Yesterday I was forwarded an anti New Age movement video and I was asked to express my opinion on it. The basic argument made was that the New Age Movement is just opiate for the masses (what scientists have been saying about religion for years) and that it is just an excuse to boost book sales and enhance the personal careers of people like myself who are in essence convincing people they can manifest money so that we can make money off of those people. I don’t usually feel compelled to respond to videos or comments that are offered by people who are in a space of extreme resistance, because there is no desire in them to find a meeting of minds. Where there is no receptivity, no meaningful conversation can take place, so it is just better to allow them to feel exactly how they feel and line up with the results of that perspective. But this time, I am compelled to comment because on a worldwide level, I am considered a leader of the New Age.
The first thing that must be said is that there will definitely be big shadows to the New Age Movement. There will be shadows in it because it is made of people and people have shadows. You can be sure that I will be one of the first people to call those shadows out. But it is my desire to clarify for you what the New Age Movement actually is because most people who consider themselves to be “New Age”, do not even know what this movement is all about. And I have to be honest; many of the participants of the New Age movement do not help with this. Instead, they discredit the movement by virtue of their actions and words.
I’m going to begin by summing up the new age movement as succinctly as I can. The new age movement is a spiritual and socio-economic movement that seeks to create a spirituality that is not confined by dogmas or borders, a spirituality that is inclusive and pluralistic. It seeks to create unity within humanity by extracting the seeds of truth (taking the best) from all cultures, all philosophies, all religions as well as all non-religious based philosophies such as science, self-help and psychology. It seeks to combine those truths into the purest, most in-alignment way of life that the world has yet seen. It seeks to decrease suffering and create unity on a social and cultural level as well, in accordance with the spiritual truths of this universe. Keep in mind that unity is not ever to be confused with conformity! You cannot force any of these changes to occur, people must come to them on an individual level and be allowed to do that. Everything else that is associated with the New Age Movement (like intentional communities, veganism/raw food-ism, astrology, positive thinking, teleology, self help, intuition, theism etc.) is just an extension of this principal belief nucleus or intention.
The New Age Movement recognizes all beings as integral, individual puzzle pieces to the whole. As such, it recognizes that all beings are unique. As unique beings, what works for one person, will be different than what works for anyone else. Because of this, the basic premise of the New Age Movement is that YOU, as an individual should create your own religion for yourself. Your life should be a unique cocktail of what works for you. Sometimes those very same ingredients that work for you, will work for other people too, but the ingredients aren’t what matters as much as the mixture of ingredients which adds up to your specific and unique recipe of well being. Spirituality, science, religion, truth, knowledge…It all means nothing if it does not contribute to a more enjoyable life. The New Age Movement seeks to take the best that all religions and all cultures and all science and all people have to offer. Its aim is for you to take them and roll those pure, shining truths into one practice within yourself and make that the devout practice of your life. This is true progression. This is the dawning of a new age within the human race, where people recognize their own unique divinity. Those who are part of the New Age Movement are committed to the idea of a world full of individuals that are empowered in their own lives, because they have not missed the truth that at the heart of EVERY single crime and war and injustice and tragedy, is a basic belief in one’s powerlessness to the rest of the world and to other people.
I am dedicated to bringing a unified, empowered and free society to fruition. And many people, who share this vision, are already part of the New Age Movement without even knowing it. It is true that many people (including myself) are wary about associating themselves with the New Age classification, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t agree with it. And despite the criticism and discrediting that has been directed at the movement, this really is a new age we are living in and bringing about.
The New Age Movement is a freedom movement. It is a freedom movement designed first and foremost to dissolve barriers within ourselves and dissolve barriers between people. The barriers we have erected between each other are painful. The restrictions we have placed on ourselves in order to try to get ourselves to conform are painful. We dishonor the truth of who we are by trying to cram ourselves into tiny boxes; tiny boxes of religion, tiny boxes of culture, tiny boxes of family beliefs etc. We cannot be the full expression of our true selves while we are adhering to tiny boxes and while we are trying to get ourselves to fit into an external society instead of molding our external society(s) to fit us as individuals. The time has come to end both human suffering and non-human suffering. The time has come to see that even though contrast is a necessary part of expansion, suffering is not. There is no excuse for unnecessary suffering. It is time that suffering ends within this world. But for suffering to end in this world; it must first end within ourselves.
Because Humor is a good way to end suffering with oneself, I'm going to include two hysterically funny videos that pertain to this very topic. A good place to start, is to learn how to laugh at ourselves... .
