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October 6th, 2007 by Sean New Age Rant

(Sorry for the small break - I might be moving apartments and we canceled our internet service and cable in response. Now I’m on a new connection…)

I reject New Age.

There was a period where I thought to myself, “Well now, let’s give New Age a chance. After all, they are basically the only group that really delves into psychic abilities.”

Well, I gave New Age a chance. And New Age failed.

It’s such bullshit. For every ounce of usable information, there are 300 pounds of backwards illogical bullshit.

I re-read some of my New Age books I have on my bookshelf. All I did was change my perspective from, “Wow this is interesting” to “How do they know this?” Holy crap what a difference.

Let me give a quote from one of the books on my shelf (random book, random page):

> Generally speaking, you are here to expand your consciousness, to learn the ways of creativity as directed through conscious thought. The aware mind can change its beliefs, and so to a large extent it can alter its bodily experience.

> [another random quote…]

> Man is so highly verbal that he finds it difficult to understand that other species work with idea-complexes of a different kind, in which of course thought as you consider it is not involved. But an equivalent exists; using an analogy, it is as if ideas are built up not like “mental” patterns structured through touch and scent - in other words, thinking, but within a framework entirely different and alien to you.

If you read the quotes from a perspective of, “How interesting this is!”, then everything is jim dandy. But if you slightly change the perspective to, “How do we know this is true?”, then everything falls apart. These quotes were taken from “The Nature of Personal Reality”, by Jane Roberts - usually considered somewhat of a classic in New Age culture.

After picking up these books after years, I almost feel offended reading them again. Who the hell are you to tell me why I’m here? Maybe I came here to shrink my consciousness, and destroy creativity? I don’t believe that to be true, but you have no authority to tell me otherwise.

What does “expand your consciousness” even mean?! Honestly. “Learn the ways of creativity”? Says who? Heh.

And how the hell do you know how a cat thinks? What makes you qualified to write about how other species think? Have you DONE anything? Other than sitting in a chair and spout out nonsense as it floats around in your mind…

I am now very cynical towards New Age (if you couldn’t tell :-P). I went along for a ride, assuming it would eventually lead somewhere… but it doesn’t. It’s a circle. Just like any other belief structure. Where is the real growth? Where is the self-destruction?

It’s funny… if you have one requirement for a belief - that there needs to be evidence to support it - then 95% of the belief structures on Earth fail. Even science and atheism fail quite a bit.

New Age is just another example of how creative human beings can fail at understanding the world around them. Another one for the recycle bin…

“Mind is not Buddha. Learning is not the path.” -Nansen

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 6th, 2007 at 9:45 am and is filed under Note to Self, Belief Systems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

### 11 Responses to “New Age Rant”

1. Gumby Says:
   October 6th, 2007 at 11:38 am

   I think like this about religion. People say God loves everybody and he did all this stuff and everything, but how do they know? Most Christians have no reason to beleive what they beleive yet they do. I try to make them realize this but they just get angry. So I ask them..Why do you beleive? And they say “idk” or something.

2. Gumby Says:
   October 6th, 2007 at 12:24 pm

   So I think thats how your thinking about New Age. Hehe sorry for the double post but I forgot to add that part.

3. Antisankari Says:
   October 6th, 2007 at 12:47 pm

   I think like this about science. People say there are no psychic abilities, but how do they know? Most scientists have no reason to beleive what they beleive yet they do. I try to make them realize this but they just get angry. So I ask them..Why do you beleive? And they say “idk” or something.

   ^^

4. PotentiaL Says:
   October 6th, 2007 at 3:12 pm

   “Sounds like a bunch of New Age hooooey!”

   ~Jack Black

5. Hey_you Says:
   October 6th, 2007 at 5:29 pm

   I had to reply to this because I mentioned Personal Reality in the comments section of a previous post.

   First of all I agree that everything that is currently unverifiable is suspect. I read Personal Reality and enjoyed it. It had a positive effect on me overall. So, yeah I read it from the “this interesting” perspective. Do I unquestioningly believe everything that is written in that book? Hell no.

   Most of what that book was about is the premise that your beliefs effect your health. This is a scientific fact. The placebo effect is an example of this.

   So, the basic message of the book is valid. The extra detail is of course at the moment is suspect to me but I’m not just going to bash because I’m not sure its correct.

   Peebs, you seem to believe that anything that is uncertain (which is a great deal) cannot be taken seriously. There is no certain answer to many questions so you pick a rock and stand on it as long as it suits you. This is also a basic message of Personal Reality.

   Most New Age is anecdotal and wishful thinking. I’m not a fan of Deepak Chopra.

   I’m interested in science. www.skeptiko.com is a great link on the subject.

6. Renodin Says:
   October 7th, 2007 at 9:52 am

   I agree that New Age stuff is nothing but day old bologna.

   “you are here to expand your consciousness”? They are saying that, when half the people I know don’t even know what a conscious is! They are saying our meaning of life is to expand our consciousness. Here is my theory on the meaning of life.

   I believe that life has no one reason, but billions of reasons. I believe that every single person has his or her own meaning in life. Whether it is just to help one person live their life in a good way or to make a huge difference in the world. That is what I believe.

7. Hey_you Says:
   October 7th, 2007 at 1:31 pm

   The entire premise of the book is that beliefs affect your experience for the better or worse.

   So, believing you are to expand your consciousness (or grow or self-actualize or whatever), will empower. It will make an impact on your decision-making that is beneficial to most people, unless you’re a masochist or something.

   Asking, how do you know? Is a dumb question. You choose the belief that suits you the most. If you believe you are here to expand your consciousness, it is a far better belief than believing that “you can’t know anything for certain so don’t take any answer to this question seriously”.

   I thought most everyone here agreed that beliefs make an impact on your health and enjoyment? If you agree with that statement then you agree with Personal Reality.

8. Sean Says:
   October 7th, 2007 at 8:28 pm

   “Peebs, you seem to believe that anything that is uncertain (which is a great deal) cannot be taken seriously.”

   Kind of. I feel that if something is uncertain, then it should simply be labeled and presented as uncertain. Jane Roberts, and the New Age movement in general, will present things as fact, when in reality it is not only uncertain, but usually unverifiable! I don’t have anything against uncertainty - I love holding thoughts in my head that don’t have evidence to back it up. But I simply demand it be labeled correctly. Uncertain is uncertain. Certain is certain.

   “I thought most everyone here agreed that beliefs make an impact on your health and enjoyment? If you agree with that statement then you agree with Personal Reality.”

   I agree that beliefs make an impact on health and enjoyment. However, just because I agree with that doesn’t mean that I agree with everything presented in Roberts’ book.

   The book is interesting. I agree. However - a lot of things are just blurted out as if it’s absolute fact. That’s what bothers me. And New Age things do that all the time.

   Even IF Jane is really channeling a spirit (which some might consider a pretty big IF), then: why trust Seth anyways? Seth’s a spirit… but I’m a spirit… right? So why does Seth have any more say about how reality works than I do? Plain and simple: he doesn’t.

   *shrugs*

   ~Sean

9. ClearVision Says:
   October 8th, 2007 at 11:18 am

   That realization with New Age being partially BS is a bit late :D. No offense, but looking at any system of belief from a different perspective shows its flaws. The trouble is, what if you can’t change perspective because you trust that belief 100% ? Then it takes a bit longer :P, because you start saying “idk why i do it”. But eventually, you’ll get there.
   Every religion has its flaws. Really, there is no 100% correct religion/system of beliefs. More like in the range of 1-10% correctness. The rest is just the interpretation of some lunatic control freak trying to manipulate people. If someone made a 100% correct religion, my guess is that it would just disappear because people use it to manipulate others. I.e. BS gets added putting it back into the 5% range.
   Really… ANY system is flawed. Big generalization, but heck - on closer examination, the evidence becomes undeniable.

10. Hey_you Says:
    October 8th, 2007 at 6:15 pm

    “However, just because I agree with that doesn’t mean that I agree with everything presented in Roberts’ book.”

    I agree. I just take issue at the implication that just because the source of the information (and a lot of the info itself) is unverifiable or seemingly unrealistic it would be foolish to even consider it.

    “The book is interesting. I agree. However - a lot of things are just blurted out as if it’s absolute fact. That’s what bothers me. And New Age things do that all the time.”

    If some weird cult had formed around the book that would bother me. I mean some people might follow it like a cult, however at the beginning of that book “seth” or Jane Roberts second personality or whatever said that the book should not be taken as absolute truth and that your “inner self” is the only source of that truth (obviously paraphrased). I don’t feel that I know for a fact how cat thinks because I read it and I’m sure many people feel the same way.

    If it was being forced on me as absolute truth then I would be insulted but its not a text book and I chose to read it. Which makes want to defend my decision to read the book.

11. indigoblade Says:
    November 8th, 2008 at 4:30 pm

    everything is true
    nothing is true
    i am the buddah
    buddah is dead
    i like rocks

    =^.^=

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