An umbrella term covering a variety of beliefs and practices, but all having the common denominator of stemming from a mystical paranormal mental set. The thinking that distinguishes this mind-set is the belief that there is no difference between material, physical reality and imaginary reality. Some go so far as to deny the existence of material reality completely, believing that psychic experience is all there is, so they claim to be able to invent reality with their own minds. These ideas are pseudoscientific.
The first to use the name “New Age” was Alice Bailey who wrote in the 1920s about her telepathic communications with a Tibetan spirit guide. But “New Age” is really a Neopagan groups have various codes of conduct that, they believe, are rooted in ancient tradition. Most revere the Earth and see Her as a Mother who gives life, and cares and feeds them. Therefore they feel the need to care for Her in return. Many rituals and festivals are attuned to seasonal cycles, venerating the wealth of the Earth’s harvest. These types of issues have become attractive to many young people today because they reflect our current concerns for the ecology of the Earth. Furthermore, the equality of men and women in neopaganism has attracted many feminists who feel the need to believe in something more sympathetic to their sex than many of the assumptions of the male-centered monotheistic religions. Neopagan groups have a variety of pseudoscientific beliefs and practices including much magical lore, the raising of energy, holistic and psychic healing and Witchcraft.
An umbrella term covering a variety of beliefs and practices, but all having the common denominator of stemming from a mystical paranormal mental set. The thinking that distinguishes this mind-set is the belief that there is no difference between material, physical reality and imaginary reality. Some go so far as to deny the existence of material reality completely, believing that psychic experience is all there is, so they claim to be able to invent reality with their own minds. These ideas are pseudoscientific.
The first to use the name “New Age” was Alice Bailey who wrote in the 1920s about her telepathic communications with a Tibetan spirit guide. But “New Age” is really a misnomer; most of Bailey’s ideas were not new but derived from 19th-century ideas from two continents, all of which were in turn borrowed from many ancient worldwide traditions. From Europe she used the theosophy of Madame Blavatsky and the anthroposophy of Rudolph Steiner; from the United States, she drew on the transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82) and Henry David Thoreau (1817-62). These 19th-century writers had one thing in common: They all renounced orthodox Protestantism while still holding on to the Protestant claim of a direct access to God, with only the self determining that relationship. Before the 16th century, Catholicism was the main Christian belief in the West, and the church in the form of popes and councils stood between humankind and God, interpreting the scriptures for the people rather than letting them read the Bible and decide for themselves.