new age spirituality

Author: abracad

  • Alternative Realities

    The many worlds interpretation (or parallel universes) is a serious scientific theory put forward to explain some of the stranger aspects of quantum physics. I have no way of knowing whether parallel universes exist, but the concept does inspure to the useful psycho-Spiritual technique of alternative realities.

    Incarnate life gives rise to a series of choices. We often agonize over these before they are made and suffer regret, even guilt, afterwards. But the fact we have choices, and more importantly the ability to choose, is actually proof of our true Spiritual nature. There is no concept of choice for solely physical automata.

    We can play a game (alternative realities) with our choices, either prospectively to help us decide, or retrospectively to help us i) understand and come to terms with the consequences of past choices and ii) to help us make better choices in future.

    To play alternative realities take some time and space for yourself. Late at night works best for me, but you may prefer early morning, or even the middle of the day when family are at work or school. Find somewhere you won’t be disturbed. If you’re indoors take the phone off the hook. Maybe put on some gentle music. Or you may prefer being out in nature. A long walk can provide the opportunity to escape within oneself.

    Alternative realities basically consists of asking yourself a series of what if questions, and then visualizing the likely outcomes. You can do this mentally, by logically extrapolating the starting conditions. You may discover several possible futures, each with an associated probability.

    But it works best when you can truly imagine yourself in the selected scenario. Picture yourself there, see the surroundings, hear the voices of those “present”. Notice not only WHAT happens, but also HOW you feel about it.

    Alternative realities is a very powerful way of making decisions. For all the weiging up of pros and cons it provides a glimpse into your not-so-easily-quantified feelings.

    But don’t wait until you’re faced with a crucial choice. Practice playing out alternative realities on some of your past choices. You may learn more about yourself, or be better informed for future choices. Practice with hypothetical events too, like winning the lottery, or landing your dream job. Avoid visualizing negative scenarios. Thoughts have energy and tend to materialize, so keep it positive.

    If you are attracted to a particular alternative reality, visualize it repeatedly, each time in ever-greater detail. Your efforts will tend to bring it to reality.

    Have fun.

  • What’s Your Mission?

    Do you have a purpose or mission in life? Or rather, do you know your life’s mission or purpose?

    We all have a reason for being alive. In fact we choose our particular mission in the realm of Spirit before we are born. Unfortunately, once faced with life’s many challenges and distractions we all too easily forget our raison d’etre.

    Life is like a journey. If you don’t know where you’re trying to get, how do you expect to get there? How do you even know which direction to set off in? You wouldn’t start your car’s engine without knowing where you were going and having at least a vague idea of the route. So why live life without a similar plan?

    Often life is just a struggle to survive. Can we make enough money to pay the mortgage and put food on the table? Can we play the games well enough to keep our jobs, or even get a raise?

    Our needs form a hierarchy, with the necessities of food and shelter sitting at the bottom. We need to satisfy these before we can turn our attention to higher ideals. Unfortunately, society too is hierarchical, and unless you occupy a place near the top it’s very difficult to rise above the satisfaction of basic needs.

    But in the struggle to stay afloat we lose sight of our mission, our core values. But by spending a short time identifying your purpose you can become more effective at meeting the basics and have more time, energy and enthusiasm to spend on fulfilling that mission.

    Identifying your purpose

    Identifying your purpose is easier than it sounds because it already exists, as defined by ourselves. Set aside some quiet time and ask yourself what’s really important to you. Just brainstorm. Jot down everything that comes into your head at first, without attempting to evaluate. Often the things we’re naturally best at or instinctively drawn to give a clue to our purpose. But occasionally our mission might be to overcome the difficulties relating to the things we’re not good at.

    Only when the ideas stop flowing should you attempt to make sense of your thoughts. In a couple of hours or less you ought to come up with a list of a dozen or so points that from then on should take priority.

    It’s become fashionable for corporations to publish their “mission statements,” a list defining their reasons for being and the values they observe in the process. You might want to write your own personal mission statement. Once written this will form the basis of all your thoughts, actions and decision-making. Every decision you make should be weighed against your mission. Sometimes you’ll need to compromise, but at least your pragmatism will be guided by reason.

    It’s a good idea to review your personal mission once or twice a year. Even though your core mission and values will remain constant throughout life, there may in the light of experience be some subtle changes in the way these are expressed, or the identification of new goals as preceding ones are satisfied.

    This article was inspired by The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.

  • The Role of Sacrifice

    At times it can seem like our sole purpose on earth is to serve others. We have responsibility to our children, our spouse, our parents, our friends, our community… The list is endless. If we put ourselves ahead of others we are frequently judged as selfish and feel the obligatory guilt.

    It can be overwhelming, but let’s try to put the role of sacrifice into perspective.

    In the famous words of John Donne “No man is an island”. We are all part of one great whole, and all interdependent upon one another for our continued existence and wellbeing. Though we have responsibility towards others, also throughout our lives others will have responsibility and make sacrifices for us.

    As infants we all needed the care and nurture of our parents, else we would not be here today. In old age or failing health we may also be reliant on others. We continue to benefit from the help of others every day.

    But that isn’t to say it’s wrong to pursue our own ambitions. It’s absolutely right, and in fact it’s the very purpose of our being. If no one sought to fulfill their individual potential humanity could not have made the incredible progress it has. Just as we have duty to others so we also have duty to ourself to be the best we possibly can.

    Total sacrifice and complete selfishness are opposite ends of a continuum. Neither end is a desirable place to be, the former involves allowing our innate potential to wither and die, the latter inevitably means taking without putting back and the eventual isolation that will certainly follow when there is no more to take and no one left who is willing to give.

    Instead we must find a position somewhere in the middle of the self-others continuum. We must fulfill our responsibilities as a Spiritual being and (temporary) incarnate member of the human race. We must fulfil our duties to our loved ones and fellow beings. But we must recognize there is a limit to what we can give to others and if we don’t seek to fulfill our own potential the amount we can give will also be reduced.

    Don’t be afraid of ambition, or trying your best. It is why you are here. But also keep some room in your heart and mind for others.

  • The Secret (law of attraction)

    The Secret - DVD The Secret - book

    The Secret is a recent movie and book by Rhonda Bryan that claims to reveal the secret to a happy, healthy, wealthy and fulfilled life. Bryan draws on the words of some of the finest Spiritual and inspirational teachers in support of the Secret, which is basically the law of attraction.

    The universe is likened to some great catalog ordering service. All you have to do is place your order, for whatever you want, by thinking about it with feeling and acting in the belief it’s already in your possession. Amazingly the universe hears your request and pulls out all the stops to satisfy it.

    Your thoughts and feelings are a self-fulfilling prophesy. If you feel good, you will be sent more to feel good about. If you think life sucks, it will. So all you need to do is change your way of thinking.

    The Secret is fine so far as it goes. Positive thinking and feeling is pretty well necessary for any kind of success. You can be the world’s greatest player, but if your mind isn’t right you will under-perform and likely lose.

    To my mind the danger of the Secret is that it continually implies that right thought and feeling are sufficient for success.

    Let me explain why (I believe) that view is flawed.

    There are only limited resources in the world. If everyone asks for a billion dollars and 20-room house on a huge lot. Some people will be disappointed, even though they follow all the “rules”.

    Additionally, life isn’t about material acquisitions, it’s about having experience – both positive and negative. If success comes just by thinking about it, who’s gonna do any work, who’s gonna learn anything?

    And as most of life’s lessons come from difficulties, if we wish our difficulties away altogether, won’t life become pointless?

    I’d recommend anyone to watch/read the Secret. I’d recommend anyone to put its lessons into practice. But I’d recommend they are put into practice alongside a practical action plan designed to get you from where you are now to where you wanna be.

  • Reading the Signs

    Before birth our soul chooses, with the help of others, the purpose for its forthcoming incarnation. It may be to learn certain lessons, or it may be to do certain work upon the earth plane, or perhaps to play a role in the journey of (an)other(s).

    Once born we are gifted the amazing faculty of free will – the power to choose our destiny. Though we should recognize that free will is limited by external circumstances. A bit like a dog going for a walk on an extending lead. The owner dictates the overall route of the walk (we set our life purpose before birth), allowing the dog more or less freedom at various points along the way (our free will).

    Once born our chosen purpose, like knowledge of our Spiritual nature, is excluded from our conscious mind. However evidence of both can be glimpsed along the way.

    It may be that we do have a strong inner sense of the direction we should take. We are drawn to a particular career, or location, or people. We are just comfortable taking that road. Or it may be that certain, similar, chances present themselves again and again despite our previous rejections.

    Living effectively, and ultimately most fulfilling, is often a matter of recognizing (and heeding) the signs along the way. “Swim with the tide”, or “go with the flow” are common expressions of this.

    If we try something with doubt and find things just fall into place effortlessly, that is the road we should follow. If we find we keep bumping into a certain idea without actively seeking it out, we ought to read the signs and pursue it further.

    Similarly, if our best efforts continually meet with disappointment and frustration we ought to accept that endeavor is not for us. (That’s not to say we should quit after a single setback, or even after many so long as progress is being made).

    The physical universe exists for the sole purpose of making our incarnation possible and worthwhile. It will assist our journey, if only we keep our antennae open to its messages.

  • Drawing close to Spirit

    New Age Spirituality is a reaction against the materialism of modern society. You graduate college, get a career, accumulate wealth, get a big house, fast car… And that’s what it’s all about. Or is it?

    These things can bring satisfaction, but the trouble with material wealth is you can never have enough of it. The more you get, the more you want. And the more you worry about losing what you have.

    I’m not saying wealth isn’t important. To a degree. But once you’ve met the basics of food and shelter its importance rapidly diminishes. That’s why so many feel disillusioned and seek answers in the far from new movement of the new age.

    Spirituality is about rediscovering what we really are. In truth we are all Spiritual beings, temporarily occupying a physical body. We are on a journey. The journey into flesh is one of discovery, experience and growth.

    The realization that materialism is NOT our main purpose is the understanding of a major lesson. It is also the recognition of, and desire to reconnect with, our true Spiritual nature.

    When we are born into this world we forget that we are essentially Spirit. This amnesia is intentional, for if we knew this from the beginning we would find it hard/impossible to focus on our journey upon the earth plane. Part of our purpose is to rediscover the Spirit within.

    Modern life is a busy and complex experience with seemingly endless stimuli all vying for our finite attention. Family, work, community… the demands are endless, though each brings its own satisfaction and rewards. But in the face of endless demands how can we connect with our Spiritual self and the realm of Spirit beyond?

    It is easy. Spirit isn’t someplace else, but all around. All that needs to happen is i) we need to become a little more open to its reality, and ii) Spirit needs to respond to our openness by making itself felt by us. Though it’s easy it does require an effort of will. Our will power, or ability to assert our unique preferences is one of the clues of our Spirituality. Automata have no will!

    We need to set aside some “me” time. That is time when we consciously disconnect from the demands of our physical existence. Disconnect the phone. Send the family off to a movie. Hang a “do not disturb” notice on the door. This time is for you, and you alone.

    Nature is a great healer and wonderful for bringing us closer to Spirit. If you’re lucky enough to live near the sea or countryside, take a walk. Even in the city, you’re probably close to a park or other green space.

    Art is a doorway to the world of Spirit. Get some art books from the library and observe them closely. Listen to some music, maybe classical or new age, but whatever takes your fancy is fine.

    Exercise your will. Change your routine. We are creatures of habit, because we are basically lazy and habit is easy. Try a different newspaper, a different route to work. Read a different kind of book. Whatever, just so long as it forces your mind off auto-pilot.

    Learn to relax. Modern life is extremely demanding upon our mental resources. You must be able to switch off the constant noise and put it to one side.

    If you’re lucky you may get a physical apparition of someone in Spirit, or  clairaudience, the hearing of Spirit voices. Be open to the ways in which Spirit manifests, eg dreams and coincidences. Perhaps you’ll just get an awareness or feeling that you’re part of something much bigger.

    And if at first you don’t succeed, try , try again. Our Spiritual awareness is purposely erased before we are born and it can be very hard to regain. You can draw some comfort at least from the fact you suspect its existence and you are trying to consciously re-connect.

  • Reunions – Visionary Encounters With Departed Loved Ones

    Reunions - Visionary Encounters With Departed Loved OnesDr Raymond Moody is the scientist who not only brought knowledge of the near-death experience to the masses, he also made a respectable discipline of research into the topic. In Reunions – Visionary Encounters With Departed Loved Ones, Moody brings the scientific method to the ancient, but much derided, practice of mirror gazing.

    Reunions begins with the long history of mirror gazing, describing how many cultures have used looking into reflective surfaces to invoke altered states of consciousness. In its time it has gone from widespread acceptance, through condemnation as evil sorcery, to the rationalist ridicule.

    Moody goes on to describe how he built a modern-day psychomanteum (apparition chamber) in his old gristmill in Alabama and how he prepared participants for their sittings. It seems that proximity to nature, stimulation through decor and art, and being somehow disconnected from the contemporary world (eg hiding all timepieces) are all positive factors in promoting apparitions. Relaxation and an attitude of not really trying also help facilitate visions.

    Moody found that a surprisingly high proportion (more than 50%) of participants have some kind of experience at their first sitting and gives some remarkable accounts of what they reported. Rather than just seeing visions within the speculum (mirror), some participants reported apparitions leaving the mirror to be physically with them, others reported actually entering the mirror themselves. Particularly amazing is that some participants, including Moody himself, reported being visited by life-like apparitions some time after leaving the chamber.

    Are the “apparitions” genuinely the spirits of departed loved ones, or are they merely creations of the subconscious minds of the percipients. The book does not pass judgment on this, but the observers’ strength of certainty they were real suggests the former. The author has confirmed that participants have reported being given information by the apparitions that they did not previously know and that was later verified to be correct. The couple of accounts of shared visions are particularly interesting as these indicate that the observers were seeing something independent of their own individual minds.

    The Spiritual view is that we are all essentially Spirit, temporarily encased in flesh. By altering our level of consciousness, disengaging with physical reality and going deeper within ourselves we draw closer to our Spiritual essence and hence to its connection to the Spiritual realm.

    For my own part I must admit to being slightly, inexplicably, afraid to try the techniques described. Though I do admit that shortly after my father’s passing I was just gazing aimlessly at my reflection in a glass-fronted piece of furniture when my appearance seemed to take on that of my father’s. Of course the family resemblance may offer an explanation…

    Also by Raymond Moody:
    Life After Life
    The Light Beyond

  • Start Living – Get Out of the Comfort Zone

    Many of us spend our lives looking for a comfortable niche where everything is hunky-dory, we don’t have any worries, we’re surviving and have a little more besides…

    In short we look for our comfort zone, and if we find it we try really hard to stay there.

    However, there are two main problems with the comfort zone.

    Firstly, when we’re in it we tend to become complacent, to imagine this state of relative contentment is our God-given right, and to stop trying too hard to move forwards.

    Secondly, life constantly changes. Though things may be sweet today there will certainly come a time when they are less so. It could be tomorrow, it could be years away. But the things you draw comfort from today will not always be as they are.

    A little study of the lives of our heroes past and present reveals that the things we most admire in them were not usually forged in the comfort zone, but under more testing circumstances. Reflection upon our own lives tells a similar story. We have learned and grown most when challenged. But what is life, if not to learn and grow?

    The human Spirit is essentially lazy. If we could spend our days with our feet up we probably would. It takes effort of will to actually do things, and even then it is our nature to expend least effort. When everything is rosy we have little incentive to go the extra mile.

    That’s not to say we should opt for a life of constant hardship, rejecting all of life’s luxuries. Of course we are all entitled to happiness, look upon it as compensation for the hardships of life. But we shouldn’t also seek to stand still once we reach a place of comparative stability. To stand still is to die.

    We should constantly push ourselves forward, seeking new challenges, new horizons. Sometimes we need to risk what we already have, we need to experience the associated feelings. We need to push ourselves further down the roads we’re traveling, and we need to explore new roads that we, and maybe others, have never traveled before.

    How do we do this?

    • Pack up and move to a new town, state, country…
    • Change job – not just employer, but occupation. Do something completely different.
    • Re-furnish, re-arrange, re-decorate your home
    • Watch, read, listen to something new – not just new, but of different genre, something you wouldn’t have even considered before
    • Learn something new – a language, skill, topic
    • Change your style – get a new haircut, buy some new clothes, get your ears pierced
    • Meet different people – join a club, sign up for a class… Choose people different from yourself.
    • Take a chance – risk a significant some of money on a gamble
    • Change your routine – we’re creatures of habit ‘coz habit means we don’t have to think, but force yourself to break your habits

    None of these are easy, but all will lift you out of your comfort zone and help you live a more purposeful and fulfilled life.

  • Have You Been Here Before?

    The concept of reincarnaton is an ancient one, dating back long before the time of Christ.

    Basically, reincarnation is the view that living entities consist of two parts, a physical body, and a non-physical “soul”. The body functions for a finite time, during which it is closely allied to the soul, but when it ceases to function (ie physical death) the soul is released to some day be born again in a new body.

    Belief in reincarnation is most common within Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism.

    Reinarnation is currently rejected by much of Christianity. One can only surmise this is because it is perceived as a threat to the power of the Church. The Bible is certainly in accord with the idea, eg “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. ‘Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?’” (John 9:1-2)

    Many people at some time in their lives experience a sense of deja vu, ie of having been somewhere before that they’re actually visiting for the first time.

    There have been some remarkable accounts of reincarnation providing a substantial body of evidence for the truth of the phenomenon, eg see Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation by Ian Stevenson for some of the very best.

    Past-life regression is a hypntic technique that is said to help people remember previous lives. EG see Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss , Living Your Past Lives: The Psychology of Past-Life Regression by Karl Schlotterbeck.

    So, is reicarnation real? I believe it is, but not for everyone.

    Spiritually we are all part of a single unity which, for want of a better name, might be called “God”. We individuate, or break of from the one-ness in order to experience and interact with other (parts of God). One of the arenas in which we gain that experience is the physical universe, and within that, planet Earth.

    Some parts of God never choose to incarnate here – it’s to tough a choice. For others, once is enough. But some do choose to return – sometimes many times over – in order to complete unfinished lessons, undertake new learning, or to assist others along their journey.

    We each belong to a “soul group”, a part of God that individuated, and then indivduated furthe into the members of a soul group. Often sould group members choose to incarnate together, and to interact while here, each playing a different role to facilitate the learning process. That part is not always a “positive” one in earthly terms. Our fellow soul group members may turn out to be the school bully who gives us a horrible time, but only afterwards may we realize how much we learned from the difficulties experienced.

    Reincarnation may explain some aspects of our lives such as recurring themes which for all our efforts we seem unable to escape. In our instinctive (unrationalized) thoughts and feelings and in our dreams we may find clues to our previous lives, and perhaps our true purpose in being here.

  • Evidence for the paranormal

    The evidence for the paranormal falls into three categories:
    * spontaneous experience
    * laboratory experiment results
    * rational logic

    Let’s examine each in turn.

    Spontaneous experience

    Countless people claim to have experienced unexplainable phenomena throughout history. Even today there is no shortage of those with tales of the supernatural to tell. As an experiment simple raise the topic with any group of friends, family or co-workers and it’s highly likely at least one will have experienced something remarkable. (more…)