I was wondering. If Siddartha Gautama went to learn under many different wise people to find wisdom, then is it wrong if I do the same? I'm at a point in life where I want to explore different faiths and beliefs in order to find my path. I do not fit in 100% with any religion. And I usually take in beliefs that match me. People call that cherry picking.
I ask, is that a bad thing? Shouldn't cherry picking be a good thing? If certain cherries do not help me at all, then why should I pick them? This is why I like the new age. The new age encourages you to pick the cherries you need and leave the ones that serve no purpose. I want to find knowledge and to fine tune my lens to see clearly.
I do not see a point in following any religion simply because I'm being directed down a pre-chosen path. I feel that I have to find my own path and my own knowledge. I have no problem taking parts of different religions that are relevant to me.
We all walk a different path I feel and we need to find our own answers, not a one size fits all spirituality.
New Age sounds good. It always has. The concept of New Age is appealing and damn do they have good marketing. The reason why I am personally not of fan of New Age is that they sell a little bit of everything that is watered down at a highly inflated price. There is no structure. One of the things that I learned in my trials and tribulations is to see their endgame. What is the point. With new age I don't see a point. 80% of the time they misuse aromatherapy & crystals for purposes. They have the right god or goddess doing the wrong thing. It's like they they read the first chapter of a book then did a book report.
ReplyDelete(/10 times they try to sell whatever is popular within each religion that isn't Catholicism. I guess the Pope has a patent or something
Myself I go with Buddhism with Alchemical influences.
I know sounds crazy and in a way it does sounds like what New Age is trying to do but it isn't nearly as costly.
I follow a Mahayana path of Buddhism with influences of alchemy. Alchemy isn't about turning lead into gold. It's about finding the connecting paths within all of existence. One of the things that Alchemist were said to do was to turn lead into gold because they understood that lead & gold are the same things just rearranged differently and by studying the structure it can be rearranged into gold. But that is just a sliver of alchemy that became popular. What the true alchemists goal is the transmutation of the spirit. To become a better person.
I recommend The Alchemist by Paulo Cohleo, Bad Buddhist Radio which is a free podcast by Ryu Cope, The idiot's guide to Buddhism and the idiot's guide to Alchemy. And for fun check out Full Metal Alchemist which is a manga and anime as well.
I will check out The Alchemist. And your criticism of the new age is understood. All religions and faiths are plagued with money grubbing predators.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that Buddhism had issues with greedy practitioners as well when I first got into Buddhism. But like many others in the new age movement,
I do not follow every part of the new age. I am a restless soul, and as such, I don't do well with structure. Like my being, my spirituality is fluid. Because of this, I feel that I have to find my own path.
And then I can add structure to it.
Your opinion is valued and I thank you for your input.