From New Age to Christian fundamentalism

[Blessed2]

So I just read an interesting article about some social media infuencers who used to be deep in new age beliefs and practices, but suddenly turns "back" to christian fundamentalism and traditional values.

 

Basically from chakras, ascended masters, rising vibrations and manifesting to our saviour Jesus Christ, the Devil, patriarchy, prayer, sumbission to God.

 

Why do you think this happens? How do you see spiral dynamics playing out here?

 

It makes me a bit anxious because I sort of do feel the allure... The traditional roles and values, the christian doctrine etc. I could imagine it feels good to sort of find meaning, purpose, role, identity, and the simplicity. To find easy answers, security and familiarity and quit the spiritual hamster wheel. I get anxious thoughts that this sort of thing might happen to me... What if I become a fundamentalist conservative christian? lol 😂

[Orb]

It's all the same dogmatic behavior across all philosophies and religions, including the ascended masters, chakras, etc. What matters most fundamentally is alignment imo. Some people worship crystals and loa stuff the same way they worship Jesus. I think any path is perfectly fine, as long as it's aligned, as in, feels good and fullfilling.

Edited January 24, 2023 by Orb

[Mandy]

It makes a nice clickbait kind of article. Both people identifying as Christians and new agers want to click it. 😂 Even so there's likely something to it, I experienced a getting spooked when I tried to conceptualize and own what "I" realized and the ramifications of it.  Then there's a wanting to call out for Mommy and wanting to go back to what's familiar. You also realize that nothing was wrong with Christianity in the first place, and the deep hatred, disgust and suspicions that drove you to explore outside it weren't inherent in Christianity, but were just you, you're guidance. If you forget that what you're exploring is fear itself, and not some sort of outer world terrain in which you're moving to a more "grown up" kind of spirituality, it can seem easier to return to that framework. 

[Phil]

22 hours ago, Blessed2 said:

Why do you think this happens?

Ignorance, emotional suppression, suffering, denial, and projection. 

Essentially, ego. 

 

22 hours ago, Blessed2 said:

So I just read an interesting article about some social media infuencers who used to be deep in new age beliefs and practices, but suddenly turns "back" to christian fundamentalism and traditional values.

It’s an ‘emperor’s new clothes’ scenario. The new belief is that new age is beliefs but fundamentalism and values aren’t. 

“Fundamental” seems to imply a grounding or returning to what is most fundamental - and the “ism” is overlooked. 

“Value” seems to imply this (separate thing) is more valuable than that (separate thing) - and the implied duality, the objectifying, is overlooked. 

One isn’t (so to speak) returning to oneself, one is just adopting new beliefs. 

 

The overlooking of the implied duality is the overlooking of the nondual nature of oneself. 

Oneself therein believes itself to be, ‘a separate self’.

No grounding is actually ‘found’ in the ever-changing activity of thought (ism’s, values, selves, etc). 

 

When the good news, the message, that all is self and self is unconditional love reaches these ears… the ‘separate self’, ‘idea of self’, ‘self image’ is defended - which is the ignorance & suffering… the overlooking of the truth of, oneself.  The discordant thoughts, emotional suppression and denial of truth in believing one is ‘the separate self’ are then projected onto ‘another separate self’… via the labelling of, a separate self… as one is believing one is, a ‘separate self’. 

 

Some ‘real life’ examples…

https://www.actualized.org/forum/topic/78292-nahm-demoted/#comment-1091343

The “other” here is “the neo-advaita teacher”, which literally means, “the new nonduality teacher”. 

The “other” is perceived as a threat to the self image, the identity of “(nonduality) teacher”, and labelled accordingly, in spite of & in the overlooking of, what’s being said. Notice how what was said is there is no ‘you’ avoiding the truth, and the entirety of the thread created to defend the separate self is about… a separate self, and separate selves, and how “I am the trustworthy separate self”, and “he isn’t”. 

 

https://www.christianityboard.com/search/31389/

Same thing here, just banning for being ‘the anti-Christian’ rather than ‘the neo advaita teacher’. Same egocentric rhetoric, different terminology. 

 

22 hours ago, Blessed2 said:

Basically from chakras, ascended masters, rising vibrations and manifesting to our saviour Jesus Christ, the Devil, patriarchy, prayer, sumbission to God.

Jesus was / is / equals the truth, and accordingly, simply shared the truth, that all is self and self is unconditional love.

There was never a ‘separate self’, “Jesus”. That’s the whole point. 

The way to not hear, to disregard, is to believe self referential thoughts, and label an “other”, a… separate self, “the savior”. 

The Book of Thomas is about alignment & manifesting. 

 

22 hours ago, Blessed2 said:

 

Why do you think this happens? How do you see spiral dynamics playing out here?

There’s a bit of holding onto blue and or unhealthy aspects of orange, but it’s really about identity. 

 

22 hours ago, Blessed2 said:

 

It makes me a bit anxious because I sort of do feel the allure... The traditional roles and values, the christian doctrine etc. I could imagine it feels good to sort of find meaning, purpose, role, identity, and the simplicity. To find easy answers, security and familiarity and quit the spiritual hamster wheel. I get anxious thoughts that this sort of thing might happen to me... What if I become a fundamentalist conservative christian? lol 😂

There’s nothing wrong with any of it. Arguing with what is is insanity. 

It’s possible what’s wanted is the relinquishing of the beliefs of being a separate self. 

It’s possible that’s what’s felt. 

It’s also entirely possible looking for the happiness there clarifies here.