170. New Age Pitfalls & Traps
The term “New Age Spirituality” is so broad, it’s hard to even describe it. And I’m certainly not the expert. But I suppose we can say it’s rooted in some type fo spirituality, and it’s simply “tailored” to a more modern day in age. I think that having no centralized sense of the concept is likely what attracts so many people to the concept. Thankfully, new age spirituality stands for a lot of things. For example, love unity and healing. I would say that its core values are fundamentally well aligned on by the collective. Ironically, this has come under criticism by some people and religious groups. The concept of it being a “one size fits all” religion, sort of negates it from being a religion. However, I find that it’s really not true. If there’s something which gives you a reason to believe in yourself, others and the universe, I would say that cements its validity or its true power or purpose.
There are, of course, many issues with new age spirituality. I’ve listed out a few before, but a few things come to mind: spiritual bypassing, the toxicity of twin flames and other concepts, cults, enforcements of “light and love” beliefs, the stark contrast between westernized ideals and beliefs, causing greater dissonance in the progress or fundamental understanding or healing (not necessarily a bad thing, but it can become extreme), and so on. It’s no surprise that quite literally anything and everything can become radicalized, and new age spirituality isn’t an exception. It’s hard to believe that something which is fundamentally meant to be about love can go so wrong, but I suppose that’s how anything and everything starts out.
Although I’ve talked about red flags for false prophets, what are the red flags or pitfalls of new age spirituality? Here’s some things to avoid if you’re looking to make the most out of your relationship with new age spirituality.
Avoid comparison: It’s hard to hear these grand, quick or over sensationalized stories about awakenings, healings and successes. Healing and alignment is not a one size fits all policy. It’s important not to get discouraged by the precise route of others. Manage into your own relationship and communication with spirituality, energy and the “other side”.
Leverage strengths, negate weaknesses: You don’t have to accept or abide by all elements or aspects of new age spirituality. The largest strength of new age is the ability to “co-create” what feels right for you. However, this can ultimately lead to some confusion, competition, or even spite and arrogance. Be aware of your relationship to the ideologies as a whole.
Avoid only taking things at face value: When channelers extract information, or other “prophets” share information related to spirituality, particularly if they are readers, intuitives, etc., they are only reading out of their own perception value, which not only means they may be flawed in their advice, but it could hypothetically have nothing to do with you.
Develop your own relationship with your intuition: Piggybacking off of the last comments, it’s incredibly important to develop your own relationship to your intuition. Even if you don’t want to be a channeler, this will help you discern information coming from others, and whether it feels “right” or “wrong”.
Accept that things may not be right for you, or “compartmentalize”: While you’re doing the work to avoid comparison, note that just because a message isn’t for you, doesn’t mean it’s not for the rest of the collective. This is the responsibility of someone who is a good listener. They don’t react for the sake of reacting. They allow a concept to sit with them for a bit, they have patience, love and understanding. They acknowledge when they have implicit biases, and when something simply isn’t right for them.
Speak up when you see wrongdoing: This doesn’t necessarily mean that you are the police, and I think there’s a way to do this without even calling out the names of others. It’s about having a foundation of upon your beliefs. What keeps you going, keeps you motivated, and you feel truly resonates for you? Would you go to bat for your beliefs? Being a part of a community means that you withhold some of its aspects and values. While you don’t need to be a martyr for your cause, what is the point of your alignment if not to help prop up the community as a whole.
