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We offer coaching and training on
happiness, resolving family chaos and better relationships.
Brief New Age History
In the 19th century, the philosophy of a mental healer named Phineas Quimby
became the basis of the then-popular New Thought Movement, which was later relabeled as
positive thinking. Quimby wrote that
people can assist the evolution of
the human race by creating a New Age of healing and enlightenment.
Phineas Quimby was famous for healing
disease by changing people's beliefs. Quimby's concepts provided the raw
material adopted by both the Unitarian and Christian Science
churches, and by the New Thought and Positive Thinking
movements that later swept America. It is ironic that Quimby's philosophy about
changing beliefs is now part of mainstream Western beliefs.
Phineas Quimby
. Roots of
Soulwork
Over a hundred years later, groups of people with diverse
agendas are spreading philosophies generally called New Age. Some
organized religions, perhaps feeling the heat of competition and the chill
of reduced membership, condemn New Age members and their beliefs. Monopolies
hate competition.
Some people who
might appear to be part of this New Age movement avoid a New Age label, and
do not consider themselves members, although they may
cherish core New Age goals and concepts.
Core New Age Goals & Concepts
New Age groups share a common goal directions, but not
leaders, dogma nor organizational structures. These diverse spiritual, social
and political groups appear to share an abstract agenda - to transform
society through individual spiritual transformation.
As spiritual transformation encourages open-ended development
and change, people associated with New Age organizations frequently change their
beliefs, goals and perspectives. However, most members of New Age groups seem
to share three interwoven core concepts.
- Individual people can control their own spiritual
development
- Spiritual development
can bring social transformation
- Social transformation can
end racism, poverty, sickness and war
Soulwork Systemic Coaching
Our systemic coaching is sometimes
perceived as New Age as we may appear to include some core
New Age concepts - at least if spiritual and spirituality are
defined systemically, in terms of relationship systems (e.g. families, groups,
organizations, communities and humanity). Common New Age Beliefs
New Age beliefs tend to be diverse and transitory, more
useful as milestones than as stable dogma. Answers to the question
"Who are you?" may indicate a person's name,
or the last book read or workshop attended. However,
some beliefs are held sacred by many members of New Age groups:
- Monism: "
All is one." Everything and everyone is interrelated
and interdependent. There is no real difference between humans, animals,
rocks or gods. Differences between entities are subjective and not objective.
- Pantheism: If "
all is one" then "All is divine."
All creation shares a divine essence.
All life (and even non-life) shares and reflects divinity.
- Divinity: If "all is
one" and "all is divine" then "
We have forgotten our divinity".
Yet we can remember our connectedness and experience our integration
with "all that is".
- Consciousness: People
suffer collective metaphysical amnesia. If we experience our true identity,
we can transform our consciousness to fulfill our human potential.
- Reincarnation: Cycles of birth,
death, and reincarnation reflect karma (consequences)
and allow perfection. Your condition is determined by your past (life)
actions.
- Moral relativism. All truth
is relative, rather than black or white polarities. Conflicting statements
can be accepted, for example,
"Every religion is true" or "There are
many paths to the One".
Core Soulwork Beliefs
Although we loosely define beliefs as "feelings of
certainty about verbal statements", many of our graduates hold some
stable beliefs :
- Creativity: Creation reflects
an unmanifest potential that can be experienced
- Connectedness: People,
values, emotions, beliefs, symptoms, behaviors and environment are related
and interconnected
- Relationships: Human life
includes a hierarchy of relationship responsibilities
- Integrity: A human being can
always choose to act with integrity
- Love: There is no limit on
the happiness of expressing appropriate love
- Happiness: The primary pleasant
desire that motivates development
- Suffering: The primary unpleasant
complaint that motivates
development
- Consequences: All actions have
consequences - irrelevant of intentions
Consequences
Not all New Age activities lead towards individual or
societal transformation. Immature people may use New Age jargon and concepts
to justify depressing or distressing lifestyles. Abstract concepts such as
"Everything is karma" and "We are all one anyway"
may be used to justify foolish, psychotic, dangerous or criminal behavior.
The consequences of such beliefs may include:
- Abuse of psychoactive drugs
- Promiscuity and venereal disease
- Naivety and diminished responsibility
- Becoming lost in abstract philosophies
- Becoming bonded to cults or cult leaders
- Addiction to workshops, therapy or the latest craze
(we call them psychoholics)
Coaching Teenagers .
Coaching Young Adults .
Coaching Older Clients
Suffering
New Age organizations often welcome the emotionally hurt
who could not find lasting solutions in Western medicine or
clinical psychology. New Age members often advocate alternative holistic and
natural healing practices such as massage, natural food, homeopathy,
breathing and acupuncture.
New Agers often promote spiritual healing and aboriginal
healing traditions; and they may seek to
integrate divination (astrology, tarot etc) with
medicine, physics, psychiatry and psychotherapy.
Have
you suffered enough to change?
Is Systemic Coaching New Age?
Our systemic coaching includes some New Age ideals while
including and integrating paths of emotional, intellectual and spiritual
development. Our work is focused on living lives that make sense, although we do
not tell people what should make sense. Some things that make
sense to us are:
- Physical comfort can include an awareness of
coincidences
- Family togetherness can include respecting
dead ancestors
- Respect for power can include protecting weaker
members
- Stable security can include safety, justice and fairness
- Material success can include material donations to the
community
- Community equality can include diverse
interests and expressions
- Integrating complex systems can include social
projects
- Global citizenship can include a whole-world
spirituality
Sense of Life
You can integrate
these socio-spiritual levels as part of your sense of life, however,
sense-of-life may only make sense after you sort out your relationships,
beliefs, guilt and conflicts. Members of New Age groups are often attracted
to our systemic coaching to find practical ways to fulfill their spiritual
agenda. We coach motivated adults to achieve their goals.
Would you like to
benefit from our experience?
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© Martyn Carruthers 2004-2010 All rights reserved |
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