Circle of Christhood

Students know of Virginia Stephenson through her books, tapes and Aloha Mystics website.  As a former student and teacher of Joel Goldsmith's Infinite Way, it is interesting to consider the Stephenson legacy. 

At the end of his earthly life, Joel had many teachers and scores of practitioners around the world in all countries where the message was established.  He fully expected each to produce at least one or two teachers themselves and many practitioners. Unfortunately, internal competition and strife divided The Infinite Way into personality groups.

How are we to measure an Infinite Way ministry? Not by the number of recorded lectures which served to replace the study of Joel's tapes.   The true measure is the healing record and consciousness imparted. So we pose the following questions:

How many practitioners were raised by Stephenson?

( John does not heal by his own admission to students.)

How many teachers were raised up?

(We know only her son and he claims not to heal, an oxymoron in this healing ministry.)

The measure of any spiritual work is in the fruitage. Whether we are questioning our own inner guidance, our own lives and conduct or that of another. It is always the same answer. Spiritual activity is measured in the fruitage. There are always signs following. Use your intellect, your discernment and judge for yourself.

Virginia Stephenson was once a teacher of The Infinite Way. She now has her own teaching, Aloha Mystics.  Stephenson led the Los Angeles Infinite Way Center and focused on Bible interpretation. Her work was included in the Monthly Letter for a number of years and then Joel decided to discontinue the Bible study section of the Letter. 

In 1963, Joel spoke on tape about the need for new students to sometimes need the support of the Bible. He also says that the Bible has many mistakes and that it should not be taught to children. Clearly, Joel had mixed feelings about the Bible and all that was done through the ages to manipulate sacred text.

(Today, a study of the Dead Sea Scrolls will reveal new insights which for many in our Western world are too shocking to admit or accept.  Joel's Spiritual Interpretation of Scripture is all one needs to grasp how we must use the Bible and how we individually can begin to understand the mythology of both the Old and New Testaments.)

Against Joel's specific instructions to all of his students and teachers in the "Letter to Norman" and 1964 Monthly Letters, Stephenson began to tape record her classes and sell them. She did not ask permission, she told Emma Goldsmith what she was doing in 1972 and Emma did not fight back. Lorraine Sinkler wrote about this in a letter and later used Virginia's entrance into tape recording  to begin her own taping in the 1980's when she was fired from her editing position with The Infinite Way.

According to her son, John, Virginia did not tell him about Joel's directions in the "Norman Letter". They were recently reminded of the letter (along with all others claiming to be IW teachers), but have chosen to continue to ignore and defy it.

Virginia retired from the lecture circuit mid 2000. Her son, John, took over her teaching tour. Classes are given around the world to those students loyal to the Stephensons.

Students of Virginia and John are not Infinite Way students, they are "Aloha Mystics".

On January 27,1964 Joel wrote: