New-Age fluff or ???

[Milfoil]

How do you tell the difference between ideas, concepts or teachings which offer genuine spiritual advantage and New-Age fluff?

Do you have any examples?

For me there seems to be a lot of idealistic 'feel good' stuff in the New-Age camps which allows anything and everything whilst concepts such as dedication, hard work, sacrifice are marginalised. For example, an oracle deck that only offers sweet, easy, positive comments.

 

[linnie]

Hello Millie I know that one 'New Age' catch cry is to learn to love yourself, and that this one places anyone taking that advice at risk of being seen as selfish... I thought that people were just giving themselves permission to be Self-centred, too, and, really, they were. But Self-centred and selfish are quite different things, I think... True selfishness is not beneficial to anyone... ie A person being selfish is not very likely to be walking a happy road... If she simply isn't aware that helping others achieve their desires also brings one happiness, if she doesn't choose to place other's needs at least on par with her own, where is the joy in that? I'm guessing that it would be a kind of lonely "I have everything I need" joy?

Honouring Self, on the other hand, following a path that you know, in every cell of your being, that you are called to follow, is, IMHO, positive to both the person doing just that and to people in his/her immediate surrounds, and, hopefully, far beyond that. Joy is infectious... authentic laughter, a deep belly laugh, unsuppressed mirth, sends barrel loads of joy further out into the world... at least that is my understanding of it.

Oh, and I should note that following one's path, or passion, can involve serious dedication, Self-discipline and etc to make it happen

 

[caridwen]

Some New Age guff that really aggravates me (and who knows what self serving guru came up with this) is that everything that happens to you is part of your Karma and a lesson from a past life or whatever.

So what exactly did child victims of war do in their past lives to deserve such horror?

It makes me so annoyed that people swallow this rubbish whole and believe it without thinking. They have no idea what Karma even means and just spout nonsense to people going through trauma.

It's more like New Age Cruelty.

 

[Tiddles]

Interesting that this should come up today as I was at the library the other day and happened upon a Doreen Virtue book on the healing power of archangel Raphael. I'm kind of into the archangels, so checked it out. Well I got through about two chapters and was like WTF? She goes into these pretty fantastical, unbelievable stories that in order to be believed (IMO) need documentation of some sort. It's nice to think that there are angels looking after us, but I just could not buy into her stories. I don't know her enough to "just believe her". The fact that she's been on Oprah, written like 50 books, plus the nature of her oracle decks (from what I understand are the type Milfoil is describing) gives her even less credibility in my eyes.

 

[Tiddles]

Oh another example is those awful Karma Cards by Monte Farber. Geez, I'm so embarrassed that I bought into them and their supposed messages. The book that came with the cards also had some pretty lame explanations as to "what if the answers don't speak to you". Well, trying to figure out WTH these very ethereal, mumbo jumbo, nonsensical sentences (that were spelled out on the cards) were trying to say was nearly impossible. I want to know what drugs they were on when they made this deck, or if they were just laughing their asses off that people were going to actually buy this crap.

 

[AJ]

Based on my own march along life's path (or crawl, I fell down icy stairs a little while ago)
I'm finding new age fluff has nothing to do with what anyone else is thinking or writing or doing. It has to do with where I am. 10 years ago I might have said tarot and oracles were new age crap, (or old age crap), along with chakras, following the moon, talking to the trees, and fairy doors. Today I'm comfortable with it all and particularly with how much more open my mind is to at least hearing the message of something outside my own experience.

If I read something here and feel my lip moving into sneer mode I try to step back and at least 'hear' the message. Who knows what I will accept tomorrow and wonder why I didn't hear it before.

 

[Aulruna]

This is really difficult to tell for me. I know I have my own ideas about what is authentic and what is more a marketing ploy ... but whether one actually offers a greater advantage, generally, I couldn't say.

I am a completionist even in my spiritual search, so I tend to want to explore the dark along with the light. I also tend to think it makes a path "stronger" if it has challenges and there are many others on it, versus "do what you feel is right for you", which seems an easy way out for me. I strongly believe that while there are many right ways to do something, there are also many wrong ones

But I'm not sure if that makes me less fluffy or if it gives me a greater advantage or if, at the end of the day, there is even a grid or scale to measure all that...

 

[Carla]

Based on my own march along life's path (or crawl, I fell down icy stairs a little while ago)
I'm finding new age fluff has nothing to do with what anyone else is thinking or writing or doing. It has to do with where I am. 10 years ago I might have said tarot and oracles were new age crap, (or old age crap), along with chakras, following the moon, talking to the trees, and fairy doors. Today I'm comfortable with it all and particularly with how much more open my mind is to at least hearing the message of something outside my own experience.

If I read something here and feel my lip moving into sneer mode I try to step back and at least 'hear' the message. Who knows what I will accept tomorrow and wonder why I didn't hear it before.

Quite! Well said, Sharyn.

That being said, the New Age message I find the most difficult is that we are experiencing is what we've drawn to us. And that what we send out returns to us. That sounds good until you really start to think about it. Did starving people draw starvation? Did victims of a hurricane draw the storm? If you go around spouting feel good crap and blessing everyone, should you expect a million dollars to land in your bank account? Some New Agers seem to think so. That bothers me. BUT. Maybe I'm oversimplifying the message. It's certainly true that 10 years ago I didn't give credence to MOST of what I practice now. ...But now I'm just repeating AJ.

 

[gregory]

I agree with AJ - but the one I find hard to stomach is that everything will always be OK and that you only have to believe.

Tell that to the mother whose child is dying.

 

[Milfoil]

The notion that all things are good if they get you to think about your spiritual side I can understand but how many vulnerable people are so completely taken in by the need to have comfort rather than truth?

I know someone who has been a spiritual seeker for decades, goes to countless workshops, seminars and buys acres of new books. He has followed the Middle Eastern ways, the North American Indian ways all sorts of pagan ways. He has experimented with all the entheogens and attends many different functions from Druid ceremonies to Angel workshops and all inbetween.

So what, you say? Well, he is confused, still searching for something that will give him whatever it is he thinks is necessary in life (at 63), is unwilling to seek a doctor for very real health problems now and can't seem to separate the fluff from the simple truths. He accepts everything and it all conflicts.

I guess there are lots of people who have this problem in mainstream religions because there are massive inconsistencies there but it seems such a shame that there is so much fluff marketed in an area which should literally be heralding the New Age.