Why is new age spirituality thought of as bad?
 

Hi everyone, I'm back with yet another question

Why do some people consider new age spirituality as bad? I'm reading a book and in it they talk about how new age beliefs feed the ego. Is it really that bad that it feeds the ego if it's true? What's the issue there? By the way, I don't really know if new age beliefs are really real - still learning a lot!

Thanks in advance for your help :)

I don't listen to everything that everyone says around here ~
everyone has their own opinion ~

On the positive side, New Age beliefs allow people to explore the non-physical world, to deal with non-physical energies, to consider the possibilities that we are more than just our physical bodies and that there is more to being alive than just paying off the mortgage and making it to three-score years and ten. New Age beliefs can provide meaning and purpose to our lives, and help us explore what it means to be a human being.

On the negative side, New Age beliefs can embrace all sorts of ideas, some of which even I find strange. And there are valid criticisms of some New Age ideas.

For example, the Law of Attraction is an expression of a deep esoteric principle, but for many people it is a way to fulfil their material desires without having to work for it. And often they fail because they haven't really cleared their own blockages.

Or the number of people who channel various Masters, which no doubt makes them feel spiritually important as the mouthpiece of such an Ascended Master. But when you read or listen to the channeled messages they are usually very trite, and you do not have to be a Master to come out with this stuff. But there is a lot of glamour associated with this, and people like to feel that they are special.

These are just a couple of examples of problematic New Age areas. But the New Age is still in its infancy - we can only hope it matures with the passage of time. Speaking as someone who began looking into these things back in the 1970s, in those days the New Age was very fringe - many New Age ideas have now become much more mainstream which is a positive step.

Peace

Some in the Christian community really do not like New Age spirituality. They consider it evil. They consider Wiccans to be devil worshippers.

An A-Z List of New Age Practices to Avoid, and Why
I just try to think for myself

So many donts. I feel down just reading it.

then don't read it & you will be free of it

What do you mean? Thanks for the link by the way. It was still enlightening

First, 'New Age' does not have an exact definition.

In general the New Age practices are borrowed bits of older spiritual systems plucked out without the supporting system. This means many of the practices are 'real' and can have benefits in concept. New Age does not replace the supporting structure with its own. In practice, without a viable frame work, the practices are just disjoint pieces that do not add up to more than superficial/beginner spirituality.

IMO the choice of what to borrow is largely biased on what it most tangible and accessible for beginners. That's a good start, but alone not something of substance.

One of the negative effects of all the above is that people get the false impression they know more than they do. A vocal minority has in the past run out and proclaimed they have it all and proceed to teach others what (little) they know. Those being taught reach roadblocks which these 'teachers'' are ill equipped to help them with.

Thanks everyone for your input, very helpful :)