New Age Spirituality – Morning Has Been All Night Coming ( Part 9 )
"The New Age Spirituality Series"
In this series we will take a look at the history and development of the New Age Movement, which has been characterized by a change in consciousness, a shift away from tradition and conventional religion.
At first glance, it would appear that the movement began in ancient times as evidenced by diverse spiritual traditions across cultures and civilizations.
It is said to have emerged from the speculations of ancient esoteric mystery schools and the resulting belief that man's actual purpose is to become god.
This, it seems, can be achieved by attaining self-realization, which leads to higher consciousness and enlightenment.
The ancient civilizations in Egypt, India, Persia, China and Greece all contributed to this idea of divinity and spirituality.
It is said, for example, that the ancient Hindu Vedas represent the oldest of all spiritual writings and are the source of all subsequent wisdom traditions.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead also contains elements of spirituality as it deals with life after death.
The three religions that originate out of the Middle East – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – have also contributed to spirituality in some way or another.
For example, in Islam, there is the belief in a higher power and constant connection between God and man.
In the Bible, there is a universal consciousness with a permanent remembrance of God.
The Torah and the Talmud contain spiritual truths that transcend time and space.
Many other religions have also added to the storehouse of spiritual knowledge including Native American traditions such as shamanism, totem worship, rite of passage and ancestor veneration.
The emergence of science has also played a part in this movement as its discoveries have suggested that there is more to reality than we know and our sense of reality can be altered through beliefs and thought.
Phenomena such as quantum mechanics, extrasensory perception and the nature of human consciousness have challenged people to question what is real.
The idea that we are part of a larger reality has also been touched on by many New Age spiritual teachers and writers including John-Roger Hinkins and Brian Weiss.
Both authors have claimed to be able to have "psychic abilities".
They are also credited with beginning the New Age movement by writing about it.
All this has suggested that our reality is a mental construct and we can alter it through the mind by changing our beliefs and thoughts.
They claim, however, that if we have too much negativity in our lives and hold on to past bad experiences, not only do we block these experiences from coming back into our present lives but we also prevent ourselves from connecting with the source of all knowledge, the Universe.
To become better we have to become one with the Universe, which is Love and Light.
This, they say, can be achieved through meditation.
It is also important for us to have positive experiences in life to build up our positive karma and allow the Universe to manifest positive things in our lives so that we can elevate ourselves as well as help others.
The result will be a spiritual path that emphasizes love, compassion, charity and tolerance.
All this is part of growing and improving spiritually.
This means we have to have a lot of faith in the Universe and go with the flow.
But, as we shall see, there is more to it than that…
Yoga and Meditation
From what I understand of the New Age Movement, it began with a man named George Gurdjieff.
At first glance he seems like an unlikely New Age figure as he was born in 1866 in Armenia and died in 1949 in France.
However, he had a major influence on the movement as he was responsible for bringing eastern thought and mysticism to the west.
He called this system of beliefs and practices "The Fourth Way".
Through his method of self-development he aimed to teach people how to find their "true self" or soul.
But his teachings include more than just the traditional forms of yoga and meditation.
So what did he actually do?
According to author James Wasserman in his book "The New Age – An Insider's Guide to Spiritual Media", Gurdjieff encouraged people to follow a program that he called "The Work".
His idea was that this would bring about spiritual growth or what he called "self-remembering".
This was achieved through self-observation, introspection, self-analysis and isolation.
This isolation was said to be necessary in order to develop conscious control over external influences and their effect on an individual's thinking.
Gurdjieff also taught that we are asleep or unconscious spiritually because of the "resistance" we have from our early childhood experiences and programming.
We are taught to believe what others say about us and this leads us to develop a false sense of who we truly are – our identity.
Conclusion
So what was the New Age Movement all about?
What has become clear is that it is a blend of science, spirituality, the occult and mysticism.
It is thought that the objective of this movement is to help us become enlightened by tapping into the power of our unconscious mind to achieve self-realization.
This can be done through "spiritual science", which involves using our minds to turn on our divine light or soul.
This will lead to mental and spiritual evolution.