New Agers fall for antisemitism

I think this is worth a read, I sympathise with the Lady, as a Spiritualist I always remind people regardless of race, religion, tribe or sex we all come from Spirit and are equal. The other day I had two newcomers come to my open development group. One was a follower of David Icke and was astounded when I rejected anything he did especially his apparent anti Semitism. They left before the group started thankfully, we clearly were far to staid for their tastes.

http://www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/comment/111582/new-agers-fall-antisemitism

Admin wrote:I think this is worth a read, I sympathise with the Lady, as a Spiritualist I always remind people regardless of race, religion, tribe or sex we all come from Spirit and are equal. The other day I had two newcomers come to my open development group. One was a follower of David Icke and was astounded when I rejected anything he did especially his apparent anti Semitism. They left before the group started thankfully, we clearly were far to staid for their tastes.

http://www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/comment/111582/new-agers-fall-antisemitism

Very disturbing details, Jim, and quite concerning that Modern Spiritualism - the philosophy/religion/science which underpins our own lives - may appear to be the same spiritualism as that of New Age spiritualism.

I've struggled for years with individuals using online Spiritualism forums who believe that spirituality and/or spiritualism are the same as Spiritualism, even when the forum is accurately described in its title.  It's one of the reasons I often use the description 'Modern Spiritualism' in an attempt to draw attention to the difference.  Many members have been argumentative and hostile when I explain why they're not the same and bizarrely some have told me that Spiritualism isn't a religion or philosophy at all and insisted that I was wrong in my approach!

Maybe your newcomers had the same expectation of spiritualism and Spiritualism - no difference?

Yes very disturbing Mac, these were at about the extreme end of the scale which I generally meet up with. To an extent we all have to work with people from this new age background because they are the most likely to attend meetings and development groups. It is a slow process because they tend to know nothing about Spiritualism and are confused about (or could not care about) the difference between Psychic and Medium. Some will learn the latter but take no interest in the former. Some just grab bits of what we offer in terms of development and use it as an adjunct to their already established ideas. Others begin to take up Spiritualism as a philosophy but that is probably the smallest group.

Many have been through the many ascension gurus Diana Cooper, Jennifer Hoffman et al and never spot the lack of spirituality in ideas, as expressed last year that the Japanese had "earned" the tsunami because they knew they would not make the spiritual enlightenment needed to cope with the time after the Mayan calendar date. The Icke ones seem never to have spotted his overt Anti-Semitism.

Like you I tend to believe the time of Modern Spiritualism is passing and I do not like many of the modern new age ideas which mish mash poor psychism intermingled with some mediumship together with channelling which is often not from Spirit but from a sub conscious regurgitation of ideas collected from a range of unproven sources. So you see things like Ashtar Star Command, Archangel & Ascended Masters and the Brotherhood of light appearing and spreading as people encompass them within their minds from the teachings of others. Then in a partially altered state in meditation their sub conscious joins the dots of learned material to create new teachings from the mind not Spirit.

Of course when centres move into this territory and start to allow it onto their platforms we become even less likely to recruit the very people who helped found the movement. Rational, thinking and discerning people who evaluated what they saw or received not just accepted it. Equally as many of these are put off by the mumbo jumbo they stay away from centres that may offer them what they seek, whilst the more extreme new agers find these centres staidness and unwillingness to take on the next big thing a deterrent to do other than dip in for a while and get what they can to add to their personal box of tricks.

Spiritualism reduced to what? I hesitate to call it spiritualism even with a small s. Cosmic Metaphysical Occultism possibly surely they would love that they could even tag on Christian.

Jim

I'd rather hoped I was being unduly pessimistic, Jim, but everything you've found umpteen thousand miles away seems to support my concerns based on what I see 'up above' here in the UK.  

You have practical, hands-on experience of what I observe somewhat more remotely and I don't recall you agreeing with me before about Spiritualism having probably runs its course.  I find that significant as I have often been told off for suggesting that.  I can live with Spiritualism being replaced by another movement provided the message of continuous life isn't lost but like yourself I would be greatly dismayed it was replaced by some of today's interest groups.

On one of my other regular 'spooks' websites the owner and certain regulars often speak with enthusiasm about a new spiritual awareness which is currently emerging.  What they see is what I term psychism with few elements of the spiritual, or at least spiritual as I understand things - of the spirit.  (That word is a problem in the way it gets used but that can apply in Spiritualism too.)  I post there as the only (identified) Spiritualist and the differences in approach and interest between myself and other members is marked.  I frequently feel like a dinosaur there but I continue nonetheless because I hope somebody, somewhere, may just possibly be helped a little by my thoughts.

Sometimes I think of King Canute trying to turn back the tide Mac. Maybe its just something about this year that has made it harder. It is quite possible that after all the hype of last years new awakening and ascension amongst the very many new age believers its failure to arrive has finally driven some would be believers away.

In amongst it there have been some good signs and I am an eternal optimist so I refuse to give up yet. Maybe the trick is to redefine ourselves first. Modern Spiritualists  but stripped to the minimum without the formal religious trappings.

Admin wrote:Sometimes I think of King Canute trying to turn back the tide Mac. Maybe its just something about this year that has made it harder. It is quite possible that after all the hype of last years new awakening and ascension amongst the very many new age believers its failure to arrive has finally driven some would be believers away.

In amongst it there have been some good signs and I am an eternal optimist so I refuse to give up yet. Maybe the trick is to redefine ourselves first. Modern Spiritualists  but stripped to the minimum without the formal religious trappings.

I wouldn't mind losing some of the religiosity, Jim, as I'm not a churchgoer anyway and the Seven Principles have never much appealed either. Perhaps it doesn't matter anyway? All will come to pass and I'll keep banging the Modern Spiritualism drum as long as I can find enough enthusiasm.  

Slowly, understanding advances its progress.
We once were told by religion that we had to believe some nonsense under various dire physical and  doctrinal threats, which steadily increased in their diversity, until being ditched as they lost control of fearful minds.

Then came Spiritualism, pointing to the individual's 'salvation' being entirely in their own hands - a massive step-up and forward into Spiritual Light with notions of a heaven or hell future finally jettisoned. A new awakening based on Love, arrived.
This too grew, as the SB group thought it would, diversifying as Minds expanded and the inevitable understanding followed, while religious oppression had its tentacles slackened.

Now the evolutionary pace would appear to have quickened and the stage of realising that not only is 'salvation' in our own hands, but our entire futures are Spiritual in essence and therefore we too, are indestructible. Not Almighty, of course, but more immediately affected by Natural Law and really must shoulder more responsibility for our actions and thoughts.

The 'Kingdom of Heaven' lies within. A Truth said in so many ways.
Perhaps this is our next landing stage as we try to unravel this apparent contradiction to what might seem so obviously to be not so.

Spiritualism is an aspect of Natural Law and has brought deeper understanding to an innumerable many, but it does seem that it approaches a major crossroad, not unlike Christianity faced unsuccessfully, some centuries before, where Intellect and Intuition clashed.

An unlikely ally may be found in branches of science as their examinations of origins seem to be leading to Spirit, but such terminology could be resisted due to non-scientific connotations.