New Way of practicing Old Beliefs

[Leonardo17]

All of these new-ages approaches are very Western in nature because I don’t see them emerging in the Soviet Union or under Nazi or Fascist rule for instance.

Interestingly, you're very wrong on that point. The Nazis were deeply involved in all sorts of really absurd pseudoarcheology and whackadoodle mysticism that had been coopted from older religions and warped to fit their ideology. That's why they make such great baddies for Indiana Jones movies. Their swastika was a symbol of several older regions that they thought supported their absurd Aryan dogma.

- Yes I’ve had this discussion with someone here. And I’m going to repeat myself here: Real religion has nothing to do with all of these humbo-jumbo things. That’s why there has always been problems in the early part of each religion. In fact the story of the exodus is relating us just that: Pharaoh-like enormous autocratic egos do not like the idea that Truth shall be the authority. They believe in authority creating truth. That’s a huge issue in most true religions

Sheldon:


No it does not. Not everything you read is ever true. This even applies to science and philosophy. So without a critical mindset, I don’t know if we can get anywhere with faith alone. (Ibelieve it’s still possible but I don’t know how to do that)
 
Grand Nudger:

1) Jaggadish Vassudev is constantly talking about “Yogic Sciences”. We have to see this as a way of expression. There is a given methodology in these things and we may be at the very beginning of our understanding in all these practices.
 
You know in the Middle Ages they tried to cure people according to colors, their astrological signs or even by bleeding them to eliminate the “bad blood”. In fact people are still doing it today and if you are caught you might go to jail for fraud.
 
Crystals are different. For instance, you might want to place some sort of plant or even flowers near your bed when you sleep. The bio-energy will affect you in a positive manner while you sleep and contribute to your well-being. Another thing is walking barefooted on the soil. It’s great for body energies. Yet another method is to hub a tree for a minute or so (or longer). These things will balance your energies and contribute to mental / physical health (there has been research done about these things).
 
Still: They do not cure illnesses directly or act as a flu-shot during the flu season.
 
2) It’s not that different of course. It’s just that this “self-interest” thing is the typical feature of people living in our age. We are a type of people who are constructively and more and more healthily “self-serving”. Our energies are also higher. We are smart and very talented in finding books, people, communities, internet-groups that are appealing to our self-interest. In fact you are doing this too at this very moment.
 
That’s very different from the communal lives of people some 500 years ago. Back then what mattered was the community (monastic or agricultural or even military). People could not do things on their own. Even if they did they did not leave the place where they were born. They were illiterate. Only aristocrats or religious elites had access to some sort of mind-nourishing materials or activities. The rest of us has to obey and work.
 
So today we are in this ego-development era. This is not a bad thing at all actually.
 
3) I’m not here to “spread the word”. Maybe, I am in a sense. But I’m doing this for another reason: As you might have heard there is a political change that is currently occurring in Syria. Everyone, especially European countries are currently watching the situation trying to determine if Political Islam (they say “İslamism”) can work this time.
 
So what they are asking actually is: “Arab monarchies are working but are very backward societies. The “Islamic” revolution of Iran is a joke. Afghanistan is not even a regime because it’s mainly barbarians taking over a country. Other LGBT hating “Muslims” don’t seem to be doing so well either. But these guys are saying they will do it differently. Is this possible or not?”
 
So I am here to provide some sort of answer. The short answer is “No”.
 
Religion and spirituality is a method of turning inward and trying to find answers within ourselves on issues that are not that much related to what happens in this world. The world in itself is not “bad” or “sinful” or anything like that. It’s just that it’s not real. That’s what “A Course in Miracles” is saying. So we (spiritual people) like to be reminded of that. That’s why Christians used to pray several times a day and that’s why Muslims do it 5 times a day. Meditators do it once in the morning, once in the evening + once in the afternoon if they can.
 
/ So our goal is inner discoveries. Social engineering that is loosely based on religious scriptures is a thing of the past (in the best-case scenario) or a complete abomination that is designed to keep backward societies backward and exploit all of their wealth and resources while encouraging them (through religious looking doctrines) to deceive themselves with all sorts of false or outdated beliefs that simply don’t have a place anymore in the modern world we are living in.
 
/ But I’m not talking about truly faithful people of any religious or spiritual affiliation here. I am talking about the usage of religion as a political tool.
 
So being here, trying to describe the things that I really do as a spiritual person, I’m also describing all the circus out there that is supposedly connected to a belief in a higher power.
 
I mean Revolutionaries can be spiritual persons. I don’t have a problem with that. But there is no spiritual revolution (or war) in this physical world. That’s complete nonsense