Chew the Fat

After uneventful experiences with scientology we have decided to move on to something we can really get our teeth into, The New Age Movement. This appears to be by far the most diverse belief system in town. It is not one system but many spiritual and philosophical ideologies mashed together to make an interesting brew.

Though there are no formal or definitive boundaries for membership; those who are likely to sample many diverse teachings and practices (from both 'mainstream' and 'fringe' traditions) and to formulate their own beliefs and practices based on their experiences can be considered as New Age. Rather than follow the lead of an organised religion, "New Agers" typically construct their own spiritual journey based on material taken as needed from the mystical traditions of world religions, and also including shamanism, neopaganism and occultism.

The name New Age was popularised by the American mass media during the late 1980s, to describe the alternative spiritual subculture interested in such things as meditation, channelling, reincarnation, crystals, psychic experience, holistic health, environmentalism, other fields associated with pseudoscience, and various “unsolved mysteries” such as UFOs, Earth mysteries and Crop circles. Typical activities of this subculture include participation in study or meditation groups, attendance at lectures and fairs; the purchase of books, music, and other products such as crystals or incense; patronage of fortune-tellers, healers and spiritual counsellors. (http://en.wikipedia.org/)

All of this makes an exciting couple of weeks for us. We are in the process of booking interviews with fortune tellers, mediums and alien abductees. We will be purchasing crystals and tarot cards this week and going to the spiritual church healing service on Sunday. On Friday we will be spending the night in a well known haunted house in Wellington. We will have a séance there and see what happens. I have got a couple of books from the library on positive thought and self hypnosis, and I have downloaded some New Age music which has subconscious messages hidden within.

I will eat only vegetables and do Tai Chi and meditation in the mornings. I will attempt to speak and think only positive thoughts.

Experiences will follow.