Watkin’s Mind Body Spirit Magazine released its 2016 top 100 most spiritually influential people alive today. If you have been reading Lighthouse Trails for some time, you will recognize several names. One thing all of these names have in common is an affinity toward mysticism. Sadly, a number of these New Ager/New Spirituality names have had significant influence, either directly or indirectly, on the Christian church in the last several years: e.g. Thomas Keating, Richard Rohr, Julia Cameron (The Artist’s Way), Pope Francis, Rhonda Byrne (The Secret), and Rob Bell. Click here to read how Watkin’s determined who should be on the list.
2016 Spiritual 100 list at a glance:
| 1 Dalai Lama | 35 Thomas S. Monson | 68 Ajahn Brahm |
| 2 Pope Francis | 36 Gary Snyder | 69 Gary Zukav |
| 3 Desmond Tutu | 37 Alex Grey | 70 Anita Moorjani |
| 4 Eckhart Tolle | 38 Pema Chödrön | 71 Tony Robbins |
| 5 Deepak Chopra | 39 Francis Chan | 72 Robert Bly |
| 6 Paulo Coelho | 40 Mooji | 73 William Bloom |
| 7 Alice Walker | 41 Vandana Shiva | 74 Michael Bernard |
| 8 Rhonda Byrne | 42 Rob Bell | Beckwith |
| 9 Alejandro Jodorowsky | 43 Amma – Sri Mata | 75 James Redfield |
| 10 Oprah Winfrey | Amritanandamayi Devi | 76 James van Praagh |
| 11 Matthew Fox | 44 Iyanla Vanzant | 77 Fritjof Capra |
| 12 Louise L. Hay | 45 Rowan Williams | 78 Tara Brach |
| 13 Jaggi Vasudev | 46 Neale Donald Walsch | 79 Mark Nepo |
| 14 Graham Hancock | 47 Ali al-Sistani | 80 Steve Taylor |
| 15 Arianna Huffington | 48 Julia Cameron | 81 Starhawk |
| 16 Elizabeth Gilbert | 49 Byron Katie | 82 Huston Smith |
| 17 Ram Dass | 50 Robert Thurman | 83 Caroline Myss |
| 18 Robin Sharma | 51 Bruce Lipton | 84 Adyashanti |
| 19 Sri Sri Ravi Shankar | 52 Dan Millman | 85 Richard Saul Wurman |
| 20 Karen Armstrong | 53 Jack Canfield | 86 David Frawley |
| 21 Jon Kabat-Zinn | 54 Prem Rawat | 87 Seyyed Hossein Nasr |
| 22 Marianne Williamson | 55 Dadi Janki | 88 Thomas Keating |
| 23 Martin Seligman | 56 Brian Weiss | 89 Richard Gere |
| 24 Rupert Sheldrake | 57 Daisaku Ikeda | 90 Gangaji |
| 25 Sam Harris | 58 Richard Bandler | 91 Elaine Pagels |
| 26 Richard Bach | 59 Richard Rohr | 92 Lee Carroll |
| 27 Thomas Moore | 60 Clarissa Pinkola Estés | 93 Lynne McTaggart |
| 28 Don Miguel Ruiz | 61 Gregg Braden | 94 Mantak Chia |
| 29 Esther Hicks | 62 David Steindl-Rast | 95 Sogyal Rinpoche |
| 30 Justin Welby | 63 Stanislav Grof | 96 Malala Yousafzai |
| 31 Andrew Weil | 64 Doreen Virtue* | 97 Shakti Gawain |
| 32 James Lovelock | 65 Thich Nhat Hanh | 98 Michael A. Singer |
| 33 Ken Wilber | 66 Jack Kornfield | 99 Sharon Salzberg |
| 34 Daniel Goleman | 67 David Deida | 100 Claudio Naranjo |
Click here to read how Watkin’s determined who should be on the list.
* Doreen Virtue became a Christian believer in 2017 and has renounced all aspects of the New Age.)
