transubstantiation was taught by the early church fathers and it is only accessible in Apostolic churches. You cannot have the body of Christ in a Protestant Church.

I know that we live in the end times and I am aware of the many tribulations the Catholic will church go through in the times to come. I am aware of the current corruption as well. I heard about satanism infiltrating the church, but to tell you the truth, satanism is also present in Protestant churches. How? Through the infiltration of New-Age theology and its practices. Churches allowing YOGA to be practiced in their gyms or encouraging HALLOWEEN. What the heck is that about? Therefore, that could not be an argument for me to not explore Catholicism a second time in my life, after being born-again.

I would of much preferred the Catholic Church to have never changed after Vatican 2, hence whenever possible I like to attend traditional latin mass. There truly is a shift in energy when liturgy is done the way it was done in the very beginning.

Jesus’ presence in the communion is REAL – this is the main argument – this cannot be experienced in the Protestant/Reformed/Non Denominational Church, because there is no priest that has the power to make transubstantiation happen.

The enemy has been attacking Jesus’ original church for 2000 years now and he will continue until the end. It takes tremendous discernment to see through the lies of the enemy within the Catholic Church.

But once thing is for sure, JESUS is in the Catholic Church. He has not left.

Since coming back to a Catholic Church I have been miraculously healed from a burned leg by an oil that was blessed and exorcised by a priest. I have been set free from spiritual attachments through a deliverance prayer and have had healing upon taking communion where Christ is truly present. 

That being said, I love all of my brothers & sisters in Christ and have friends of many different Christian denominations. However, I can say that there are major differences in Catholicism that the Protestant faith simply lacks and thus lacks tools for spiritual warfare. It is not the other way around, as many would have thought.

The enemy can be binded by the name of Jesus according to Protestants, but the enemy can be binded by the intercession of all the Saints, the Angels and Virgin Mary according to Catholics. I like to think that there a little more spiritual warriors available in heaven on the side of the Catholics.

Exorcisms are a proof of that. When a person is possessed or oppressed and nothing else works, a priest asks for the interceding of Mary and these nasty demons flee. Moreover, when an exorcism is being done the use of the sacramentals such as the Eucharist burns the tongue of individuals that have spiritual attachments.

Wicked Satanists never bother to steal the communion from reformed/non denominational/protestant churches, because it is not the body of Christ. It simply is a waffle. However, they will steal the Eucharist from Catholic Churches, because they recognize that it is a sacramental which they then use for their wicked nasty satanic rituals. (Lord, have mercy on them.)

There are many misconceptions about the Catholic faith in the Protestant churches and I can say that I am lucky to have been part of both worlds. I finally have a global picture and can be a bridge of communication between both faiths. 

The hardest part of my journey has been to be constantly set apart. Obviously, when I left the New-Age, I left all of my friends that were witches, wizards, numerologists and so forth. This was a choice, not a suggestion from anyone. I did it instinctively. And then when I became a Catholic, I felt somewhat uncomfortable being around Protestants and radical born-again Christians, because I knew exactly how they used to talk about Catholics. 

However, I can say that God has always provided new friends for each season of my life. I now have the best Catholic family of friends I could be blessed with!

I recall that in the midst of being a Protestant, I had a Coptic Orthodox friend that tried to educate me about the Eucharist in the beginning of my journey, but I just couldn’t hear what she was saying. She was patient with me and when we would meet up every once in a while, she would always have a huge impact on my journey leading me to very uncomfortable questions that led to research and finally answers. 

Two years later I finally recall what she was trying to explain to me and I finally UNDERSTAND. 

JESUS IS IN THE EUCHARIST!

Having communion is having Christ live in us! Having communion is not only done as a remembrance of Him, but it is an active participation of us in Him and HIM in us.

So many years of questioning….

So much seeking…

But here we are,

At last.

Jeremiah 29:13 :”You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

God had a plan for me all along.

God has a plan for you too. 

Thanks for making it this far in the page, 

God Bless,

Jesus is Indeed Alive Now

Meet the author

Johanna – Hebrew for “God is Gracious”

I’m a former New Ager, Yogi & spiritual nomad turned Christian after a moment of illumination in 2017. I created this website to help you differentiate between light & darkness and to answer questions about spiritual topics from a Catholic Christian worldview. ->Find me on IG @myjourneytojesus