New Age Duality
I was thinking lately about the dualities as they manifest in religious/philosophical thought.
The first major division is between East and West. Western thought is mainly male/outward/active and represented by Christianity, Islam, Judaism and some active New Age types.
Eastern is female/inward/magnetic and Buddhism, Hinduism are typical of this approach.
In Western civilization Christianity dominates and within it we have another male/female, conservative/liberal position. The conservative side are the evangelicals, Mormons and other fundamentalists who are the male side, active, outward and proselytizing in mindset. The liberal side are usually found in the more established churches settled into non-confrontational mindset, except for the anti-war people.
When we look at Christianity as a whole in the West, I would say its opposite polarity would be the New Age movement. Now one may question this and say that there are only a few who identify themselves as New Agers and many who say they are Christians. Therefore, they cannot be an opposite polarity.
Consider this. The New Age influence is female/magnetic invisible whereas the Christian side is male active and visible. If this is true then the New Age side would have more influence than is obvious.
A Harris poll taken in 2003 bears this out. Overall, over a quarter of the people believe in reincarnation and 31 percent believe in astrology. But even more interesting is this: In the age group of 25-29, forty percent believe in reincarnation compared to 14 percent of those over 65.
Similarly, 43 percent of the younger group believe in astrology compared with 17 percent of those 65 and older.
What does this tell us? It tells us that even though New Age people are rarely joined in groups that they are beginning to dominate the younger generation where the seat of influence lies. Their influence is counterbalancing orthodox Christianity to the extent that it has arrived at its opposite polarity.
Does the polarity manifest within the New Age movement itself?
Yes. It is divided into those dominated by mind/heart and emotion/heart. I use heart in both examples because you have two heart centers. The first is associated with the heart area of the body and the second is a heart center in the head. The heart energies thus link the two dualities so they are similar in their feeling, but the mentally polarized are not very understood by the emotional/astral ones.
The mental side is composed of those who are attracted to the Alice A. Bailey writings, Theosophy, Rosecrucians, Masons, Gnostics and others in some ordered or structural pursuit of higher knowledge.
The emotional side is composed of many who follow no one train of thought but are attracted to most any astral channeling even if one contradicts the others. Some, however, do get hooked up with a guru that follow without question. This group will often claim there is no such thing as good and evil on one hand yet declare the mind to be evil on the other and disdain its use.
All these dualities have their use and if true heart and mind are used in directing them good can result. If the mind is sterile from feeling then the philosophy will be lifeless and if the feeling is devoid of common sense then a workable philosophy will not even be achieved.
The Keys is one of the few groups polarized in the mind with a link to the heart. We seek the mind as a link to the higher realm of pure reason and the heart as the link that leads to service to a struggling humankind.
Idaho
I thought I would make a few comments about this obscure state I live in.
Usually, we are quite below the radar as far as national attention goes but lately we’ve been getting more than our share both good and bad.
On the good side Boise State started out the year winning Fiesta Bowl beating Oklahoma in what many observers called the best college football game ever. Then yesterday we started off the season with a bang by beating Weber State 56-7. Hopefully, we’ll have another great year.
On the bad side some of our forest fires are getting national attention.
On the good side Barbara Morgan a teacher from McCall Idaho successfully went into space and returned on the Shuttle. She was the backup for Christa McAuliffe, who died in the Challenger disaster. Everyone here breathed a sigh of relief when she returned safely.
On the bad side Idaho Senator Larry Craig’s lifetime career in politics appears destroyed for the accusation of soliciting sex in a bathroom.
I really feel sorry for the guy. We both attended the University of Idaho at the same time and both majored in politics and took many of the same classes together. At one time he was my debate partner. He always seemed like a decent fellow.
His foot touched the extended foot of an undercover cop in the bathroom stall next to him and this was interpreted as a signal he wanted gay sex and was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
After this problem hit the news he was immediately relieved of his positions in the Senate and most of his colleagues were calling for his resignation.
But imagine if this supposed signal was a mistake and he was innocent. What a terrible thing it would be to have your life ruined over an innocent tapping of the foot.
On the positive side for Idaho perhaps a future headline will read:
“JJ Dewey, author, teacher and all-around good guy is selling millions of books. Readers from all over the world see Idaho as the new Mecca and make regular pilgrimages to attend his ‘gatherings.’”
Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under. — H. L. Mencken (1880 – 1956)
Aug 26, 2007
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