Narcissism and Spiritual Materialism: The New Age Legacy
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:14 pm
Here's part of a larger article on New Age spirituality - the subject line of this thread - that seems to some up many of my thoughts on the subject!
"There was a bulletin board, covered with advertisements for dozens of "healers," "body workers" and various "schools" of "mystical arts." This was very much what Trungpa Rinpoche used to refer to as "the Spiritual Supermarket" a plethora of offerings appealing to our sense of spiritual poverty, offering relief in the form of spiritual commodities, "higher" states of consciousness, travel to higher realms, secrets of the universe. All of it appealing to the underlying diaspora of separateness and disconnectedness that is all pervasive in the human condition.
The overriding theme in this spiritual supermarket was that there was something missing which could be provided by the products being sold. Nowhere was the notion evident that perhaps the real problem was that we had too much to begin with, and what we really needed was to let go. Everywhere the message was self centered, me, me, mine... achievement, gain, and ego reinforcement seemed all pervasive. I could not help but wonder how many people had come into such places in search of peace of mind. Someone discovering an offered technique which seemed appealing, purchasing the available books, tapes and materials, taking them all home to begin their new life of spirituality. They would find out in a short time after the fascination wore off that they were still deeply dissatisfied. One could imagine people going back to the supermarket, getting all the stuff for a different "modality" (they seem to like that word "modality") and starting the process again. I would imagine that this could become an endless occupation, jumping from cosmic consciousness to crystal healing to channeling to pyramidology to energy vibrations, to out-of-body experiences, to déjà vu, to ESP, to Atlantis, to reincarnation to endless other "ologies" and "isms." Truly a never ending story.... always searching, trying to find something, anything, to fill the perceived need that something is missing."
The full article is at http://www.engaged-zen.org/articles/Kob ... egacy.html
"There was a bulletin board, covered with advertisements for dozens of "healers," "body workers" and various "schools" of "mystical arts." This was very much what Trungpa Rinpoche used to refer to as "the Spiritual Supermarket" a plethora of offerings appealing to our sense of spiritual poverty, offering relief in the form of spiritual commodities, "higher" states of consciousness, travel to higher realms, secrets of the universe. All of it appealing to the underlying diaspora of separateness and disconnectedness that is all pervasive in the human condition.
The overriding theme in this spiritual supermarket was that there was something missing which could be provided by the products being sold. Nowhere was the notion evident that perhaps the real problem was that we had too much to begin with, and what we really needed was to let go. Everywhere the message was self centered, me, me, mine... achievement, gain, and ego reinforcement seemed all pervasive. I could not help but wonder how many people had come into such places in search of peace of mind. Someone discovering an offered technique which seemed appealing, purchasing the available books, tapes and materials, taking them all home to begin their new life of spirituality. They would find out in a short time after the fascination wore off that they were still deeply dissatisfied. One could imagine people going back to the supermarket, getting all the stuff for a different "modality" (they seem to like that word "modality") and starting the process again. I would imagine that this could become an endless occupation, jumping from cosmic consciousness to crystal healing to channeling to pyramidology to energy vibrations, to out-of-body experiences, to déjà vu, to ESP, to Atlantis, to reincarnation to endless other "ologies" and "isms." Truly a never ending story.... always searching, trying to find something, anything, to fill the perceived need that something is missing."
The full article is at http://www.engaged-zen.org/articles/Kob ... egacy.html