PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE PONTIFICAL
COUNCIL FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
JESUS CHRIST THE BEARER OF THE WATER OF LIFE. A Christian
reflection on the "New Age"
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
1.
What sort of reflection
1.1. Why now?
1.2. Communications
1.3. Cultural background
1.4. The New
Age and Catholic faith
1.5. A positive challenge
2.
New Age spirituality: an overview
2.1.
What is new about New Age?
2.2.
What does the New Age claim to offer?
2.2.1.
Enchantment: There Must be an Angel
2.2.2.
Harmony and Understanding: Good Vibrations
2.2.3. Health: Golden
Living
2.2.4. Wholeness:
A Magical Mystery Tour
2.3.
The fundamental principles of New Age thinking
2.3.1.
A global response in a time of crisis
2.3.2.
The essential matrix of New Age thinking
2.3.3. Central
themes of the New Age
2.3.4. What
does New Age say about...
2.3.4.1. ...the human
person?
2.3.4.2. ...God?
2.3.4.3. ...the world?
2.4.
"Inhabitants of myth rather than history": New Age and
culture
2.5.
Why has New Age grown so rapidly and spread so effectively?
3.
New Age and Christian faith
3.1. New
Age as spirituality
3.2. Spiritual narcissism?
3.3. The Cosmic Christ
3.4.
Christian mysticism and New Age mysticism
3.5. The God within
and theosis
4.
New Age and Christian faith in contrast
5.
Jesus Christ offers us the water of life
6. Points
to note
6.1.
Guidance and sound formation are needed
6.2. Practical steps
7. Appendix
7.1.
Some brief formulations of New Age ideas
7.2. A select glossary
7.3. Key New Age places
8. Resources
8.1.
Documents of the Catholic Church's Magisterium
8.2. Christian studies
9.
General bibliography
9.1.
Some New Age books
9.2.
Historical, descriptive and analytical works
NOTES
The present study is concerned with the complex phenomenon of "New
Age" which is influencing many aspects of contemporary culture.
The study is a provisional report. It is the fruit of the common
reflection of the Working Group on New Religious Movements, composed
of staff members of different dicasteries of the Holy See: the Pontifical
Councils for Culture and for Interreligious Dialogue (which are
the principal redactors for this project), the Congregation for
the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity.
These reflections are offered primarily to those engaged in pastoral
work so that they might be able to explain how the New Age movement
differs from the Christian faith. This study invites readers to
take account of the way that New Age religiosity addresses
the spiritual hunger of contemporary men and women. It should be
recognized that the attraction that New Age religiosity has
for some Christians may be due in part to the lack of serious attention
in their own communities for themes which are actually part of the
Catholic synthesis such as the importance of man' spiritual dimension
and its integration with the whole of life, the search for life's
meaning, the link between human beings and the rest of creation,
the desire for personal and social transformation, and the rejection
of a rationalistic and materialistic view of humanity.
The present publication calls attention to the need to know and
understand New Age as a cultural current, as well as the
need for Catholics to have an understanding of authentic Catholic
doctrine and spirituality in order to properly assess New Age
themes. The first two chapters present New Age as a multifaceted
cultural tendency, proposing an analysis of the basic foundations
of the thought conveyed in this context. From Chapter Three onwards
some indications are offered for an investigation of New Age
in comparison with the Christian message. Some suggestions of a
pastoral nature are also made.
Those who wish to go deeper into the study of New Age will
find useful references in the appendices. It is hoped that this
work will in fact provide a stimulus for further studies adapted
to different cultural contexts. Its purpose is also to encourage
discernment by those who are looking for sound reference points
for a life of greater fulness. It is indeed our conviction that
through many of our contemporaries who are searching, we can discover
a true thirst for God. As Pope John Paul II said to a group of bishops
from the United States: "Pastors must honestly ask whether they
have paid sufficient attention to the thirst of the human heart
for the true 'living water' which only Christ our Redeemer can give
(cf. Jn 4:7-13)". Like him, we want to rely "on the perennial
freshness of the Gospel message and its capacity to transform and
renew those who accept it" (AAS 86/4, 330).
The following reflections are meant as a guide for Catholics involved
in preaching the Gospel and teaching the faith at any level within
the Church. This document does not aim at providing a set of complete
answers to the many questions raised by the New Age or other
contemporary signs of the perennial human search for happiness,
meaning and salvation. It is an invitation to understand the New
Age and to engage in a genuine dialogue with those who are influenced
by New Age thought. The document guides those involved in
pastoral work in their understanding and response to New Age
spirituality, both illustrating the points where this spirituality
contrasts with the Catholic faith and refuting the positions espoused
by New Age thinkers in opposition to Christian faith. What
is indeed required of Christians is, first and foremost, a solid
grounding in their faith. On this sound base, they can build a life
which responds positively to the invitation in the first letter
of Saint Peter: "always have your answer ready for people who ask
you the reason for the hope that you all have. But give it with
courtesy and respect and a clear conscience" (1 P 3, 15 f.).
1.1. Why now?
The beginning of the Third Millennium comes not only two thousand
years after the birth of Christ, but also at a time when astrologers
believe that the Age of Pisces - known to them as the Christian
age - is drawing to a close. These reflections are about the
New Age, which takes its name from the imminent astrological
Age of Aquarius. The New Age is one of many explanations
of the significance of this moment in history which are bombarding
contemporary (particularly western) culture, and it is hard to see
clearly what is and what is not consistent with the Christian message.
So this seems to be the right moment to offer a Christian assessment
of New Age thinking and the New Age movement as a
whole.
It has been said, quite correctly, that many people hover between
certainty and uncertainty these days, particularly in questions
relating to their identity.(1)
Some say that the Christian religion is patriarchal and authoritarian,
that political institutions are unable to improve the world, and
that formal (allopathic) medicine simply fails to heal people effectively.
The fact that what were once central elements in society are now
perceived as untrustworthy or lacking in genuine authority has created
a climate where people look inwards, into themselves, for meaning
and strength. There is also a search for alternative institutions,
which people hope will respond to their deepest needs. The unstructured
or chaotic life of alternative communities of the 1970s has given
way to a search for discipline and structures, which are clearly
key elements in the immensely popular "mystical" movements. New
Age is attractive mainly because so much of what it offers meets
hungers often left unsatisfied by the established institutions.
While much of New Age is a reaction to contemporary culture,
there are many ways in which it is that culture's child. The Renaissance
and the Reformation have shaped the modern western individual, who
is not weighed down by external burdens like merely extrinsic authority
and tradition; people feel the need to "belong" to institutions
less and less (and yet loneliness is very much a scourge of modern
life), and are not inclined to rank "official" judgements above
their own. With this cult of humanity, religion is internalised
in a way which prepares the ground for a celebration of the sacredness
of the self. This is why New Age shares many of the values
espoused by enterprise culture and the "prosperity Gospel" (of which
more will be said later: section 2.4), and also by the consumer
culture, whose influence is clear from the rapidly-growing numbers
of people who claim that it is possible to blend Christianity and
New Age, by taking what strikes them as the best of both.(2)
It is worth remembering that deviations within Christianity have
also gone beyond traditional theism in accepting a unilateral turn
to self, and this would encourage such a blending of approaches.
The important thing to note is that God is reduced in certain New
Age practices so as furthering the advancement of the individual.
New Age appeals to people imbued with the values of modern
culture. Freedom, authenticity, self-reliance and the like are all
held to be sacred. It appeals to those who have problems with patriarchy.
It "does not demand any more faith or belief than going to the cinema",(3)
and yet it claims to satisfy people's spiritual appetites. But here
is a central question: just what is meant by spirituality in a
New Age context? The answer is the key to unlocking some of
the differences between the Christian tradition and much of what
can be called New Age. Some versions of New Age harness
the powers of nature and seek to communicate with another world
to discover the fate of individuals, to help individuals tune in
to the right frequency to make the most of themselves and their
circumstances. In most cases, it is completely fatalistic. Christianity,
on the other hand, is an invitation to look outwards and beyond,
to the "new Advent"
of the God who calls us to live the dialogue of love.(4)
1.2. Communications
The technological revolution in communications over the last few
years has brought about a completely new situation. The ease and
speed with which people can now communicate is one of the reasons
why New Age has come to the attention of people of all ages
and backgrounds, and many who follow Christ are not sure what it
is all about. The Internet, in particular, has become enormously
influential, especially with younger people, who find it a congenial
and fascinating way of acquiring information. But it is a volatile
vehicle of misinformation on so many aspects of religion: not all
that is labelled "Christian" or "Catholic" can be trusted to reflect
the teachings of the Catholic Church and, at the same time, there
is a remarkable expansion of New Age sources ranging from
the serious to the ridiculous. People need, and have a right to,
reliable information on the differences between Christianity and
New Age.
1.3. Cultural background
When one examines many New Age traditions, it soon becomes
clear that there is, in fact, little in the New Age that
is new. The name seems to have gained currency through Rosicrucianism
and Freemasonry, at the time of the French and American Revolutions,
but the reality it denotes is a contemporary variant of Western
esotericism. This dates back to Gnostic groups which grew up in
the early days of Christianity, and gained momentum at the time
of the Reformation in Europe. It has grown in parallel with scientific
world-views, and acquired a rational justification through the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries. It has involved a progressive rejection
of a personal God and a focus on other entities which would often
figure as intermediaries between God and humanity in traditional
Christianity, with more and more original adaptations of these or
additional ones. A powerful trend in modern Western culture which
has given space to New Age ideas is the general acceptance
of Darwinist evolutionary theory; this, alongside a focus on hidden
spiritual powers or forces in nature, has been the backbone of much
of what is now recognised as New Age theory.
Basically, New Age has found a remarkable level of acceptance
because the world-view on which it was based was already widely
accepted. The ground was well prepared by the growth and spread
of relativism, along with an antipathy or indifference towards the
Christian faith.
Furthermore, there has been a lively discussion about whether and
in what sense New Age can be described as a postmodern phenomenon.
The existence and fervor of New Age thinking and practice
bear witness to the unquenchable longing of the human spirit for
transcendence and religious meaning, which is not only a contemporary
cultural phenomenon, but was evident in the ancient world, both
Christian and pagan.
1.4. The New
Age and Catholic Faith
Even if it can be admitted that New Age religiosity in some
way responds to the legitimate spiritual longing of human nature,
it must be acknowledged that its attempts to do so run counter to
Christian revelation. In Western culture in particular, the appeal
of "alternative" approaches to spirituality is very strong. On the
one hand, new forms of psychological affirmation of the individual
have be
come very popular among Catholics, even in retreat-houses, seminaries
and institutes of formation for religious. At the same time there
is increasing nostalgia and curiosity for the wisdom and ritual
of long ago, which is one of the reasons for the remarkable growth
in the popularity of esotericism and gnosticism. Many people are
particularly attracted to what is known - correctly or otherwise
- as "Celtic" spirituality,(5)
or to the religions of ancient peoples. Books and courses on spirituality
and ancient or Eastern religions are a booming business, and they
are frequently labelled "New Age" for commercial purposes.
But the links with those religions are not always clear. In fact,
they are often denied.
An adequate Christian discernment of New Age thought and
practice cannot fail to recognize that, like second and third century
gnosticism, it represents something of a compendium of positions
that the Church has identified as heterodox. John Paul II warns
with regard to the "return of ancient gnostic ideas under the guise
of the so-called New Age: We cannot delude ourselves that
this will lead toward a renewal of religion. It is only a new way
of practising gnosticism - that attitude of the spirit that, in
the name of a profound knowledge of God, results in distorting His
Word and replacing it with purely human words. Gnosticism never
completely abandoned the realm of Christianity. Instead, it has
always existed side by side with Christianity, sometimes taking
the shape of a philosophical movement, but more often assuming the
characteristics of a religion or a para-religion in distinct, if
not declared, conflict with all that is essentially Christian".(6)
An example of this can be seen in the enneagram, the nine-type tool
for character analysis, which when used as a means of spiritual
growth introduces an ambiguity in the doctrine and the life of the
Christian faith.
1.5. A positive challenge
The appeal of New Age religiosity cannot be underestimated.
When the understanding of the content of Christian faith is weak,
some mistakenly hold that the Christian religion does not inspire
a profound spirituality and so they seek elsewhere. As a matter
of fact, some say the New Age is already passing us by, and
refer to the "next" age.(7)
They speak of a crisis that began to manifest itself in the United
States of America in the early 1990s, but admit that, especially
beyond the English-speaking world, such a "crisis" may come later.
But bookshops and radio stations, and the plethora of self-help
groups in so many Western towns and cities, all seem to tell a different
story. It seems that, at least for the moment, the New Age
is still very much alive and part of the current cultural scene.
The success of New Age offers the Church a challenge. People
feel the Christian religion no longer offers them - or perhaps never
gave them - something they really need. The search which often leads
people to the New Age is a genuine yearning: for a deeper
spirituality, for something which will touch their hearts, and for
a way of making sense of a confusing and often alienating world.
There is a positive tone in New Age criticisms of "the materialism
of daily life, of philosophy and even of medicine and psychiatry;
reductionism, which refuses to take into consideration religious
and supernatural experiences; the industrial culture of unrestrained
individualism, which teaches egoism and pays no attention to other
people, the future and the environment".(8)
Any problems there are with New Age are to be found in what
it proposes as alternative answers to life's questions. If the Church
is not to be accused of being deaf to people's longings, her members
need to do two things: to root themselves ever more firmly in the
fundamentals of their faith, and to understand the often-silent
cry in people's hearts, which leads them elsewhere if they are not
satisfied by the Church. There is also a call in all of this to
come closer to Jesus Christ and to be ready to follow Him, since
He is the real way to happiness, the truth about God and the fulness
of life for every man and woman who is prepared to respond to his
love.
Christians in many Western societies, and increasingly also in
other parts of the world, frequently come into contact with different
aspects of the phenomenon known as New Age. Many of them
feel the need to understand how they can best approach something
which is at once so alluring, complex, elusive and, at times, disturbing.
These reflections are an attempt to help Christians do two things:
- to identify elements of the developing
New Age tradition;
- to indicate those elements which are inconsistent with the Christian
revelation.
This is a pastoral response to a current challenge, which does
not even attempt to provide an exhaustive list of New Age phenomena,
since that would result in a very bulky tome, and such information
is readily available elsewhere. It is essential to try to understand
New Age correctly, in order to evaluate it fairly, and avoid
creating a caricature. It would be unwise and untrue to say that
everything connected with the New Age movement is good, or
that everything about it is bad. Nevertheless, given the underlying
vision of New Age religiosity, it is on the whole difficult
to reconcile it with Christian doctrine and spirituality.
New Age is not a movement in the sense normally intended
in the term "New Religious Movement", and it is not what is normally
meant by the terms "cult" and "sect". Because it is spread across
cultures, in phenomena as varied as music, films, seminars, workshops,
retreats, therapies, and many more activities and events, it is
much more diffuse and informal, though some religious or para-religious
groups consciously incorporate New Age elements, and it has
been suggested that New Age has been a source of ideas for
various religious and para-religious sects.(9)
New Age is not a single, uniform movement, but rather a loose
network of practitioners whose approach is to think globally
but act locally. People who are part of the network do not necessarily
know each other and rarely, if ever, meet. In an attempt to avoid
the confusion which can arise from using the term "movement", some
refer to New Age as a "milieu",(10)
or an "audience cult".(11)
However, it has also been pointed out that "it is a very coherent
current of thought",(12)
a deliberate challenge to modern culture. It is a syncretistic structure
incorporating many diverse elements, allowing people to share interests
or connections to very different degrees and on varying levels of
commitment. Many trends, practices and attitudes which are in some
way part of New Age are, indeed, part of a broad and readily
identifiable reaction to mainstream culture, so the word "movement"
is not entirely out of place. It can be applied to New Age
in the same sense as it is to other broad social movements, like
the Civil Rights movement or the Peace Movement; like them, it includes
a bewildering array of people linked to the movement's main aims,
but very diverse in the way they are involved and in their understanding
of particular issues.
The expression "New Age religion" is more controversial,
so it seems best to avoid it, although New Age is often a
response to people's religious questions and needs, and its appeal
is to people who are trying to discover or rediscover a spiritual
dimension in their life. Avoidance of the term "New Age religion"
is not meant in any way to question the genuine character of people's
search for meaning and sense in life; it respects the fact that
many within the New Age Movement themselves distinguish carefully
between "religion" and "spirituality". Many have rejected organised
religion, because in their judgement it has failed to answer their
needs, and for precisely this reason they have looked elsewhere
to find "spirituality". Furthermore, at the heart of New Age
is the belief that the time for particular religions is over,
so to refer to it as a religion would run counter to its own self-understanding.
However, it is quite accurate to place New Age in the broader
context of esoteric religiousness, whose appeal continues to grow.(13)
There is a problem built into the current text. It is an attempt
to understand and evaluate something which is basically an exaltation
of the richness of human experience. It is bound to draw the criticism
that it can never do justice to a cultural movement whose essence
is precisely to break out of what are seen as the constricting limits
of rational discourse. But it is meant as an invitation to Christians
to take the New Age seriously, and as such asks its readers
to enter into a critical dialogue with people approaching the same
world from very different perspectives.
The pastoral effectiveness of the Church in the Third Millennium
depends to a great extent on the preparation of effective communicators
of the Gospel message. What follows is a response to the difficulties
expressed by many in dealing with the very complex and elusive phenomenon
known as New Age. It is an attempt to understand what New
Age is and to recognise the questions to which it claims to
offer answers and solutions. There are some excellent books and
other resources which survey the whole phenomenon or explain particular
aspects in great detail, and reference will be made to some of these
in the appendix. However they do not always undertake the necessary
discernment in the light of Christian faith. The purpose of this
contribution is to help Catholics find a key to understanding the
basic principles behind New Age thinking, so that they can
then make a Christian evaluation of the elements of New Age
they encounter. It is worth saying that many people dislike the
term New Age, and some suggest that "alternative spirituality"
may be more correct and less limiting. It is also true that many
of the phenomena mentioned in this document will probably not bear
any particular label, but it is presumed, for the sake of brevity,
that readers will recognise a phenomenon or set of phenomena that
can justifiably at least be linked with the general cultural movement
that is often known as New Age.
2.1. What is new about
New Age?
For many people, the term New Age clearly refers to a momentous
turning-point in history. According to astrologers, we live in the
Age of Pisces, which has been dominated by Christianity. But the
current age of Pisces is due to be replaced by the New Age
of Aquarius early in the third Millennium.(14)
The Age of Aquarius has such a high profile in the New Age
movement largely because of the influence of theosophy, spiritualism
and anthroposophy, and their esoteric antecedents. People who stress
the imminent change in the world are often expressing a wish
for such a change, not so much in the world itself as in our
culture, in the way we relate to the world; this is particularly
clear in those who stress the idea of a New Paradigm for living.
It is an attractive approach since, in some of its expressions,
people do not watch passively, but have an active role in changing
culture and bringing about a new spiritual awareness. In other expressions,
more power is ascribed to the inevitable progression of natural
cycles. In any case, the Age of Aquarius is a vision, not a theory.
But New Age is a broad tradition, which incorporates many
ideas which have no explicit link with the change from the Age of
Pisces to the Age of Aquarius. There are moderate, but quite generalised,
visions of a future where there will be a planetary spirituality
alongside separate religions, similar planetary political institutions
to complement more local ones, global economic entities which are
more participatory and democratic, greater emphasis on communication
and education, a mixed approach to health combining professional
medicine and self-healing, a more androgynous self-understanding
and ways of integrating science, mysticism, technology and ecology.
Again, this is evidence of a deep desire for a fulfilling and healthy
existence for the human race and for the planet. Some of the traditions
which flow into New Age are: ancient Egyptian occult practices,
Cabbalism, early Christian gnosticism, Sufism, the lore of the Druids,
Celtic Christianity, mediaeval alchemy, Renaissance hermeticism,
Zen Buddhism, Yoga and so on.(15)
Here is what is "new" about New Age. It is a "syncretism
of esoteric and secular elements".(16)
They link into a widely-held perception that the time is ripe for
a fundamental change in individuals, in society and in the world.
There are various expressions of the need for a shift:
- from Newtonian mechanistic physics
to quantum physics;
- from modernity's exaltation of reason to an appreciation of
feeling, emotion and experience (often described as a switch from
'left brain' rational thinking to 'right brain' intuitive
thinking);
- from a dominance of masculinity and patriarchy to a celebration
of femininity, in individuals and in society.
In these contexts the term "paradigm shift" is often used. In some
cases it is clearly supposed that this shift is not simply desirable,
but inevitable. The rejection of modernity underlying this desire
for change is not new, but can be described as "a modern revival
of pagan religions with a mixture of influences from both eastern
religions and also from modern psychology, philosophy, science,
and the counterculture that developed in the 1950s and 1960s".(17)
New Age is a witness to nothing less than a cultural revolution,
a complex reaction to the dominant ideas and values in western culture,
and yet its idealistic criticism is itself ironically typical of
the culture it criticizes.
A word needs to be said on the notion of paradigm shift.
It was made popular by Thomas Kuhn, an American historian of science,
who saw a paradigm as "the entire constellation of beliefs, values,
techniques and so on shared by the members of a given community".(18)
When there is a shift from one paradigm to another, it is a question
of wholesale transformation of perspective rather than one of gradual
development. It really is a revolution, and Kuhn emphasised that
competing paradigms are incommensurable and cannot co-exist. So
the idea that a paradigm shift in the area of religion and spirituality
is simply a new way of stating traditional beliefs misses the point.
What is actually going on is a radical change in world- view, which
puts into question not only the content but also the fundamental
interpretation of the former vision. Perhaps the clearest example
of this, in terms of the relationship between New Age and
Christianity, is the total recasting of the life and significance
of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to reconcile these two visions.(19)
Science and technology have clearly failed to deliver all they
once seemed to promise, so in their search for meaning and liberation
people have turned to the spiritual realm. New Age as we
now know it came from a search for something more humane and beautiful
than the oppressive, alienating experience of life in Western society.
Its early exponents were prepared to look far afield in their search,
so it has become a very eclectic approach. It may well be one of
the signs of a "return to religion", but it is most certainly not
a return to orthodox Christian doctrines and creeds. The first symbols
of this "movement" to penetrate Western culture were the remarkable
festival at Woodstock in New York State in 1969 and the musical
Hair, which set forth the main themes of New Age in
the emblematic song "Aquarius".(20)
But these were merely the tip of an iceberg whose dimensions have
become clearer only relatively recently. The idealism of the 1960s
and 1970s still survives in some quarters; but now, it is no longer
predominantly adolescents who are involved. Links with left-wing
political ideology have faded, and psychedelic drugs are by no means
as prominent as they once were. So much has happened since then
that all this no longer seems revolutionary; "spiritual" and "mystical"
tendencies formerly restricted to the counterculture are now an
established part of mainstream culture, affecting such diverse facets
of life as medicine, science, art and religion. Western culture
is now imbued with a more general political and ecological awareness,
and this whole cultural shift has had an enormous impact on people's
life-styles. It is suggested by some that the New Age "movement"
is precisely this major change to what is reckoned to be "a significantly
better way of life".(21)
2.2. What
does the New Age claim to offer?
2.2.1.
Enchantment: There Must be an Angel
One of the most common elements in New Age "spirituality"
is a fascination with extraordinary manifestations, and in particular
with paranormal entities. People recognised as "mediums" claim that
their personality is taken over by another entity during trances
in a New Age phenomenon known as "channeling", during which
the medium may lose control over his or her body and faculties.
Some people who have witnessed these events would willingly acknowledge
that the manifestations are indeed spiritual, but are not from God,
despite the language of love and light which is almost always used....
It is probably more correct to refer to this as a contemporary form
of spiritualism, rather than spirituality in a strict sense. Other
friends and counsellors from the spirit world are angels (which
have become the centre of a new industry of books and paintings).
Those who refer to angels in the New Age do so in an unsystematic
way; in fact, distinctions in this area are sometimes described
as unhelpful if they are too precise, since "there are many levels
of guides, entities, energies, and beings in every octave of the
universe... They are all there to pick and choose from in relation
to your own attraction/repulsion mechanisms".(22)
These spiritual entities are often invoked 'non-religiously' to
help in relaxation aimed at better decision-making and control of
one's life and career. Fusion with some spirits who teach through
particular people is another New Age experience claimed by
people who refer to themselves as 'mystics'. Some nature spirits
are described as powerful energies existing in the natural world
and also on the "inner planes": i.e. those which are accessible
by the use of rituals, drugs and other techniques for reaching altered
states of consciousness. It is clear that, in theory at least, the
New Age often recognizes no spiritual authority higher than
personal inner experience.
2.2.2.
Harmony and Understanding: Good Vibrations
Phenomena as diverse as the Findhorn garden and Feng Shui (23)
represent a variety of ways which illustrate the importance of being
in tune with nature or the cosmos. In New Age there is no
distinction between good and evil. Human actions are the fruit of
either illumination or ignorance. Hence we cannot condemn anyone,
and nobody needs forgiveness. Believing in the existence of evil
can create only negativity and fear. The answer to negativity is
love. But it is not the sort which has to be translated into
deeds; it is more a question of attitudes of mind. Love is energy,
a high-frequency vibration, and the secret to happiness and health
and success is being able to tune in, to find one's place in the
great chain of being. New Age teachers and therapies claim
to offer the key to finding the correspondences between all the
elements of the universe, so that people may modulate the tone of
their lives and be in absolute harmony with each other and with
everything around them, although there are different theoretical
backgrounds.(24)
2.2.3. Health: Golden
living
Formal (allopathic) medicine today tends to limit itself to curing
particular, isolated ailments, and fails to look at the broader
picture of a person's health: this has given rise to a fair amount
of understandable dissatisfaction. Alternative therapies have gained
enormously in popularity because they claim to look at the whole
person and are about healing rather than curing. Holistic
health, as it is known, concentrates on the important role that
the mind plays in physical healing. The connection between the spiritual
and the physical aspects of the person is said to be in the immune
system or the Indian chakra system. In a New Age perspective,
illness and suffering come from working against nature; when one
is in tune with nature, one can expect a much healthier life, and
even material prosperity; for some New Age healers, there
should actually be no need for us to die. Developing our human potential
will put us in touch with our inner divinity, and with those parts
of our selves which have been alienated and suppressed. This is
revealed above all in Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs), which
are induced either by drugs or by various mind-expanding techniques,
particularly in the context of "transpersonal psychology". The shaman
is often seen as the specialist of altered states of consciousness,
one who is able to mediate between the transpersonal realms of spirits
and gods and the world of humans.
There is a remarkable variety of approaches for promoting holistic
health, some derived from ancient cultural traditions, whether religious
or esoteric, others connected with the psychological theories developed
in Esalen during the years 1960-1970. Advertising connected with
New Age covers a wide range of practices as acupuncture, biofeedback,
chiropractic, kinesiology, homeopathy, iridology, massage and various
kinds of "bodywork" (such as orgonomy, Feldenkrais, reflexology,
Rolfing, polarity massage, therapeutic touch etc.), meditation and
visualisation, nutritional therapies, psychic healing, various kinds
of herbal medicine, healing by crystals, metals, music or colours,
reincarnation therapies and, finally, twelve-step programmes and
self-help groups.(25)
The source of healing is said to be within ourselves, something
we reach when we are in touch with our inner energy or cosmic energy.
Inasmuch as health includes a prolongation of life, New Age
offers an Eastern formula in Western terms. Originally, reincarnation
was a part of Hindu cyclical thought, based on the atman or
divine kernel of personality (later the concept of jiva),
which moved from body to body in a cycle of suffering (samsara),
determined by the law of karma, linked to behaviour in past
lives. Hope lies in the possibility of being born into a better
state, or ultimately in liberation from the need to be reborn. What
is different in most Buddhist traditions is that what wanders from
body to body is not a soul, but a continuum of consciousness. Present
life is embedded in a potentially endless cosmic process which includes
even the gods. In the West, since the time of Lessing, reincarnation
has been understood far more optimistically as a process of learning
and progressive individual fulfilment. Spiritualism, theosophy,
anthroposophy and New Age all see reincarnation as participation
in cosmic evolution. This post-Christian approach to eschatology
is said to answer the unresolved questions of theodicy and dispenses
with the notion of hell. When the soul is separated from the body
individuals can look back on their whole life up to that point,
and when the soul is united to its new body there is a preview of
its coming phase of life. People have access to their former lives
through dreams and meditation techniques.(26)
2.2.4. Wholeness:
A Magical Mystery Tour
One of the central concerns of the New Age movement is the
search for "wholeness". There is encouragement to overcome all forms
of "dualism", as such divisions are an unhealthy product of a less
enlightened past. Divisions which New Age proponents claim
need to be overcome include the real difference between Creator
and creation, the real distinction between man and nature, or spirit
and matter, which are all considered wrongly as forms of dualism.
These dualistic tendencies are often assumed to be ultimately based
on the Judaeo-Christian roots of western civilisation, while it
would be more accurate to link them to gnosticism, in particular
to Manichaeism. The scientific revolution and the spirit of modern
rationalism are blamed particularly for the tendency to fragmentation,
which treats organic wholes as mechanisms that can be reduced to
their smallest components and then explained in terms of the latter,
and the tendency to reduce spirit to matter, so that spiritual reality
- including the soul - becomes merely a contingent "epiphenomenon"
of essentially material processes. In all of these areas, the
New Age alternatives are called "holistic". Holism pervades
the New Age movement, from its concern with holistic health
to its quest for unitive consciousness, and from ecological awareness
to the idea of global "networking".
2.3.
The fundamental principles of New Age thinking
2.3.1.
A global response in a time of crisis
"Both the Christian tradition and the secular faith in an unlimited
process of science had to face a severe break first manifested in
the student revolutions around the year 1968".(27)
The wisdom of older generations was suddenly robbed of significance
and respect, while the omnipotence of science evaporated, so that
the Church now "has to face a serious breakdown in the transmission
of her faith to the younger generation".(28)
A general loss of faith in these former pillars of consciousness
and social cohesion has been accompanied by the unexpected return
of cosmic religiosity, rituals and beliefs which many believed to
have been supplanted by Christianity; but this perennial esoteric
undercurrent never really went away. The surge in popularity of
Asian religion at this point was something new in the Western context,
established late in the nineteenth century in the theosophical movement,
and it "reflects the growing awareness of a global spirituality,
incorporating all existing religious traditions".(29)
The perennial philosophical question of the one and the many has
its modern and contemporary form in the temptation to overcome not
only undue division, but even real difference and distinction, and
the most common expression of this is holism, an essential ingredient
in New Age and one of the principal signs of the times in
the last quarter of the twentieth century. An extraordinary amount
of energy has gone into the effort to overcome the division into
compartments characteristic of mechanistic ideology, but this has
led to the sense of obligation to submit to a global network which
assumes quasi-transcendental authority. Its clearest implications
are a process of conscious transformation and the development of
ecology.(30)
The new vision which is the goal of conscious transformation has
taken time to formulate, and its enactment is resisted by older
forms of thought judged to be entrenched in the status quo. What
has been successful is the generalisation of ecology as a fascination
with nature and resacralisation of the earth, Mother Earth or
Gaia, with the missionary zeal characteristic of Green politics.
The Earth's executive agent is the human race as a whole, and the
harmony and understanding required for responsible governance
is increasingly understood to be a global government, with a global
ethical framework. The warmth of Mother Earth, whose divinity pervades
the whole of creation, is held to bridge the gap between creation
and the transcendent Father-God of Judaism and Christianity, and
removes the prospect of being judged by such a Being.
In such a vision of a closed universe that contains "God" and other
spiritual beings along with ourselves, we recognize here an implicit
pantheism. This is a fundamental point which pervades all New
Age thought and practice, and conditions in advance any otherwise
positive assessment where we might be in favor of one or another
aspect of its spirituality. As Christians, we believe on the contrary
that "man is essentially a creature and remains so for all eternity,
so that an absorption of the human I in the divine I will never
be possible".(31)
2.3.2.
The essential matrix of New Age thinking
The essential matrix of New Age thinking is to be found
in the esoteric-theosophical tradition which was fairly widely accepted
in European intellectual circles in the 18th and 19th
centuries. It was particularly strong in freemasonry, spiritualism,
occultism and theosophy, which shared a kind of esoteric culture.
In this world-view, the visible and invisible universes are linked
by a series of correspondences, analogies and influences between
microcosm and macrocosm, between metals and planets, between planets
and the various parts of the human body, between the visible cosmos
and the invisible realms of reality. Nature is a living being, shot
through with networks of sympathy and antipathy, animated by a light
and a secret fire which human beings seek to control. People can
contact the upper or lower worlds by means of their imagination
(an organ of the soul or spirit), or by using mediators (angels,
spirits, devils) or rituals.
People can be initiated into the mysteries of the cosmos, God and
the self by means of a spiritual itinerary of transformation. The
eventual goal is gnosis, the highest form of knowledge, the
equivalent of salvation. It involves a search for the oldest and
highest tradition in philosophy (what is inappropriately called
philosophia perennis) and religion (primordial theology), a
secret (esoteric) doctrine which is the key to all the "exoteric"
traditions which are accessible to everyone. Esoteric teachings
are handed down from master to disciple in a gradual program of
initiation.
19th century esotericism is seen by some as completely
secularised. Alchemy, magic, astrology and other elements of traditional
esotericism had been thoroughly integrated with aspects of modern
culture, including the search for causal laws, evolutionism, psychology
and the study of religions. It reached its clearest form in the
ideas of Helena Blavatsky, a Russian medium who founded the Theosophical
Society with Henry Olcott in New York in 1875. The Society aimed
to fuse elements of Eastern and Western traditions in an evolutionary
type of spiritualism. It had three main aims:
1. "To form a nucleus of the Universal
Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, caste
or colour.
2. "To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy
and science.
3. "To investigate unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent
in man.
"The significance of these objectives... should be clear. The first
objective implicitly rejects the 'irrational bigotry' and 'sectarianism'
of traditional Christianity as perceived by spiritualists and theosophists...
It is not immediately obvious from the objectives themselves that,
for theosophists, 'science' meant the occult sciences and philosophy
the occulta philosophia, that the laws of nature were of
an occult or psychic nature, and that comparative religion was expected
to unveil a 'primordial tradition' ultimately modelled on a Hermeticist
philosophia perennis".(32)
A prominent component of Mrs. Blavatsky's writings was the emancipation
of women, which involved an attack on the "male" God of Judaism,
of Christianity and of Islam. She urged people to return to the
mother-goddess of Hinduism and to the practice of feminine virtues.
This continued under the guidance of Annie Besant, who was in the
vanguard of the feminist movement. Wicca and "women's spirituality"
carry on this struggle against "patriarchal" Christianity today.
Marilyn Ferguson devoted a chapter of The Aquarian Conspiracy
to the precursors of the Age of Aquarius, those who had woven the
threads of a transforming vision based on the expansion of consciousness
and the experience of self-transcendence. Two of those she mentioned
were the American psychologist William James and the Swiss psychiatrist
Carl Gustav Jung. James defined religion as experience, not dogma,
and he taught that human beings can change their mental attitudes
in such a way that they are able to become architects of their own
destiny. Jung emphasized the transcendent character of consciousness
and introduced the idea of the collective unconscious, a kind of
store for symbols and memories shared with people from various different
ages and cultures. According to Wouter Hanegraaff, both of these
men contributed to a "sacralisation of psychology", something that
has become an important element of New Age thought and practice.
Jung, indeed, "not only psychologized esotericism but he also sacralized
psychology, by filling it with the contents of esoteric speculation.
The result was a body of theories which enabled people to talk about
God while really meaning their own psyche, and about their own psyche
while really meaning the divine. If the psyche is 'mind', and God
is 'mind' as well, then to discuss one must mean to discuss the
other".(33)
His response to the accusation that he had "psychologised" Christianity
was that "psychology is the modern myth and only in terms of the
current myth can we understand the faith".(34)
It is certainly true that Jung's psychology sheds light on many
aspects of the Christian faith, particularly on the need to face
the reality of evil, but his religious convictions are so different
at different stages of his life that one is left with a confused
image of God. A central element in his thought is the cult of the
sun, where God is the vital energy (libido) within a person.(35)
As he himself said, "this comparison is no mere play of words".(36)
This is "the god within" to which Jung refers, the essential divinity
he believed to be in every human being. The path to the inner universe
is through the unconscious. The inner world's correspondence to
the outer one is in the collective unconscious.
The tendency to interchange psychology and spirituality was firmly
embedded in the Human Potential Movement as it developed towards
the end of the 1960s at the Esalen Institute in California. Transpersonal
psychology, strongly influenced by Eastern religions and by Jung,
offers a contemplative journey where science meets mysticism. The
stress laid on bodiliness, the search for ways of expanding consciousness
and the cultivation of the myths of the collective unconscious were
all encouragements to search for "the God within" oneself. To realise
one's potential, one had to go beyond one's ego in order
to become the god that one is, deep down. This could be done by
choosing the appropriate therapy - meditation, parapsychological
experiences, the use of hallucinogenic drugs. These were all ways
of achieving "peak experiences", "mystical" experiences of fusion
with God and with the cosmos.
The symbol of Aquarius was borrowed from astrological mythology,
but later came to signify the desire for a radically new world.
The two centres which were the initial power-houses of the New
Age, and to a certain extent still are, were the Garden community
at Findhorn in North-East Scotland, and the Centre for the development
of human potential at Esalen in Big Sur, California, in the United
States of America. What feeds New Age consistently is a growing
global consciousness and increasing awareness of a looming ecological
crisis.
2.3.3. Central
themes of the New Age
New Age is not, properly speaking, a religion, but it is
interested in what is called "divine". The essence of New Age
is the loose association of the various activities, ideas and
people who might validly attract the term. So there is no single
articulation of anything like the doctrines of mainstream religions.
Despite this, and despite the immense variety within New Age,
there are some common points:
- the cosmos is seen as an organic whole
- it is animated by an Energy, which is also identified as the
divine Soul or Spirit
- much credence is given to the mediation of various spiritual
entities
- humans are capable of ascending to invisible higher spheres,
and of controlling their own lives beyond death
- there is held to be a "perennial knowledge" which pre-dates
and is superior to all religions and cultures
- people follow enlightened masters...
2.3.4. What
does New Age say about...
2.3.4.1. ...the human
person?
New Age involves a fundamental belief in the perfectibility
of the human person by means of a wide variety of techniques and
therapies (as opposed to the Christian view of co-operation with
divine grace). There is a general accord with Nietzsche's idea that
Christianity has prevented the full manifestation of genuine humanity.
Perfection, in this context, means achieving self-fulfilment, according
to an order of values which we ourselves create and which we achieve
by our own strength: hence one can speak of a self- creating self.
On this view, there is more difference between humans as they now
are and as they will be when they have fully realised their potential,
than there is between humans and anthropoids.
It is useful to distinguish between esotericism, a search
for knowledge, and magic, or the occult: the latter is a
means of obtaining power. Some groups are both esoteric and occult.
At the centre of occultism is a will to power based on the dream
of becoming divine.
Mind-expanding techniques are meant to reveal to people their divine
power; by using this power, people prepare the way for the Age of
Enlightenment. This exaltation of humanity overturns the correct
relationship between Creator and creature, and one of its extreme
forms is Satanism. Satan becomes the symbol of a rebellion against
conventions and rules, a symbol that often takes aggressive, selfish
and violent forms. Some evangelical groups have expressed concern
at the subliminal presence of what they claim is Satanic symbolism
in some varieties of rock music, which have a powerful influence
on young people. This is all far removed from the message of peace
and harmony which is to be found in the New Testament; it is often
one of the consequences of the exaltation of humanity when that
involves the negation of a transcendent God.
But it is not only something which affects young people; the basic
themes of esoteric culture are also present in the realms of politics,
education and legislation.(37)
It is especially the case with ecology. Deep ecology's emphasis
on bio-centrism denies the anthropological vision of the Bible,
in which human beings are at the centre of the world, since they
are considered to be qualitatively superior to other natural forms.
It is very prominent in legislation and education today, despite
the fact that it underrates humanity in this way.. The same esoteric
cultural matrix can be found in the ideological theory underlying
population control policies and experiments in genetic engineering,
which seem to express a dream human beings have of creating themselves
afresh. How do people hope to do this? By deciphering the genetic
code, altering the natural rules of sexuality, defying the limits
of death.
In what might be termed a classical New Age account, people
are born with a divine spark, in a sense which is reminiscent of
ancient gnosticism; this links them into the unity of the Whole.
So they are seen as essentially divine, although they participate
in this cosmic divinity at different levels of consciousness. We
are co- creators, and we create our own reality. Many New Age
authors maintain that we choose the circumstances of our lives (even
our own illness and health), in a vision where every individual
is considered the creative source of the universe. But we need to
make a journey in order fully to understand where we fit into the
unity of the cosmos. The journey is psychotherapy, and the recognition
of universal consciousness is salvation. There is no sin; there
is only imperfect knowledge. The identity of every human being is
diluted in the universal being and in the process of successive
incarnations. People are subject to the determining influences of
the stars, but can be opened to the divinity which lives within
them, in their continual search (by means of appropriate techniques)
for an ever greater harmony between the self and divine cosmic energy.
There is no need for Revelation or Salvation which would come to
people from outside themselves, but simply a need to experience
the salvation hidden within themselves (self-salvation), by mastering
psycho- physical techniques which lead to definitive enlightenment.
Some stages on the way to self-redemption are preparatory
(meditation, body harmony, releasing self-healing energies). They
are the starting-point for processes of spiritualisation, perfection
and enlightenment which help people to acquire further self-control
and psychic concentration on "transformation" of the individual
self into "cosmic consciousness". The destiny of the human person
is a series of successive reincarnations of the soul in different
bodies. This is understood not as the cycle of samsara, in
the sense of purification as punishment, but as a gradual ascent
towards the perfect development of one's potential.
Psychology is used to explain mind expansion as "mystical" experiences.
Yoga, zen, transcendental meditation and tantric exercises lead
to an experience of self-fulfilment or enlightenment. Peak-experiences
(reliving one's birth, travelling to the gates of death, biofeedback,
dance and even drugs - anything which can provoke an altered state
of consciousness) are believed to lead to unity and enlightenment.
Since there is only one Mind, some people can be channels
for higher beings. Every part of this single universal being has
contact with every other part. The classic approach in New Age
is transpersonal psychology, whose main concepts are the Universal
Mind, the Higher Self, the collective and personal unconscious and
the individual ego. The Higher Self is our real identity, a bridge
between God as divine Mind and humanity. Spiritual development is
contact with the Higher Self, which overcomes all forms of dualism
between subject and object, life and death, psyche and soma, the
self and the fragmentary aspects of the self. Our limited personality
is like a shadow or a dream created by the real self. The Higher
Self contains the memories of earlier (re-)incarnations.
2.3.4.2. ...God?
New Age has a marked preference for Eastern or pre-Christian
religions, which are reckoned to be uncontaminated by Judaeo-Christian
distorsions. Hence great respect is given to ancient agricultural
rites and to fertility cults. "Gaia", Mother Earth, is offered as
an alternative to God the Father, whose image is seen to be linked
to a patriarchal conception of male domination of women. There is
talk of God, but it is not a personal God; the God of which New
Age speaks is neither personal nor transcendent. Nor is it the
Creator and sustainer of the universe, but an "impersonal energy"
immanent in the world, with which it forms a "cosmic unity": "All
is one". This unity is monistic, pantheistic or, more precisely,
panentheistic. God is the "life-principle", the "spirit or soul
of the world", the sum total of consciousness existing in the world.
In a sense, everything is God. God's presence is clearest in the
spiritual aspects of reality, so every mind/spirit is, in some sense,
God.
When it is consciously received by men and women, "divine energy"
is often described as "Christic energy". There is also talk of Christ,
but this does not mean Jesus of Nazareth. "Christ" is a title applied
to someone who has arrived at a state of consciousness where he
or she perceives him- or herself to be divine and can thus claim
to be a "universal Master". Jesus of Nazareth was not the
Christ, but simply one among many historical figures in whom this
"Christic" nature is revealed, as is the case with Buddha and others.
Every historical realisation of the Christ shows clearly
that all human beings are heavenly and divine, and leads them towards
this realisation.
The innermost and most personal ("psychic") level on which this
"divine cosmic energy" is "heard" by human beings is also called
"Holy Spirit".
2.3.4.3. ...the world?
The move from a mechanistic model of classical physics to the "holistic"
one of modern atomic and sub-atomic physics, based on the concept
of matter as waves or energy rather than particles, is central to
much New Age thinking. The universe is an ocean of energy,
which is a single whole or a network of links. The energy animating
the single organism which is the universe is "spirit". There is
no alterity between God and the world. The world itself is divine
and it undergoes an evolutionary process which leads from inert
matter to "higher and perfect consciousness". The world is uncreated,
eternal and self-sufficient The future of the world is based on
an inner dynamism which is necessarily positive and leads to the
reconciled (divine) unity of all that exists. God and the world,
soul and body, intelligence and feeling, heaven and earth are one
immense vibration of energy.
James Lovelock's book on the Gaia Hypothesis claims that "the entire
range of living matter on earth, from whales to viruses, and from
oaks to algae, could be regarded as constituting a single living
entity, capable of manipulating the Earth's atmosphere to suit its
overall needs and endowed with faculties and powers far beyond those
of its constituent parts".(38)
To some, the Gaia hypothesis is "a strange synthesis of individualism
and collectivism. It all happens as if New Age, having plucked
people out of fragmentary politics, cannot wait to throw them into
the great cauldron of the global mind". The global brain needs institutions
with which to rule, in other words, a world government. "To deal
with today's problems New Age dreams of a spiritual aristocracy
in the style of Plato's Republic, run by secret societies...".(39)
This may be an exaggerated way of stating the case, but there is
much evidence that gnostic élitism and global governance coincide
on many issues in international politics.
Everything in the universe is interelated; in fact every part is
in itself an image of the totality; the whole is in every thing
and every thing is in the whole. In the "great chain of being",
all beings are intimately linked and form one family with different
grades of evolution. Every human person is a hologram, an
image of the whole of creation, in which every thing vibrates on
its own frequency. Every human being is a neurone in earth's central
nervous system, and all individual entities are in a relationship
of complementarity with others. In fact, there is an inner complementarity
or androgyny in the whole of creation.(40)
One of the recurring themes in New Age writings and thought
is the "new paradigm" which contemporary science has opened up.
"Science has given us insights into wholes and systems, stress and
transformation. We are learning to read tendencies, to recognise
the early signs of another, more promising, paradigm. We create
alternative scenarios of the future. We communicate about the failures
of old systems, forcing new frameworks for problem-solving in every
area".(41)
Thus far, the "paradigm shift" is a radical change of perspective,
but nothing more. The question is whether thought and real change
are commensurate, and how effective in the external world an inner
transformation can be proved to be. One is forced to ask, even without
expressing a negative judgement, how scientific a thought-process
can be when it involves affirmations like this: "War is unthinkable
in a society of autonomous people who have discovered the connectedness
of all humanity, who are unafraid of alien ideas and alien cultures,
who know that all revolutions begin within and that you cannot impose
your brand of enlightenment on anyone else".(42)
It is illogical to conclude from the fact that something is unthinkable
that it cannot happen. Such reasoning is really gnostic, in the
sense of giving too much power to knowledge and consciousness. This
is not to deny the fundamental and crucial role of developing consciousness
in scientific discovery and creative development, but simply to
caution against imposing upon external reality what is as yet still
only in the mind.
2.4.
"Inhabitants of myth rather than history"(43)?:
New Age and culture
"Basically, the appeal of the New Age has to do with the
culturally stimulated interest in the self, its value, capacities
and problems. Whereas traditionalised religiosity, with its hierarchical
organization, is well-suited for the community, detraditionalized
spirituality is well-suited for the individual. The New Age is
'of' the self in that it facilitates celebration of what it is to
be and to become; and 'for' the self in that by differing from much
of the mainstream, it is positioned to handle identity problems
generated by conventional forms of life".(44)
The rejection of tradition in the form of patriarchal, hierarchical
social or ecclesial organisation implies the search for an alternative
form of society, one that is clearly inspired by the modern notion
of the self. Many New Age writings argue that one can do
nothing (directly) to change the world, but everything to change
oneself; changing individual consciousness is understood to be the
(indirect) way to change the world. The most important instrument
for social change is personal example. Worldwide recognition of
these personal examples will steadily lead to the transformation
of the collective mind and such a transformation will be the major
achievement of our time. This is clearly part of the holistic paradigm,
and a re-statement of the classical philosophical question of the
one and the many. It is also linked to Jung's espousal of the theory
of correspondence and his rejection of causality. Individuals are
fragmentary representations of the planetary hologram; by looking
within one not only knows the universe, but also changes
it. But the more one looks within, the smaller the political
arena becomes. Does this really fit in with the rhetoric of democratic
participation in a new planetary order, or is it an unconscious
and subtle disempowerment of people, which could leave them open
to manipulation? Does the current preoccupation with planetary problems
(ecological issues, depletion of resources, over-population, the
economic gap between north and south, the huge nuclear arsenal and
political instability) enable or disable engagement in other, equally
real, political and social questions? The old adage that "charity
begins at home" can give a healthy balance to one's approach to
these issues. Some observers of New Age detect a sinister
authoritarianism behind apparent indifference to politics. David
Spangler himself points out that one of the shadows of the New
Age is "a subtle surrender to powerlessness and irresponsibility
in the name of waiting for the New Age to come rather than
being an active creator of wholeness in one's own life".(45)
Even though it would hardly be correct to suggest that quietism
is universal in New Age attitudes, one of the chief criticisms
of the New Age Movement is that its privatistic quest for
self-fulfilment may actually work against the possibility of a sound
religious culture. Three points bring this into focus:
- it is questionable whether New Age demonstrates the intellectual
cogency to provide a complete picture of the cosmos in a world
view which claims to integrate nature and spiritual reality. The
Western universe is seen as a divided one based on monotheism, transcendence,
alterity and separateness. A fundamental dualism is detected in
such divisions as those between real and ideal, relative and absolute,
finite and infinite, human and divine, sacred and profane, past
and present, all redolent of Hegel's "unhappy consciousness". This
is portrayed as something tragic. The response from New Age
is unity through fusion: it claims to reconcile soul and body, female
and male, spirit and matter, human and divine, earth and cosmos,
transcendent and immanent, religion and science, differences between
religions, Yin and Yang. There is, thus, no more alterity; what
is left in human terms is transpersonality. The New Age world
is unproblematic: there is nothing left to achieve. But the metaphysical
question of the one and the many remains unanswered, perhaps even
unasked, in that there is a great deal of regret at the effects
of disunity and division, but the response is a description of how
things would appear in another vision.
- New Age imports Eastern religious practices piecemeal
and re- interprets them to suit Westerners; this involves
a rejection of the language of sin and salvation, replacing it with
the morally neutral language of addiction and recovery. References
to extra-European influences are sometimes merely a "pseudo-Orientalisation"
of Western culture. Furthermore, it is hardly a genuine dialogue;
in a context where Graeco-Roman and Judaeo-Christian influences
are suspect, oriental influences are used precisely because they
are alternatives to Western culture. Traditional science and medicine
are felt to be inferior to holistic approaches, as are patriarchal
and particular structures in politics and religion. All of these
will be obstacles to the coming of the Age of Aquarius; once again,
it is clear that what is implied when people opt for New Age
alternatives is a complete break with the tradition that formed
them. Is this as mature and liberated as it is often thought or
presumed to be?
- Authentic religious traditions encourage discipline with the
eventual goal of acquiring wisdom, equanimity and compassion.
New Age echoes society's deep, ineradicable yearning for an
integral religious culture, and for something more generic and enlightened
than what politicians generally offer, but it is not clear whether
the benefits of a vision based on the ever-expanding self are for
individuals or for societies. New Age training courses (what
used to be known as "Erhard seminar trainings" [EST] etc.) marry
counter-cultural values with the mainstream need to succeed, inner
satisfaction with outer success; Findhorn's "Spirit of Business"
retreat transforms the experience of work while increasing productivity;
some New Age devotees are involved not only to become more
authentic and spontaneous, but also in order to become more prosperous
(through magic etc.). "What makes things even more appealing to
the enterprise-minded businessperson is that New Age trainings also
resonate with somewhat more humanistic ideas abroad in the world
of business. The ideas have to do with the workplace as a 'learning
environment', 'bringing life back to work', 'humanizing work', 'fulfilling
the manager', 'people come first' or 'unlocking potential'. Presented
by New Age trainers, they are likely to appeal to those businesspeople
who have already been involved with more (secular) humanistic trainings
and who want to take things further: at one and the same time for
the sake of personal growth, happiness and enthusiasm, as well as
for commercial productivity".(46)
So it is clear that people involved do seek wisdom and equanimity
for their own benefit, but how much do the activities in which they
are involved enable them to work for the common good? Apart from
the question of motivation, all of these phenomena need to be judged
by their fruits, and the question to ask is whether they promote
self or solidarity, not only with whales, trees or
like-minded people, but with the whole of creation - including the
whole of humanity. The most pernicious consequences of any philosophy
of egoism which is embraced by institutions or by large numbers
of people are identified by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as a set of
"strategies to reduce the number of those who will eat at humanity's
table".(47)
This is a key standard by which to evaluate the impact of any philosophy
or theory. Christianity always seeks to measure human endeavours
by their openness to the Creator and to all other creatures, a respect
based firmly on love.
2.5.
Why has New Age grown so rapidly and spread so effectively?
Whatever questions and criticisms it may attract, New Age
is an attempt by people who experience the world as harsh and heartless
to bring warmth to that world. As a reaction to modernity, it operates
more often than not on the level of feelings, instincts and emotions.
Anxiety about an apocalyptic future of economic instability, political
uncertainty and climatic change plays a large part in causing people
to look for an alternative, resolutely optimistic relationship to
the cosmos. There is a search for wholeness and happiness, often
on an explicitly spiritual level. But it is significant that New
Age has enjoyed enormous success in an era which can be characterised
by the almost universal exaltation of diversity. Western
culture has taken a step beyond tolerance - in the sense of grudging
acceptance or putting up with the idiosyncrasies of a person or
a minority group - to a conscious erosion of respect for normality.
Normality is presented as a morally loaded concept, linked necessarily
with absolute norms. For a growing number of people, absolute beliefs
or norms indicate nothing but an inability to tolerate other people's
views and convictions. In this atmosphere alternative life-styles
and theories have really taken off: it is not only acceptable but
positively good to be diverse.(48)
It is essential to bear in mind that people are involved with New
Age in very different ways and on many levels. In most cases
it is not really a question of "belonging" to a group or movement;
nor is there much conscious awareness of the principles on which
New Age is built. It seems that, for the most part, people are
attracted to particular therapies or practices, without going into
their background, and others are simply occasional consumers of
products which are labelled "New Age". People who use aromatherapy
or listen to "New Age" music, for example, are usually interested
in the effect they have on their health or well-being; it is only
a minority who go further into the subject, and try to understand
its theoretical (or "mystical") significance. This fits perfectly
into the patterns of consumption in societies where amusement and
leisure play such an important part. The "movement" has adapted
well to the laws of the market, and it is partly because it is such
an attractive economic proposition that New Age has become
so widespread. New Age has been seen, in some cultures at
least, as the label for a product created by the application of
marketing principles to a religious phenomenon.(49)
There is always going to be a way of profiting from people's perceived
spiritual needs. Like many other things in contemporary economics,
New Age is a global phenomenon held together and fed with
information by the mass media. It is arguable that this global community
was created by means of the mass media, and it is quite clear that
popular literature and mass communications ensure that the common
notions held by "believers" and sympathisers spread almost everywhere
very rapidly. However, there is no way of proving that such a rapid
spread of ideas is either by chance or by design, since this is
a very loose form of "community". Like the cybercommunities created
by the Internet, it is a domain where relationships between people
can be either very impersonal or interpersonal in only a very selective
sense.
New Age has become immensely popular as a loose set of beliefs,
therapies and practices, which are often selected and combined at
will, irrespective of the incompatibilities and inconsistencies
this may imply. But this is obviously to be expected in a world-
view self-consciously based on "right-brain" intuitive thinking.
And that is precisely why it is important to discover and recognise
the fundamental characteristics of New Age ideas. What is
offered is often described as simply "spiritual", rather than belonging
to any religion, but there are much closer links to particular Eastern
religions than many "consumers" realise. This is obviously important
in "prayer"-groups to which people choose to belong, but it is also
a real question for management in a growing number of companies,
whose employees are required to practise meditation and adopt mind-expanding
techniques as part of their life at work.(50)
It is worth saying a brief word about concerted promotion of
New Age as an ideology, but this is a very complex issue. Some
groups have reacted to New Age with sweeping accusations
about conspiracies, but the answer would generally be that we are
witnessing a spontaneous cultural change whose course is fairly
determined by influences beyond human control. However, it is enough
to point out that New Age shares with a number of internationally
influential groups the goal of superseding or transcending particular
religions in order to create space for a universal religion which
could unite humanity. Closely related to this is a very concerted
effort on the part of many institutions to invent a Global Ethic,
an ethical framework which would reflect the global nature of
contemporary culture, economics and politics. Further, the politicisation
of ecological questions certainly colours the whole question of
the Gaia hypothesis or worship of mother earth.
3.1. New Age as
spirituality
New Age is often referred to by those who promote it as
a "new spirituality". It seems ironic to call it "new" when so many
of its ideas have been taken from ancient religions and cultures.
But what really is new is that New Age is a conscious search
for an alternative to Western culture and its Judaeo-Christian religious
roots. "Spirituality" in this way refers to the inner experience
of harmony and unity with the whole of reality, which heals each
human person's feelings of imperfection and finiteness. People discover
their profound connectedness with the sacred universal force or
energy which is the nucleus of all life. When they have made this
discovery, men and women can set out on a path to perfection, which
will enable them to sort out their personal lives and their relationship
to the world, and to take their place in the universal process of
becoming and in the New Genesis of a world in constant evolution.
The result is a cosmic mysticism (51)
based on people's awareness of a universe burgeoning with dynamic
energies. Thus cosmic energy, vibration, light, God, love - even
the supreme Self - all refer to one and the same reality, the primal
source present in every being.
This spirituality consists of two distinct elements, one metaphysical,
the other psychological. The metaphysical component comes
from New Age's esoteric and theosophical roots, and is basically
a new form of gnosis. Access to the divine is by knowledge of hidden
mysteries, in each individual's search for "the real behind what
is only apparent, the origin beyond time, the transcendent beyond
what is merely fleeting, the primordial tradition behind merely
ephemeral tradition, the other behind the self, the cosmic divinity
beyond the incarnate individual". Esoteric spirituality "is an investigation
of Being beyond the separateness of beings, a sort of nostalgia
for lost unity".(52)
"Here one can see the gnostic matrix of esoteric spirituality.
It is evident when the children of Aquarius search for the Transcendent
Unity of religions. They tend to pick out of the historical religions
only the esoteric nucleus, whose guardians they claim to be. They
somehow deny history and will not accept that spirituality can be
rooted in time or in any institution. Jesus of Nazareth is not God,
but one of the many historical manifestations of the cosmic and
universal Christ".(53)
The psychological component of this kind of spirituality
comes from the encounter between esoteric culture and psychology
(cf. 2.32). New Age thus becomes an experience of personal
psycho- spiritual transformation, seen as analogous to religious
experience. For some people this transformation takes the form of
a deep mystical experience, after a personal crisis or a lengthy
spiritual search. For others it comes from the use of meditation
or some sort of therapy, or from paranormal experiences which alter
states of consciousness and provide insight into the unity of reality.(54)
3.2. Spiritual narcissism?
Several authors see New Age spirituality as a kind of spiritual
narcissism or pseudo-mysticism. It is interesting to note that this
criticism was put forward even by an important exponent of New
Age, David Spangler, who, in his later works, distanced himself
from the more esoteric aspects of this current of thought.
He wrote that, in the more popular forms of New Age, "individuals
and groups are living out their own fantasies of adventure and power,
usually of an occult or millenarian form.... The principal characteristic
of this level is attachment to a private world of ego-fulfilment
and a consequent (though not always apparent) withdrawal from the
world. On this level, the New Age has become populated with
strange and exotic beings, masters, adepts, extraterrestrials; it
is a place of psychic powers and occult mysteries, of conspiracies
and hidden teachings".(55)
In a later work, David Spangler lists what he sees as the negative
elements or "shadows" of the New Age: "alienation from the
past in the name of the future; attachment to novelty for its own
sake...; indiscriminateness and lack of discernment in the name
of wholeness and communion, hence the failure to understand or respect
the role of boundaries...; confusion of psychic phenomena with wisdom,
of channeling with spirituality, of the New Age perspective
with ultimate truth".(56)
But, in the end, Spangler is convinced that selfish, irrational
narcissism is limited to just a few new-agers. The positive aspects
he stresses are the function of New Age as an image of change
and as an incarnation of the sacred, a movement in which most people
are "very serious seekers after truth", working in the interest
of life and inner growth.
The commercial aspect of many products and therapies which bear
the New Age label is brought out by David Toolan, an American
Jesuit who spent several years in the New Age milieu. He
observes that new-agers have discovered the inner life and are fascinated
by the prospect of being responsible for the world, but that they
are also easily overcome by a tendency to individualism and to viewing
everything as an object of consumption. In this sense, while it
is not Christian, New Age spirituality is not Buddhist either,
inasmuch as it does not involve self-denial. The dream of mystical
union seems to lead, in practice, to a merely virtual union, which,
in the end, leaves people more alone and unsatisfied.
3.3. The Cosmic Christ
In the early days of Christianity, believers in Jesus Christ were
forced to face up to the gnostic religions. They did not ignore
them, but took the challenge positively and applied the terms used
of cosmic deities to Christ himself. The clearest example of this
is in the famous hymn to Christ in Saint Paul's letter to the Christians
at Colossae:
"He is the image of the unseen God and
the first-born of all creation,
for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth:
everything visible and everything invisible,
Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers-
all things were created through him and for him.
Before anything was created, he existed, and he holds all things
in unity.
Now the Church is his body, he is its head.
As he is the Beginning, he was first to be born from the dead,
so that he should be first in every way;
because God wanted all perfection to be found in him
and all things to be reconciled through him and for him,
everything in heaven and everything on earth,
when he made peace by his death on the cross" (Col 1: 15-20).
For these early Christians, there was no new cosmic age to come;
what they were celebrating with this hymn was the Fulfilment of
all things which had begun in Christ. "Time is indeed fulfilled
by the very fact that God, in the Incarnation, came down into human
history. Eternity entered into time: what 'fulfilment' could be
greater than this? What other 'fulfilment' would be possible?" (57)
Gnostic belief in cosmic powers and some obscure kind of destiny
withdraws the possibility of a relationship to a personal God revealed
in Christ. For Christians, the real cosmic Christ is the one who
is present actively in the various members of his body, which is
the Church. They do not look to impersonal cosmic powers, but to
the loving care of a personal God; for them cosmic bio-centrism
has to be transposed into a set of social relationships (in
the Church); and they are not locked into a cyclical pattern of
cosmic events, but focus on the historical Jesus, in particular
on his crucifixion and resurrection. We find in the Letter to the
Colossians and in the New Testament a doctrine of God different
from that implicit in New Age thought: the Christian conception
of God is one of a Trinity of Persons who has created the human
race out of a desire to share the communion of Trinitarian life
with creaturely persons. Properly understood, this means that authentic
spirituality is not so much our search for God but God's
search for us.
Another, completely different, view of the cosmic significance
of Christ has become current in New Age circles. "The Cosmic
Christ is the divine pattern that connects in the person
of Jesus Christ (but by no means is limited to that person). The
divine pattern of connectivity was made flesh and set up its
tent among us (John 1:14).... The Cosmic Christ... leads a new
exodus from the bondage and pessimistic views of a Newtonian, mechanistic
universe so ripe with competition, winners and losers, dualisms,
anthropocentrism, and the boredom that comes when our exciting universe
is pictured as a machine bereft of mystery and mysticism. The Cosmic
Christ is local and historical, indeed intimate to human history.
The Cosmic Christ might be living next door or even inside one's
deepest and truest self".(58)
Although this statement may not satisfy everyone involved in
New Age, it does catch the tone very well, and it shows with
absolute clarity where the differences between these two views of
Christ lie. For New Age the Cosmic Christ is seen as a pattern
which can be repeated in many people, places and times; it is the
bearer of an enormous paradigm shift; it is ultimately a potential
within us.
According to Christian belief, Jesus Christ is not a pattern, but
a divine person whose human-divine figure reveals the mystery of
the Father's love for every person throughout history (Jn 3:16);
he lives in us because he shares his life with us, but it is neither
imposed nor automatic. All men and women are invited to share his
life, to live "in Christ".
3.4.
Christian mysticism and New Age mysticism
For Christians, the spiritual life is a relationship with God which
gradually through his grace becomes deeper, and in the process also
sheds light on our relationship with our fellow men and women, and
with the universe. Spirituality in New Age terms means experiencing
states of consciousness dominated by a sense of harmony and fusion
with the Whole. So "mysticism" refers not to meeting the transcendent
God in the fullness of love, but to the experience engendered by
turning in on oneself, an exhilarating sense of being at one with
the universe, a sense of letting one's individuality sink into the
great ocean of Being.(59)
This fundamental distinction is evident at all levels of comparison
between Christian mysticism and New Age mysticism. The New
Age way of purification is based on awareness of unease or alienation,
which is to be overcome by immersion into the Whole. In order to
be converted, a person needs to make use of techniques which lead
to the experience of illumination. This transforms a person's consciousness
and opens him or her to contact with the divinity, which is understood
as the deepest essence of reality.
The techniques and methods offered in this immanentist religious
system, which has no concept of God as person, proceed 'from below'.
Although they involve a descent into the depths of one's own heart
or soul, they constitute an essentially human enterprise on the
part of a person who seeks to rise towards divinity by his or her
own efforts. It is often an "ascent" on the level of consciousness
to what is understood to be a liberating awareness of "the god within".
Not everyone has access to these techniques, whose benefits are
restricted to a privileged spiritual 'aristocracy'.
The essential element in Christian faith, however, is God's descent
towards his creatures, particularly towards the humblest, those
who are weakest and least gifted according to the values of the
"world". There are spiritual techniques which it is useful to learn,
but God is able to by-pass them or do without them. A Christian's
"method of getting closer to God is not based on any technique
in the strict sense of the word. That would contradict the spirit
of childhood called for by the Gospel. The heart of genuine Christian
mysticism is not technique: it is always a gift of God; and the
one who benefits from it knows himself to be unworthy".(60)
For Christians, conversion is turning back to the Father, through
the Son, in docility to the power of the Holy Spirit. The more people
progress in their relationship with God - which is always and in
every way a free gift - the more acute is the need to be converted
from sin, spiritual myopia and self-infatuation, all of which obstruct
a trusting self-abandonment to God and openness to other men and
women.
All meditation techniques need to be purged of presumption and
pretentiousness. Christian prayer is not an exercise in self-contemplation,
stillness and self-emptying, but a dialogue of love, one which "implies
an attitude of conversion, a flight from 'self' to the 'You' of
God".(61) It
leads to an increasingly complete surrender to God's will, whereby
we are invited to a deep, genuine solidarity with our brothers and
sisters.(62)
3.5. The "god
within" and "theosis"
Here is a key point of contrast between New Age and Christianity.
So much New Age literature is shot through with the conviction
that there is no divine being "out there", or in any real way distinct
from the rest of reality. From Jung's time onwards there has been
a stream of people professing belief in "the god within". Our problem,
in a New Age perspective, is our inability to recognise our
own divinity, an inability which can be overcome with the help of
guidance and the use of a whole variety of techniques for unlocking
our hidden (divine) potential. The fundamental idea is that 'God'
is deep within ourselves. We are gods, and we discover the unlimited
power within us by peeling off layers of inauthenticity.(63)
The more this potential is recognised, the more it is realised,
and in this sense the New Age has its own idea of theosis,
becoming divine or, more precisely, recognising and accepting
that we are divine. We are said by some to be living in "an age
in which our understanding of God has to be interiorised: from the
Almighty God out there to God the dynamic, creative power within
the very centre of all being: God as Spirit".(64)
In the Preface to Book V of Adversus Haereses, Saint Irenaeus
refers to "Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love,
become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is
Himself". Here theosis, the Christian understanding of divinisation,
comes about not through our own efforts alone, but with the assistance
of God's grace working in and through us. It inevitably involves
an initial awareness of incompleteness and even sinfulness, in no
way an exaltation of the self. Furthermore, it unfolds as an introduction
into the life of the Trinity, a perfect case of distinction at the
heart of unity; it is synergy rather than fusion. This all comes
about as the result of a personal encounter, an offer of a new kind
of life. Life in Christ is not something so personal and private
that it is restricted to the realm of consciousness. Nor is it merely
a new level of awareness. It involves being transformed in our soul
and in our body by participation in the sacramental life of the
Church.
It is difficult to separate the individual elements of New Age
religiosity - innocent though they may appear - from the overarching
framework which permeates the whole thought-world on the New
Age movement. The gnostic nature of this movement calls us to
judge it in its entirety. From the point of view of Christian faith,
it is not possible to isolate some elements of New Age religiosity
as acceptable to Christians, while rejecting others. Since the
New Age movement makes much of a communication with nature,
of cosmic knowledge of a universal good - thereby negating the revealed
contents of Christian faith - it cannot be viewed as positive or
innocuous. In a cultural environment, marked by religious relativism,
it is necessary to signal a warning against the attempt to place
New Age religiosity on the same level as Christian faith,
making the difference between faith and belief seem relative, thus
creating greater confusion for the unwary. In this regard, it is
useful to remember the exhortation of St. Paul "to instruct certain
people not to teach false doctrine or to concern themselves with
myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather
than the plan of God that is to be received by faith" (1 Tim
1:3-4). Some practices are incorrectly labeled as New Age
simply as a marketing strategy to make them sell better, but are
not truly associated with its worldview. This only adds to the confusion.
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