New Age: Nothin’ but BS?
I see a tall, dark stranger entering your life….
Peace, love and light…
Ok, I get it. You live in the REAL world and pay REAL bills and have REAL problems. New Age is just a whole lotta “woo woo” garbage.
Hmm. Maybe. But maybe not so much. Hear me out.
Unfortunately, the whole genre has gotten a bad rap. New Age is meant to encompass anything that challenges the status quo, values the unseen, and requires an open mind. Things like astrology/tarot/numerology, or environmentalism — or even spirituality. Instead, New Age has become known for contrarians, hippies and kooks out of touch with reality. I’m not saying there aren’t any in the bunch; because of that fringe element, I’ve kept an extremely— almost closeted—low profile with respect to my interests. Aliens and wicca aren’t my gig, but hey, live and let live — and who am I to say what does or doesn’t exist. The most basic tenet of anything New Age is accepting there is SO MUCH more to life than meets the eye. And frankly, isn’t that the same as mainstream organized religion: faith and belief in the unseen, so much larger than us, plus the power of energy (love, kindness) to effect change.
Just like anything there are shades of belief and participation. Divination of course has long roots to previous generations, oppressive religions, and superstition. I personally love a reading or prediction, and working with spiritual intuitives; anything that brings more information to my attention which is consumed by daily minutia — I want to know what I cant see or don’t know or am blind to. Information is power. I’m not saying gamble away your life savings on the ponies, or pay exorbitant sums for “information” from anyone (Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost is a perfect example). I’m saying be SMART. There are MANY charlatans more than willing to take advantage of vulnerable and desperate people — scams galore! You’ve got to keep one foot firmly rooted in REAL LIFE. Crooks take advantage of the emotional.
But the point is, there is room for both left brain (logical real world stuff) and right brain (intuitive, feeling stuff).
I believe the greatest advantage of New Age is that it instills HOPE: hope that the future can be better, the world can be greater. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with cultivating optimism for the future in a world where so much seems negatively beyond our control.
