|
We offer coaching and training on
emotions, healthy relationships and spiritual blocks.
As we become global citizens in our words
and deeds, we can learn to work together for peace and sustainability. Support
and participate in a culture of respect and compassion. Help heal our planet to
create a world based on wisdom and harmony.
Hawaiian Shamanic Coaching
. Hawaiian Spirituality
. Ancient Egyptian Healing
Brief History of New Age
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. We
consider Quimby to be the grandfather of the current New Age movement.
Quimby was famous for healing disease by changing
people's beliefs. This remains a radical notion for many people,
although it is a notion that we apply often. Quimby's concepts provided the raw
material adopted by both the Unitarian and Christian Science
churches, (Mary Baker Eddy was a patient and later a student of Quimby).
Quimby's work formed a basis for the New Thought
and Positive Thinking movements that swept America, which evolved
into what is often called the New Age movement. Now, over a hundred years
later, groups of people with diverse agendas are spreading philosophies
generally called New Age.
Some organized religions, perhaps feeling both the heat of
competition and the chills of reduced membership, condemn New Age members and
their beliefs. Monopolies hate competition.
Some people consider us to be part of this New Age movement yet we
try to avoid New Age labels, and we do not consider ourselves members, although
some of us may
cherish some core New Age goals and concepts.
Core New Age Goals & Concepts
New Age groups seem to 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.
- People can control their own spiritual
development
- Spiritual development
will result in social transformation
- Social transformation can
end racism, poverty, sickness and war
Soulwork Systemic Coaching
Our systemic solutions are sometimes perceived as New Age,
as many of our graduates use some core New Age concepts - especially if spiritual
and spirituality are defined in terms of relationship systems (e.g. families,
groups, organizations, communities, humanity and universe).
We find that a common and rather huge block on the road to
maturity and mature spirituality are the childish desires to feel special
- to be better - to be unique.
Recover
from Covert Incest
Common New Age Beliefs
The beliefs held by people who may call themselves
New Age tend to be diverse and transitory, perhaps more
useful as stepping stones than as a stable dogma. Answers to the question
"Who are you?" may indicate a person's name, or the
last book read or the most recent workshop attended. However, some
beliefs appear to be important to many members of different 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 can find our true identity,
we can transform our consciousness to fulfill our human potential.
- Reincarnation: Cycles of birth
and
death reflect consequences (karma)
of past actions and allow perfection. People's conditions are determined
by their past (life) actions.
- Moral relativism. Truth is
relative, rather than absolute. Conflicting beliefs
can be accepted without stress, for example,
"Every religion is true" or "There are
many paths to the One".
Core Soulwork Beliefs
Although I loosely define beliefs as "feelings of
certainty about verbal statements", many of my graduates seem to
hold some more-or-less stable beliefs:
- Creativity: Creation reflects
an unmanifest potential that can be experienced
- Connectedness: Emotions,
beliefs, symptoms, behaviors and happiness are interconnected
- Relationships: Human life
includes a hierarchy of relationship responsibilities
- Integrity: Human beings
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 often appear to use New Age jargon to justify depressing or distressing lifestyles.
A shadow side of New Age may be people's attempts to escape emotional issues
by labeling strange ideas as "spirituality" and clinging to those ideas in
ways rather similar to people entangled in fundamental religions.
Abstract beliefs
such as "Everything is love" or "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 and obedient to cults or cult leaders
- Addiction to workshops, therapy or the latest craze
(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 aboriginal
healing traditions; and they may seek to integrate spirituality, divination (astrology,
tarot etc) with medicine, physics, psychiatry and psychotherapy. It seems that
any combination can work ... for a short time!
Have
you suffered enough to change?
Is Systemic Coaching New Age?
Our 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
most of 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 ongoing 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
participating in social projects
- Global citizenship can include a global
spirituality that transcends spiritual traditions.
You can explore these concepts as part of your sense of
life, however, your sense-of-life may only make sense after you clarify
your relationships, beliefs, guilt and conflicts. Members of New Age groups
are often attracted to our systemic solutions to find practical help for
fulfilling their emotional, relationship and spiritual lives. We help
people define and fulfill their goals.
Beyond all the different religions and ideologies, beyond
all the concepts and myths, you can make a courageous commitment to yourself,
your family, your community and your planet. You can understand and transcend self-serving perspectives
to become a Global Citizen. It is always your choice.
Online Coaching & Mentorship
Plagiarism is theft. Copyright © Martyn Carruthers 2004-2012 All rights reserved |
