Welcome to your ultimate New Age resource.
 

welcome to our New Age Archive. Have fun browsing!

 

Article #257: Experiential Spirituality and Contemporary Gnosis

(Browse for more articles)
 
Many of us into metaphysics are often pitting one against the other, as
frequently called upon by our "non-New if the two of them were mutually
Age" friends and acquaintances to explain exclusive or antithetical.
ourselves and our metaphysical Interestingly, however, religion based on
orientation to them. "What is theism is, by definition, a part of
metaphysics" "What is the 'New Age?'" metaphysics, as any concept of a deity in
"What do you believe in?" "What makes traditional Western religion is outside
your spirituality different?" the purview of our three-dimensional
As those of us hard-core metaphysical reality.
types know, you can't really say that Which leads us to another interesting
there is any one set of beliefs that all hallmark of contemporary metaphysics and
"New Agers" are into. (As a matter of the "New Age:" the spirituality is
fact, the term "New Age" or "New Ager" is experiential.
somewhat distasteful to many into And some of the causative factors
metaphysics.) The New Age "movement" is involved with this experiencing of
a widely diversified conglomerate of spirituality are somewhat understandable.
subsets of ideas and explorations - so Many have theorized that the current
truly diversified that one could hardly interest in spirituality and metaphysics
ascribe the term "movement" to it, as may in part be viewed as a reaction
this term connotes a cohesive, unified against the Age of Reason and the
organization. One person into crystals perceived pursuant overemphasis on the
and spirit guides, for example, may not strictly material and empirical - that
be into UFO abduction phenomena. And there is a longing for the transcendently
those into paganism or magick may not spiritual, instead of feeling bogged down
necessarily break bread together well in a strict immersion in the physical.
with those into angels or Christed I. e., after a couple of centuries of
energy. emphasis on the empirically provable and
So, what is it that links those of us concrete, there is a longingfor the
into metaphysics and the New Age spiritual as an antidote.
together? What are the common threads? Just as the Age of Reason spawned a
First of all, let's look at the terms golden age for science and intellect,
themselves, so that we may gain some Western religions became more oriented
insight into what we are identifying toward beliefs and religious practices
ourselves with. that grew out of and drew upon the left
"Metaphysics" is a term derived from the brain - i. e., in religious beliefs and
Greek: "meta" is a prefix meaning beyond practices, we stayed in our heads.
or greater than and "physics" refers to At the same time, Western religions have
that which is physical (or at least what traditionally encouraged adherents to
we as a culture understand at the present cede control to the church and its
time to be our physical reality). Thus, authority, rather than encouraging
we can thank Greek for our term believers to take individual
metaphysics - the realm of that which responsibility for their own
transcends physical reality. spirituality. This approach worked for
The term "New Age," on the other hand, centuries until the advent of more public
does not have such a lengthy history or education and the resultant higher
tradition. Ostensibly coined during the education of the populace. Education
60's (1960's, not the 19th or any other leads to empowerment.
century prior to this one), the term "New Small wonder, then, that New Agers and
Age" referred to the new astrological age those into metaphysics want to experience
we Earthlings were on the cusp of their spirituality, so that they may feel
entering: the Age of Aquarius. (We had it, rather than simply think it, and that
been in the Age of Pisces, we were told, they want to have some control over their
for about 2000 years.) practice or manifestation of it, rather
On the face of it, it might appear that than strictly going through an external
metaphysics and the New Age might not intermediary. This shift to a feeling of
have anything intrinsically in common. control over one's expression of
However, one common link would appear to spirituality also reflects the trend
be that of spirituality. For example, towards personal responsibility, as well
little would seem to light up the eyes of as personal empowerment.
those into metaphysics more than a Experiential spirituality may be
discussion of those things spiritual. expressed in various ways: some learn to
What transcends our so-called physical meditate to tap into the divine; some are
reality more than spirit? sensitized to the divine in nature and
With regard to the New Age, one hallmark animals; some become healers or receive
of the transition from the Piscean to the healing work; some seek to tap into the
Aquarian Age is the anticipated shift in divine and receive guidance; etc. The
consciousness, whether it is defined as a list goes on and on….
vibrational frequency shift precipitated Experiential spirituality shifts
by our approach to and entrance into the spirituality from something "out there,"
Photon Belt or is defined as an awakening impersonal, and external, to an
and concurrent "raising of awareness" internalization of the divine. Aside
brought about by astrological influences from this making more people mystics
and energies. Consciousness is also the because they transcend the physical in
stuff that dreams - and matters spiritual their spiritual explorations, it also
- are made of. represents a democritization of the
Thus, one link between metaphysics and spiritual, whereby we take control of our
the New Age "movement" would appear to be spirituality, get out of being
spirituality and consciousness - those exclusively in our heads and move into
topics deemed insubstantial and our hearts (and hopefully then move
ephemeral, at least to the minds of those towards linking our hearts and our
more pragmatic, empirical, and skeptical minds), and take personal responsibility
among us. for understanding our personal beliefs
The above may represent somewhat of an and acting accordingly. (Another
oversimplification, but we may be interesting reflection of the trend in
hard-pressed to find a New Ager or our world toward democracy….)
someone into metaphysics who wasn't It is through experiential spirituality
basically pursuing some facet of that we truly come to know what we
spirituality, consciousness, or energy (a believe and what we resonate with. It is
basic building block of reality and that a knowing akin to gnosis, where what we
which may be affected by consciousness experience becomes a knowing that is a
and spirituality). true knowing - because we've been there.
And this emphasis on spirituality and Which is quite different from believing
consciousness reflects an acknowledgment in ism's , creeds, and tenets we've been
that we are, in essence, spiritual beings told by external agents or authorities
- and beings of pure energy, as are true, but that we haven't truly
consciousness is a form of energy - even experienced.
though we are "in the body." As Wayne So, "what is metaphysics?" "What are you
Dyer says, "We are spiritual beings into?" The next time someone asks us
having a human experience." Or, as where we're coming from with our
Deepak Chopra says, our bodies are "metaphysical stuff," maybe the notion of
contained within our consciousness, not experiential spirituality and real gnosis
our consciousness contained within our may be some grist for our mill in
bodies. grinding out our answer.
Many people have attempted to compare First published in the March 1996 issue
traditional religion and metaphysics, of "Innerchange.






1 - A - B - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32 - 33 - 34 - 35 - 36 - 37 - 38 - 39 - 40 - 41 - 42 - 43 - 44 - 45 -