Done with the New Age

[engellstein]

lol yeah I was making a Star Wars joke. I have to start a thread sometime soon on a Star Wars theory I just heard that really made me think.

No one really answered my question about what new age is though. Is there no one definition of it? Although I lump all things energy/spiritual into new age, I segregate teachings that revolve around ETs. I notice a lot of people are obsessed with aliens anymore and think they puppeteer politics, or that they are waiting to pounce on us and take over, or that they're upgrading us to evolve into new lifeforms.

Sounds like Christianity 2.0 where Jesus is swapped out for little green men and Armageddon got swapped out for.. Armageddon. Engellstein don't need none of that in his life. I just got out of one mainstream cult, I don't need to get into a fringe cult lol.

[Wandering_Star]

Originally Posted by Holly

I'm done with the new age movement. It was fine when I still enjoyed mentally examining life, spirit and morality ad infinitum searching for truth but not anymore.

I splashed around in the New Age for a while when I was younger. And then I woke up to the fact that most of it is 1) calculated to separate seekers from their money; and 2) needlessly complicated--and even obscured--what it means to "be spiritual."

The downside to the new age is the consensus of belief can make it very hard for people to believe in their right to become enlightened ALL ON THEIR OWN. No angels, channels, psychics, spiritual practises, "raising of vibration" or beliefs in Gods involved!

I think one thing that makes the New Age such a swamp, and so easy to get lost or bogged down in, is the lack of consensus. There are some beliefs that are more common than others, but not every New Ager believes them. So it's easy to fall into some very negative, arrogant, and decidedly unspiritual beliefs that pander to one's worst fears and/or most narcissistic ambitions. There's nobody there to say, "Hey, no--that's not how it is," or if there is they can be put off by arguing that we're all seeking our own truth, and all ideas are valid, or else smugly informed that they are not yet "awakened" enough to understand.

So I would find myself agreeing with the common idea that we are eternal spiritual beings who have come here to have these physical experiences--yet find myself thinking, "No way!" an awful lot when the discussions got deeper into why we'd chosen to do that. Or others would have the same response when listening to me. But under the "New Age" banner, there is very little in the way of consensus; you have to get down into smaller subgroups, such as followers of Esther Hicks, or those who believe in indigo/crystal children as a phenomenon, to start finding it.

So many contradictions in the new age community, and no centralisation. People are basically making their own God, their own religion - which is fine, but then they go and argue about who's right! Ugh. Exhausting. I did it too, and I'm relieved to say it was just a learning phase and I can no longer be bothered.

Yeah, it's basically individuals creating belief systems in their own image (or buying a readymade one that appeals to them). I don't think that's a bad thing, in itself. But where it does go awry is when those individuals don't examine why they choose to believe in that particular belief system, and what makes it so compelling to them. They take it to be the Truth about how the universe works, and their own alleged level of spiritual evolution, rather than a reflection of what's going on within them--their fears, their longings, their pain, their ambitions.

So I see a lot of very earnest spiritual strivers, who call themselves "old souls," or who go on about "awakening," "ascension," or "enlightenment," but at the same time have profound difficulties simply living on this earth, among what they describe as the "unawakened" masses. Or I see individuals who insist they aren't really humans; they're from the Pleiades, or they're incarnated angels, or some-such--and yet they're full of anxiety, and prone to depression, and have difficulties with human relationships, and generally see this earthly existence as a prison planet. Or "Lightworkers," who are more spiritually evolved than the rest of us, and who are here to raise humanity to a higher frequency--but are deeply unhappy (and often unhealthy) people.

I rarely see anyone ask, "If you're so awakened, or such a powerful, advanced sort of being, then why does your life suck so much, and why do you keep perceiving so many barriers between yourself and other people?" And I never see anyone question their own belief, even when the contradictions between their "spiritual" identity and their physical/emotional/mental lived experience are glaringly apparent.

The New Age is really good at packaging snd selling beliefs that speak to people's deepest fears, longings, and aspirations. But it's pretty bad at getting people to ask, "Why is that belief so compelling to you, and what does that say about your current state of being? And might that be something that needs changing, if you're to find genuine joy and peace?"

I've said it (and practised it long before I came to this site or encountered new age philosophy) - the only thing you need to become enlightened, is meditation. That's it. Nothing else.

Enlightenment states are very easy. Half the stuff the New Age philosophy puts in your mind is just overcomplication and actually an obstacle to achieving self awareness.

I agree. But I do also think that an awful lot of overly-complicated New Age ideas serve as a way of hiding from self-awareness, particularly of one's disowned shadow side. Some New Agers do actively seek the light, but from what I've observed (and experienced myself) over the last 30 years or so, a lot more of them are just trying to flee their own darkness.

[ianalexanderr]

Originally Posted by engellstein

lol yeah I was making a Star Wars joke. I have to start a thread sometime soon on a Star Wars theory I just heard that really made me think.

No one really answered my question about what new age is though. Is there no one definition of it? Although I lump all things energy/spiritual into new age, I segregate teachings that revolve around ETs. I notice a lot of people are obsessed with aliens anymore and think they puppeteer politics, or that they are waiting to pounce on us and take over, or that they're upgrading us to evolve into new lifeforms.

Sounds like Christianity 2.0 where Jesus is swapped out for little green men and Armageddon got swapped out for.. Armageddon. Engellstein don't need none of that in his life. I just got out of one mainstream cult, I don't need to get into a fringe cult lol.

The New Age is a spiritual toss salad of various concepts that when you really think about it - aren't ideologically compatible yet mixed together:
Kabbalah, Astrology, Crystals, Channelled info, Ascended masters, Jesus, Paganism, Tree of Life, Superstition, Astral Travel, Flower of Life, Spells, Magic, Hind gods, Chakras, Buddhic nature, Christ Consciousness - at some point it turns into Jibberish. At this point, I would say a good idea is for many who have gone through this spiritual soup of the new age - to then write books Deciphering the New Age, helping the novice through all the confusion.

It can be a great distraction, a great way of losing interest in mundane responsibilities/obligations, it does inevitably give the sense that you have to escape the world, can induce disillusion. I think this is why, Kabbalah at first was only available to married men - the demands and responsibilities of every day life would force a balance preventing them from going overboard.

[CrystalSong]

Originally Posted by Wandering_Star

I think one thing that makes the New Age such a swamp, and so easy to get lost or bogged down in, is the lack of consensus. There are some beliefs that are more common than others, but not every New Ager believes them. So it's easy to fall into some very negative, arrogant, and decidedly unspiritual beliefs that pander to one's worst fears and/or most narcissistic ambitions. There's nobody there to say, "Hey, no--that's not how it is," or if there is they can be put off by arguing that we're all seeking our own truth, and all ideas are valid, or else smugly informed that they are not yet "awakened" enough to understand.

So I would find myself agreeing with the common idea that we are eternal spiritual beings who have come here to have these physical experiences--yet find myself thinking, "No way!" an awful lot when the discussions got deeper into why we'd chosen to do that. Or others would have the same response when listening to me. But under the "New Age" banner, there is very little in the way of consensus; you have to get down into smaller subgroups, such as followers of Esther Hicks, or those who believe in indigo/crystal children as a phenomenon, to start finding it.



Yeah, it's basically individuals creating belief systems in their own image (or buying a readymade one that appeals to them). I don't think that's a bad thing, in itself. But where it does go awry is when those individuals don't examine why they choose to believe in that particular belief system, and what makes it so compelling to them. They take it to be the Truth about how the universe works, and their own alleged level of spiritual evolution, rather than a reflection of what's going on within them--their fears, their longings, their pain, their ambitions.

So I see a lot of very earnest spiritual strivers, who call themselves "old souls," or who go on about "awakening," "ascension," or "enlightenment," but at the same time have profound difficulties simply living on this earth, among what they describe as the "unawakened" masses. Or I see individuals who insist they aren't really humans; they're from the Pleiades, or they're incarnated angels, or some-such--and yet they're full of anxiety, and prone to depression, and have difficulties with human relationships, and generally see this earthly existence as a prison planet. Or "Lightworkers," who are more spiritually evolved than the rest of us, and who are here to raise humanity to a higher frequency--but are deeply unhappy (and often unhealthy) people.

I rarely see anyone ask, "If you're so awakened, or such a powerful, advanced sort of being, then why does your life suck so much, and why do you keep perceiving so many barriers between yourself and other people?" And I never see anyone question their own belief, even when the contradictions between their "spiritual" identity and their physical/emotional/mental lived experience are glaringly apparent.

The New Age is really good at packaging snd selling beliefs that speak to people's deepest fears, longings, and aspirations. But it's pretty bad at getting people to ask, "Why is that belief so compelling to you, and what does that say about your current state of being? And might that be something that needs changing, if you're to find genuine joy and peace?"




I agree. But I do also think that an awful lot of overly-complicated New Age ideas serve as a way of hiding from self-awareness, particularly of one's disowned shadow side. Some New Agers do actively seek the light, but from what I've observed (and experienced myself) over the last 30 years or so, a lot more of them are just trying to flee their own darkness.

As I was reading this I realized that the word New Age could be substituted with Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Zenism and so on and still apply. Apparently we are talking about human nature here no matter what belief system someone comes from.

[jonesboy]

Not really Crystalsong,

The difference is time tested system of practices and knowledge.

For instance, not a single tradition teaches about astral. They teach about lucid dreaming to show that reality is self arising. It is easier to understand that in dreams than in astral but the lessons are the same. The astral confirms seperation.

The problem with new age is they take bits and pieces without fully understanding the lessons learned from thousands of years of practice and experience.

They end up stuck and have no idea why they are so powerful in the astral yet have no knowledge of silence or joy radiating from an open heart.

I find it very sad to see very skilled people stuck and because of what they "see"band will never advance beyond that point.

Originally Posted by engellstein

lol yeah I was making a Star Wars joke. I have to start a thread sometime soon on a Star Wars theory I just heard that really made me think.

No one really answered my question about what new age is though. Is there no one definition of it?

I don't think there's a precise definition. It's one of those things that's understood. It's the "spiritual" material you find in the "mind body and spirit" section of popular high street bookstores. Popular authors, bits of the exotic that attracts people because it's different and exciting - and non-religious (superficially at least) because people are trying to escape that. Not allowed to mention authors names here because of the rules but there are a few charlatans out there getting quite rich on their waffle.

Until about 1980 (I'm told) you never saw this stuff in popular bookshops. Until that point, about the only thing you'd find came under Tarot and self-help, like Dale Carnegie and popular psychology.

Earlier traditions and various shades of the occult were the province of specialist bookshops. Because of censure in the UK some sources were difficult to find. You won't find much Crowley, Grant, Bertiaux, Reagrdie, Fortune and magical practices and deeper developmental stuff in high street shops. You won't even find educated texts on Hindu practices.

A Star Wars Joke? Well, my own regard for a lot of the new age on the net and popular bookships.... may the Farce be with you.

(There's probably more "truth" in the Jedi than you'll find in many populist preachers and instant gratification promise merchants.)



..

[engellstein]

Old religion isn't a milestone for anything. Christianity plunged the western world into the Dark Ages after all. If anything, they are an example of what not to do, and also an example of how people are easily misled. Anyone today should look at history and stop their religions, yet they cling to them instead because they have to believe in something.

So human nature is to cling to whatever is easiest to grab onto. I think a lot of people in New Age stuff are doing just that. They may have been disillusioned by the hypocrisy of their old religion and went on a search for meaning everywhere and their obsession with needing to belong to something got them stuck in New Age.

New Age "religions", for their part, are just repeating what old religions have already done. Mainly they teach to fear the "end" and how you must "be ready". I think the main difference is they acknowledge energy, which is something I've never heard Christianity do at least.

So from my pov, any new system of thought is just as hokey as any old system of thought, but there's probably something to be mined from any of it. So be smart and mine what you need to and get out before the fumes get to you.

[Deepsoul]

Ah dont forget about God guys ,if it werent for him,she, it, the ,mystery, one would not even experience any of this,whether it be self transformation through meditation or any other means ,We are Gods Ye, but it is when He is me then I am humbled..and Love is revealed

[Holly]

I agree with pretty much everything you've said, and I'm 100% with you on the shadow side. God, the arguments I've had with people over that in the past! It's a necessary part of self awareness and growth. I also think you've hit the nail on the head with beliefs being reflections. I found that was quite an advanced lesson for me. Other people might learn faster but it took me many years to figure that out. I'm not surprise a lot of people find it difficult.

Originally Posted by Wandering_Star

So I see a lot of very earnest spiritual strivers, who call themselves "old souls," or who go on about "awakening," "ascension," or "enlightenment," but at the same time have profound difficulties simply living on this earth, among what they describe as the "unawakened" masses. Or I see individuals who insist they aren't really humans; they're from the Pleiades, or they're incarnated angels, or some-such--and yet they're full of anxiety, and prone to depression, and have difficulties with human relationships, and generally see this earthly existence as a prison planet. Or "Lightworkers," who are more spiritually evolved than the rest of us, and who are here to raise humanity to a higher frequency--but are deeply unhappy (and often unhealthy) people.

This made me chuckle because firstly you've really got those personality types down perfectly And also because I'm an incarnated angel ;) I was the worst kind of IA once. I believed I'd found the One Truth and I was more angel than human, trapped on Earth and blah blah blah. I went about educating others. It's quite funny now :) And now I have a lot more compassion for others who do the same thing!

Unfortunately I think that's a phase some people just have to pass through.

My mistake was not believing I'm fully human. I was trying to escape my fears by putting my sense of identity into the 'angel' not the human. I thought (mostly subconsciously) that by behaving in a way I thought was very angelic I'd be able to ascend and bypass my fears, struggles and confusions more quickly and “escape.”

I bet if this is how I felt...others probably do too.

Thankfully I was broken out of it pretty quick.

When an incarnated angel is balanced, it's different. I don't think of Earth as a prison. I couldn't be happier to be here! I feel indescribable joy at being given the chance to live, love and have fun! I don't view myself as a comic helper either. I view God as the cosmic helper, and myself as the tiny little dot of life and soul enjoying his company on Earth. I guess it's personal for everyone.

I don't think I really knew what an angel was until recently. I've spent years with Azrael, talking to him, observing his character. People who think they know angels from reading a few books...rubbish. Sorry :) But it's rubbish, what's printed on Doreen Virtue's pretty paperbacks. It's designed to sell, it's not a real angel in his natural habitat, so to speak ;)

I look at angels and I see people, like humans. They're not religious icons. They're just another form of sentient, intelligent life doing their best to help humans because they like children, and that's basically what we are in terms of sentience and evolution.

When I realised that I started being myself and stopped trying to live up to a fictional idea of angels...and voila. Better balance. I think I was lucky. Azrael is an excellent teacher. He always told me to commit to being human, that I was human for a reason. I did, and I found better balance, physically, emotionally and mentally too. That balance gives me faith and trust and lets me wield more power over my own life (ONLY my own life.) Now I'm more balanced, being an angel is a strength, like a skill or a talent I can use to further my human experience, rather than a form of escapism.

I agree that a lot of people don't treat this stuff in a balanced way. Most of them can't.

[Deepsoul]

Thats great Holly I think yeah it takes a long while to balance , there is gallons of shall we call it stuff to wade through ,im only at the tip of the iceberg now , everyones

just trying to make sense of it all,and all the sharing and experimenting i think is wonderful because we are all unique and need to express in different ways ,i was just

singing surrender surrender in my bath before and then words turned to singing tounges in a way and the high tone that made me think it was either angelic or alien that

came out of me certainly seemed to help with my physical pain i was experiencing from some food intolerance ,so who really cares how people are transforming and

as for me as long as it brings me closer to the millions of ways that love can express itself....