Guy Ballard (1878–1939) and his wife, Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard (1886–1971), are said to have established telepathic contact with the Ascended Master Saint Germain in the 1930s and received the “I AM” decree from him.
Saint Germain, as an Ascended Master, is a potentially controversial figure. As demonstrated in the article on Theosophists, calling upon entities from the invisible world involves considerable risk, since we cannot know for certain what will come among us. Some so-called Ascended Masters are undoubtedly serving evil forces. These include Paul the Venetian (Baal ben Satan), the Theosophical (rather than Indian) Sanat Kumara (Satan Kumara), and the False Christ and False Jesus, acting as masters of division and duality. In the old American Louisiana tradition, Saint Germain is regarded as an immortal vampire, which may link his status as an Ascended Master to the realm of evil. According to Alice Bailey, at least, Djwhal Khul, whom some also consider an Ascended Master, is said to have transmitted the prayer The Great Invocation, which conceals highly controversial content.
The “I AM” decree itself is based on a mantra that primarily affects the upper chakras and their connection with the chakras or energies beyond the physical body. This is also the greatest danger of the mantra. If we do not ground ourselves and our lower bodily energy centers are not open, too much energy will become active in the upper centers. This often leads to illusions, a false sense of spiritual growth, and the draining of energy to those who harvest it in the invisible world. It can cause energy to accumulate in the head, which is potentially dangerous for people with high blood pressure, those at risk of stroke, and people with mental illnesses. A weakening of energy in the lower chakras can also gradually contribute to the development of illness more generally.
If the mantra is practiced in a way that ensures the activation of energy in the lower part of the body, and if, while reciting the “I AM” mantra, we visualize wholeness and omnipresence rather than activity originating from a single point, then I have no objections to using the mantra. My main concern is the context in which the decree was developed.
