Written by Wes Annac, The Culture of Awareness - http://cultureofawareness.com/2014/11/07/spiritual-condemnation-and-the-new-age-maze-part-13/
Recently, an article was posted by Era Denmark entitled ‘The New Age Maze – Fantastic Beasts and How to Lose Them’.
Even though it was very critical of a lot of ‘new age’ concepts that I and plenty of others have advocated, I was deeply intrigued by it.
I’m always interested in finding out what other conscious individuals have to say about some of the things that are advocated in the ‘new age’ movement, and it seems that some are pretty against the idea of higher-dimensional entities who communicate with humanity.
The author has studied Theosophy, which is one of many belief systems that empower the awakening human as opposed to higher-dimensional entities. I’ve never studied Theosophy, but it seems to endorse the idea that we’re our own teachers and following the advice or guidance of a supposed higher-dimensional soul will lead us astray.
As quoted in the article from H.P. Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy, “Those who fall off from our living human Mahatmas to fall into the Saptarishi – the Star Rishis [higher-dimensional entities], are no Theosophists.” (1)
The author goes on to tell us, “Throughout her writings, Blavatsky repeatedly emphasized that the ‘Masters of Wisdom’ with whom she communicated were Tibetan and living human beings (she called them Mahatmas) and not the so-called ‘Ascended Masters’ that the New Age movement champions.” (2)
Again, I’m no expert on Theosophy or any given belief system, but it seems to empower living, human teachers while encouraging us not to give our power away to any higher-dimensional messenger or any belief system that leads us to put our faith in anyone but ourselves.
This quote from the song ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ by Bob Marley (who wasn’t a Theosophist by any means), runs along the same lines.
“Most people think great God will come from the sky
“Take away everything, and make everybody feel high
“But if you know what life is worth, you will look for yours on Earth” (3)
A lot of things the article’s author said resonated with me, but there were some things that seemed a little coldhearted toward fellow seekers who, like her and everyone else, are simply finding their way back to the higher realms in the ways that work best for them.
I’ve said before that I think every belief system, even if it’s inherently distorted, can lead us back to the higher realms as long as we, the people who advocate them, have a good head on our shoulders and a clear, discerning mind.
The author seemed concerned that so many seekers line up at the door of belief systems that could mislead them into giving their power away, but if we genuinely seek spirit and our intentions are good, I don’t think we’ll be misled by any belief system.
Quite a few seekers have been, however, which is why some aspects of the article resonated with me. This, for example, makes perfect sense:
“Spiritual development requires ongoing effort. It’s an artisanal work of creation and refinement. Beliefs, inasmuch as they’re convictions, have very little to do with it. If anything, the less you believe the more you grow. But examination of our belief system requires work and clear thinking.
“Lucid examination of concepts and their implications combined with a healthy dose of skepticism are two of the most important traits a seeker can develop at the beginning of his or her journey. Self-transformation and mastery takes years at the least and multiple lifetimes at the most.” (4)
Couldn’t agree more! To successfully traverse the path, we’ve been told by various spiritual teachers that we’ll want to empty our minds of any beliefs or concepts that could hinder our growth and evolution. If we’re stuck on certain beliefs, we won’t make any clear or discernable inner progress.
There were other aspects of the article that made perfect sense, but what I want to address here is the tone with which it was written.
Certain aspects of the article were very critical and condemning of ‘new age’ concepts, such as this snippet.
“Humans have an almost innate tendency towards fantasy. Our ability to imagine is a wonderful tool when used correctly but most will never learn this skill or even attempt to. Imagination combined with a lack of willingness to work towards spiritual attainment makes one prone to fantasy.
“Believing in ascended masters, ascension, extra-terrestrial baddies and their Pleiadian counterparts is so much easier, especially when there is no shortage of other believers to support the delusion.” (5)
I can definitely agree that a ‘lack of willingness to work towards spiritual attainment’ has caused some seekers to embrace beliefs and concepts instead of the inner work that’s required to find a higher state of consciousness.
The last thing we want to do is distort our spiritual evolution by putting all of our faith and energy in beliefs, and a lot of seekers have unknowingly done this.
Beliefs, no matter what they are, can liberate us or trap us. They can set us free and encourage us to embrace the spiritual path, or they can cause us to halt our growth in the name of supporting, advocating or attempting to expand them.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with belief systems – it’s what we do with them that counts.
Respectfully, I think this is what the author has failed to realize. Even the ‘new age’ beliefs that have to do with channeling, extraterrestrials, ascended masters, etc. can liberate the seekers who resonate with them if these seekers recognize the importance of doing the inner work that’s required to find enlightenment.
Footnotes:
- “Fantastic Beasts and How to Lose Them” Written by Era Denmark, Era-Denmark.org, September 15, 2014 – http://era-denmark.org/2014/09/15/fantasticbeast/
- Loc. cit.
- The lyrics for ‘Get Up, Stand Up’, can be found at Metrolyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/get-up-stand-up-lyrics-bob-marley.html
- “Fantastic Beasts and How to Lose Them” Ibid.
- Loc. cit.
Continued in Part 2 tomorrow. To read the full article, head here.
Replies
There is one part where you quote from a Bob Marley song, "Get Up, Stand Up"... however, Peter Tosh (Marley's early career bandmate) is more likely the main writer of this song...according to multiple online sources. Here is an acoustic guitar version of the tune by Tosh":
Thanks for sharing, Tally! I forgot that Peter's probably the one who wrote this song. I've heard that back in their days as the Wailers, he taught Bob to play guitar!
I enjoy the above version of 'Get Up, Stand Up' from Peter, too. Much love! :)
..Nice Wes....x...
I think that fear keeps some from owning their doubt honestly when it comes to their "beliefs". It would seem, therefore, that an aberration and fragmentation is created. Perhaps this is behind much of the strange and destructive behavior found common amongst "believers".
I don't think anyone needs to believe anything in order to do good and the less one believes, the greater the potential for growth and learning. Every conclusion formed by any mind should be something reluctantly accepted, subject to revision in light of new information. Every conclusion made about anything, especially religion, channeling, and the like, closes a mind a little bit. A wise friend once said to me to learn to suspend my conclusions. It isn't necessarily easy, but it just may keep one from inadvertently closing oneself off from truth in the long run.
Just some side-information in a nutshell, to complement Wes his article. :)
Where some people become trapped is the existence and difference of the microcosm and the macrocosm.
The microcosm is the inner world where mystics seek their source.
The macrocosm is the great outer world of divinity, but to be able conceiving the beings there we need to build new organs (which is going on right now), right at the places of our chakras. But to make our body ready for this, we need to be cleaned of any past issues and have a determined state of mind... so we need to do the inner mystical work first to be able perceiving the great beings of the macrocosm like ET's and Masters.
Drome: Do you have any more information on growing new organs?
Ofcourse, but I see I stated my reply not really clear.
We already have these organs, but in a primitive state.
Crown: Pituitary gland (gods knowing, sense of all chakra's)
Eye: Pineal gland (gods vision, gods beamer)
Throat: Larynx (gods ears, gods voice)
Heart: High heart (gods intuition)
And we have the 3 lower chakra's, as far as I know we developed all these organs already into full use.
The life is the path and everyone is on different stages of evolution. Some belief systems can be helpful for a while, but it is important to sort through ones beliefs now and then and get rid of the ones that no longer serve. One quick way is to tell one self to get neutral on all beliefs and to consider them as information instead.
Blessings...<3