Whats with all this "new age" hype?

When I began my spiritual journey many years ago, I struggled to find what category of belief system I belonged to.  Starting with Pagan beliefs and witchcraft I was not only intimidated but confused at to which "category" of witch I belonged to. As time went on, I veered away from that study and began reading into buddhism and Zen, and the cycle of study and resonation went on and on and on.
Eventually finding my way to the new age believers of Angel lovers and the "Love and Light" cult
(I use the word cult very loosely here). After finally becoming confident in my beliefs as a "non denominational (non affiliated) minister" I began to notice how obsessive and clique-ish people were with their "spiritual" label and the "new age" hype.

It wasn't until I stumbled across the Abraham-hicks phenomenon that I began to notice people claiming to be loving and powerful and spiritual and "in their vortex" as an excuse for being (excuse my French) pieces of shit.
I loved the message and her quick wit to give answers, but a red flag was constantly going off internally each time I bought in. I mean really, Would Jesus or any true prophet be charging people HUNDREDS of dollars for a single seminar or hold them on cruises, I think not.
Don't get me wrong, I find joy in a diverse amount of beliefs, some of them being groups I listed above, but what got me is how close minded some of the people in these groups really were, and how they were living and preaching the same shame and demonizing beliefs I found to ring true in a lot of the Christianity and baptist beliefs that I grew up with . Same shit , different face.

Example :
Because you aren't in a close relationship with (the christian) God,  Or you betrayed him in some way, its the reason you got fired from your job. or You have cancer because God is punishing you , you're divorced etc etc.

This is one of the many shame-based beliefs that steered me away from christianity, and allowed me "refuge" in the new age movement of angel lovers and the "love and light" cult.
(There are plenty of people in each group who are genuine and wonderful people, thank each of them for that. )
Each system of teaching holds the potential for purity in intention and having a great message. The latter shows there is also a lot of programs and systems preying on these same people, as well.

The obsession with believing just this and not only that but the sort of diluted disbelief in the true nature of chaos and "evil" is a red flag indeed. We can't simply ignore the bad and negative and only pay attention to the "positive" and if we even for 15 seconds think about something nasty we will attract it to ourselves.
What a sham.
If we were truly as instantly powerful as some of these systems of beliefs make it sound like, the world would be in so much more freaking chaos and disarray, that it would have already imploded.

The law of attraction is an absolute, but what they don't tell you, is that in order to manifest something, you have to literally work and focus on it for some time.
You are rewarded for hard work, perseverance and TRUE faith.
Listen, You don't bring shitty people into your life because you were grumpy one day, sometimes shit just happens. You ARE  however responsible for allowing those shitty people to stay there though, you see the difference ?
If you're constantly thinking that everything is a message to you, or about "attracting" negative things into your experience, obsessed with "balancing" your chakras, or literally taking everything personally you're missing out on the point of a spiritual journey.

There is a belief system of new age "spirituality" that is teaching open and vulnerable people that because something negative has happened to them (chronic sickness, disease, sexual assault, money issues etc) it is because they brought it upon themselves.  Sound familiar ?
Some of these "new age" teachings are cramming "positivity" down the throat of those who felt rejected and outside of mainstream religion , sucking them in with that, and then laying down THE SAME fear mongering and shame based beliefs as mainstream religion does.
I am disturbed by this, and sad at the amount of people who are falling for it.
Sure, Karma is absolutely possible, but so is the err in genetics and the probability of cancer.
I hate to break it to you, but you're SO much more likely to get cancer from addiction, poor body care, or cancer prone genetics, than you are from having a crappy relationship with Spirit (in this life or a previous.)

https://theoutline.com/post/350/the-sickening-business-of-wellness

This "new age" obsession, is doing the same sort of shit and division that mainstream religion has been doing for generations. Separation by fear mongering and judgement.
How about the concept of "shedding ego" or "eliminating" ego. The idea is practical, set aside selfish and reaction driven lifestyles , but the idea that you can eliminate an aspect of your humanity is illusionary.
The "ego" as they label it is directly linked to your personality so in essence they are asking you to emerge yourself in a sort of disillusion of who you have developed into over the years and float around on a cloud all day, denying the experiences of your years.
When you deny yourself an embrace of all aspects of who you are, (the good and bad) you suppress these things and create unhealthy barriers in your subconscious. You cannot eliminate your ego, I'm sorry to say,  but you can bring it into balance everyday and in a sense "tame" that aspect of you.
balance darlings, balance.

Spirituality/ religious beliefs/ journey of self discovery whatever you want to call it, you know damn well in your whole being and heart that it has nothing to do with being labeled something or following a certain trend, but more to do with the experience and feeling of the journey.
So what if you want to burn sage to cleanse your home, play with oracle cards and also go to church on Sunday, you shouldn't have to feel shame in being diverse with your beliefs.

I encourage every single person to delve into the true depths of themselves and discover the niche of their spiritual journey.
Labels can feel comfortable, and the feeling of belonging Is wonderful, but so is finding random individuals that you can vibe with, share wonderful experiences, insights etc with free of labels and expectation.
Not a single person has the same experience or journey with spirituality as you.

You and your partner are both pagan, christian (whatever) thats awesome but  I bet they have some great rituals / practices that you don't really resonate with but you respect them for it, so you stick to what feels good and right to you.
Thats the wonderful thing about a personal journey, its just that, magical and personal.

Do your best to not get caught up in the hype, or guilted by the fear mongering of ANY belief system. focus on your journey and you'll find every belief, ritual and way of praising that is right and good for you. sometimes Its one thing from this belief, and another from this.
You shouldn't have to feel obligated to follow alll of something just because you agree with one thing they teach. No one is going to hate you for being diverse, and if they do, screw them.  Be true to you and ALWAYS question things. No matter how pretty and appealing its presented.

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to comment, share and below are a few links to expand your thinking and to break free of the hype

Don't be deceived

Do discern teachings and belief systems


E.B