New Age - What Do You Think?

[Tatanka_Maza]

Originally Posted by Heart2Heart

I know the New Age Movement is mainly influenced by the Eastern philosophy, especially Buddhism and Hinduism. Also the movement contains Native American beliefs and Carl Jung's teachings of collective unconscious. You might be right. I purchased a book from a used bookstore today. The book is called, "The Everything World's Religions Book" by Robert Pollock. It mentions the followers are looking to a New World Order that would end wars, pollutions, poverty, and discrimination.

Just to note that the various New agey practices have nothing to do with traditional native ways and beliefs. By and large, we can't stand the newagers, as most of them are culture vultures and spiritual pirates who will latch on to anything that appears "cool".

[TRiG]

Originally Posted by Tatanka_Maza

Just to note that the various New agey practices have nothing to do with traditional native ways and beliefs. By and large, we can't stand the newagers, as most of them are culture vultures and spiritual pirates who will latch on to anything that appears "cool".

I'm sure New Agers are fond of things like dream-catchers (while probably understanding their cultural context no more than I do). As you say, vultures.

TRiG.

[Tatanka_Maza]

Originally Posted by TRiG

I'm sure New Agers are fond of things like dream-catchers (while probably understanding their cultural context no more than I do). As you say, vultures.

TRiG.

If it were only *dreamcatchers* it wouldn't be that big of an issue. It is the wholesale appropriation and exploitation of our traditional ways for personal gain. Go into any bookstore and look in either the new age section, or if they have a *Native American* section. None of the books there are written by legitimate native spiritual people, but rather self styled *medicine men* (and women) who mix up an eclectic blend of various tribal traditions with a hodge podge of new agey airy fairy ****. The public reads this garbage, thinks it is the real deal, and when encountering a genuine traditional native, dismisses our true beliefs as nonsense. People who try to practice the horse hockey published in these books often get hurt, or hurt others, spiritually and sometimes physically.

[bhuvana-mohan dasa]

Originally Posted by Tatanka_Maza

If it were only *dreamcatchers* it wouldn't be that big of an issue. It is the wholesale appropriation and exploitation of our traditional ways for personal gain. Go into any bookstore and look in either the new age section, or if they have a *Native American* section. None of the books there are written by legitimate native spiritual people, but rather self styled *medicine men* (and women) who mix up an eclectic blend of various tribal traditions with a hodge podge of new agey airy fairy ****. The public reads this garbage, thinks it is the real deal, and when encountering a genuine traditional native, dismisses our true beliefs as nonsense. People who try to practice the horse hockey published in these books often get hurt, or hurt others, spiritually and sometimes physically.

i agree, Tatanka.......they have done the same to Native American tradition as to the Vedic......they've squeezed out novelties like "affirmations" (Mantras) and reincarnation......and turned their yuppie backs on accountability and morality.....

ys,
bmd.

[Apologette]

The fact is that New Agers readily embrace Hinduism. For instance, in our town in the wilderness mountains, a regular enclave for New Agers who control most of the tourist enterprises, the New Agers embrace Hindu phallic symbols, lingams I think they're called, used for Shiva worship. They sell these little phallic stones in the streets to bring world peace. When I pointed out to the lady that these were simply phallic symbols - she said they came from some river in India, and this river makes phallic symbols out of stones (I guess so that they can be sold by New Agers - who will buy into just about anything). New Agers also practice forms of Hinduism, thinking that it is superior to Christianity, I suppose. Hard to believe that worshipping mythical deities could be superior to knowing the Living God - but, of course, there is a spiritual blindness which prevades this area.

[TRiG]

Originally Posted by Apologette

Hard to believe that worshipping mythical deities could be superior to knowing the Living God.

Ah, arrogance. The casual dismissive tone you use while talking to people you disagree with is evidence of a rather unpleasant personality. And besides, you have no more evidence that your god is alive than anyone else here has that theirs is.

As has just been pointed out, the New Agers don't really accept Hinduism, or Native American spirituality, or anything much. They just pick out the bits they find pretty. We called them vultures. Perhaps they'd be better described as magpies.

I suppose what these people really want is mysticism, and perhaps the appeal of the unfamiliar. Of course, Christianity too has a mystic tradition, though it's uncommon these days. And if you want a group which is (a) within the general Christian tradition while being suitably heterodox to have the appeal of the unfamiliar, and (b) mystic, there's always the Gnostics.

But real Gosticism, real Mystic Christianity, or real Hinduism for that matter, take effort. Which is why the magpies don't do it, and just collect their crystals instead.

TRiG.