What is "New Age"?

[wil]

Definition: of or pertaining to a contemporary cultural movement characterized by a concern with spiritual consciousness and variously combining belief in reincarnation and astrology with such practices as meditation, vegetarianism, and holistic medicine.

Sort of like woke which is compassion for your fellow man and our planet, New Age is basically a made up term/category used by some to deride others...

But interfaith would fit under both umbrellas, new age and woke...acceptance and explorations of the beliefs and considerations of others "feelings" is not normal in most societies it appears.

New Age is what some old farts like to call things that don't fit their paradigm...says this old fart.

As a carpenter who started out with handplanes and screwdrivers and hammers.. I appreciate cordless nailguns, drills, and all the modern tools.

As a seeker, I appreciate Renewal Judaism, Sufism, New thought Christianity and being allowed to explore without folks "shoulding" all over me. I don't think that is new age...but rather a form of religious freedom.

 

[JustGeorge]

Sometimes the term 'New Age' confuses me, as to where it begins/ends, and who is a part of it.

From the outside, it seems like a rather open view of life where one takes teachings and practices from various places and uses them to better their lives. Sometimes this is a real positive, when respect and honor are given to the roots of a line of study, sometimes its not so honorable when a person ignores those things.

 

[RJM]

Definition: of or pertaining to a contemporary cultural movement characterized by a concern with spiritual consciousness and variously combining belief in reincarnation and astrology with such practices as meditation, vegetarianism, and holistic medicine.

Sort of like woke which is compassion for your fellow man and our planet, New Age is basically a made up term/category used by some to deride others...

But interfaith would fit under both umbrellas, new age and woke...acceptance and explorations of the beliefs and considerations of others "feelings" is not normal in most societies it appears.

New Age is what some old farts like to call things that don't fit their paradigm...says this old fart.

As a carpenter who started out with handplanes and screwdrivers and hammers.. I appreciate cordless nailguns, drills, and all the modern tools.

As a seeker, I appreciate Renewal Judaism, Sufism, New thought Christianity and being allowed to explore without folks "shoulding" all over me. I don't think that is new age...but rather a form of religious freedom.

I believe it refers to the passing from the old age of Pisces into the new age of Aquarius?

Age of Aquarius - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

47 seconds

 

[Faithfulservant]

I always thought of it like spiritism with things like a mix of astrology crystals yoga astral projection and sage burning.

 

[TheLightWithin]

I think it is very eclectic and therefore hard to pin down. Beliefs in reincarnation, with or without heavy focus on Eastern spirituality, psychics, and something a bit like animism with the idea of spiritual energy. Sometimes beliefs in the paranormal overlap. My mom disliked organized religion but apparently didn't mind disorganized religions, having New Age leanings spiritually.

 

[wil]

Definitely a huge umbrella and I imagine what all is comsidered.under it would not only vary believer to believer in a portion of its tools, but also from naysayers to naysayers and every.combination in between.

 

[Leveller]

Definitely a huge umbrella and I imagine what all is comsidered.under it would not only vary believer to believer in a portion of its tools, but also from naysayers to naysayers and every.combination in between.

Yes, that has been my experience. I can't say that I have studied the subject, but I have spent a lot of time in places that were popular with 'new age types.' Nothing that I saw or heard made me consider them a movement. I never met two with the same belief. It was as Wil wrote, "every combination".

Another problem was that spiritually there generally was tolerance and respect, but once broader issues arose things got seriously strange with many but certainly not all. There were holocaust deniers, climate change deniers, crop circles are the work of aliens believers. One young man would only converse seriously if you did not refer to books or newspapers, the printed word was the product of "them." If it was something that you had heard from a friend, that was acceptable. There were many more examples.

The above of course represent my understanding of "new age." My spirituality is eclectic. A mix of Buddhism and Modern Druidry. I dare say that to some I am new age. I can only conclude that the term is of very limited descriptive value.