SPIRITUALITY: June 2010

New Age Spirituality Concepts

The New Age is a term that encompasses a lot of concepts derived from diverse sources which for centuries have contradicted one another. The one term which may describe all these phenomena is the word non-normal. New Age refers to all those concepts which are non-normal to most of humanity in the current time, what Dick Hebdige called “a subversion to normalcy.”

So New Age Spirituality refers to a kind of spirituality that is not the rule in the present culture in which we live, whether we are westerners or easterners, whether we live north of the equator or south of the equator. It is a spirituality that is a subculture in our mainstream culture.

Its main concepts may be classified according to its view of God, of spirit, of man, of the planet earth, and of the heavenly bodies.

Absence of Traditional Creeds

The first concept in New Age Spirituality is the absence of a creed or set of propositions to believe in. Whereas every institutional religion has a creed to stand by, like the Apostles’ Creed in Christianity, New Age Spirituality does not have a creed like that. But this does not mean it has no set of ideas to offer to other people. It has. And these are concepts which are more or less common to the many streams which claim or compose the New Age Spirituality.

A Non-Transcendent But Immanent God

The second concept then of New Age Spirituality is its assertion of a God who is different from the God of established religions. The God of the established religions like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism is a transcendent God, one who is beyond our mind to consider, whom we cannot experience by our own powers.

On the other hand the God of New Age Spirituality is a God who is one with the universe. He may be the universe itself, or he may be us and the universe. And he is not transcendent, beyond our mind and powers to experience. We can experience this God here and now by meditation, by yoga exercises, by revelation from this God himself, and even by drugs.

An Environment of Spirits

The third concept of New Age Spirituality is its concept of spirits. We are all surrounded by all kinds of spirits, from angels to souls of the departed. And the spiritual world is superior to the material world. We can communicate with these spirits and those spirits can influence our life, maintaining our health and fortunes.

Superior Human Being

The fourth concept of New Age Spirituality is on its idea about the human being. The human being is an untapped potential of powers. The human being can do more than what we see him doing now. He has already discovered and harnessed the powers of electricity, of computers, of instant communications. He can do infinitely more. He is spirit with infinite powers at his disposal, if he only knew how to harness these powers.

The human being is a totally free agent, therefore. And he breaks loose from the traditional restraints of society in general and of the churches in particular.

Planet Earth Is Alive and Suffering

The fifth concept of New Age Spirituality is concerning the planet earth. It is a living being on its own. The term used to refer to this planet is Gaia, the Greek goddess personifying the earth. Because of this, New Age Spirituality has a reverence for this planet earth. Hence persons who profess New Age Spirituality have programs on environmental care. Because of this they advocate simple living so that the environment will not be destroyed.

Heavenly Bodies Have Minds

The sixth concept concerns the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, planets, their satellites, the stars and other heavenly bodies. These heavenly bodies, according to New Age Spirituality, have a consciousness of their own and they influence lives, human and non-human, on this planet earth.

From these basic concepts flow the other concepts and practices such as yoga exercises, controlled and supervised meditation, meditative, soothing music, communicating with the dead, use of crystals in health care, mind travel to heavenly bodies, psychic knowledge of the future and of the minds of others, practice of alternative medicine, reincarnation, karma or the accumulation of good and bad merits, eclecticism in religious beliefs tending to form one universal religion, respect for women as leaders in religion, respect and reverence for ancient civilizations, emphasis on personal, mystical experience as opposed to dogmatism and ritualism of the churches, the dawning of a new age of abundance and happiness.

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Here are my other blogs which may be of help to you:

http://bit.ly/spiritdev for your spiritual growth

http://bit.ly/alterhealthcare for your health

http://bit.ly/novotrends for learning about the new trends around us

http://bit.ly/bepaidonline for earning some income from the Internet

Here are your links to download the e-books for FREE. To download a copy of A NEW CHRIST by Wallace D. Wattles click this website http://bit.ly/anewchrist. To download a free copy of A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle click this website http://bit.ly/ebookanewearth. I hope that you enjoy reading these free e-books and profit much from them, as I have also profited greatly from them.

Signs of a Spiritual Awakening

The signs of a spiritual awakening are similar to the signs of a physical awakening when we try to get out of bed.

Comparison Between the Two Kinds of Awakening

First of all, in physical awakening we reach a point in our consciousness when we are no longer satisfied with just lying down in bed. We are tired in just lying down. Our body is telling us to rise up. The sign here is the uneasiness we feel as we lie in bed. This uneasiness gently pushes us to wake up.

So also, in spiritual awakening we become aware that we are no longer satisfied with the state of our spiritual life. Our spirit is telling us to move on. This is the sign of spiritual uneasiness. We are not satisfied with our state of spirituality. We want to rise above our current level of spirituality.

Secondly, in physical awakening the light being shed over our eyes by the early rays of the sun (if we are not sleeping in a room closed to incoming light) would activate the nerves around our face to tell us that it is morning already and that we need to wake up and do our work. The sign here is the flash of light over our face, first faint, but it gets brighter as the morning moves on.

So also in spiritual awakening the light from the Spirit who brings to birth all other spirits would shine on our spirits to signal us that it is already the morning of our spiritual life and that we have work to do. The sign here is the enlightenment of the Spirit falling upon our consciousness, telling us that it is time to wake up from our spiritual slumber and rise up to do the work he has assigned for us to do.

Thirdly, in physical awakening we wake up because back of our consciousness we have planned already a work to be done during that day. Usually during the night before we sleep we are thinking of our work the next day. So when morning comes, our mind remembers this work and we are led to wake up to do this work, whether that work is part of our daily routine or something that is out of the usual routine.

So also in spiritual awakening the sign that we are going to awaken spiritually is that our spiritual consciousness tells us that there is much work to be done for others in the world. And so we wake up spiritually. We come to our spiritual senses, as it were.

Fourthly, in physical awakening sometimes we are awakened because there is a danger that faces us. Somebody is shouting that a house has caught fire or a burglary is occurring. We are awakened by a strange sound and we rise up to see what the meaning of this strange sound is. This may be accompanied by a state of confusion.

So also in spiritual awakening we may be awakened by somebody shouting at our spirits that there is danger around. This shouting may come from a preacher who tells us that we are in danger of getting lost in our lives, we are slipping away from the meaning of our existence. It may come from a book we are quietly reading, telling us that the earth is being engulfed in a danger of immense proportion. The sign here is this shouting of danger heard by our spirits. This danger may be the prevalence of wickedness around. Because of this somebody prays for it, a form of shouting to heaven, an acknowledgement of sins and failures. Confusion may ensue but enlightenment follows with the spiritual awakening.

Fifthly, in a room of crowded people sleeping, such as in a transport terminal or in an evacuation center, physically we wake up because we sense somebody else has already waken up and soon all the others will be awakened also. We do not want to be the last to wake up. So we wake up. The sign here is the motion of the first risers from sleep.

So also in spiritual awakening there are others who wake up ahead of us and we heard about them or read about them and we also want to wake up spiritually, that is. We are curious what this spiritual awakening is that is happening to other individuals. And we do not want to be the last to wake up spiritually. The sign here is the initiative of these pioneers in spiritual awakening.

All over the world spirituality has become a favorite topic of discussion, especially among sociologists and business people. We do not want to be the last to take advantage of these new developments in society and the business world.

Sixthly, in physical awakening we may be awakened by hunger and/or thirst. We feel we are hungry and we need to wake up, rise and prepare something for breakfast. The sign here is our feeling of physical hunger. This feeling tells us it is time to wake up. Those who have consumed alcohol the night before would feel thirsty in the morning. A cup of cold water or another round of alcoholic drink is what they crave for, now that they are alcoholics.

So also in spiritual awakening we feel spiritual hunger or spiritual thirst, our spirits are hungry for better things in life, not just more of this world’s goods such as wealth, or physical pleasure or fame. Our spirits are longing for the values that ultimately matter, like enduring love, encompassing care for the environment, compassion for the disadvantaged in life.

Seventhly, if we are on an excursion or field trip on a high mountain we may be awakened by a desire to see the beautiful view around us. We can hardly wait for the first streaks of dawn to reveal the beauty of the plain before us.

So also in spiritual awakening we may have begun an adventure in the walk of the spirit and we can hardly wait for the unfolding of this spirit before our eyes and so we wake up spiritually to behold this splendor displaying its wonder within us. The sign here is the desire to contemplate this spiritual beauty within us. We want to experience our oneness with others and the entire universe.

Signs of Spiritual Awakening

So, these are the seven signs of a spiritual awakening: 1) spiritual uneasiness, dissatisfaction with our state of spirituality; 2) the enlightenment of the Spirit coming upon us, enlightening our existence; 3) the consciousness of work for others, not for our own only, a sense of mission; 4) the shouting of danger heard by our spirits; 5) there is an initiative of others in spiritual awakening; 6) the feeling of spiritual hunger or spiritual thirst, our spirits are hungry for better values in life; 7) the desire to contemplate the spiritual beauty within us.

Spiritual Awakening Is Around Us

Now these seven signs can be experienced individually or socially. It can be experienced by one person or by a group of persons or even a whole nation. A nation can be so dissatisfied with the spiritual state of its citizens that people will begin to pray for its awakening spiritually. This happened to England in the time of George Whitefield and the Wesley Brothers in the 18th century. A prophet may arise and shout that there is danger to the nation or to the churches. And then pockets of people hear this shouting. This happened to A. W. Tozer, the prophet of the 20th century. Today we are benefiting from the shouting of this prophet. And shall we go on to recount the beauty of the inner consciousness revealed to us by Eckhart Tolle of our own times, when simultaneously more than 2 million people participated in a seminar series last 2008 hosted by Oprah Winfrey over the Internet about the coming forth of a new earth, dubbed as “the first world teaching seminar, free of charge, on the internet!!”?

Spiritual awakening is happening all around us. The signs are all there! Woe to the person who goes on sleeping in these exciting times of the Spirit.

Click Here!

Here are my other blogs which may be of help to you:

http://bit.ly/spiritdev for your spiritual growth

http://bit.ly/alterhealthcare for your health

http://bit.ly/novotrends for learning about the new trends around us

http://bit.ly/bepaidonline for earning some income from the Internet

Ten Differences Between Religion and Spirituality

This is now the fourth post on the article of Dr. Gianni Zappalà, “Spirituality is the new black …and it has social impact!” Its source URL is http://www.csi.edu.au/uploads/31642/ufiles/CSI%20Background%20Paper%20No%201%20-%20Spirituality%20is%20the%20new%20black%20-%20Part%20I.pdf

If you want to read the whole article, please click that URL.

Here is the portion of that article and my comments follow the article portion. The author’s words are in italics, mine are in ordinary roman.

The first part of this portion is a Table. Because the Table is not reproduced here it is arranged in phrases. The first phrase refers to religion, the second to spirituality. My reflection below tries to expand the meaning of these phrases for a better understanding, hopefully, of Dr. Zappala’s ideas.

Table 1 : Differences between Religion and Spirituality
Religion is described first before the comma (,), Spirituality is described after the comma.

1. Usually passed on from parent to child,
Usually discovered through life experience

2. An external system of beliefs and practices,
An internal system. of beliefs

3. Based on patterns of worship and ritual,
Worship and rituals may exist but vary by person

4. Tends to separate and exclude,
Generally connects and includes

5. Practiced in the public realm, e.g. institutions,
Practiced in the private and personal realm

6. Associated with church attendance,
May be part of informal groups & networks

7. Commitment to orthodox beliefs,
Higher levels of unorthodox beliefs

8. Behavioural,
Experimental

9. Doctrinal, regulated and authoritarian,
Spontaneous, freely available and democratic

10. One-sided and imbalanced,
Holistic and balanced
(Source: Adapted from a range of texts and articles cited in this paper)

In part, these differences are seen to account for the widespread trend observed across the Western world of falling Church attendance and adherence to institutional forms of religion and the rise in popularity of spirituality as reflected in interest in Eastern-based religions, yoga, meditation, and other eclectic so-called ‘new age’ practices and beliefs. The reasons driving the rising interest in spirituality are examined in detail in a separate paper, but as one scholar has noted: 25

[R]eligion as a powerful influence in individual or societal life seems to be in trouble. On the other hand, spirituality has rarely enjoyed such a high profile, positive evaluation, and even economic success as it does… today.26

The polarization of views has led some to attempt to reconcile the constructs of religion and spirituality. This work, examined in the following section, is helpful in reaching a working definition of spirituality that can be applied to the business and organizational field.

Here are the footnotes to this section:
25 G. Zappalà, Spirituality is the new black…and it has a social impact! (Part II – Explaining the increased interest in spirituality), forthcoming CSI Background Paper
26 Sandra M Schneiders, „Religion and Spirituality: Strangers, Rivals, or Partners?., The Santa Clara Lectures, Santa Clara University, 2000, p.1.

Here is my reflection:

Dr. Zappala gives 10 contrasts between religion and spirituality. I explain briefly each one. I give first the wordings of Dr. Zappala, then I give my comment or expansion of meaning, illustrating from my own experience.

1. Usually passed on from parent to child

Usually discovered through life experience

Religion is usually passed on from parent to child, like an inheritance. Whereas spirituality is something that one discovers through personal experience in life. My religion is Christianity because my parents sported also this religion. I discovered my spirituality when I read the works of John of the Cross and the Hindu philosophers on yoga. This was all by myself, without the knowledge or encouragement of my parents.

2. An external system of beliefs and practices

An internal ‘system’ of beliefs

Religion is composed of a system of beliefs and practices which can be seen by other people. That is why these comprise an external system. Whereas in spirituality the system is internal, it is not seen by other people because the belief system is only in our head. In Christianity there is a creed which I memorized, the Apostles’ Creed. There were external rituals I went through: baptism, confirmation, communion, etc. In spirituality the beliefs I hold are not on paper. They are in my mind only. The beliefs are not set, as in religion. They are not to be memorized. I believe I am surrounded by spirit beings but I do not make a public announcement of this.

3. Based on patterns of worship and ritual

Worship and rituals may exist but vary by person

Religion is bound to a pattern of worship and ritual and this pattern is the same for all. Whereas in spirituality persons may worship and have rituals but each person worships in his own way and does the rituals in his own way also. In the branch of Christianity where I belong the manner of worship is the Mass, and the pattern of the Mass is the same no matter where I am in the world. There is the introduction, the readings, the sermon, the offertory, the consecration, the communion and the ending. This pattern does not change in the east or in the west, in the north or south of the earth. In spirituality I worship God but in the silence of my heart and the pattern is up to me. I may worship him while standing, while walking, even while sleeping. There is no fixed posture.

4. Tends to separate and exclude

Generally connects and includes

This is something that up to now religions are burdened with, separatism and exclusivity. There is always the idea in religion that this or that religion is the right one and is the only sure way to God. Christians separate themselves from Muslims. Even churches within Christianity separate themselves from one another. Whereas in spirituality we extend the hand of fellowship to whoever has the same spirit as we have. As a Christian I am separate from a non-Christian. But as a spiritual person I relate with all those who have the same spiritual inclinations as I have.

5. Practiced in the public realm, e.g. institutions

Practiced in the private and personal realm

Religion is practiced in institutions, in big organizations. Spirituality is practiced in private, in my personal life, even when I share it with others. Christianity has many institutions, big church organizations, with hierarchies. Spirituality has no such institutions. There is no superior person in spirituality giving instructions to others what to do. There is no hierarchy or grades of authority. Each one is an authority to himself. As a Christian I have priests and bishops above me. As a spiritual person, there is only God and myself and others on the same level with me.

6. Associated with Church attendance

May be part of informal groups & networks

In religion there is church attendance. And this is expected to be regular, once a week, for me on a Sunday. In spirituality we have gatherings but these are informal. We have gatherings around the Internet, away from the traditional church.

7. Commitment to orthodox beliefs

Higher levels of unorthodox beliefs

In religion there are beliefs to be adhered to, otherwise if we do not adhere to these beliefs we become heretics and if we separate we become schismatics. We are committed to hold on to these beliefs, even if we cannot understand these beliefs, like the belief in the Trinity. In spirituality we are free to hold any belief, even if from the viewpoint of churches these are unorthodox. An example will make this clear. My church holds officially the belief that the human person is made up of body and soul only. This is orthodox belief. But as a spiritual person I hold the unorthodox belief that the human person is made up of body, soul and spirit.

8. Behavioural

Experimental

This is something that I may interpret differently from Dr. Zappala. But I will try to elucidate on this. In religion there is pattern of behavior that we just have to go through. And we cannot do away with this pattern or change it. For example in my church the pattern of behavior is baptism by pouring of water on the forehead. This cannot be changed. You cannot experiment with other forms of liquid, like juice, or pour the water on the feet. It has to be on the forehead. Whereas in spirituality we are free to experiment. Maybe immersion in perfumed warm water is better as a form of spiritual relaxation.

9. Doctrinal, regulated and authoritarian

Spontaneous, freely available and democratic

This has been touched already in the above enumeration but maybe this has been added for purposes of clarification. In religion we have a group composed of theologians who regulate the doctrines in that religion. And they always base their speculations on the authority of the Bible or of their tradition. In spirituality we do not have such a group. Anybody can teach anybody else and we do not base our teaching on the authority of a book or tradition. We base our teaching on our experience and what works well for us.

10. One-sided and imbalanced

Holistic and balanced

In religion Dr. Zappala says that it is one-sided and imbalanced. Maybe what he means is that the emphasis is on the soul and its salvation. Never mind if the body of the member in our religion has no food or is sick, as long as his soul is sure to get to heaven. And so we have many members of Christianity who are deep in the lowest poverty with leaders high in the abundance of goods. Who cares? This is how God ordained it. In spirituality we cannot do this. We are a compassionate class of human beings. We care for the body as well as the soul. We even care for the environment.

I hope I have done justice to Dr. Zappala’s enumeration in his Table of Contrasts. Going through it and adding my comments and reflection enlightened me more about what spirituality really is. In religion I cannot do this, there is a set of ideas I have to go through and adhere to. In spirituality I am free to add here and there, comment here and there.

Click Here!

Here are my other blogs which may be of help to you:

http://bit.ly/spiritdev for your spiritual growth

http://bit.ly/alterhealthcare for your health

http://bit.ly/novotrends for learning about the new trends around us

http://bit.ly/bepaidonline for earning some income from the Internet

Five Similarities Between Religion and Spirituality

This is now the third post on the article of Dr. Gianni Zappalà, “Spirituality is the new black …and it has social impact!” Its source URL is http://www.csi.edu.au/uploads/31642/ufiles/CSI%20Background%20Paper%20No%201%20-%20Spirituality%20is%20the%20new%20black%20-%20Part%20I.pdf

If you want to read the whole article, please click that URL.

Here is the portion of that article and my comments follow the article portion. The author’s words are in italics, mine are in ordinary roman.

Spirituality and Religion

Part of the confusion and difficulty in defining spirituality is that at least up until the end of the 20th century, the words spirituality and religion were used, especially in popular discourse as synonyms. The media for instance still often (mistakenly) refers to ‘spiritual leaders’ when what is really meant is religious leaders (usually in a position of authority) of a particular religious group or place of worship.

There may be similarities or connections between spirituality and religiosity but it does not necessarily need to be the case. As Robert Fuller pointed out in his book, Spiritual, but not Religious, for instance, both terms allude to a belief in a higher power of some kind, be it the more traditional notions of God from the Judeo-Christian tradition or the concept of a universal energy field or force.20 Both terms also describe a desire to connect with this higher power and albeit less so with spirituality than religion, both concepts also have an interest in rituals and practices that help deepen one’s spirituality or religiosity, be it yoga and meditation or attending church.21

The result of this confusion between spirituality and religion is that much of the writing on the ‘new spirituality’ is about what spirituality is not, in particular, how it is different to religion. The two examples below, the first from an academic scholar of spirituality and the second by a best-selling popular author on spirituality illustrate the point:

„[S]pirituality refers to our relationship with the sacredness of life, nature, and the universe, and this relationship is no longer felt to be confined to formal devotional practice or to institutional places of worship…spiritual development is the intrinsic human capacity and yearning to embed the self in something greater than the self. In contrast, religions are the cultural mechanisms that can provide rituals and beliefs to aid this process’. 22

„[R]eligion asks you to learn from the experience of others. Spirituality urges you to seek your own..23

In short, the two concepts have become ‘polarized’ in the scholarly and popular literature. Table 1 summarizes some of the key differences often noted between the ‘new’ spirituality and religion taken from recent writing and studies. While stark academic dichotomies do not always do justice to the complexities, subtleties and contradictions present in real life, the characteristics of religion and spirituality depicted in Table 1 suggest that the two concepts diverge in several important respects. While traditional approaches generally saw religion as a ‘broad-band construct’ that was not differentiated from spirituality, and religion was seen as having both positive and negative aspects, modern approaches (such as those depicted in Table 1) tend to define religion more narrowly and explicitly distinguish it from spirituality. Religion is generally viewed as negative (with connotations of doctrine, institutionalization and authoritarianism) while spirituality is generally viewed more positively (as an individual journey and exploration of the self).24

Here are the footnotes:

20 See for example Greg Bradden, The Divine Matrix, California: Hay House, 2007.
Page8
21 Fuller, op.cit.
22 Tacey, op.cit p.38
23 Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God, Vol 1., Sydney: Hodder, 2005.
24 Zinnbauer et al, op.cit, p. 898-99

Here are my comments:

When we were children we were asked, Which came first, the chicken or the egg? If we based our answer on the creation story in the Bible, we would answer, Chicken. But if we based our answer on our experience in raising chickens, our answer would be, Egg.

The same can be said of the answer to the question, Which came first, Religion or Spirituality?
In terms of our experience with religious books and discussions, religion came first. It is only now that more and more people are talking about spirituality and writing about it. In terms of the origin of both words or in terms of the object of our understanding, spirituality came first. The spirit was there before there was any religion. God was there before there was anybody to worship him.

We can even say that spirituality is an offshoot of religion. For many centuries people professed religion. Some of them even fiercely opposed religions other their own. Christians for many centuries opposed paganism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and any other religion. This has happened also with paganism, Islam, and the rest. They too opposed other religions.

But more and more people are discovering that mere religion cannot answer their deeper yearning for a better experience of life. So, they turn to something deeper and better than religion. They find this in spirituality.

Because spirituality in a sense is an offshoot of religion, there is bound to be some similarity between them, just like the similarity between the egg and the chicken.

These similarities are mentioned in the article of Dr. Zappala. Here are the three similarities.

First, both believe in a higher power of some kind. Religion believes in God the Father or Jesus, or Allah, or Brahman, or Tao. Spirituality believes also in this God or it may conceive of God as a universal or primal energy. Both believe that such being possesses power higher and greater than what we have.

Secondly, both religion and spirituality desire to have a relationship with this higher power. Although the nature of the relationship is different in religion than in spirituality, the desire for this connection is there. Religion connects with this higher power with fear and trembling. Spirituality connects with this higher power with love and affection.

Thirdly, according to the article both religion and spirituality have rituals and practices which deepen one’s religiosity or spirituality. Religion usually has sacred rites or sacraments. Spirituality has meditation or yoga sessions.

I may add two more similarities between religion and spirituality.

Both have respect for the sacred, the other worldly. This is not just respect for God. This is respect for the reality that is beyond our senses and reason. When religion pushes this respect to its extreme, it becomes superstition. When spirituality pushes this respect to its extreme, it becomes religious spirituality.

And the second similarity I want to add is that both have fear of failure. In religion this failure is punished by hell fire or repetition of existence or some other worse fate. In spirituality this failure is the inability to realize one’s true worth or value and the destiny of a life of meaninglessness. Hell, repetition of existence, non-existence, meaninglessness are forms of punishment for failure, either in religion or in spirituality.

Click Here!

Here are my other blogs which may be of help to you:

http://bit.ly/spiritdev for your spiritual growth

http://bit.ly/alterhealthcare for your health

http://bit.ly/novotrends for learning about the new trends around us

http://bit.ly/bepaidonline for earning some income from the Internet

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