The term New Age refers to the coming astrological Age of Aquarius, an age of love, light and humanity (unlike the previous Age of Pisces).
The New Age movement is a decentralized Western social and spiritual movement that seeks "Universal Truth" and the attainment of the highest individual human potential. It draws from elements of older spiritual and religious traditions, and includes aspects of astrology, esotericism, metaphysics, alternative medicine, psychology, music, collectivism, sustainability, and nature. New Age spirituality is characterized by an individual approach to spiritual practices and philosophies, and the rejection of religious doctrine and dogma. Another term for the movement is Mind-Body-Spirit.
History
The roots of the New Age movement can be traced back to the 19th century metaphysical movements such as Spiritualism, Transcendentalism, Theosophy, and New Thought. These in turn drew from much older Eastern philosophies, and Western esoteric or occult traditions, such as astrology, magic, alchemy, Kabbalah, and wicca. The term New Age was used in The Secret Doctrine (1988), by H P Blavatsky, the founder of the Theosophical Society. A weekly journal of Christian liberalism and socialism titled The New Age was published from 1894. Key early 20th century influences include Alice Bailey, Edgar Cayce, G. I. Gurdjieff, Carl Jung, and Rudolf Steiner. Alice Bailey's book Discipleship in the New Age (1944) used the term New Age in reference to the transition from the Astrological Age of Pisces to Aquarius. Another early use of the term was by the American artist, mystic, and philosopher Walter Russell, who spoke of "... this New Age philosophy of the spiritual re-awakening of man ..." in his essay "Power Through Knowledge" (1944).The modern New Age movement emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s, with The Findhorn Foundation – an intentional community near Findhorn, Moray, Scotland founded in 1962 – playing an instrumental role. Widespread use of the term New Age began in the mid 1970s (reflected in the title of monthly periodical New Age Journal) and thousands of small metaphysical book and gift stores increasingly defined themselves as "New Age". The movement gained momentum in the 1980s particularly as a result of the large-scale activities surrounding the Harmonic Convergence in the mid 1980s. The term "New Age" was then further popularised by the American mass media to describe the alternative spiritual subculture – including practices such as meditation, channeling, crystal healing, astral projection, psychic experience, holistic health, simple living, and environmentalism; or belief in phenomena such as Earth mysteries, ancient astronauts, extraterrestrial life, unidentified flying objects, crop circles, and reincarnation.
Key moments in raising public awareness of this subculture include: the publication of Linda Goodman's best selling astrology books Sun Signs (1968) and Love Signs (1978); Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical (1967) with the opening song "Aquarius" and its memorable line "This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius"; the broadcast of Shirley MacLaine's television mini-series Out on a Limb (1987); and the Harmonic Convergence (1987) organized by José Argüelles in Sedona, Arizona (this claimed a great shift in the earth’s energy from warlike to peaceful, would usher in a five-year period of Earth's "cleansing", whereby many of the planet's "false structures of separation" would collapse, as was evidenced subsequently by the breakup of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the ending of apartheid in South Africa). Also influential were the claims of channelers Jane Roberts (the Seth Material) and J. Z. Knight (Ramtha), as well as revealed writings A Course in Miracles (1976) by Helen Schucman, The Celestine Prophecy (1993) by James Redfield, and Conversations with God (1995) by Neale Donald Walsch. Relevant works also include the writings of Eckhart Tolle, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, John Holland, Gary Zukav, and Wayne Dyer; also, The Secret (2006) by Rhonda Byrne, which was based on the writings of Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks.
Beliefs
New Age writers argue people should follow their own individual path to spirituality, rather than following religious dogma. . But, while there is no unified belief system, many spiritual practices and philosophies are common among adherents of the New Age movement.There is a general and abstract idea of God, which is understood in various ways. There is belief in spiritual guides, which may be extraterrestial, or spiritual beings such as gods, angels, ascended masters, elementals, ghosts, and faeries. There is a general acceptance that consciousness persists after death, as life in different forms: the afterlife exists for further learning through the form of a spirit, reincarnation and/or near-death experiences. There is typically no belief in the traditional Christian or Islamic concepts of hell as eternal damnation.
There is a belief in astrology, and the current astrological dawning of the Age of Aquarius is seen as ushering in various changes in the world, as human consciousness rises towards increasing enlightenment.
There is a belief that life has a purpose, and that synchronicity exists, i.e. coincidences have spiritual meaning and lessons to teach those who are open to them. Also, that everything is universally connected through God and participates in the same energy, and that there is a cosmic goal, towards which all entities are (knowingly or unknowingly) cooperating. Relationships between people are seen as opportunities to learn about one's self, and these relationships are destined to be repeated, in different incarnations, until they are healthy.
There is a belief that the human mind has much greater potential than that ascribed to it by science, and that the mind is capable of overriding physical reality. Thought is seen as creating reality, so that positive thinking, supported by affirmations, will achieve success in anything, Also, a certain critical mass of people with a highly spiritual consciousness will bring about a sudden change in the whole population: therefore we have a responsibility to take part in positive creative activity and to work to heal ourselves, each other and the planet. Similarly, it is believed that humans have great potential healing powers, such as therapeutic touch, which can be developed to heal others through touch or at a distance.
Psychic perception is taken for granted, and it is believed that certain geographic locations emanate psychic energy, sometimes through ley lines, and were considered sacred in pagan religions throughout the world.
It is commonly held that there exist certain forces, which are independent of spiritual beings or agencies and distinct from forces defined by science, such as gravitation and electromagnetism. These forces are elemental in nature and operate in an automatic manner as part of the natural order, for example causing seeds to sprout, grow, and bloom, etc. These forces, and everything else, are energized by a mystical power that exists in varying degrees in all things. This power is transferable, through physical contact, sensory perception, or mere proximity. Power may be accumulated or depleted in a person or object through a variety of mechanisms, including fate and esoteric practices. This power is held to be physically observable as an aura or subtle body and psi energy. The concept of vital force, that exists in many traditional belief systems, finds its expression in New Age concepts such as the energies in therapeutic touch or reiki, and ideas of flowing streams of power in the Earth, like ley lines in Britain and Europe, and Earth energies in feng shui.
Similarly, all beings are accompanied (or consist of) a specific, intentional energy, which corresponds to their consciousness, and which is independent of their corporeal existence. This energy remains in some form after physical death.
Diet and Health
Diet is seen is influencing both the mind and body: it is generally considered preferable to practice vegetarianism, and to eat fresh organic food, which is locally grown and in season. Also, that fasting can help achieve higher levels of consciousness.Various Eastern practices are embraced, such as meditation, yoga, tantra, martial arts, tai chi chuan, falun gong, qigong, feng shui, reflexology, and reiki. Similarly, western esoteric practices are embraced, such as Tarot, Kabbalah, sacred geometry, numerology, and gnosticism. Also, quantum mechanics, parapsychology, and the Gaia hypothesis have been used in quantum mysticism to validate spiritual principles. Authors Deepak Chopra, Fritjof Capra, Fred Alan Wolf, and Gary Zukav have linked quantum mechanics to New Age spirituality, which is presented in the film What the Bleep Do We Know!? (2004). Similarly, the Law of Attraction - related to New Thought - is presented in the film The Secret (2006).
Practitioners of New Age spirituality tend to use alternative medicine in addition to or in place of conventional medicine: these include therapeutic touch, homeopathy, chiropractic, Chinese medicine, ayurveda, naturopathy, and crystal healing.