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.
Category: The Bazaar
Seances, Carlos Castaneda etc
Following the links from an essay, featured at AL Daily, published in the San Franciso Journal called “Leaving the Left“, I reached the web site of Keith Thompson, a writer in California. His site includes some of his freelance articles and essays including his interview of the writer and fakir Carlos Castaneda, and a magazine piece about a seance.
Mediums get Small grant
A quick peek at the news from New Zealand – spiritualists get a civic grant to fund a counselling service.
Novel Perspectives???
Yesterday, I posted a link to The Onion’s satire about fictionology. today, a perfect example of an intelligent person who chooses a value system that lets her choose fiction over fact because it helps her to feels better about herself. Check out this essay by Martha Montello, Novel Perspectives on Bioethics at the Chronicles of Higher Education. She argues that we ought to be learning our ethics from fiction, and base our moral decisions on fairy tales and science fiction.
For a laugh
Since this is from The Onion, I guess it’s satire. It’s an unfortunately believable story about cults and postmodern ideas about making up the religion you want. It’s called “Scientology losing Ground to New Fictionology.”
Holy Comets
A Russian astrologer is suing NASA because a space mission, Deep Impact, is going to fire an explosive impactor into the Tempel-1 Comet. It’s against her religion. The story from SciAm Perspectives, the Web log of the editors of Scientific American, and from MosNews an English language Russian News service.
Cleansing
There was an ad in the first section of today’s Free Press (Sat. March 5/05) for herbal and fiber “cleansing” products. It talked about getting rid of toxins by 7 cleansing channels – didn’t say which channels. The two channels that get the most attention in the marketplace are colon (aka bowel or large intestine) and kidney/bladder. Google “cleansing” or “cleansing toxins” and see what the engine drags from the dregs of the Web.
Fakir on Tour
Last week the Free Press was running ads for Deepak Chopra’s visit to Winnipeg among the movie ads in the entertainment section. The show is called “An Evening with Deepak Chopra”, it’s at the Concert Hall on April 21, and ticket prices are from $45.00 to $150.00. Chopra is a best-selling author, an inspirational speaker, and he is associated with a luxury retreat spa. This article by Guardian columnist and author Francis Wheen estimated his income at $20 million a year, including $8 million from the retreat center.
Moses and the Nice Commandments
British broadcast journalist Jon Snow of TV4 has run a poll to have Britons vote on a modern restatement of the 10 commandments. The new list seems to run to 20 and includes try your best, be honest, be true to yourself, enjoy life, nothing in excess, live within your means, appreciate what you have, never be violent, never kill, be true to your god, enjoy life (sex, drugs, chocolate??) and protect the environment (put the toilet seat down, flush/don’t flush???). Although they sound bland, it isn’t a bad set of moral principles, if we knew what they all really meant. There is a marked underemphasis on worship and fidelity to belief, and some emphasis on being nice. Sweet waffles for principles.
Healing Energy
A story from the Guardian about the practitioners of energy medicine and faith healing questions studies that claim to show this stuff works. The writer treats New Age therapies like Reiki, some forms of Asian traditional medicine, and prayer as different versions of faith healing and that’s a reasonable approach. They all “work” by mysterious mechanisms.