New Age Link

Wikipedia has an entry on New Age, and uses “New Age” as a category container for related entries.
Wikipedia entries evolve. The main entry seems to have started in December 2001. The current version deals with the New Age, both as a social event and as a set of ideas, in an accurate and descriptive way, catching the main social, economic, ideological and psychological features of the New Age event. Some of the Wikipedia entries within the New Age category are fragmentary, and some of them tend to promote particular New Age systems. The entry on neuro-linguistic programming as presently written, tends to promote a movement that has much in common with Scientology. The entries miss a lot, which is natural. The New Age is an amorphous, fluid movement. Some of the omissions are large. The book stores and Web pages presently are pushing a lot of words about about Energy and Intention. Wikipedia presently only has a stub entry on Spiritual Energy. It has a good page on Intentionality as a branch of the philosophy of mind, but only a stub page on New Age guru of the Power of Intentions, Wayne Dyer.
The Wikipedia steps gently around issues of character and temperament. New Agers try to project an air of detachment, but they protect themselves and the sense of satisfaction they get from their beliefs, practics and associations by avoiding scrutiny and debate, and by promoting beliefs that blame and criticize their critics. The New Age has a smorgasboard (or should I say a dim sum menu) of beliefs and values to insulate New Age believers from conflicting beliefs and values. I noticed an entry on Energy Vampires. I also noticed an entry on Personal Reality – the perfect marriage of New Age beliefs with one stream of postmodern theory.


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