7. The "New Age" Religion: in general
a. The seriousness of the problems at PSNS cannot be appreciated unless they are
understood in the context of the New Age Religious Movement as a whole.
b. The Aquarian Conspiracy
"A great shuddering, irrevocable shift if overtaking us. It is not a new
political, religious, or economic system. It is a new mind -- a turnabout in consciousness
in critical numbers of individual, a network powerful enough to bring about radical change
in our culture.
"This network -- the Aquarian Conspiracy -- has already enlisted the minds,
hearts, and resources of some of our most advanced thinkers and steadily growing numbers
from every corner of American society.
"In this immensely powerful and wide-ranging charter of human possibility, Marilyn
Ferguson describes how this underground network is working to create a different kind of
society based on a vastly enlarged concept of human potential.
"The author speaks to those who are experiencing a growing capacity for change in
themselves and know that it is possible for others. This book gives heart to the tens of
millions who sense the ripeness of our society for renewal and to those who despair but
are willing to look at the evidence for hope."
The above is taken from the back cover of THE AQUARIAN CONSPIRACY: PERSONAL AND
SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE 1980'S, by Marilyn Ferguson. Even though it claims that
this movement is not religious, it actually hits at the very heart of every religious
concept.
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c. New Age Activists
"Destiny now presents us with a karmic test, and if we have forgotten the past, we condemn ourselves to repeat it. It's time for all New Agers to get involved and return to
the passion and idealism we once knew. It's time to share, alert and network: share our
metaphysical awareness. Alert others of the efforts to block peaceful planetary
transformation. Network our awareness into society and New Age media and organizations for
targeted response programs when required. I seek your support and ask you to stand with
me."
"We've all read volumes of esoteric wisdom, we've meditated, we've been regressed
and rebirthed, and we've explored our human potential. A degree of self-awareness is
assumed. Now, let's do something with our awareness!
"As I have been telling seminar audiences for the past eleven years, 'You can
create any reality you desire to experience once you know exactly what you want and what
you are willing to pay to get it. Everything has a price and it will always be one or more
of the following: effort, money, or sacrifice.'
"The 'Law of Gratitude' is Universal Law. It said, 'the more you give, the more
you get.' The more you assist others, the more you assist yourself -- and being of service
to the planet is a positive, evolutionary pathway. It is especially important now as the
work is struggling to become something new.
"For those of us who accept reincarnation and karma, the evolution of the planet
takes on even greater significance. The world we have a part in forming today is the world
we will be reborn into tomorrow."
The above was taken from and article called "Welcome to 'What Is'" by Dick
Sutphen, President of Reincarnationists, Inc. as published in the Summer 1986 issue of
"New Age Activists: What Is."
Also in that "What Is" issue are "The 4 Assumptions"
"Underlying metaphysical/New Age themes are now appearing in music, education
contemporary science, business, finance, politics, economics, the arts, and psychology.
New Age awareness is showing up as the root premise of many important trends in today's
Western society. The thinking is found under many names: Yoga, magic, alchemy, astrology,
kabbalah, Taoism, tantra, Zen, Buddhism, mysticism, Vedanta, occult philosophy, pantheism,
monism, human potential, cosmic humanism ... to name a few."
"Classical systems of occult/metaphysical philosophy and the new variants are
based upon the following assumptions:
"All Is One: the external world and consciousness are one and the same.
"Man Is A Divine Being: We are all part of God, so we are God.
"Life Is For Evolutionary Purposes: Karma and reincarnation.
"Self-Actualization: Awareness of the True Self within leads to mastery of your
own reality."
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d. Transcendental Management
Mr. Richard Watring, Director of Personnel for Budget Rent-a-Car Corporation, has done
extensive scholarly research into this movement's infiltration of the Human Resources
Development profession of corporate America. In his master's thesis entitled
"Transcendental Management: A Study of the Emergence of New Age Concepts in Human
Resource Development", he writes:
"There is a contemporary social movement underway which seems to embrace an
unusually divergent group of ideas and concepts, and it is extremely difficult to draw
boundaries around. This movement has been referred to as the "New Age" movement,
the "Higher Consciousness" movement, Neo-transcendentalism and various other
terms. However, for my purposes in describing this movement, I will generally refer to the
New Age movement.
"This movement has been described by a number of different authors, among them,
Lewis Mumford. In his book, THE TRANSFORMATION OF
MAN, he wrote, "In the fullness of
time, a unified self will bring a world culture into existence, and that world culture
will in turn sustain and bring to a higher pitch of development this new self."
(**1.Mumford, Lewis: THE TRANSFORMATION OF MAN (New York: Harper and Row, 1956) pp. 241-2.
**)
"More recently still, Marilyn Ferguson wrote the bestseller, THE AQUARIAN
CONSPIRACY - PERSONAL AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE 1980'S. Even though I will rely
heavily on this most recent work as a reference point in describing the predominant
features and assumptions of this New Age movement, these authors and a number of others
are all describing the same idea.
"The primary assumption of the New Age movement is that Humankind is about to
experience a dramatic shift in Consciousness. This shift is thought to be part of the
normal evolutionary process. This shift if first individual, then collective - involving
all humans.
"The state of Consciousness that mankind is shifting towards is generally describe
in mystical terms.
"For instance, Hinduism and Buddhism, which grew out of Hinduism, both teach a
view of reality technically referred to as "monism". Monism holds to the belief
that there is only one universal substance, and that all things are made of the same
substance. Eventually, we are taught, everything will "become cone" in an
endless sea of this substance. We are differentiated from each other now, but we are only
different the way one wave is different from another wave in the ocean. In Eastern
religious teaching, this New Age shift is referred to as "Enlightenment". the
term presumes that we are unaware of our unity with the divinity of the universe. Once we
acknowledge our true nature, we can then work toward "at-one-ment" with the
universal deity.
"All Eastern philosophies share this monistic view; and, persons who grew up under
this teaching would be most receptive to this notion of the New Age shift. However, this underlying world view is not limited to the East. A good number of movements here in the
West exist under similar belief systems.
"For instance, Christian Science, New Thought, Unity and Baha'i are religious
movements that share this view of reality.
"The second assumption of the movement is that, since the shift in consciousness
leads to a "Higher" self, often called the "divine-within", then we
should strive to accelerate this process of transformation by altering consciousness.
(***Newsweek April 21, 1986***)
"More often than not, an individual's initial experience with an altered state of
Consciousness comes about accidentally or unintentionally, which then whets his interest
toward continual exploration of different Consciousness experiences. Many of these initial
experiences sometimes called "peak experiences", are brought about through what
Marilyn Ferguson refers to as "psychotechnologies - systems for a deliberate change
in Consciousness. (** 2.Ferguson, Marilyn: THE AQUARIAN CONSPIRACY (Los Angeles: J.P.
Tarcher, Inc., 1980) p. 87 **)
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"The list of psychotechnologies that Ferguson includes is quite exhaustive. It
includes:
'sensory isolation and sensory overload ... biofeedback ... music ... chanting ...
psychodrama ... contemplation ... Consciousness-raising strategies ... self-help and
mutual-help networks ... hypnosis and self-hypnosis ... Christian, Kabbalist, Kundalini,
Raja Yoga, Tantric Yoga, etc. ... Psychosynthesis ... Sufi stories, koans, and dervish
dancing ... various Shamanic and magical techniques ... seminars like est, Silva Mind
control, Actualization, and Lifespring ... dream journals ... Arica, Theosophy and
Gurdjieffian systems ... contemporary psychotherapies (Frankl's Logotherapy, Primal
Therapy, the Fischer-Hoffman process, Gestalt therapy) ... Science of Mind ... A Course in
Miracles ... countless body disciplines and therapies (hatha yoga,Reichian, T'ai chi
Ch'uan, aikido, Rolfing, Bioenergetics, Feldenkrais, Alexander, Applied Kinesiology) ...
intense experiences of personal and collective change (i.e., National exhilarating activities, which
cause a qualitative shifting the sense of being alive ... wilderness
retreats or solitary flying or sailing which foster self-discovery and sense of
timelessness.' (** 3. Ibid., p. 86-7 **)
"It is easy to see, that with many people involved in the programs and activities
that Ferguson refers to as psychotechnologies, how easily individuals can accidentally
venture into this realm of Altered Consciousness. However, Ferguson and her contemporaries
n the New Age movement go one step further. Since they believe that Man's shift to a
higher or altered state of consciousness is part of an evolutionary process, it is
therefore an inevitable shift. If, in fact, it cannot be prevented, and since the final
destination (Altered Consciousness) is a largely desirable state, proponents of this
movement feel that this evolutionary process should be accelerated by those who are
familiar with it. Since it is through these psychotechnologies that Consciousness is
altered, proponents of this movement encourage those who are not yet part of the
"enlightened" to experiment with these psychotechnologies. (One obvious
exclusion from the list of psychotechnologies is mind-altering drugs. Many of those
currently in the forefront of this movement became interested in Consciousness research
because of the finding and experiences of those who experimented with LSD and other
psychedelics.)
"Another assumption of the proponents of this New Age movement is that the
potentials of the mind will be greatly expanded or enhanced as a result of this
transformational process. The research being conducted concerning the functions of the two
hemispheres of the brain is very much a focal point of this assumption. Marilyn Ferguson
herself authored the book, THE BRAIN REVOLUTION: THE FRONTIERS OF MIND RESEARCH and is the
editor of both BRAIN/MIND BULLETIN and LEADING EDGE: A BULLETIN OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION.
Her contention is that Man, without intending to, use only half of his brain, namely the
left brain. She asserts that: "The left brain dominates awareness in most of us and
even takes over those tasks as which the right brain is superior. " (** 4.Ibid., pp.
78-9 **)
"However, there are ways that the right and left brains can be bridged so that the
left brain is more aware of the right. She states: 'Meditation, chanting, and similar
techniques increase the coherence and harmony in the brain wave patterns; they bring about
greater synchrony between the hemispheres, which suggests that higher order is achieved
... Whatever lowers the barrier and lets the unclaimed material emerge is transformative.
Recognition ... occurs when the analytical brain ... admits the wisdom of its other half
into full awareness ... Language releases the unknown from limbo, expressing it in a way
that the whole brain can know it. Incantations, mantras, poetry and secret, sacred words
are all bridges that join the two brains.'
"She concludes by saying, 'The escape from the prison of the two minds -- (is) the
task of transformation.' (** 6. Ibid., p. 82 **)
"One has to ask, when confronted with a proposal claiming that a given exercise
will enhance mental processes, what exactly the proponent's motive is. for instance,
Ferguson says that meditation will result in "whole-brained" thinking. But, as
stated earlier, meditation will also alter consciousness, and is recommended to accelerate
the process of transformation. Since meditation will do both, I have to wonder which
outcome the proponents are trying to bring about. I believe that some are promoting
mind-expanding techniques and exercises under the guise of expanding mental capacity, when
their real motive is bringing about the transformation shift that they feel is inevitable.
"Another feature of this New Age movement is that it is essentially liberal, that
is, it embraces most, if not all, of the political agenda of the liberal element of our
society. Perhaps this is because many at the forefront of the movement were also involved
in the counter-culture of the Sixties. In THE AQUARIAN CONSPIRACY, Ferguson explains how
this transformation process would affect our relationship to our government, health care,
education and religion. The movement sees the conservative element of our society as
inhibiting individual and social transformation.
"New Age thinkers are aware of the fact that certain traditional values stand in
the way of this personal and social transformation they seek. Here I am speaking mainly of
traditional religious values, and specifically those of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
"A pivotal assumption of this movement is that "Human nature is neither good
nor bad, but open to continuous transformation and transcendence." (** 9. Ferguson,
pp.cit.,p.29. **) This results in a philosophy of relativism which denies the existence of
any moral absolutes, but would suggest that the appropriate course of moral action is
purely dependent on the situation at hand. In educational circles, this is sometimes
referred to as values clarification; in philosophical circles, situational ethics. This
belief that human nature is neither good nor bad is a central doctrine of Humanistic
Psychology. Followers of this school believe that Man is intrinsically good (or at worst,
neutral), and that his propensity toward evil is purely his response to external or
environmental conditions. I will elaborate more on both Humanistic and Transpersonal
Psychologies in later chapters.
"This acceptance of and the encouragement of individual autonomy is a necessary
requirement in order for individuals to open themselves up to experimenting with the
psychotechnologies referenced earlier. It is my belief, however, that the Humanistic
school has failed to prove its basic underlying tenet: That Man's nature is not flawed.
And, if it is, then this philosophy of relying on one's "inner-focus" so
authority can -- and does -- lead to undesirable consequences.
"The final underlying premise of this movement is the belief in a monistic
philosophy or world view. Monism, as stated earlier, is the philosophic doctrine that
"all is one", or that all things are constituted of a single reality. New Age
writers place heavy emphasis on "Eastern teaching, theoretical quantum physics,
meditation, and planetary Consciousness ... explicable by the component common to them
all; the pre-supposition that "all is one." (**12. Fement, Eric: "The New
Age Movement: Consensus or Conspiracy?" CORNERSTONE, Vol II, (Issue 64, 1983) p.1.
**) Many New Age writers and thinkers openly embrace Eastern religion, philosophy, and in
some cases, Eastern forms of body-centered therapies such as yoga, aikido, etc. Whether or
not the leaning toward Eastern philosophies developed an openness to the other facets of
the New Age movement, or whether an interest in and exploration of the movement caused the
explorer to accept and embrace an Eastern world view is an important question. I will
attempt to show that experimentation with many of the psychotechnologies, especially
Meditation, will inevitably result in a monistic world view.
"These, then are the key precepts of this movement. And, even though much of the
philosophy being promoted pre-dates Christianity, the movement owes much to two historical
developments of major import. The first of these is the Revolt against Dualism."
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e. Infiltrating the New Age into Society
As an example of how New Agers themselves explain their desire and methods for the
subtle introduction of their religious concepts into society, I have included excerpts
from "Infiltrating the New Age Into Society" by Dick Sutphen (Summer 1986 issue
of "What Is.")
"New Agers don't twist arms to convert people to our way of thinking. but we
should use all available opportunities to gently introduce others to ideas we know serve
the planet. It's time to step up the networking process.
Share and Network
"Twenty-eight professional New Age practitioners gathered with my staff and me for
a five-day seminar in April, 1986. the subject of discussion was how to raise their
profiles and become more successful in their individual careers. "And one of the most
interesting things to come out of the sharing was that each of them, in their own way, was
'infiltrating' general society in addition to serving their clientele.
"A Southern California Ph.D., director of a successful hypnosis center, is also
employed by two of California's largest publicly held companies to teach 'success and
positive thinking' to their employees. She never mentions the words 'metaphysics' or 'New
Age', but the ideas are nothing else. And we all know the ideas work. Because the
individuals will experience positive changes in their lives, they will be open to
additional New Age concepts as they surface.
"Once she helps them, they comeback and also tell others. 'Do they go on to become
involved in metaphysics?' I asked hopefully. 'Of course they do,' she replied, smiling.
"Another participant has a woodstove store as a side business and he offers a large
selection of self-help tapes as door openers to expanding New Age awareness. A young woman
from a wealthy tourist town in Florida works through exclusive hotels to provide
'anti-stress visualization sessions' to the guests. Several of those attending my seminar
plan to combine their vacation time by infiltrating cruise ships on a barter basis,
getting free cruises in return for daily hour-long seminars.
"One of the biggest advantages we have as New Agers is, once the occult,
metaphysical and New Age terminology is removed, we have concepts and techniques that are
very acceptable to the general public. So we can change the names and demonstrate the
power. In so doing, we open the New Age door to millions who normally would not be
receptive.
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Global Transformation
"Author H.G. Wells may have foreseen some of what was to come when he wrote his
book about a potential world revolution.
"'...as a consisting of a great multitude and variety of overlapping groups, but
now all organized for collective political, social and educational as well as propagandist
action. They will recognize each other much more clearly than they did at first and they
will have acquired a common name.
"'The character of the Open conspiracy will now be plainly displayed. It will have
become a great world movement as widespread and evident as socialism or communism. It will
largely have taken the place of these movements. It will be more, it will be a world
religion. The large loose assimilatory mass of groups and societies will be definitely and
obviously attempting to swallow up the entire population of the world and become the new
human community.'
"Can a New Age world revolution take place peacefully? It has to, or it would be
alien to everything the New Age stands for. Some see it as evolving out of a terrible war,
or cataclysmic earth changes, because they can't imagine a New Age being possible without
first having a 'cleansing.'
High Touch Need
"'The strength of traditional networks such as family, church, and neighborhoods
is dissipating in American society. The gap is being filled with new networks functioning,
as Marilyn Ferguson puts it, as the spontaneous modern-day equivalent of the ancient
tribe. Networks fulfill the high-touch need for belonging.'
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Look "Within"
"For centuries, Eastern religions have guided their followers to
"look within", but it wasn't until the 1960's that masses of Americans began
turning inward for answers. Maxwell Maltz, M.D., turned people on with his book
PSYCHOCYBERNETICS, and drugs turned on a lot of others. Transcendental Meditation moved in
and Zen-based human-potential organizations proved that pop psychology could often get
better results than extended therapy.
"'there is nothing to seek and nothing to find. You are already enlightened, and
all the words in the world will not give you what you already have. The wise seeker,
therefore, is concerned with one thing only: to become aware of what he already is, of the
True Self within." --Zen.
"I feel that your True Self is already a fully self-actualized Master of Life. You
just don't know it because you are so enveloped in fear-based programming, from lifetime
after lifetime of negative experiences. To get down to the True Self, you have to begin
looking within and removing the layers of old programming ... the guilt, hate,
selfishness, jealousy, greed, envy, anger, possessiveness, desire for revenge, need to
control ... the list goes on and on.
"The reason we have reincarnated upon the earth at this time is to continue the
process of rising above fear -- to remove the layers of programming and become aware of
the beautiful souls we already are.
"When you begin to "look within" yourself for the source of conflicts,
you take a giant step along the path of spiritual transformation.
"So experiential exploration and programming are among the most powerful ways to
introduce the general public to New Age awareness. And when the technique works once, an
individual is likely to explore other potentials. The more frequently someone looks
within, the more likely they are to discover their own God-self, and open the doors to
spirituality.
"It is no wonder that troubled or confused people turn to Born-Again Christianity,
until they become stronger, it is much easier to allow others to control them,
over-simplifying everything into a set of commandments so no decisions or thought are
required.
"Once converts regain their strength, many begin to question the simplistic
negativity of their inconsistent beliefs. When they begin to look within, it is often the
beginning of the end of the conversion.
"Your subconscious mind is programmed two ways: Karmic programming and Conscious
programming.
"With adults, when you use New Age jargon or inject spirituality or metaphysical
concepts, you turn many people off. You already knew that, of course. but the New Age
movement is growing so rapidly because we don't have churches on street corners and
because we do not use fear to attract new people. The metaphysical way has always been to
gently demonstrate a more positive and peaceful way of being.
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Deep Breathing and Visualization
"So how do we demonstrate a more positive and peaceful way that people will be
open to explore? Again, experiential techniques are ideal door openers.
"Deep breathing can be an introduction or preparation for meditation or
self-hypnosis. If you encounter an individual or a group that needs to relax or release tension, direct
them to close their eyes and take a very deep breath in-n-n-n and hold it
as long as they can then let the breath out very slowly through slightly parted lips.
Explain that this allows them to retain moisture in their mouth and thus they'll be more
comfortable. And when they have let the breath all the way out, instruct them to contract
their stomach muscles and push the breath even further out and further out, then to repeat
the process over and over. This is diaphragm breathing and within a few minutes, they will
be very, very relaxed.
"Once they see how incredibly effective the technique is for unwinding, relaxing and letting go, you can probably carry the process to its next logical step.
"Direct them to visualize themselves in a situation that is the most peaceful and
relaxing that they can possibly imagine. 'Recall a real situation or make one up. Make it
real, visualize everything about the situation and what it feels like to be there.' Next,
following a quiet period, ask them to give themselves a positive suggestion, such as, 'In a
moment, I am going to open my eyes, and when I do, I will feel more relaxed and at ease
than I have ever felt before.'
"This simple process is an introduction to meditation and in itself might open
doors to further questions or discussion. Show them how easy it is to give themselves
suggestions ranging from something as simple as relaxing or visualizing colors for healing
to vanquishing a headache or programming a goal.
"And, if they are open to hearing it, explain how the subconscious mind works, and
the value of monitoring their thoughts for negativity.
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Explain How the Subconscious Mind Works!
"Your subconscious mind has been active from the moment you were born, and from a
reincarnational perspective, from the beginning of your physical explorations. It is your
subconscious mind that has made you what you are today. Your talents and abilities, your
problems and afflictions are the result of the intuitive guidance of the subconscious. It
has been directing you and will continue to direct you, often in opposition to your
conscious desires. Why? The subconscious has little or no reasoning power ... It simply
operates like a computer, functioning as the result of programming. I call this 'karma'.
Very simply explained, karma is nothing more than the programming you have created in
other lives (and your life up until now) and fed into your mind -- your own programming of
your own computer.
"Now, as a medical fact, and this is important: The subconscious creates only
according to programming. It will help to bring into actuality the reality it is
programmed for. Call the programming 'karma' ... and there is nothing occult or mystical
about it. Karma is simply what is. If the subconscious received no new programming, it
would continue to operate on all the prior programming of this life and your other lives.
This, of course, cannot happen, for you are constantly feeding new data or programming
into your computer ... your subconscious mind. Every thought programs the computer. You
may be thinking every thought and action, but you have to think something before you do
it, so we are really speaking of your thoughts. If you never conceived a negative thought,
you couldn't perform a negative deed.
"Every negative or fear thought programs you the other way. So, if you are
thinking negatively more than positively, you are programming your computer in the wrong
way. You create your own reality (karma) with your thoughts.
