The term "occult", beside meaning hidden, also means to occlude, hence eclipse. Like Jesus is the morning star, yet lucifier is also refered to as the morning star. Deeper meanings are always hidden like God's total plan and revelation which is yet to be fulfilled. Its always been Satan's MofO to conterfeit what God does.
True, similarities are there are because people took from Paganism re-interpreted it into the Jewish Kabbalah, mostly adopted from Babylon during there captivity. And the fact that the Rechabites, who were Kenites not Jews, who began to serve in the temple as laborers and eventually were adopted as priests, recorded by Ezra. Ezra commanded the returnee's to send some to retrieve a true Levite because none of them returned, which is then recorded in Chronicles I think somewhere. (This is off the top of my head so don't quote me exactly)
To distinguish is the key word. Im not really into the Gnostic metaphysical, Eastern philosophy, visualization, meditation thingy, I don't find it interesting. Practical stuff like Tai Chi, mediation to control emotions and body functions for health, seem ok to me. The tree of life and the stations of the cross have similiar meanings. But when they carry this to far, it goes into the realm of something else, I think. This where the Jews, who weren't Jews began tacking things on to the Law & Books that were never intended, in my opinion to be there.
If you'd like some pure numbers scientifically, verified as to gemartia and the like, here's two excellent web sites that expand on that thought!
http://homepage.virgin.net/vernon.jenkins/
http://members.home.nl/frankcolijn/fran ... ndexEN.htm
