Explanations of the New Age
In the last forty years many spiritual teachings and practices have become popular. These teachings range from business with a heart to visualization, from meditation to archetypal psychology, from listening to nature spirits to aromatherapy. Popular teachers range from Ram Das to Ramtha, from Eckhart Tolle to Deepak Chopra, from Fritz Perls to Werner Erhard. People who follow these alternative non-traditional spiritual teachings and practices have often been labeled the New Age movement. While many people do not like this label, there does not seem to be a better name to attach to this movement. Since 1975 when I first encountered Psychosynthesis, the Findhorn community and theosophy, I have been continually immersed in the movement following my spiritual path.
The New Age movement is one of the most important cultural movements of the last forty years. This section analyzes ways to understand the movement.
Many New Agers see the movement in terms of larger cosmic changes and say the movement is happening because there is the larger cosmic change going on. So, many people say we are moving into the Age of Aquarius and as we make this move there are new energies flooding into the Earth. These energies result in major changes to individuals and our society. This idea is analyzed here. Currently very popular is the idea that the Mayan calendar prophesied the changes we are undergoing. This idea is analyzed here. Many people feel that the movement is happening because humans are undergoing a leap in evolution. This idea is analyzed here.
Many conservative Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals look at the movement and are horrified. They often see the movement containing many elements they consider Satanic. This explanation is explained and analyzed here
Sociologists look at the movement and analyze it in terms of social forces. Their explanations are explained and analyzed here.
Historians of American religion look at the movement and see it in terms of American religious history. Sometimes they explain the movement as another Awakening or outbreak of intense religious fervor. This explanation is explained and analyzed here. Sometimes they explain the movement as a rebirth of the nineteenth century movements of spiritualism and theosophy. This explanation is explained and analyzed here. Sometimes they put theosophy and spiritualism into the larger context of spiritual movements which emphasize harmony with spiritual forces. This explanation is explained and analyzed here.
Scholars who study Western cultural and intellectual history often explain the movement in terms of larger intellectual changes. Some see the movement as a shift in paradigms. This explanation is explained and analyzed here. Some see the movement as another kind of Postmodernism. This explanation is explained and analyzed here. Others see the movement as another form of Romanticism. This explanation is explained and analyzed here Finally, others see the movement as another form of Hermeticism, which is the esoteric wisdom that periodically resurfaces in our culture in such movements as alchemy, Rosicrucianism and Romanticism. This explanation is explained and analyzed here.
This essay was written by Joseph Waligore. He dedicated his life to following the will of the Universe when he was 20. Seven months later he received a message from his Higher Self or inner connection to the divine to quit Dartmouth College. Through following a deep intuition in a dream and after many synchronistic experiences, he met his soulmate and married her. He and his wife followed their spiritual intuitions in their daily lives, including receiving messages to have children. For twelve years he stayed at home and raised his three children while his wife worked. Then, his wife told him he needed to make some money, so he got a Ph. D. in philosophy from Syracuse University. He currently has a part-time job teaching philosophy and religious studies at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. More information about him can be found at his MySpace profile. He also has a website with information about his own spiritual journey and his spiritual philosophy.
