07-14-2012, 12:00 AM
Narcissism and Spiritual Materialism: The New Age Legacy
http://www.engaged-zen.or...utsu-New_Age_Legacy.html
The "New Age" movement, if indeed it can be referred to as
a movement, appears to be a desperate effort of people
attempting to find the spirituality that is totally lacking in
the dominant culture. Dominant here means more than mainstream,
for domination is an integral element of the pervasive
materialistic and conquest based culture of the West. The
power-over dynamic and materialistic nature of Western culture is
a product of conquest and subjugation that grew out of European
feudalism, patriarchism, theocratic dictatorship and
opportunistic desire to wield power over other beings. The entire
history of what we are taught is "civilization" is in short a
story of conquest, written by the conquerors with their purposes
in mind. This element of conquest is the backbone of materialism
and the materialistic psychology that enables people to visualize
their entire world as objects that can be manipulated for
selfish gain, this manipulation includes people. Materialism and
the principle of conquest are driving forces in the efforts of
groups to control the lives of others. Efforts to legislate
morality, attempts to mold society to arbitrary standards
developed by religious groups based on belief systems all rely on
the conquest principle, the subjugation of others.
What is perhaps no so apparent, is the degree to which this
paradigm permeates our personal lives on a day to day basis.
The conquest paradigm has disconsciously been incorporated into
our psychology in ways that are far from apparent.
The conquest paradigm by its nature is diametrically in
opposition to spirituality, and when practiced leaves no room for
the freedom of spirituality, no room to breathe. The root of
spirituality is "spiritus" the Latin word for breath, the essence
of life itself.
http://www.engaged-zen.or...utsu-New_Age_Legacy.html
The "New Age" movement, if indeed it can be referred to as
a movement, appears to be a desperate effort of people
attempting to find the spirituality that is totally lacking in
the dominant culture. Dominant here means more than mainstream,
for domination is an integral element of the pervasive
materialistic and conquest based culture of the West. The
power-over dynamic and materialistic nature of Western culture is
a product of conquest and subjugation that grew out of European
feudalism, patriarchism, theocratic dictatorship and
opportunistic desire to wield power over other beings. The entire
history of what we are taught is "civilization" is in short a
story of conquest, written by the conquerors with their purposes
in mind. This element of conquest is the backbone of materialism
and the materialistic psychology that enables people to visualize
their entire world as objects that can be manipulated for
selfish gain, this manipulation includes people. Materialism and
the principle of conquest are driving forces in the efforts of
groups to control the lives of others. Efforts to legislate
morality, attempts to mold society to arbitrary standards
developed by religious groups based on belief systems all rely on
the conquest principle, the subjugation of others.
What is perhaps no so apparent, is the degree to which this
paradigm permeates our personal lives on a day to day basis.
The conquest paradigm has disconsciously been incorporated into
our psychology in ways that are far from apparent.
The conquest paradigm by its nature is diametrically in
opposition to spirituality, and when practiced leaves no room for
the freedom of spirituality, no room to breathe. The root of
spirituality is "spiritus" the Latin word for breath, the essence
of life itself.