Editing "I AM" Activity (section)

== Teachings ==
According to the group's teachings, ascended masters are believed to be individuals who have left the [[reincarnation]] cycle of re-embodiment.<ref name="Melton 1994">{{cite book |author-last=Melton |author-first=J. Gordon |author-link=J. Gordon Melton |editor1-last=Lewis |editor1-first=James R. |editor2-last=Gordon |editor2-first=J. Gordon |chapter=The Church Universal and Triumphant: Its Heritage and Thoughtworld |title=Church Universal and Triumphant In Scholarly Perspective |pages=1–20 |publisher=Center for Academic Publication |location=Standford, CA |date=1994 |url=https://archive.org/details/churchuniversalt0000unse |via=[[Internet Archive]] |url-access=registration |access-date=2025-03-29 }}</ref>{{rp|2}} The "I AM" Activity calls itself Christian;{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}} Jesus is considered one of the more important ascended masters.<ref name="Melton 2005" />{{rp|4246}}

Ballard's teachings included significant [[Nationalism|nationalistic]] and [[patriotic]] elements. According to Ballard's teachings, the faithful's rituals would allow the United States to lead the world into a new golden age of civilization, and St. Germain inspired the [[United States Declaration of Independence]]. In addition, through the use of prayers and rituals, the "lightbearers" in the US would reverse the bad karma that had accumulated and was holding humanity back from attaining its godly existence.<ref name=CCAA/>

<blockquote>
The movement teaches that the [[Omnipotence|omnipotent]], [[Omniscience|omniscient]] and [[Omnipresence|omnipresent]] [[Creator deity|creator God]] ('I AM' – [[I Am that I Am|Exodus 3:14]]) is in all of us as a spark from the Divine Flame, and that we can experience this presence, love, power and light – and its power of the Violet Consuming Flame of Divine Love – through quiet contemplation and by repeating 'affirmations' and 'decrees'. By affirming something one desires, one may cause it to happen.<ref name="Barrett 1996" />{{rp|192}}
</blockquote>

The group teaches that the "Mighty I AM Presence" is God existing in and as each person's [[Higher consciousness|higher self]], and that a light known as the "violet flame" is generated by the "I AM Presence". That "flame" may surround each person who calls forth the action of the [[Holy Spirit]] for expressions of mercy or forgiveness. The group believes that, by tapping into these internalized powers in accordance with the teachings of the ascended masters, one can use one's relationship to the "presence" to amplify the expressions of virtue such as justice, peace, harmony, and love; to displace or abate the expression of evil (i.e., the relative absence of good) in the world; and to minimize personal difficulties in one's life.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.saintgermainfoundation.org/SGF_01_MightyIAM.html |title=The "Beloved Mighty I am Presence" |access-date=January 6, 2014 |archive-date=March 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313051934/http://www.saintgermainfoundation.org/SGF_01_MightyIAM.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The spiritual goal of the teachings is that, by a process of self-purification through the symbol of the "Violet Consuming Flame", the believer may attain the perfected condition of the [[Saint|saints]] or become an ascended master when leaving their body (in contrast to common concepts of ordinary death). The practice of "decrees" (repeated prayers given aloud with conviction), served at times as commands from the masters or as a request from the faithful, adds to practitioners' likelihood of reaching self-purification.<ref name="Melton 1992" />{{rp|64}}<ref name=CCAA/>

An example of a decree, recorded at I AM study groups in Alberta in the late 1930s:

<blockquote>
"In the Name, by the Power, through the Love, in the Authority and unto the Glory of the Mighty I Am Presence we now offer ourselves as a channel to YOU, Blessed Master Saint Germain, Jesus, Nada, Great Divine Director and Legions of Light! Blaze through us! Blaze through us! Blaze though us! The Mighty Golden Power of Divine Love and ''Charge'' the Energy in the Gas Belts below the Earth's Surface with that Mighty Power!"<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last1=Mann |first1=W. E. |title=Sect, Cult, and Church in Alberta |date=1955 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |page=61}}</ref>
</blockquote>

This decree was followed by a note giving additional instruction:

<blockquote>
On the word "Charge" bring the hands down to your sides with dynamic energy but be perfectly relaxed. Visualise and feel GREAT COSMIC STREAMS OF GOLDEN LIGHT SUBSTANCE blazing down through you from great BEAMS above you. ''This actually takes place'', streaming like an avalanche through your body, hands and feed, flooding into the gas belts below the earth's surface.<ref name="auto"/>
</blockquote>

The group also emphasizes personal freedom as essential to spiritual development.<ref name="Melton 1992" />{{rp|65}}

These "positive thinking" beliefs overlap with several movements, such as [[New Thought]],{{Failed verification|date=March 2025}} [[New Age movement]],{{Failed verification|date=March 2025}} and the [[Human Potential Movement]].<ref name="Barrett 1996" />{{rp|192}}