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There's a link to the sister site www.kryon.com that gives a better idea of the kind of self-help seminars Tober and Carroll are conducting. The site contains transcripts of messages channeled through Carroll from a higher being named Kryon. Carroll is credited as one of only nine channels in the world working "in the service of Kryon." Each channeling begins with the greeting "This is Kryon of Magnetic Service," directed to his followers, whom he refers to as Lightworkers. The messages contain instructions for communicating with spirit, healing and reaching the next "level." Carroll is also the author of several Kryon books, including Don't Think Like a Human.

A competing but similar proponent of the idea of highly evolved children is Richard Boylan, a retired social worker and hypnotherapist who works with what he calls Star Kids. He thinks the proponents of Indigos are noticing the same phenomenon but have taken it a bit too far with the New Age stuff. Boylan instead believes parents are being abducted by aliens and having their DNA manipulated to create enhanced offspring capable of telekinesis and ESP. He's seen absolute proof, but as so often happens in these cases, it's been locked away in some secret government lab. He doesn't suggest doing DNA tests on any Star Kids because any irregularities are so subtle that they can be recognized only by an expert. And as so often happens in these cases, the expert is dead of cancer. (Or was that really the cause of death?)

Some believers have integrated the competing theories by claiming Crystallines, Indigos and Star Kids are all different stages of evolution.

Michael Shermer, the editor of Skeptic magazine and author of Why People Believe Weird Things, says that aliens have become the newest popular religion, fulfilling many of the same needs. People turn to weird ideas, he says, because they want to believe in something that transcends the ordinary, gives certainty in an uncertain world, or helps them deal with their own mortality. "It comes with having a big cortex," Shermer says. Our brains are designed to find patterns, and sometimes we just connect dots that aren't there.

Comfort may be one of the things Spence has gotten from her belief in Indigos. Though she always believed in some form of metaphysics, what prompted her to seek out Brahm for a psychic reading was her brother's suicide. Brahm gave her some relief, doing a "clearing" of the house so that her brother's spirit would know it was okay to pass on. During their first meeting, Brahm informed Spence that her brother was probably an Indigo, which was why he had such problems dealing with our world. After hearing more about Spence's difficult daughter, Brahm determined that both Spence and Jan were probably Indigos as well. Brahm told Spence that her granddaughter had wanted to be raised by her all along, but had to "go through Mommy" because Spence couldn't have children anymore.

Shermer says psychics and healers can feed the human desire to reconcile with a loved one who has passed on, or can comfort someone by telling her that her raising her granddaughter was "meant to be." In the same way, parents believing that their child is an Indigo might fulfill their wish to have special, gifted kids. These groups tend to be intentionally vague about the specifics so that potential converts can find whatever might fill an emotional void in their lives. Although these ideas may provide peace of mind, Shermer doesn't buy the argument that they aren't harmful. "What's the harm in doing drugs to avoid reality?" he asks. In the end, it's always better to believe harsh truths rather than comfortable lies.

So if these kids don't necessarily do better in school, don't necessarily perform any better at work or live any happier lives, what is it about them that makes them "advanced"? What's the difference between an Indigo and some kid who just doesn't like to do homework or follow directions?

"If they seem to have a light in their eyes," Dee says.

"You just know," Spence says.

"I see how the kids turn around and either do what they're told or accept the punishment," Jake's mother says. "I'm around other kids all day long. They're so normal. They follow directions, they will conform, they will do what society expects them to -- they are kids. They do and talk and play. They don't question everything, they don't research everything." She doesn't know how to put it into words, she says, but it's really easy once you know how to recognize it. "You would have to live it to truly understand it."

Jan is still drawing trees and suns on the chalkboard, and erasing them as soon as they're finished. She is asked what she likes to do most in school. "To play," Jan answers.

"Tell them what you said you missed about kindergarten," Jake's mother says, wanting to demonstrate her child's remarkable gifts one last time.

Jake doesn't like first grade, he says, as he plays with a plastic dinosaur. What doesn't he like about it? "Um, um, um," he stutters. "Homework."

"What is it you liked about kindergarten?" his mother asks again.

"I was just a little kid, Mom," he snaps.

He liked all the playtime, she says, because it was unstructured and gave him the ability to learn at his advanced pace. During playtime, she says, he could study the things he wanted to, without being confined to the same rote assignments as the other children. It bores him, she explains, because he's so far beyond that.

"I didn't realize that first grade was going to be like this," Jake says, as he stares remorsefully down at his Tyrannosaurus. "I didn't know nobody gets to be kids."

Ah, the wisdom of children. Adults can always learn something from them. All they have to do is listen.

Write Your Comment show comments (9)

  1. It's called ADHD and bad parenting, people. Get a grip. Your kids aren't "special" because they draw rainbows and don't like to do their homework. And I love the kids saying "I know I'm an Indigo because my mommy told me so." These parents can't stand the fact that their kids are perfectly normal, so they make up these crap stories to make themselves feel better!

    Comment by Jesse — November 20, 2007 @ 10:15PM

  2. There is no need for hostility. You could have made your point in a manner that was more polite and then others might be more receptive to your opinion.

    I've been reading in to all of what is being discussed because i am facing the fact that my daughter's teacher suggests that i consider medicating her. She's only 5 and I feel entitled to educate myself before making such a decision.

    The "indigo" book was a wonderful book with so much helpful information AS IS the book Driven to Distraction. I believe my daughter is definitely hyperactive and difficult compared to many other children. I also understand what some of these parents are saying about their children not wanting to conform and learn in the traditional way. My daughter knows the alphabet and how to sound out many words and i think her frustrations are in the way the class is structured. She KNOWS that in due time she's going to learn to write and read, but she wants more stimulating education. Her little soul craves to learn things like "why is water different colors?" "Why does the pumpkin make a different noise when you knock on it compared to something solid?"

    Anyways, i can go on for hours about this issue. One last thing i'd like to point out is that nobody is saying their kid is more special than others; it's more that ALL kids are special AND DIFFERENT in their learning abilities and they need to be given more credit than to just stuff them in a traditional style classroom and go about our adult lives without much respect for these little being that will soon be in our shoes - running this place called earth. Simple. Think about it. They really ARE the future..treat them well, and let them lead the way.

    Comment by April Tabor — November 25, 2007 @ 08:49AM

  3. There is no need for hostility. You could have made your point in a manner that was more polite and then others might be more receptive to your opinion.

    I've been reading in to all of what is being discussed because i am facing the fact that my daughter's teacher suggests that i consider medicating her. She's only 5 and I feel entitled to educate myself before making such a decision.

    The "indigo" book was a wonderful book with so much helpful information AS IS the book Driven to Distraction. I believe my daughter is definitely hyperactive and difficult compared to many other children. I also understand what some of these parents are saying about their children not wanting to conform and learn in the traditional way. My daughter knows the alphabet and how to sound out many words and i think her frustrations are in the way the class is structured. She KNOWS that in due time she's going to learn to write and read, but she wants more stimulating education. Her little soul craves to learn things like "why is water different colors?" "Why does the pumpkin make a different noise when you knock on it compared to something solid?"

    Anyways, i can go on for hours about this issue. One last thing i'd like to point out is that nobody is saying their kid is more special than others; it's more that ALL kids are special AND DIFFERENT in their learning abilities and they need to be given more credit than to just stuff them in a traditional style classroom and go about our adult lives without much respect for these little being that will soon be in our shoes - running this place called earth. Simple. Think about it. They really ARE the future..treat them well, and let them lead the way.

    Comment by April Tabor — November 25, 2007 @ 08:50AM

  4. There is no need for hostility. You could have made your point in a manner that was more polite and then others might be more receptive to your opinion.

    I've been reading in to all of what is being discussed because i am facing the fact that my daughter's teacher suggests that i consider medicating her. She's only 5 and I feel entitled to educate myself before making such a decision.

    The "indigo" book was a wonderful book with so much helpful information AS IS the book Driven to Distraction. I believe my daughter is definitely hyperactive and difficult compared to many other children. I also understand what some of these parents are saying about their children not wanting to conform and learn in the traditional way. My daughter knows the alphabet and how to sound out many words and i think her frustrations are in the way the class is structured. She KNOWS that in due time she's going to learn to write and read, but she wants more stimulating education. Her little soul craves to learn things like "why is water different colors?" "Why does the pumpkin make a different noise when you knock on it compared to something solid?"

    Anyways, i can go on for hours about this issue. One last thing i'd like to point out is that nobody is saying their kid is more special than others; it's more that ALL kids are special AND DIFFERENT in their learning abilities and they need to be given more credit than to just stuff them in a traditional style classroom and go about our adult lives without much respect for these little being that will soon be in our shoes - running this place called earth. Simple. Think about it. They really ARE the future..treat them well, and let them lead the way.

    Comment by April Tabor — November 25, 2007 @ 08:51AM

  5. There is no need for hostility. You could have made your point in a manner that was more polite and then others might be more receptive to your opinion.

    I've been reading in to all of what is being discussed because i am facing the fact that my daughter's teacher suggests that i consider medicating her. She's only 5 and I feel entitled to educate myself before making such a decision.

    The "indigo" book was a wonderful book with so much helpful information AS IS the book Driven to Distraction. I believe my daughter is definitely hyperactive and difficult compared to many other children. I also understand what some of these parents are saying about their children not wanting to conform and learn in the traditional way. My daughter knows the alphabet and how to sound out many words and i think her frustrations are in the way the class is structured. She KNOWS that in due time she's going to learn to write and read, but she wants more stimulating education. Her little soul craves to learn things like "why is water different colors?" "Why does the pumpkin make a different noise when you knock on it compared to something solid?"

    Anyways, i can go on for hours about this issue. One last thing i'd like to point out is that nobody is saying their kid is more special than others; it's more that ALL kids are special AND DIFFERENT in their learning abilities and they need to be given more credit than to just stuff them in a traditional style classroom and go about our adult lives without much respect for these little being that will soon be in our shoes - running this place called earth. Simple. Think about it. They really ARE the future..treat them well, and let them lead the way.

    Comment by April Tabor — November 25, 2007 @ 08:52AM

  6. There is no need for hostility. You could have made your point in a manner that was more polite and then others might be more receptive to your opinion.

    I've been reading in to all of what is being discussed because i am facing the fact that my daughter's teacher suggests that i consider medicating her. She's only 5 and I feel entitled to educate myself before making such a decision.

    The "indigo" book was a wonderful book with so much helpful information AS IS the book Driven to Distraction. I believe my daughter is definitely hyperactive and difficult compared to many other children. I also understand what some of these parents are saying about their children not wanting to conform and learn in the traditional way. My daughter knows the alphabet and how to sound out many words and i think her frustrations are in the way the class is structured. She KNOWS that in due time she's going to learn to write and read, but she wants more stimulating education. Her little soul craves to learn things like "why is water different colors?" "Why does the pumpkin make a different noise when you knock on it compared to something solid?"

    Anyways, i can go on for hours about this issue. One last thing i'd like to point out is that nobody is saying their kid is more special than others; it's more that ALL kids are special AND DIFFERENT in their learning abilities and they need to be given more credit than to just stuff them in a traditional style classroom and go about our adult lives without much respect for these little being that will soon be in our shoes - running this place called earth. Simple. Think about it. They really ARE the future..treat them well, and let them lead the way.

    Comment by April Tabor — November 25, 2007 @ 08:57AM

  7. I feel sorry for these children because their parents are enabling them to be disfunctional members of society. Your children aren't special, they're brats and you need to beat them more. All children like drawing rainbows, hate doing their homework, and think the world revolves around them. The only difference between your child and the next one is that the other child's parent makes them be responsible members of society who respect other people.

    I especially feel sorry for the kid, Jake, mentioned in the story. He's doomed. He's probably going to suffer from depression because his mother utterly ruined his life: Brahm quoted and this applies, 'They do not agree with the way society runs things. They think we're kind of stupid, that we've screwed things up.'"

    To Jake's mother: You are stupid, you're screwing things up by telling your children that they're aliens, and telling your friends that your child is an alien, and telling your child's friends that he's an alien, and telling your child's friends parents that he's an alien.

    Indigo Children, psychic powers, furries, ass-burgers... people need to stop creating excuses for themselves and start facing reality. Your kid will never fit in and never be happy if they aren't raised properly and given the tools to cope with society - and those tools do not include enabling them to think they're something they aren't and that they're above the fundamental expectations of our culture (do well in school, don't abuse drugs, don't screw off in your job, listen and obey people who know more about stuff than you do) - so that they don't end up working at a bottom end job all their life thinking they're a Vulcan who is too good to get a college degree or persue a real carrer.

    Comment by s_e_h — December 3, 2007 @ 05:46PM

  8. Ok, then I`m an alien-ated adult:-) since I can remember I feel & think like those kids. What is wrong with kids who think that we screwed up this world? Look around you!
    Now, age 36, I still refuse to agree to the logic of our social, economic and political systems, although for outside world it seems that I`m adapted and perfectly functioning member of this society..Reading 6 writing since I was 4, straight "A" student, masters in business, living my life in (what I call) outside world...But there is my/our microcosmos with other rules.. And they collide, more often then I would like to, especially when it comes to fairness, dicrimination etc... I just canīt help myself, because it is stronger then me. With my intelligence & capabilities I could have gone far and beyond my professional achievments , but I would have to negate system of values that I was born with.. You could call me asocial, psychotic or even crazy, but I KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT.
    I donīt believe in any of those esoteric explantions, no alien, aura etc crap. The fact is that our system of values is not working for everybody and maybe we should all listen to hypersensitive people and learn from them.

    Comment by Mirna — December 6, 2007 @ 05:34AM

  9. While I could have been more polite, my statement could not have been any more clear.
    This article outlines some very misguided parents who are emotionally abusing their chldren, and it is repugnant.

    By all listed characteristics, *I* would be considered to have been an "idigo child" - except my parents (though I hated it at the time) didn't cater to me, pet me, and tell me how "special" I was and how I was so "different". Consequently, I fully recognize that thinking differently than most people and being "gifted" doesn't make me any better than any other human being on the planet. (Despite what I would like to believe.)

    These parents should undergo psychological testing to determine their fitness to raise children.

    I don't care how "hostile" I sound, I am speaking the truth. Sometimes the facts hurt.

    Comment by Jesse — April 11, 2008 @ 07:02AM

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