By: Erin Janus / Source: Spirit Science and Metaphysics

The new-age movement, along with many of the ideologies that New Ageism encourages, has been popularized in the past few years, especially with rise of social media.

I am all for self-empowerment, spiritual exploration and personal development, but some ideologies New Ageism preaches are misleading, false, and even dangerous.

Here are 5 common misconceptions that need to be corrected and understood:

1) Ignore The Negative

Many people have been mislead to believe that you “give power” to something that is harmful simply by putting your attention upon it and becoming aware of it.

Therefore, you should never pay attention to, or talk about anything that is “negative”.

CORRECTION: Seeing the negative for what it is creates the ability to prepare oneself against its harmful affects, and possibly even avert those affects entirely.

Refusing to look at critical information just because it makes you feel scared or uncomfortable is willfully choosing to remain in a state of ignorance, and therefore to remain un-conscious.

2) Never Get Angry

Many people have adopted the notion that anger is something to overcome or shut out completely. They categorize anger into the “negative” basket, and instead promote replacing it with feelings of peace, love and light.

The danger in this is it creates apathy and passivity to the injustices happening in our world today.

CORRECTION: We have a moral guidance system for a reason. For example, watching an innocent person be tortured, or seeing animals being abused will naturally evoke anger in a morally sound individual.

This anger is not to be mistaken for something that needs to be shut out, but something that should be channeled productively.

Righteous indignation, a form of anger when one senses injustice— can be a major motivation to create positive change in the world and should not be condemned or suppressed.

3) There Is No Right And Wrong

A common, widespread misconception is that there is no such thing as right and wrong, and that the concept of right and wrong is “dualistic” and therefore invalid.

Furthermore, many who have been convinced that there is no objective right and wrong will often try to convince people (and themselves) that everything is OK.

CORRECTION: This way of thinking is known as moral relativism, and is not only delusional but dangerous. This makes people feel comfortable and justified in failing to take responsibility for their actions (or lack of actions) and the effects that has on others.

There most certainly is objective right and wrong, and although we share unity as beings on the same planet or similar spiritual journeys, everything is NOT okay.

We are living in times of great injustice, violence, inequality and preventable suffering.

Anyone who tries to convince you that immoral actions can not be proven immoral due to their uncertainty of ‘reality’, or claim that all things that happen are part of a ‘divine plan’ are unfortunately part of the problem.

It is common for people to twist and re-define what is right and what is wrong based on what is easy for them, what works for them, and what is most comfortable for them.

However, right and wrong are not modifiable to your convenience. Immoral actions remain immoral regardless of how you view them.

4) There Is No Truth: Perception = Reality

Many people have adopted the idea that you can never really know the ultimate truth about the reality we live in. This is also known as solipsism; the ideology that only one’s own mind and perceptions are sure to exist.

Another common misunderstanding passed around is, “Perception is reality” or “reality is perception.”

CORRECTION: While the solipsistic ideology is often confused for a high-minded philosophical outlook, it is really nothing more than a way for one to be vastly disconnected from reality.

Objective reality DOES exist. The truth CAN be known. Ones perception and actual reality are not one in the same. How one perceives reality only changes how they perceive it— it can not and will never change what is actually taking place.

“Solipsism is a defining hallmark of spiritual infancy. Departing from this disease ideology is a sure-fire sign of the beginnings of human maturity and spiritual development.” —Mark Passio

5) What You Resist Persists… So Don’t Resist

A very common belief in the New Age movement is that one should overcome ‘resistance.’ The natural urge to resist almost anything has been coined as negative or detrimental to our happiness and health amongst spiritual individuals and new-agers.

We are taught to overcome resistance using spiritual techniques like meditation, yoga and acceptance. We are also taught that what we resist… will persist.

CORRECTION: Resistance itself is not a bad thing. In fact, it is necessary if we want to take back our power and control over our lives, and ensure the safety of the planet and future generations.

If we do not resist evil that is destroying the good in the world, freedom, health, happiness— it will continue to. (If we do not resist the evil that is destroying freedom, health, and happiness in the world, then nothing will change or improve.)

The New Age movement has twisted and abused spiritual practices such as meditation and yoga into means to take people’s minds off the fact that they have been enslaved, and make it easy for them to just accept the current condition of the world as their lot in life.

Shutting out your resistance is a good way to ensure that you will never take action to try to change the things that are wrong with the world.

How long do you think change in racial equality would have taken if people like Martin Luther King Jr. meditated their resistance away?

The resistance you experience in situations is likely because something is not right. So, don’t ignore your resistance— utilize it in a productive way to bring about change. Take action.

If gone unchecked, the New Age movement can easily lead one down a road of delusional mindsets that cater to not taking responsibility for ones actions and the effect that those actions (or lack of action) have on the world!

As Adyashanti said, “Enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth.

It’s seeing through the facade of pretence. It’s the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true.”

While spiritual development, inner peace and a knowledge of oneself is important, it is equally as important to speak out against injustice, fight for change, and take moral responsibility for ones actions.

It is also our shared responsibility at this time to help to awaken others by continuously speaking the Truth un-apologetically, even if we feel burdened by this task, and even if it makes ALL of those involved feel uncomfortable.

The truth of the current human condition and the state of world SHOULD make you feel uncomfortable. Use that discomfort to motivate yourself to create real change in the world through action.

REALITY CHECK:

The world does not need any more un-affected gurus or passive, apathetic followers. It needs activists, change-makers, speakers and do-ers. Be the change.

Don’t get sucked into the misunderstandings, misconceptions and delusional dogmas that come with religions such as New Ageism.

True spirituality includes responsibility, morality, and using your will to take action for positive change and the good of this planet and all the beings we share it with.

 

By: Melissa Carver, Ph.D. / Source: Chopra

An affirmation is a statement of assurance that helps reprogram old thought processes to create new patterns. Affirmations are especially helpful when you have a goal in mind or when if feels like certain things in your life need work.

But that’s not the only time you should pull them out.

Daily, even hourly, affirmations stabilize the thoughts of the now, keeping a steady flow of good intentions—and those intentions are what create outcomes.

Hourly affirmation statements slowly become the quiet thoughts of your mind with little effort. Below is an hour-by-hour schedule of affirmations that will help keep you in a positive mindset.

If the times don’t match your exact routine, use these ideas to create your own daily affirmation schedule.

5:30 a.m. – Before Your Feet Hit the Floor

• I am grateful.
• I am healthy.
• I am confident.

6:30 a.m. – After Your Morning Meditation

• My mouth is healthy (while brushing).
• I am beautiful / handsome. (No more putting yourself down while looking in the mirror!)
• My wardrobe says _________.

7:30 a.m. – On Your Way to Work

• I am always safe.
• I love my current situation.
• You can also pull motivating and powerful words from your music, if you listen to music on your way to work.

8:30 a.m. – At Work

• I am surrounded by supportive peers and managers.
• My compensation exceeds my hours.

9:30 a.m. – Reset the Thoughts in Your Mind

• All that I do is success.
• My work is complete on or before schedule.

10:30 a.m. – Mid-Morning Personal Affirmation Break

• I am in a loving relationship.
• My children are happy and safe.

11:30 a.m. – Pre-Lunch

• I will be the leader in the choice of my meal.
• My digestive fire is preparing for nutrition.

12:30 p.m. – Step Away From Your Work for a Relaxing Lunch

• I am thankful.
• This food is nutritious and healing.
• I eat at the perfect pace.

1:30 p.m. – Fight the Post-Lunch Lull

• I am full of life and energy.
• I focus my mind on productivity.

2:30 p.m. – Manifest Greatness

• I deserve success.
• Success comes with intent, not hours.

3:30 p.m. – Connect With Your True Self as it Can Get Lost on the Job

• I am one with higher wisdom and awareness, immediately, now, eternally.
• All channels of my mind are open to receive from my higher thoughts.

4:30 p.m. – On Your Way Home

• I am always safe.
• I leave all work behind for the day.

5:30 p.m. – At Home

• I enjoy my family and friends.
• My home is peaceful and in order.
• My home reflects my energy of love and acceptance.

6:30 p.m. – At the Evening Meal

• I am thankful for all plants, animals, and workers who have participated in my meal.
• My body and mind are one with perfect health, now and eternally.

7:30 p.m. – Winding Down

• I am one with abundant prosperity and financial supply.
• I release all fear and worry.

8:30 p.m. – Evening Shower or Relaxation

• Clean is a high vibration.
• My body is balanced, young, and healthy.
• I am equal to the power of the entire universe.

9:30 p.m. – Check-In

• I am one with the perfect fulfillment of my life.
• I stay in the now.

10:30 p.m. – Last Affirmations of the Day

• As my transcendent higher self possesses my body, I accept all guidance to receive increased abundance.
• Happiness is me and I am happiness.

Since it takes 21 days to create a habit, try these hourly affirmations for three full weeks. Take notes about your feelings, outcomes, and thoughts as this new way of thinking becomes part of your daily routine.

You do not need to believe these statements to speak them or think them. If you don’t yet believe that you are peaceful, that’s OK. “Fake it ‘til you make it.”

That is what reprogramming is all about. Affirm it until you believe it. When you believe it, the world and universe will follow your lead.

The world is a good place, with good people who inhabit it.. but sometimes we need a little bit of a reminder:

1. This guy, who saw a person in need and realized he could help:

2. This biker, who held up traffic to help an older lady cross the street:

3. This barber, who offers haircuts at the cost of one hug each:

4. This officer, who handcuffed himself to a suicidal woman so she knew she wouldn’t go alone:

5.Rugby player Brian O’Driscoll, who visited his biggest little fan in the hospital:

6. This crowd, who figured the fan in the wheelchair deserved to see the show just as much as anyone else there:

7. This samaritan, who helped a stranger get where they were going:

8. This thoughtful do-gooder, who helped a stranger get where they were going without a wet butt:

9. This team, who in a display of utter sportsmanship helped an injured opponent score:

10. This dry cleaner, who believes everyone should look their best when trying to get a job:

11. This “citizen of the Earth”:

12. This guy, who probably missed his train to help this lady with her bags:

13. This guy, who gave a kid the world for a brief moment in time:

14. This lady, who unknowingly demonstrated that kindness begets kindness:

15. This firefighter, who heroically rescued what was clearly “more than just a pet”:

16. This kind soul:

17. This loving launderer, who put off their load to make sure a stranger’s was dry:

18. And they say kids these days have no morals:

19. This mailman, who knows the importance of getting something other than junk mail every once in a while:

20. Dan:

21. This animal hospital, who truly knows how significant a pet can be to a person:

22. This good samaritan:

23. These folks, who just want to return an expensive phone to its rightful owner:

24. This guy, who cleared his conscience after 13 years:

25. This animal lover, who knows the power of one good night of sleep:

26. This sports team, who let a kid with a congenital heart defect live his dream:

27. This exotic car forum, who banding together to help a disabled kid live his dream… over, and over again:

28. This team of paramedics, who didn’t just stop at saving an the man’s life:

29. This pet-lover:

30. This grocery store employee, who knows a simple thing like tying someone’s shoes can make their whole day:

31. This stranger, whose pay-it-forward scheme might just catch on:

32. This hero, who just did the right thing:

33. This Generous Tipper:

By: Matt Valentine / Source: The Mind Unleashed

1. Live with compassion

Compassion is one of the most revered qualities in Buddhism and great compassion is a sign of a highly realized human being.

Compassion doesn’t just help the world at large, and it isn’t just about the fact that it’s the right thing to do. Compassion, and seeking to understand those around you, can transform your life for a number of reasons.

First, self-compassion is altogether critical towards finding peace within yourself. By learning to forgive yourself and accepting that you’re human you can heal deep wounds bring yourself back from difficult challenges.

Next, we can often be tortured because of the fact that we don’t completely understand why people do certain things.

Compassion is understanding the basic goodness in all people and then seeking to discover that basic goodness in specific people. Because of this, it helps you from going through the often mental torture we experience because we don’t understand the actions of others.

But even more than that, expressing compassion is the very act of connecting wholeheartedly with others, and simply connecting in this way can be a great source of joy for us.

The reasons for practicing compassion are numerous and powerful. Seek to live in a way that you treat everyone you meet as you would yourself. Once you begin trying to do this, it will seem altogether impossible.

But keep at it, and you’ll realize the full power of living with compassion.

2. Connect with others and nurture those connections

In Buddhism, a community of practitioners is called a “sangha”. A sangha is a community of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen who practice together in peace towards the united “goal” of realizing greater awakening, not only for themselves but for all beings.

The sangha is a principle which much of the world can greatly benefit from.

People come together in groups all the time, but it’s usually for the purpose of creating monetary riches or obtaining substantial power and rarely towards the united goal o1f attaining peace, happiness, and realizing greater wisdom.

The principle of the sangha can be expressed in your own life in many ways. The sangha is ultimately just one way of looking at life, through the lens of the individual “expressions” of the totality.

By living in a way that you’re fully aware of the power of connecting with others, whether it’s one person or a group of 100, and seeking to nurture those relationships in the appropriate way, you can transform your life in ways that will pay dividends for years to come.

3. Wake up

One of the most powerful points on this list, the power of simply living in a way that you’re fully awake to every moment of your life pretty much couldn’t be exaggerated even if I tried.

Mindfulness, greater awareness, paying attention, whatever you want to call it- it changes every facet of your life and in every way. It’s as simple as that.

Strive to live fully awake to each moment of your daily life and overcome your greatest personal struggles, find a great sense of peace and joy, and realize the greatest lessons life can teach you as a result of living fully awake to the present moment.1

4. Live deeply

To live deeply, in a way that you become keenly aware of the precious nature of life, is to begin down the path of true peace and happiness.

Why? Because to live in this way is to gradually become aware of the true nature of the world. This will happen essentially in “sections” of the whole, such as realizing your interconnectedness (you begin to see how everything is connected to everything else) and impermanence (you begin to see how everything is ever-changing, constantly dying only to be reborn in another form).

These realizations are the bread and butter of Buddhism and all spiritual practice. These “sections of the whole” are fragments of the ultimate realization, ways for us to understand that which can’t be fully understood in the traditional sense.

By living in a way that you seek to realize these various “qualities of the ultimate” you find greater and greater peace in realizing the natural way of things.

This cultivates in us the ability to savor every moment of life, to find peace in even the most mundane activities, as well as the ability to transform your typically “negative” experiences into something altogether nourishing and healing.

5. Change yourself, change the world

Buddhists understand that you can hardly help another before you help yourself. But this isn’t referring to you gaining power or riches before you can help others, or living in a way that you ignore others.

This is mostly referring to the fact that because we’re all interconnected, by you helping yourself you create an exponentially positive effect on the rest of the world.

If you want to make an impact on the world, don’t falsely convince yourself that it’s “you or them”. You don’t need to drag yourself through the mud to help those around you. If you do this, you’ll greatly hamper your ability to create a positive impact.

At the deepest level of understanding, by making it about you you’re also making it about them because you know there’s no separating “you” and “them”.

Take care of yourself and seek to be more than just a help, but an example of how to live for others to follow and you’llcreate waves of exponential possibility that inspires others to do the same.

6. Embrace death

Death is an often taboo topic in Western society. We do everything we can to not only avoid the subject, but pretend that it doesn’t even exist.

The reality is, this is really unfortunate and in no way helps us lead better lives.

Becoming keenly aware of your ownimpermanence and deeply understanding the nature of death with regards to our interconnectedness are both things which can help us find great peace.

In Buddhism, students in many sects at one point or another “meditate on the corpse” as it were (a practice which is said to have originated at least as far back as the Buddha’s lifetime).

This is literally what it sounds like. They meditate on the image of a corpse slowing decomposing and imagine that process through to its end, eventually resulting in a deep and profound realization on the true nature of death.

That might sound a little intense to you, but the truth is, if you live you’re entire life acting as if you’re never going to die or ignoring your own impermanence then you won’t ever be able to find true peace within yourself.

You don’t necessarily have to meditate on the image of a corpse, but simply opening up to yourself about death so that you’re no longer shielding it from your mind (which you’re likely doing unconsciously, as that’s how most of us were brought up in the West) can begin to be a great source of peace and help you appreciate the many joys in your everyday life.

A true appreciation for life can never be fully realized until you come face-to-face with your own impermanence. But once you do this, the world opens up in a new and profound way.

7. Your food is (very) special

Buddhist meditative practice, particularly mindfulness and contemplation, helps you realize the precious nature of the food in front of you. Indeed, with how integral a part food plays in our lives, to transform our relationship with food is to transform a key aspect of our entire lives, both now and in the future.

By contemplating on the food in front of us, for example, we can come to realize the vast system of interconnectedness that is our life, and how our food coming to be on our dinner plate as it is depended on numerous elements coming to be.

This helps us to deepen our relationship with food, cultivate a deep sense of gratitude before each meal, and learn to respect the delicate but ever-pressing balance that is life.

8. Understand the nature of giving

Giving is more than the act of giving Christmas and Birthday gifts, it’s also about those gifts which we give each and every day which we don’t typically see as gifts at all.

Buddhists hold a very deep understanding of the nature of giving, particularly in that life is a constant play between the act of giving and receiving.

This doesn’t just help us find peace in understanding the way of the world around us, but helps us realize the amazing gifts we all have within us that we can give others in every moment, such as our love, compassion, and presence.

9. Work to disarm the ego

The easiest way to sum up all “spiritual” practice is this: spirituality is the act of coming in touch with the ultimate reality or the ground of being, and as a result spiritual practice is the act of overcoming those obstacles which keep us from realizing that.

The primary obstacle in our way? The ego.

To put it short and sweet, the reason the ego is the major obstacle in spiritual practice, or simply the practice of finding true peace and happiness (whatever you choose to call it, it’s all the same), is because it’s very function is to pull you away from the ground of your being by convincing you that you’re this separate self.

The process of unraveling the ego can take time, as it’s something which has been with us, intertwined with us, for years. But it’s infinitely rewarding and altogether necessary if we want to realize our best life.

10. Remove the 3 poisons

Life is filled with vices, things which attempt to bind us to unwholesome ways of living and therefore do the very opposite of cultivate peace, joy, and greater realization in our lives. Among these, the 3 poisons are some of the most powerful. The 3 poisons are:

1. Greed
2. Hatred
3. Delusion

Together, these 3 poisons are responsible for the majority of the pain and suffering we experience as a collective species. It’s perfectly normal to be affected by each of these poisons throughout your life, so don’t knock yourself for falling for them.

Instead, simply accept that they’re something you’re experiencing and begin working to remove them from your life. This can take time, but it’s a key aspect on the path towards realizing true peace and happiness.

11. Right livelihood

We should all strive to work and make our living in a way that’s more “conscious” or aware. This generally means not selling harmful items such as guns, drugs, and services that harm other people, but it goes deeper than that.

There’s ultimately two aspects to this: making a living by doing something which doesn’t inhibit your own ability to realize peace and making a living doing something which doesn’t inhibit others ability to realize peace.

Facing this can lead to some interesting situations for some people, and as Thich Nhat Hanh has mentioned this is a collective effort as opposed to a solely personal one (the butcher isn’t a butcher only because he decided to be.

But because there is a demand from people for meat to be neatly packaged and made available for them to be purchased from supermarkets), but you should strive to do your best.

Following the teaching on right livelihood can help you realize the harmful effect that your own work is having on you and therefore coming up with a solution can result in a largely positive shift in your life as a whole. Only you can decide if a change needs to happen though.

Whatever the case, seek to make a living doing something that promotes the peace and happiness of yourself and those around you as much as possible.

12. Realize non-attachment

This is a difficult point to put into so few words, but a profound one I felt would be greatly beneficial to mention nonetheless.

To realize non-attachment in a Buddhist sense doesn’t mean to abandon your friends and family and live alone for the rest of your life, never truly living again just so that you don’t become attached to these desires.

Non-attachment refers to living in a way that you exist in the natural flow of life and generally living a typical modern life, building a family, working, etc., while simultaneously not being attached to any of these things.

It simply means to live in a way that you’ve become aware of and accepted the impermanence of all things in this life and live in a way that you’re ever-aware of this fact.

It’s perfectly normal for a Zen student in Japan, once having completed his training, to actually de-robe and go “back into the world” so to speak.

This is because, once they’ve reached this level of realization, they see the beauty in all things and are compelled to live fully absorbed in all the beauty and wonders of this life.

From this point on, they can truly “live life to the fullest”, while not clinging to any of these things.

Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean that you stop feeling emotions. On the contrary, these emotions are welcomed and expected, and fully experienced with mindfulness in the moment of their impact. But this is simply the natural course of things.

Once these emotions subside though, and when we have no mental formations or obstructions to block our path, a natural healing process takes place that heals the wound and allows us to continue on living in peace and joy instead of dragging us down into darkness.