Andrea,
Yes, some of the New Age ideas are similar to what is
discussed on this list, but you are probably right in
suggesting that most on this list are uncomfortable
with, if not hostile toward, the way in which "new
agers" arrive at "truth" or right thinking. At this
point in my journey, I cannot imagine the possibility
that someday I will "arrive" at a place called Truth
and look around and realize that everyone else standing
there started from some philosophical or religious
point of origin very different than mine. Truth still
seems very subjective and situational to me. The world
has enough fixed, immutable ideas about how we should
think and behave. Undoubtedly, my present perspective
is still a work in progress--unfinished business. But
most of the religious or spiritual ideas and practices
I have encountered are not just different paths to the
same place. They are, in my opinion, mutually
exclusive, contradictory ideas that never "pan" out.
Some day, I will post a quote of Francine Prose, who
speaks directly to this issue.
By the way, "As Above, So Below" by Ronald S. Miller
and New Age magazine is, in my opinion, the best
overview of the movement. It is also a good example of
the movement's al-a-carte diversity, the
"take-what-you-like" and "stay-in-your-comfort-zone"
mentality. A frequent saying in the movement was, and
perhaps still is, "Is it more important that something
is true or that it works?" Well, from where I am now
standing, it is very important to me whether something
is true or not true. How I arrived at that conclusion
is also important. And HOW this something works is even
more important than that!
Thanks for your comments. I, too, see merit in
discussing anything that brings me closer to quality
thinking and behavior. Perhaps I should not, however,
have brought the term "new age" onto this list. If so,
I apologize to all, and will perform some appropriate
penitence, like re-reading both of Pirsig's books.
Just kidding--not about re-reading his books, which I
am now doing, but about seeing it as punishment rather
than enlightement! :))
Billy Dean
Info@billydee.com
http://www.billydee.com
"It is the journey that enlightens--not the
destination..."
Kwai Chang Caine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrea Sosio" <andrea.sosio@italtel.it>
To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2001 12:56 AM
Subject: MD New Age (God forbid?)
> Just a side note about triggered by your reflections
on the New Age
> movement.
>
> I, too, took a long look at the movement through the
years, although not
> in a systematic way. The reading material that falls
under the huge New
> Age umbrella is very heterogeneous. This is a logical
consequence of the
> peculiar absence of a concept of "truth": "for your
discernment",
> sistematically attached to most documents in the New
Age literature,
> invites the reader to accept or reject anything
freely without feeling
> detached from (or against) the movement for any
specific rejection of
> his/her choice; and on the other hand, causes the
movement as a whole
> never to reject anything - aliens, reincarnation,
Atlantis, angels,
> whatever.
>
> The "for your discernment" motto (believe whatever
you want to believe),
> in turn, is a logical counterpart of what is probably
the cornerstone of
> New Age thought - the mentioned principle whereby the
world is
> responsive to human intention. For many people, this
idea probably makes
> your hair stand, or even provokes anger when you read
sadly true stories
> of people that ruined their lives while believing in
this idea - or
> believing that they believed in this idea - however.
>
> On the other hand, a naive rejection of this
principle stems from a SOM
> attitude that considers the world "objective": an
objective world that
> bends to our subjective will(s) is a repelling
concept for many very
> good reasons. But, if Quality = Reality, and Quality
isn't subjective
> nor objective, it seems to me that a reasonable
interpretation of the
> basic New Age idea becomes at least viable. And then,
many statements in
> the New Age corpus tend to resemble MOQ ideas in such
a close way that
> one at least can wonder what the relation between
these two movements
> really are.
>
> For these reasons, I personally think some discussion
on New Age could
> be interesting. I understand that people with a
philosophical background
> or a scientific-philosophical background, on the
average, would even be
> offended if they felt connected in any way to such an
irrational
> movement as New Age. This is probably one of the
reasons why the phrase
> "New Age" almost never makes it to this forum despite
some similiarity
> to MOQ. As I said above, the New Age umbrella is so
vast that I for one
> tend to believe it hosts a lot of incredibly
meaningless absurdities. It
> sure takes a lot of discernment to make a reasonable
survey of such a
> young and shapeshifting and "truthless" movement. But
who knows. Some
> books that appear in New Age shelves in libraries
appear respectable
> too.
>
> By the way, if anyone has pointers to books or
articles that try to
> provide a critical review of New Age, I will be happy
to have a look at
> them.
>
> A
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