“Soul’s Divine Journey MasterPath: The Light and Sound Teachings” reads like a cosmic fever dream—equal parts spiritual seduction and psychological entrapment. Gary Olsen doesn’t just ask you to follow him; he demands you dissolve into him.

When a man builds a religion around his own face, you better believe the mirror’s cracked.

The Makings of A Cult Leader

Gary Olsen was born in 1948 and began his spiritual journey through the teachings of Eckankar, a movement founded by Paul Twitchell in 1965 that emphasized “Soul Travel” and direct experiences with divine light and sound. Olsen became deeply involved with Eckankar during the 1970s and 1980s, studying under its leaders and absorbing its esoteric framework.

But Olsen didn’t stay a student for long. In the early 1990s, he broke away to form his own spiritual movement: MasterPath. While he claimed it was a continuation of ancient teachings, critics argue it was a rebranded offshoot of Eckankar, with heavy borrowing from Twitchell’s work and other mystic traditions. Olsen declared himself the “Living Master” and began publishing his own texts, including Soul’s Divine Journey, positioning himself as the sole conduit to spiritual liberation.

MasterPath promised seekers direct access to higher realms—but only through total devotion to Olsen. His teachings emphasized chanting sacred syllables, meditating on his image, and surrendering personal will to the Master. What began as a spiritual path quickly morphed into a personality cult, with Olsen at its center.

Red Flags & Allegations

From the very beginning, MasterPath carried the DNA of Eckankar—but under Gary Olsen’s leadership, the teachings took a sharper, more authoritarian turn. What started as a rebranded spiritual practice evolved into a tightly controlled ecosystem with Olsen positioned not just as a teacher, but as the irreplaceable linchpin of every student’s salvation.

Former members recount a slow, almost imperceptible tightening of control:

  • Isolation — Encouraging followers to cut ties with “unenlightened” friends and family.
  • Image Worship — Mandating meditation on Olsen’s photograph as a means of “aligning with the Living Master.”
  • Fear of Departure — Reinforcing the belief that leaving the Path invites spiritual ruin or karmic disaster.
  • Borrowed Teachings — Large sections of MasterPath doctrine mirror Eckankar founder Paul Twitchell’s work, stripped of attribution and woven into Olsen’s self-serving narrative.

The effect is cumulative: at first, chelas (students) feel elevated by the promise of higher planes and direct divine connection. But over time, that vision narrows until all roads—and all perceived spiritual safety—lead exclusively back to Gary Olsen.

Spiritual Bypassing & Ego Worship

On the surface, MasterPath dresses itself in the language of self-realization and divine truth. Followers are taught that by focusing on the “Living Master” and chanting sacred syllables, they can bypass lifetimes of spiritual struggle. But in practice, this “shortcut” isn’t about liberating the soul—it’s about fastening it to Gary Olsen’s persona.

Olsen’s writings blur the line between God and the Master until the two are virtually interchangeable. This spiritual sleight of hand turns devotion into dependency, and questioning him becomes a sign of ignorance or “ego.” The paradox? In urging his chelas to dissolve their egos, Olsen’s system builds a monument to his own.

The concept of “inner work” is weaponized: struggles, doubts, or negative experiences are reframed as spiritual shortcomings in the follower, never flaws in the Master or the teaching. By keeping the onus on the disciple, Olsen sidesteps accountability while basking in unquestioned reverence. It’s not enlightenment they’re chasing—it’s a carefully engineered orbit around a single man’s image.

In Soul’s Divine Journey, Olsen repeatedly frames MasterPath as the pinnacle of all spiritual traditions—casting its doctrines as not just different, but inherently superior to anything that came before. Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam—no path escapes his gentle but unmistakable condescension. Through grand comparisons and sweeping statements, he positions MasterPath as the “final revelation,” implying that other religions are partial truths at best, misguided detours at worst. This constant elevation of his own teaching serves to reinforce the central narrative: true enlightenment is impossible without the Living Master, and in this era, that Master just happens to be Gary Olsen.

The best example of this is on Page 44, where Olsen states:

This is why the teachings of conventional religion, as well as the intelligence of humankind, have no concept or workable insight into this cosmological powerhouse of pure, unadulterated spirituality.

The Verdict

In the end, MasterPath isn’t a staircase to heaven—it’s a hall of mirrors, each one reflecting Gary Olsen’s own self-image until there’s no room left for yours. The chants, the meditations, the lofty spiritual claims… they all funnel into a single point of worship, and it isn’t God. It’s the man who crowned himself the final word in spiritual evolution.

Karma doesn’t need your permission to settle its accounts. And for leaders who build their kingdoms on borrowed truths and blind devotion, the bill always comes due—paid in credibility, community, and the very soul they claimed to serve.

By Beth Gibbons (Queen of Karma)

Beth Gibbons, known publicly as Queen of Karma, is a whistleblower and anti-MLM advocate who shares her personal experiences of being manipulated and financially harmed by multi-level marketing schemes. She writes and speaks candidly about the emotional and psychological toll these so-called “business opportunities” take on vulnerable individuals, especially women. Beth positions herself as a survivor-turned-activist, exposing MLMs as commercial cults and highlighting the cult-like tactics used to recruit, control, and silence members.

She has contributed blogs and participated in video interviews under the name Queen of Karma, often blending personal storytelling with direct confrontation of scammy business models. Her work aligns closely with scam awareness efforts, and she’s part of a growing community of voices pushing back against MLM exploitation, gaslighting, and financial abuse.