New Age Deceptions.

[Starman]

Originally Posted by LiberatedLotus

The obvious problems with these "movements" are
the deprogramming / destabilization / control &
manipulation of masses. People have
to be aware of the dark aspects (that exist in
everything) of occultism, politics, religious / spiritual
dogma & how they are interconnected.

See, it's beautiful to see the interconnectedness in
life. But must be aware of how these principles operate
on every level of existence.

This is why it's important for people to maintain
a universal perspective, to have proper discernment,
and methodology to correctly synthesize information
from a myriad of sources to get to truth.

The people in these movements might say the same thing about other movements. I
was following a guru back in 1978 when the so-called "Reverend Jim Jones" murdered
more than 900 of his followers; from an American cult he established.

At that time I wondered if the guru which I was following could do such a thing,
but the experience that I was having with this guru was incredby loving and beautiful.
My point is that we can be informed by our experience regardless what happens elsewhere.
The people who died at Jonestown were so brainwashed and apparently desperate for salvation
that they were not in touch with their gut, or intuition, until it was too late.

It does not take much to know whether you are in the shadows or the light, it is something
we feel more than we think. An we can learn and grow from the shadows as well as we can
from the light. Some of my deepest insights have come from some of the darkest nights of my
"soul." It is my belief that there is no place where God is not, and it seems most people,
including myself, had to go through hell to get to heaven.

[Starman]

The term "New Age" is mostly used in the U.S., Canada, and some small parts of Europe.
An it is mostly used by people who are not a part of, or associated with, the so-called
new age movement. People in the so-called new age movement usually do not think of
themselves as "New Age'rs." Most people in the new age movement do not use the term
"New Age" to describe their practice. Indeed, what they practice was taken from stuff,
such as yoga, meditation, astrology, etc., that in many cases is thousands of years old
and came before the term "New Age." This term is mostly used by people who are critical
of this movement.

If you go to Africa, India, Asia, China, or countries in the Middle-east, they will not know
what you are talking about when you say the "New Age Movement." It is mostly a western
concept initially developed by traditional established religions, primarily Christianity,
who felt threatened by this new movement. But today there are some Christian denominations,
like the Episcopal faith and Christian Gnostic's, who embrace and incorporate, some of the
practices used by the so-called "new age movement."

[inavalan]

I have a vehemence-o-meter, and when it goes red I move my attention away, no matter from which side of the discussion that voice comes.

I think that both New Age, as most of its detractors, are just like any other religion.

Being open to being wrong in your beliefs is a rarity.

"beauty & complexity / yet simplicity" doesn't really mean anything. :)

[Starman]

Originally Posted by inavalan

Being open to being wrong in your beliefs is a rarity.

I definitely agree. Now having agreed, I believe that spiritual, or religious,
truth is not something which we should agree upon rather truth is something
which we shold experience for ourselves. Who am I to tell others they are right or wrong?
It is not about group-think, nor in my opinion is it about right or wrong, as there are
countless ways that we can grow and develop, and we can learn from any experience.

Originally Posted by inavalan

...Being open to being wrong in your beliefs is a rarity...

Exactly.

To me, the original sin is believing what you think somehow actually defines the universe. That is to say you believe what you think should apply to everyone and everything else - or simply DOES.

To be truly spiritual it follows that one would believe everything is proceeding according to spiritual principles.

Anything else is ego.

Originally Posted by Starman

I definitely agree. Now having agreed, I believe that spiritual, or religious,
truth is not something which we should agree upon rather truth is something
which we shold experience for ourselves. Who am I to tell others they are right or wrong?
It is not about group-think, nor in my opinion is it about right or wrong, as there are
countless ways that we can grow and develop, and we can learn from any experience.

I think we should agree everyone has their own way of seeing things, and their own path.

This gives a lot of room to everyone, IMO.

[soarmind]

Originally Posted by Kioma

I think we should agree everyone has their own way of seeing things, and their own path.

This gives a lot of room to everyone, IMO.

A question can have more than one answer but wise guy will choose the best and suppose to be the universal right answer. And not blindly doing something that's against his own will of morality or unknown stuffs. Especially those are deceptive, delusive, misleading, dreaming........that can't be verified by himself.

[Starman]

Originally Posted by Kioma

I think we should agree everyone has their own way of seeing things, and their own path.

This gives a lot of room to everyone, IMO.

Sometimes a path chooses us and sometimes we consciously choose a path,
and sometimes people have several different paths which they travel in one life time.
Although it seems most people stay on the same spiritual path their entire life.

I would say that everyone has their own path but I don't know if that is something
that we "should" agree on. An I don't know if everyone has their own way of seeing
things, because a lot of people have no ownership in the way they see things.

They see things from the point of view of others, or were told at a young age how
they should see things; which means, in the strictest sense, they do not have their
own way of seeing things. But to keep it simple, yes, lets agree, until a more prominent
perspective otherwise comes forth.

I read the wise words on this page but one has to realise that this has been an explosion as Starman describes. It's a new market. Unfortunately it isn't selling tangible goods or regulated services so it's difficult to bring it under consumer law (though that exists in the European Union). Thus among the many viable and usable spiritual propositions, the flood gates let in charlatans and money makers peddling what's effectively trash. In some cases, fraud. These miscreants prey on the vulnerable. Hence the need for critical examination - exposing the flawed logic, the inconsistencies, fake facts etc. (I gave examples of some I found).

The upshot is likely those who unwittingly fall for the fakery will be at least disappointed, at worse emotionally damaged; or simply give up when after some effort the proposition hasn't worked.

That's the essence of what LiberatedLotus had to say, as I see it. It does happen, useless to deny it.

♥

Originally Posted by Lorelyen

...The upshot is likely those who unwittingly fall for the fakery will be at least disappointed, at worse emotionally damaged; or simply give up when after some effort the proposition hasn't worked...

You started out well, but I'm not sure your second or last statement could be called an 'upshot'.

But you're right, the world guides - at least to those who are listening.