Beautiful article, thank you. As a Sufi, this resonates very deeply with me. Regarding humility, this is why we Muslims pray 5 times a day by bowing our heads to God in surrender.
Today is an interesting day. It is the 62nd anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe, who has come to represent the false glitter of the material world. People don't know that when she was Norma Jeane Dougherty, a simple housewife married to sailor Jim, that she was a devout Christian Scientist. She followed the mystical teachings of Mary Baker Eddy and they brought her healing from her traumatic childhood in foster homes.
But when she left Jim to chase fame, she also abandoned her relationship with God. She fell into sleazy underbelly of Hollywood and instead of trusting God to open doors for her, she worshipped the casting couch. And it eventually destroyed her.
As her husband Jim Dougherty said, she was like a rubber band, with Norma Jeane on one end and Marilyn Monroe on the other. And the rubber band was her faith in God, which Norma Jeane had and Marilyn rejected. Marilyn kept pulling the rubber band further away from Norma Jeane -- until it snapped.
I think there is a great lesson and warning for New Agers and everyone in the life of Norma Jeane Dougherty.
This is conventional nonsense, distorting New Age teachings, lacking nuance and bringing us back to pre-moderrn spiritual thought. The great sins of New Age thought are excessive individualism and greed. there is no pride, for example, in the teachings of Eckart Tolle or Wayne Dyer. It seems a fair amount of "teachers" have gone back to fundamentalism. This author does not understand the genesis of the ideas they criticize, which stem from Advaita Vedanta.
Your article suggests the idea that "thou Art That" (not just a piece of, not just a part of), the core of Vedanta is somehow wrong and bowing down to God is proper. Because many people do not fully understand this does not mitigate its truth.
The world seems out of place too those who cannot see the backstory behind the veil of the technology of consciousness, expressed through karma and reincarnation and executed by soul contracts. Of course there is a delicate dance between the profound perspective of the greater view, and our humanity in living here and now. Those who are awake in many forms are instruments in this era to correct those deep imbalances .
Of course there will be egotistic distortions of even the greatest philosophy or world view, (look at Christianity's perversion of the teachings of Jesus) but that does not change the truth of the nature of existence. You were right to point out problems in the New Age community. My issue is your perception of those problems is way off. I know hundreds, if not thousands, who get it right.
"You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean contained in a drop."-Rumi
When seen from the wrong place , it can be the height of egotism. When seen and *experienced* properly. it reflects the deepest truth of what we are and leads one to union with the truth of self.
"No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place." Zen saying
Beautiful article, thank you. As a Sufi, this resonates very deeply with me. Regarding humility, this is why we Muslims pray 5 times a day by bowing our heads to God in surrender.
Today is an interesting day. It is the 62nd anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe, who has come to represent the false glitter of the material world. People don't know that when she was Norma Jeane Dougherty, a simple housewife married to sailor Jim, that she was a devout Christian Scientist. She followed the mystical teachings of Mary Baker Eddy and they brought her healing from her traumatic childhood in foster homes.
But when she left Jim to chase fame, she also abandoned her relationship with God. She fell into sleazy underbelly of Hollywood and instead of trusting God to open doors for her, she worshipped the casting couch. And it eventually destroyed her.
As her husband Jim Dougherty said, she was like a rubber band, with Norma Jeane on one end and Marilyn Monroe on the other. And the rubber band was her faith in God, which Norma Jeane had and Marilyn rejected. Marilyn kept pulling the rubber band further away from Norma Jeane -- until it snapped.
I think there is a great lesson and warning for New Agers and everyone in the life of Norma Jeane Dougherty.
What a powerful modern parable, thank you for sharing this! Very cool to know you resonate with this -- Sufism is a beautiful tradition <3
Well said!
Thanks Mo! <3
This is conventional nonsense, distorting New Age teachings, lacking nuance and bringing us back to pre-moderrn spiritual thought. The great sins of New Age thought are excessive individualism and greed. there is no pride, for example, in the teachings of Eckart Tolle or Wayne Dyer. It seems a fair amount of "teachers" have gone back to fundamentalism. This author does not understand the genesis of the ideas they criticize, which stem from Advaita Vedanta.
a lot of New-Age-ism is heavily influenced by Neo-Advaita, no?
excessive individualism/self-absorption overlaps heavily with excessive pridefulness
Your article suggests the idea that "thou Art That" (not just a piece of, not just a part of), the core of Vedanta is somehow wrong and bowing down to God is proper. Because many people do not fully understand this does not mitigate its truth.
The world seems out of place too those who cannot see the backstory behind the veil of the technology of consciousness, expressed through karma and reincarnation and executed by soul contracts. Of course there is a delicate dance between the profound perspective of the greater view, and our humanity in living here and now. Those who are awake in many forms are instruments in this era to correct those deep imbalances .
Of course there will be egotistic distortions of even the greatest philosophy or world view, (look at Christianity's perversion of the teachings of Jesus) but that does not change the truth of the nature of existence. You were right to point out problems in the New Age community. My issue is your perception of those problems is way off. I know hundreds, if not thousands, who get it right.
"You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean contained in a drop."-Rumi
When seen from the wrong place , it can be the height of egotism. When seen and *experienced* properly. it reflects the deepest truth of what we are and leads one to union with the truth of self.
"No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place." Zen saying