"new age" discussion.

[HOLMES]

in this day and age we have seen many advances,, in the last 140 years(so we can go before the first car) we have seen a good deal of advancement,, cars airplanes,
medicine advancement, radio,, tv, the internet..
we have seen advances in thinking as a mass people,, psychology for example.

with the good things we have seen the bad to go with it,, car accidents, air planes accident, misuse of medicine, misuse of tv, the internet.. some mistakes in psychology perhaps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Age
good as place to start as any..
in particular i found was the founders was more then blavasky, there was additions or advances in spiritual thought,experiences by edgar crayce, and people before the 80s comes to mind,,
arthur ford prominte in spreading medium ,book supposed to full of orbits,
jeanne dixon 1969 her life and prophecies
ruth montgomery 1967 she wrote the search for truth,
janes roberts 1970 the seth material
vernon howard
problay contributed as well.
besides the madame blatavasky, alice baily,, the prophets, guy ballard.
it was supposed to be representative of the new age of aquarius as well.

the articles describes some early 19 century movements like theosophy, , early occult traditions like magic. (golden dawn offshoots comes to mind like dion fortune).

I imagine how the bookstores carried metaphysical books in the 60s, 70s so people following these things as passion kept up to date with the latest information.. perhaps that author said in that a way that a person may understand.

just now i did a search for new age subject on amazon before jan 1978.
i see a book on
shaman , 1951.
astrological insights into the spiritual life 1940
mastering the tarot 1973 eden gray
education in the new age alice baily 1953
The Soul and the Ethic 1965 , by a clariovyant
Universal Magnetism 1942
Your Mysterious Powers of ESP 1969
Psionic Power 1951
Vision for the Future vision for the future 1960
Men in White Apparel: Revelations About Death and the Life after Death 1961
Light In Extension (Llewellyn's Western Magick Historical Series) 1951
Birth Of Shaman 1951
Telepathy and Thought Transference 1942
The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ: The Philosophic and Practical Basis of the Religion of the Aquarian Age of the World 1908
16 Steps To Health & Energy 1951
Sages & Seers 1959
Interpretation of Cosmic and Mystical Experiences 1969
Occult Practices and Beliefs: A Biblical Examination from A to Z 1969
The Finding of the Third Eye 1968
The Foundation of High Magick 1951
Inside the Spaceships 1955
Mediums & the Development of Mediumship 1971
Wisdom of the Mystic Masters 1971
The Astral Body: And Other Astral Phenomena 1927
The Fifth Gospel 1968 second editoon
The Tarot Revealed 1969
The Causal Body and the Ego 1928
how to read the aura 1971
The Secret Doctrine 1950
Ye Are Gods 1952
Secret Science Behind Miracles 1948
Esp in Life and Lab: Tracing Hidden Channels 1969
The Supernatural 1967
The Aura 1973
____________

i was surpised by some of the books,, the aquarian gospel according to amazon was published in 1908. eh ?
of course with the books stores being hard to get these books i would imagine unless they were specalized .
one of think the majority off these books weren't brought ,or perhaps they were?

about halfway down ,, i focused on books published in the 69s or earlier except for when i saw something worth nothing early in the 70s.

the whole point of this thread to talk about how new age wasnt' as new say the 86s and onwards but the foundation of this came from earlier sources.
of particular note for me was the books came a lot from llewllyn or red wieser books.
i also think there is a mix up between the two shamans books mention as the cover looked to be more newer then a 50s one would look.

also the search i did was broad,, subject new age,, and in the occult section,, though there was just as many in the new age section and only 180ish in the spirituality section.
i think there was some cross references as well.
i frankly didn't know what to call this thread, we already saw new age fluff thread, rant thread, however i wasnt' looking to look at the fluff of it,, or rant about it nor look soley at the pros of it.

i think though looking at these books that some of them must of been prequels to later books printed in the late 70s (i left out books from 74 onwards i think ) and in the 80s.
i got more ,, but now i must sleep for now.

 

[Richard]

I don't think the terms "New Age" or "Age of Aquarius" are necessarily synonymous with what most people mean in reference to the so-called New Age Movement which probably received its greatest impetus from the Hippie musical Hair rather than from the likes of Helena Blavatsky, Dion Fortune, or MacGregor Mathers, of whom most "New Agers" had never heard. The movement was characterized by an almost obscene mixture of often incompatible traditions: Hindu, Native American, Taoist, Buddist, and anything remote enough to be fodder for the plethora of books churned out in order to make a quick profit. I must qualify that a bit. Not all of the material produced for the movement was fluff, but the majority of the more recent books in New Age bookshops were worthless. Many people in the movement, at least the ones that I knew, had lost their religion (usually Christianity) but were insecure enough to need some sort of belief system, and the movement supplied that need.

 

[tarotbear]

I just want to add that although there were many books 'out there' decades ago, they were not available in the 'mass market' way that they are now. Many things such as Tarot cards & books, and anything 'magickal' fell under harsh though antequated 'anti-witchcraft' laws and many shops were not allowed to carry them - openly, anyway. (Perhaps this is the beginning of the notion that you had to be given your Tarot deck and could not purchase it?)

Everything that exists now existed over 100 years ago; how it is getting to the public is what has changed dramatically.

 

[HearthCricket]

Way back in the early 80's we had a used bookstore in the town that I grew up in. Back in the corner near religion was a section on New Age books that I used to go crazy reading through. Lots of books dating from the 1950's and back, most in hardcovers, many printed by small obscure publishing companies and occult societies. They ranged from very dark witchcraft books (one literally had the Lord's prayer backwards to recite and other obscure rituals dealing with dark magic) to books on palmistry, mediums, a variety of occult practices. I am a life-long student of Victorian literature and society. The occult was huge in the latter part of the Victorian age, into the Edwardian age and beyond. After Darwin's groundbreaking work and literacy percentiles raised, the common person questioned church and spirituality, many occult and "New Age" types of societies and clubs emerged and interest grew. Archeology and exploration also played a huge part of this with the findings in Egyptian tombs and the Victorian Empire ever expanding further into countries with very different belief systems and practices. Africa, India, the far East, etc. In the 1920's the travelling carnival became predominant in many regions and with it the expansion of crystal balls, seance, tarot, mediums, ghosts, etc. Getting a hold of some of these books can be very enlightening. Untainted by the current New Age wave, these books have a purer feel to them. Learning about practices from first hand observers and founders of societies is amazingly refreshing and really helps put "New Age" beliefs in a whole new perspective. I say search out the used bookstores. A lot of bookstores back then did carry these kind of books, but they were often stored in another room or floor separate from the main bookstore, accessible only by request and privately, as the books themselves were often considered just as taboo as a "dirty" novel. While never mentioned in the movie 84 Charing Cross Road, Marks and Co. had an occult and Freemasonry section on the third floor, again usually visited very discreetly and by request only. Your list of titles is interesting and I would love to see more!

 

[Milfoil]

There are lots of 'old' books which people have based their theories on, their beliefs on and their lives on, only for these books to be thoroughly discredited some 40 or 50 years on by people who actually DO what the book suggests.

What is written in books is not necessarily true and just because someone has published it, does that mean the reader should swallow it hook, line and sinker?

The biggest problem with a lot of New Age thinking is not the basic concepts (which may be sound within the belief system they come from) but that they have been 'sold' to the West as exotic, quick fixes by westerners who then try to make a business out of a spiritual practice or these very valid concepts are mixed together in an attempt at finding quick, easy ways to 'enlightenment' etc. The long, difficult journey of practical application, the decades of practice and the slowly accrued wisdom cannot be found within the pages of a book.

There are no books out there which give you the keys to the Universe but things the New Age movement have done is to allow people to think outside the box - to consider new possibilities and to encourage actual spiritual thinking rather than religious. We all still have brains and free will, sometimes we need to use them and read between the lines, like in all the old myths, to find the hidden wisdom.

 

[HOLMES]

hmm

I would disagree,,

there are books that give the key to the universe out there,,
the bible for one,
the course in miracles.
it depends on if you think spirit guides, mediumship, healingg techqiues are one of the keys to the universe.
what is written in the book isnt' necessarily untrue as well.

there are some quick methods out there that is for sure, doreen virtue is an example of that.. yet there are some disciplines in there,, aka working every day to clean one chakra is tiring on some days.
there are books that don't talk about quick fixes but that it takes time. (a book with the title instant esp one shouldnt expect to find long term excerises though eheh ).

look at the case of magnetism,, it was though to be magnets was hypnotizing the people but insteasd it was the movements the person was makingg so it became hypnotism..
for me that is one of the new age techiques.
and it isn't embraced by all medical professions..

old myths were good for learning, and i personally think there was some basis for some of those myths,, though i dont know if i go as far as the ancient aliens being the gods of old in the tv show ancient aliens.

now that i had time to think of it, the idea is that as things became more accepted ,, people began to form occult stores like it says in the wiki in the 70s , (and of course 80s, 90s, 2000s, presently). there were more publishes in the 80s that wasnt' around in the 60s, or more publishers carried them.
bantum carried some spiritual/new age books in the 80s and onwards, hj kramer the publishers of orin and daben books , bear and company, inner traditions.
so i remember in the 90s in 91 where i started out in used books at " Black Letter Books & White-light psychis",, (it has evolved over time to add in the psychics part).
then there was coles book that i would go looking for tarot mostly but also the ocassional psychic book, i didn't believe in angels to later and spiritual stuff.
then i found a occult book store that i was willing to travel 5 hours to go buy books with my paycheck when I was 20 (those were the good days ).

as i think of it,, as it becomes easier in the 70s, 80s, 90s to ship books out there, and find more books, the information became easier to find
look at reiki books for example it wasnt' until essential reiki that we saw reiki symbols in publication for the first time and it was kept private for a long time.
now we got books looking at reiki history,, at its myths, and how to attune others.

I think the reason why i enjoy a good book in today market is the old language in the old books was frankly very hard to read, or understand without a dictionary or university language understanding i felt as i saw some of them.
i don't want it sugar coated,, but put forward in modern terms so it was easier to understand.

it is kind of cool if you follow mediumship books to see the progress in information out there, and to read differnt takes on how they developed, and the same with those who work with spirit guides. the psychic pathway by sonia was a good read as well. (i regret borrowing it out as it never was returned ).

some of the books have been discounted as milfoil says, and some of them have not,, or been expanded in todays modern terms.
going back to the list in the original post there was a surge from what i saw in the list from about 73 to 78 in books that was about 2/3 i would estimate of the books written previously,, and i didnt' go from 78 to 86 for example.
no doubt to the new age movement,, and old books finding their way out to the market (there was some reprints to fit in the movement i would imagine).

sharing of the minds, cultures isnt' a bad thing, look at how tarot books have evolved, tarot decks themselves.

 

[Milfoil]

Well, here perhaps we must agree to disagree. The bible doesn't hold the keys to the universe any more than the phone book does - if it did we certainly wouldn't have the horrific problems that Christianity has brought to every continent on the planet.

I think the reason why i enjoy a good book in today market is the old language in the old books was frankly very hard to read, or understand without a dictionary or university language understanding i felt as i saw some of them.
i don't want it sugar coated,, but put forward in modern terms so it was easier to understand.

But surely by accepting the easier option of someone else's translation, the 101 versions and the easier language; ie by putting no effort into researching but simply accepting, how can you know if what you are reading has any merit? Scholars are still debating the translations of the bible 1500 years on.

 

[HOLMES]

Well, here perhaps we must agree to disagree. The bible doesn't hold the keys to the universe any more than the phone book does - if it did we certainly wouldn't have the horrific problems that Christianity has brought to every continent on the planet.
.......
by putting no effort into researching but simply accepting, how can you know if what you are reading has any merit? .

there are two things to that..
the bible may have teachings that containe the keys to the universe as i suggest however with two differnt messages , an eye for an eye changed to forgive those who do you harm, there is an evolving of messages if one bleieves in what jesus is purpoted to have said.

i dont' accept blindly, i spend some time questioning, contrasting and comparing.
even with jesus teachings i look to the other gospels like the gospel of tomas, and course in miracles (which i haven't read in a long time but it still affects me ).

and so it is with medium which i use for i know we had at one point a common interest there. before looking up myself to the idea,, i read a lot of books and compared it to channeling materials and also talked it outt with some friends before even agreeing to show up to a circle for example and when i was there i question everything with my mind.
so it was with the pranic healing course i went to.
i think it is necessary to question everything like that and experiment with them.

some of those who wrote the later new age books in the late 70s early 80s may of been out to make a quick buck by spitting out what they read with their own spin on it.. yet
i believe some of them really meant what they wrote and what they said they experienced.
in other words there must be some diamonds in the rough in those books.

 

[Debra]

Well, some cultures and subcultures were, and some still are, so terribly closed and repressive. Exploring your personal development--forget about that! Becoming a free person--unthinkable. Follow the law, follow the unwritten rules, don't ask questions, shut up. The "New Age" thinking throws a monkey wrench into that. It encourages asking questions. It opens the mind. Yes there's junky beliefs and greed and all that, but I guess it's a matter of weighing costs and benefits--baby and bathwater. We can afford to be more critical now -- even cynical -- because we're able to see more than one way of living.

I remember people mocking our neighbors who were vegetarians and did yoga asanas in their back yard in the 1960's. They were peace-love-health-happiness people. They trusted too easily, but they were not fools for experimenting with a different way of living.

My great aunt, born in the early 1900's, left home and joined a spiritual community in the US--the biosophists. From what she told me, it sounds like they were inspired by, or copycatted, the theosophists. She traveled with the group leaders for several years. It was only in her old age that she said: I joined a cult! Well, yes. The leaders took advantage of people's good will, trust and money.

And yet my aunt got a grounding in spiritual concepts that were completely foreign to her family and their social milieu.

Christianity doesn't do much for me (having not been raised with it). Nonetheless, I see a depth in the story of one fated and willingly sacrificed for the good of all, and the symbolic cannibalism that seals the deal.

 

[Richard]

The Bible is a mixture of trash and treasure and everything in between. As someone mentioned in a recent AT post, the Bible had too many different contributers. There is great profundity in its pages but it must be ferreted out and properly interpreted, as a great deal of it is metaphorical, symbolic, or allegorical. I believe that there may even be a path to enlightenment therein, which has been found by certain Hebrew and Christian mystics. Those in the "New Age" movement of the latter part of the twentieth century tended to regard the Bible as not worthy of attention, thus, in effect, tossing the baby out with the bath water. The Bible didn't spell things out in simple terms like the most of the recent "New Age" books did. Blavatsky or Crowley would have received similar disinterest. "Reading Isis Unveiled or The Book of the Law is too much like work, and there are no Classics Comics versions. Forget it."