Spirituality/New Age

[Spiritual_Light]

Hi all,
I'm not going to claim to be spiritually awakened/gifted/psychic/clairvoyant or any of those things. But I will just say, I have had spiritual experiences that led to me exploring a more spiritual path through the difficulties in my life.

I want to talk about the Spirituality/New Age movement as a whole, because I have been exploring it for the past 5 years.

Edit: Admin/Mod you may wish to move my posts into one of the New Age thread discussion. Apologies .

**Disclaimer** What I may say about this may not resonate with you but you are of course free to share your opinion/ignore. **Disclaimer**



For me personally, I have found the Sprituality/New Age quite negative and egotistical. Many of the books, videos, and teachers/life coaches/psychics have had a certain amount of arrogance and hypocrisy associated with their work. Not all, but there are quite a few that are.

Why am I saying this?

I am saying this because as someone who has struggled in their life and who has been vulnerable, some of these concepts and people can make you feel worse about yourself and your life, and even give it the wrong meaning.

Take for example, the concept of past life karma being taught to somebody who has a debilitating illness and telling them that they are ill and suffering because of past life karma carried over into this life... Does it help this person? I don't think so. It is negative.

Let's take another example, like life lessons/soul plans and the Earth being a school for learning, does it help someone going through a trauma and suffering experience to try and tell them that their suffering is OK because it is all part of learning...? I don't think so.

Let's go further.

Is it OK for a psychic to openly make predictions about a famous person's misfortune on a public forum or YouTube video without their permission...?

Is it healthy to tell people the Earth is turning into 4D/5D and if they don't do their shadow work they will be stuck in 3D...?

Is it OK to tell people if they fail at their lessons in this life then they will have to keep repeating them...especially if their lessons involve suffering and they don't overcome it...?

You see, I see a lot of hypocrisy. Spirituality/New Age movement is just as flawed and corrupted as the very religions it tries to criticise and distance itself from.

I am not religious and I am not defending religion. But what happened to the Spritual movement that has made it so egotistical and commercialised these days?

Very few people come across sincere. There always seem to be something to be sold or an ego to boast.

A lot of it for me hasn't all been very positive, and this is my experience, and why I am sharing it.

[FairyCrystal]

You have to choose the people you decide to be your teachers with great care. Using your intuition for this is recommended.
It sounds you didn't choose great teachers otherwise you would have different experiences and feelings.
Maybe take some time out and away from it all and when you feel like it again find good teachers.

[Spiritual_Light]

It isn't who is teaching me. I can go off and learn about sprituality/New Age from lots of different sources, but there is a running theme that is not resonating with me and matching my own direct experiences.

It has been my experience, that when I challenge those in spiritualism/new age circles about how negative and flawed it is to keep pushing these concepts and beliefs about past life karma and suffering on those who are suffering, they become hostile. For example, I have had my comments muted and deleted in those circles for saying it wasn’t very nice to make a prediction about a famous person’s ill health and make fun of that. Where is the love and light in that?

I see so much arrogance and hypocrisy, that this whole movement is increasingly becoming as corrupted as religion - in fact I would go as far as to say it has become a religion in itself, because the belief system is there, and is being practiced by many spiritualists/mediums/psychics as though it is gospel.

I think it is also flawed and hypocritical to adopt ancient Eastern religious beliefs such as karma and mantras whilst rejecting western ones because Judaism and Christianity is seen as being more flawed and corrupted. I see them all being flawed and corrupted… But the way they are being used within spiritualism is no different from the way the Church invents new doctrine and dogmas to keep power and control over people. Like I said before, there is a commercialisation in spiritualism/new age that is exploiting people by selling them ideas and concepts that keep them coming back for more… This is a growing movement...

I also think there are a lot of fakes out there, especially those that claim to be enlightened or gurus. I believe a lot of these people are very intelligent and have done a lot of research and learning about the different spiritual beliefs and concepts but are not very spiritual or enlightened and are in it for the fame and fortune. The same can be said about religious leaders and preachers in some parts of the world too.

I’ve been learning and reading and practicing a lot of spirituality for the past 5 years, and using pendulums, tarot readings, meditating, using crystals, has all not helped me. What has helped me grow and have more direct spiritual experiences, has been simple prayers, talking to others, supporting/helping others, praying for others, asking for help from others, having gratitude. I think a lot of the other stuff is being over sold and is not for everyone.

[Starman]

Spiritual Light, you do not have to listen to others, especially if what they are saying upsets you.
It is like democrats and republicans who want to challenge each others point of view, and each think that
they are right.

I do not share my spirituality to change peoples minds and get them to be like me. I do it simply to share,
and maybe inspire others. I do not like it when a Christian wants to brow beat me with Bible verses. But I
see it as a test of my tolerance and kindness.

I find it useful to surround myself with people who resonate with my way of seeing things, and I do not
hang around with people who upset me, or that I feel are toxic. In my opinion it is not about whether a
group, religious, or spiritual practice, is true or not. Each person has their own path.

What you are saying about New Age many others are saying about Scientology, or some other religious
or spiritual practice. I value diversity but still I do carefully select what I will embrace or take in, without
too much criticism of what I reject. I do not want to polarize myself.

P.S. There are lots of discussions here on this forum about New Age spirituality. The topic has often come up,
and if you do a search you may find the other discussions we have had here on New Age spirituality. Some
people here embrace it while others reject it, and some have no opinion on the topic.

[Spiritual_Light]

Starman,
I agree with nearly all of what you say.

I have had a lot of negative experiences in my life, and I was seeking answers for that and my own direct (positive) spiritual experiences, but it neither fitted in with religion or spirituality, and seemed to be outcast and rejected for not conforming to the same basis of beliefs.

Even outside of communities, just doing my own study of religion and spirituality, I found pros and cons to both worlds. But I still could not reconcile and resolve my own suffering through my study and research, without being told it is caused by sin/karma,/soul plans/lessons. It is just too negative. It makes me feel powerless and hopeless. But equally I don't accept or want to fall into the trap of taking in the beliefs that I can overcome it by doing daily prayer petitions, mantras, meditation exercises, and all this ritualistic stuff because this is what other people believe (and no it doesn't work from my own experience - you can't fix and cure certain problems by doing certain spiritual rituals and simply thinking more positively). It is the arrogance and hypocrisy about it being a sure thing/fix/cure/solution I do not like.

I guess, I need to find more of what works and resonates for me, as simple as it is and reject the stuff that does not.

Thank you for reminding me of the other discussions - I will take a look at those.

[ameliorate]

There is a danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water here. Whilst spirituality/new age is not without those who are fakes (as in many professions) and prone to hypocrisy (the gulf between talking the talk and walking the talk!), let's not overlook those who are leading lights and have helped so many in their spiritual progress!

I find it helps too to have good intuition in sorting the wheat out from the chaff. In this, I guess, I am lucky (or is it that I have cultivated it/refined it over the years?)

Since the word egotistical has been mentioned, I find this more likely in psychic matters rather than spirituality. You can be interested in psychic matters without being spiritually focused and therein lies part of the problem. To develop psychic skills often results in glorifying self/ego something not desired in spirituality. Ancient scriptures heed that we minimise the ego and this is to enable our soul/spirit to shine. I am wary of those focused on self rather than the quality of their interactions with others e.g. being aware and wanting to be of service/benefit to others speaks for itself. Voluntary work is particularly commendable.

[FairyCrystal]

Originally Posted by Spiritual_Light

It isn't who is teaching me. I can go off and learn about sprituality/New Age from lots of different sources, but there is a running theme that is not resonating with me and matching my own direct experiences......

I understand it's your experience. I've been active in the spiritual / energyworker world for 17 yrs now (gosh, time flies!!) and I've never come across anything you say.
But I also don't resonate with anything you say they said so I wouldn't attract such people to begin with. And if I ever would come across someone yapping about Karma, past lives, and that's it's my fault I suffer XYZ I would leave right away as I'd know I had entered a place of very low vibration.
I seriously cannot recall encountering anything like that ever in those 17 years and I've done courses, Zooms, workshops etc etc from quite the variety of teachers.

By which I mean to say, you're attracting the 'wrong' teachers, wrong in quotations marks as there is no such thing as wrong. But it's like attracting abusive partners. People always blame that partner and conveniently forget -or don't realise- that they themselves attracted that person in with their own vibration.
And don't take it as offense, but maybe you could do a check to see why you keep coming across this each time? What in you is it that could attract that?
Maybe the answer is in the fact that you say you've been busy with spirituality for 5 yrs yet only encounter negativity and judgement etc. I mean, why do something when it doesn't feel good? What is it that keeps you there?
Maybe you can find the answer somewhere in there as to why you attract this.

Hi,

I 'm not sure I 'm totally on topic, as I have a shortcoming due to a trauma that makes me not being able to follow and adapt into 'textual' / syntactic err.. texts adequetly but I know it for myself.........

My point to the thread is that, for spirituality, which is like seeking, to derive something for yourself you use filters...

For a man the main filter is the mind.

What I come in dissagreement in the new age Spirituality as I see it is a tendency to diregard the mind as a filter for an , so to speak all knowing . source.

My hope is that this post would add to 'better' understanding the subject.

Nikos.

[Spiritual_Light]

Originally Posted by ameliorate

There is a danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water here. Whilst spirituality/new age is not without those who are fakes (as in many professions) and prone to hypocrisy (the gulf between talking the talk and walking the talk!), let's not overlook those who are leading lights and have helped so many in their spiritual progress!

Originally Posted by FairyCrystal

I understand it's your experience. I've been active in the spiritual / energyworker world for 17 yrs now (gosh, time flies!!) and I've never come across anything you say.
But I also don't resonate with anything you say they said so I wouldn't attract such people to begin with.

Originally Posted by tadaysgone

Hi,
I 'm not sure I 'm totally on topic, as I have a shortcoming due to a trauma that makes me not being able to follow and adapt into 'textual' / syntactic err.. texts adequetly but I know it for myself.........
My point to the thread is that, for spirituality, which is like seeking, to derive something for yourself you use filters...
For a man the main filter is the mind.

Yes, there is a certain amount of discernment that we all need to do. I am usually very discerning with what I choose to believe. I just get frustrated that there is a growing movement of invalidating what people are suffering with by simplifying it to low/high vibe energies, karma, and manifesting/LOA.

Maybe I am just unfortunate to have had some frustrating experiences?

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by Spiritual_Light

...I see so much arrogance and hypocrisy, that this whole movement is increasingly becoming as corrupted as religion -
in fact I would go as far as to say it has become a religion in itself...

I don't see that. If I begin something and it doesn't ring true I 'change the channel' like I do on TV when
something is just terrible.
All the things I read or listen to are uplifting and positive.
Sorry, it's just how I filter things. Glass is half full to me.
So why do I comment?
Maybe you could not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Take care.


Oh, PS, the Admins have asked to only quote 2-3 sentences of others -
you can ref to the post # if that helps.