Listening To MS

Chapter 9: Be Aware of New Age Guilt: Responsibility Does Not Equal Blame

By now you have noticed that while I have a scientific background I am also open minded and respect that there are things in the world that we just can't explain scientifically. Through anecdotal evidence and thousands of years of accounts, some of these alternative or metaphysical accounts may very well have merit. However, as with all things, it seems some people have gone to an extreme.

I have found open minded people in all walks of life. What I value about the general new age philosophy, is a strong connection to the earth and the environment, while focusing on the importance of a spiritual life and its connection to health. These individuals are respectful of one another's perspectives and compassionately understand that we are all on our own unique path. Although they may prefer to do things as holistically as possible, they also understand the value of traditional methods. And instead of being antagonistic towards other ways of living or healing, they are able to integrate both and choose to use either one when appropriate.

For example, if you had a broken leg, you would go to the emergency room. If you also wanted help in accelerating the healing process, you may in addition request therapeutic touch, which in many hospitals across the country is offered by the nursing staff. It is important for us to use the best of both worlds and picking the best therapeutic intervention, given the circumstances at the time.

The new age community is diverse and includes many, if not all religions. However there are fanatics here as well, as in every religion and organization, but most individuals continue to practice their own religion, in a less dogmatic format. The new age movement seems to have started as a reaction to organized, stifling, dogmatic religions and other institutions, including western medicine. These institutions are perceived to be close minded, exclusive, judgmental and heavy on dogma. But somewhere along the line for some, the new age movement turned into the very thing they abhorred. Although I consider myself open minded, I am concerned with how some of its members stand in judgment of other people. It goes further than that. There are those who are adamant about criticizing others and even going as far as to blame them for their illnesses or difficult circumstances. When I hear these people speaking I wonder if they realize that their interpretation of Karma is very close to the fear that many Christians have of a punitive God.

There are those that believe all unfortunate and tragic circumstances are the blame of the person involved. These people take a black and white position on negative circumstances, whether they are diseases or unfortunate accidents. A typical reaction might be, "Well if bad events happen to someone, it's because on some level they asked for it. Energetically that person drew these circumstances to him." Can we honestly believe that one individual would have such presence and importance in the world that a war or world disturbance was created solely for his spiritual benefit? I understand that everything and everyone is comprised of energy and that in turn everything affects everything else in minor to major ways. Having said that, we must also remember that there are many variables in any given interaction and situation. There are many forces at play and far be it for one individual to judge the life path of another, particularly in a condescending and culpatorial way. It is impossible for us to ever really know what part of our life is destiny and what part of it is due to free will. We can only take one day at a time and respond to each moment with sincerity and courage.

I believe that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, not the other way around. In other words our essence is spirit or more accurately, Holy Spirit. We don't have to attain it, we already are. We need to embrace humanity as spiritual beings and enjoy all it has to offer, emotion, desire, pain, passion, our physicality and everything else that comes with being human, including human limitations and imperfections. What's the point in being human if we don't allow ourselves to experience an array of emotions?

We must try to understand our own psychology. What is it that makes us tick and what is it that doesn't? And yes through our own exploration we will encounter both positive and negative emotions. There are those who believe that we can only embody love. They present themselves and expect others to be optimistic and to always have a smile on their face. The reality is that soon enough they will encounter a situation or an individual that triggers an angry response or maybe a sad one. When this happens some individuals choose to run away or escape what is causing them to express negative feelings. Others just numb themselves and pretend that the situation isn't at all troublesome. This only suppresses what inevitably we all feel--- a healthy range of emotions. Pretending these emotions don't exist or stifling them only leads to a superficial existence.

Of course it is up to us to express them in a healthy manner. But that doesn't necessarily mean calm. We all lose our cool once in a while, whether it's with our children or our spouse or our boss. But we learn and we communicate and we move on. This is the dynamics of life. It is a dance between highs and lows and our abilities to deal with both. If we can acknowledge these feelings to ourselves and are able to communicate them with others when appropriate, then we will be able to more authentically come from a place of peace and serenity. Acting peaceful and serene is quite different than sincerely feeling it.

We are merely kidding ourselves, if we pretend to be above it all. In order to transcend, you must first experience that which needs transcending. So allow yourself to feel everything, process those feelings, good and bad, and come back to center. John Keats once wrote, "Oh, for a life of sensations rather than thoughts..." The human form makes it possible for us to be sensual with ourselves, nature and other human beings. So let's heal our thoughts, our memories and so that we can make the time to enjoy the sensual pleasures of our present moment.

These vehicles that our souls are in (our sacred bodies), were given to us for a reason. We should appreciate their beauty and embrace them as part of our divinity. They enable us to have experiences that spirit cannot have. It is because of our humanity that we are capable of experiencing passion. When combined with our spirituality these experiences are surreal and expansive. Along with this potential for such bliss, we must also allow for the grief that is also a result of the human condition. Let us not deny these emotions and thoughts, for if we do we are suppressing all emotion and all thought and thus prevent ourselves from ever truly being happy. Since it is unhealthy for us to suppress our emotions, let's express them in healthy ways and learn from them. Understanding why we feel the way we do will help us grow and live authentically from the heart. It is imperative in this world of ours that we strive to understand ourselves because only then can we understand one another. Let us have compassion and realize that we are all on this journey together and need to support, nurture and help one another.

New age extremists believe that everything happens for a reason. We are here to learn lessons; nothing is a coincidence. There can be no light without darkness. Everything is connected. We have mapped out our lives before we reincarnated to best learn these lessons so that we can evolve spiritually. Western thinking has another philosophical extreme. Everything happens randomly. We are merely bodies that die and turn to ash. There is no spirit. This is our only reality. Genetics and environment are sole predictors of disease development.

Let's look at nothing is a coincidence. Let's say I believe in synchronicity. Let me explain. I believe that on a very fundamental level everything and ultimately everyone is connected. This is no longer a mystical idea. This idea is taking root in the scientific community through the new discoveries of String Theory. So yes for every action there is an equal reaction. But, there is never just one action and therefore never just one reaction. In this diverse world of ours, there are infinite numbers of thoughts and actions taking place every second of the day. As we are well aware these reactions don't usually happen instantly as in Bewitched. Things happened just with the intention and a twitch of her nose. Magic does happen, but it is not usually that simple. Thank God. Otherwise we would have destroyed ourselves a long time ago.

Even in psychology there is a theory called Systems theory. It's a holistic approachto therapy. It looks at relationships between individuals, communities, nations, etc. It recognizes that we are all part of different systems which in turn are interdependent. Whether we are causing the affect as an individual or as a group or nation, all of us at some level will be affected. A nation's policies can affect an individual's personal life and an individual's ideas and beliefs can affect a nation's policies.

Sometimes things happen strictly as a direct result and consequence to our own action, but frankly sometimes things just happen and it really has nothing to do with us but is based on a decision made by another individual with free will. We must accept responsibility for our own decisions, which includes how we choose to react to any circumstance. But do not ever blame yourself for being raped, beaten, mugged or harmed in any other way. You did not ask for this. Hopefully this advice seems obvious to most of you, but there are vulnerable people that are walking around guilt ridden because they've been told they're to blame on some level. This way of thinking is only harmful to someone's self-esteem and ultimately to the healing process.

In most cases it is not your fault you have a disease. I say most because we all know the choice to smoke will most likely bring consequences of disease. Not being to blame for a disease does not absolve us of having the responsibility to heal ourselves as best as we can. We can help ourselves by becoming aware of the pattern of abuse or in the case of disease what factors exacerbate the condition. And we make decisions with the help of professionals and friends to guide us and support us in difficult times, to improve our situation. As Jesus showed us, lessons can be learned through love and through hardship. Extreme philosophies are not helpful, except to show us where the center is. And if this is the case I must thank those extremists who have provided me the luxury of being dynamic moderate.