New age common beliefs and myths: let´s talk about them (maybe demystify some of them)

This thread is about new age philosophies and its popular myths and clichés.
I think we could grab them, one by one, and talk about them, give our opinion and demystify (or confirm) some of the new age beliefs like:
- We are all one;
- Existence of higher self (good self) and lower self (bad self);
- wanting causes suffering;
- Ego as the bad guy;
- Reincarnation;
- Karma;
- Ascension;
- Service to self and service to others (law of one doctrine);
- Denying of the self as the way to happiness;
I ask you all philosophers out there, let’s talk about these beliefs, you know what I am talking about, each one of us has its own belief, and we have the right to believe what we want, but let’s talk openly and freely.
I suggest you identify the topic in each post.
Example: if you want to talk about service to self and service to others (law of one) put that title before writing the post, like this:

Service to self and service to others (law of one)
Then write your ideas.

Maybe this is a mix salad but if you talk about new age common beliefs and myths you are on topic, no problem. This way, everyone has some topic of interest to discuss and its going to be fun.
I will start by the belief that wanting causes suffering because that is one of my favorites.

Wanting and wishing causes suffering
This is a belief that comes from Buddhism.
If a person is unhappy that is because there are wishes that are not being satisfied, causing frustration and suffering.
He can’t get what he wants, and life becomes pointless, his goals are frustrated, he ends up depressed, like a goalless person, he doesn’t have reasons to get up from bed, because he has no goals, no wishes, no wanting, the ones he had are blocked, so he has none to live for.
He is stuck in unfulfilled wishes, he suffers.
His game is blocked, he has no game to play, life is empty, nothing to conquer… and depression takes over.
What is the solution for this disease? Eliminate wishes and goals; they are the cause of suffering.
All things of this world are out of his control, he can’t really be in control of anything, all things have life of its own, they come and go when they want, they are impermanent, maybe god is ruling this, but not he, he can’t control the things of this world, so it is better if he stops wishing what he can’t control.
Since he can’t control the fulfillment of his wishes, the solution is to stop wishing, what is left?
He is left living with no goals, no wanting, he takes his hands of the wheel, life, god, or the universe will guide him, he will flow with life, he enjoys what is given, he will not look for anything, he will enjoy what he finds in the way, he is wandering around with no destination, enjoying all that he finds…
Like a boy who enjoys all that his father gives but don’t really have wishes of his own, he annihilates his will to create and change reality, he lives the reality as he sees it, but he doesn’t want to act upon it, because he can’t really control it, he recognizes that he is powerless, he accepts this reality.
My opinion on this:
There was one time that I tried this way of living. In the beginning it was a relief, but soon enough I was depressed, no goals, no passion, no enthusiasm. No, this was not for me..
I now think this is a coward game. This person gives up. He will live like a no-will-zombie because he can’t really deal with the pain of growing. Of course our wishes are not all satisfied, that is part of the game.
But that is not the important part. I realized that there are some things I can control. I can control what I do, what I say, how I feel. I am in control of myself. So i have power over my actions.
If my success is measured by what I do, instead of by what I get, I am not powerless at all.
So I started setting long, middle and short term goals. The passion and enthusiasm came back but I was not afraid of the world out there that I cant control. I know the results of my actions are not under my control, so I focus on my actions, not on the results.
If I give my best I am happy, I am successful, no matter what other people give me, no matter what the world give me, I measure my success by the quality of my actions, i am beyond luck.
The goals are just an excuse to make me move, to make me be in action, what matters is the quality of my actions.
I am victorious if I evolve, if yesterday I was a lazy prick, and today I work hard and disciplined, iam happy because I evolved my actions, I am a better person now.
I have goals all right, but they are just fuel for action, what makes me happy is evolving my actions, be a better person, do better every day.
This world has a lot to do: I have to survive, earn money to survive, treat others right, be with family and friends, have fun, take care of my health, do things for the collective like politics or volunteering, I have a lot to do, but it doesn’t matter if it all ends up wrong in the end of day, I don’t care about what I can’t control, I care about what I can control, my actions, my feelings, my words, if I do good, if I evolve, I am successful.
If my day was filled with effort and dedication, then i am victorious.
So the secret is not in being happy because of events I can’t control, the secret is in being happy out of my effort, my work, my actions, my dedication, my fun, my words, my feelings, my acts upon reality, not by reality in itself.
And I steel enjoy the moment, I focus on the moment, I get all wrapped up in the moment, when i am focused on the task at hand, I am happy, the more I focus on my actions, the more happy I am, when you are fully focused you don't think on good or bad things, you are... happy.
So this is my recipe for the wishing and wanting problem. I started by eliminating wishes, but now I wish a lot, I wish to earn money to survive, I wish to be with family and friends, I wish to have some fun, I wish to work on my house, etc etc.
But these wishes of the everyday life are only for passion and enthusiasm, they give me fuel for life, but my victory comes from my actions, my success is the evolution of my being through better actions, better words, better feelings, I focus on what I can control, what I do is what I give to the world, so I try to do better, give more, focus on better actions, benefit myself and others around me, I try to think of everyone’s interests, including mine, this is a wonderful wish, the wish to benefit everyone.
So I say we should wish a lot, but focus on what we can control: our actions.
We should be happy for what we do, our success comes from a good performance, from our actions, these we can control, we are not powerless after all, we have a lot of power, the power to create, to change reality, the simple act of painting a wall of our house is our creation, we changed reality, we have all the power in the world, but the power is in our actions, it is in our hands, the power of our (good) actions makes us and the world evolve.

Sorry for the long text.

Take care!

reply to post by Manula


Oneness is one so no higher or lower self because that makes two.
Wanting is suffering.
If all is one how can i serve 'others'?

reply to post by Itisnowagain


You again lol
What topic do you want to discuss? It would be nice if you underline the title of the topic.
You are not debating or explaining a point of view.
But ok, its your contribution. I thank your for that, you are the first.

reply to post by Manula


Restrictions and control. Wanting it to be a certain way.
Wanting is suffering.

Noble idea, but
I think you will find
everybody is too busy to think.

sorry, its a philosohy lesson isn't it?

reply to post by CitizenNum287119327


Too busy to think? You are right in general, but i trust this forum is full of brilliant thinkers, they will not need much effort

reply to post by Itisnowagain


Did you read the thread? Wanting to control what you cant control causes suffering... The secret is wanting what you can control... wanting to do better everyday...
Come on... Cant you understand the difference?
Do you agree with this idea?

reply to post by Manula


Many of the New Age movements are simply re-teaching and re-discovering the most ancient philosophical concepts. People such as Buddha and Jesus taught these things before the term 'New Age' was even contrived. Such concepts are found in Gnosticism, Sufism, and in the esoteric interpretations of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ancient mystery religions and the secret societies also teach such concepts.


My personal understandings:

• We are all one;
Quantum Physics, through non-locality and entanglement, illustrate oneness. Can we name even one thing that originated, exists, and is sustained 100% independently on its own without any use or dependency upon something else? There are no 'separate' selves, only One.


• Existence of higher self (good self) and lower self (bad self);
I don't agree with a higher good self or lower bad self. There is 'that' which is purely aware and conscious of awareness, and then there is the collective of emotions, thoughts, perceptions, and relative experiences that is human. 'That' interfaces with mind in order to experience existence as this human.


• wanting causes suffering;
Unpleasant suffering is a reality as is pleasant pleasure. We learn to be mindful of our emotions, thoughts, words, and actions in order to cause less suffering to Self.

• Ego as the bad guy
Ego is no a bad guy. Ego is the mechanism that creates and casts the illusion of separation within the One. Without Ego, there would be no individualism, separation, subjectivity, or relativity. Ego is not a thing to be suppressed, killed, or demonized. Ego is simply to be understood for what it is, so that we do not attach to superficial differences which ultimately cause suffering.


• Reincarnation
Energy-Matter is neither created nor destroyed, it only changes into other states. The bio-electrical and chemical energy within the body and the physical body itself recycles into other states after death.


• Karma
Simply, the balancing of choice. A choice, action, or word has an effect upon the stillness. Karma is the mechanism which balances the disturbance of the stillness.


• Ascension
I don't know of any ascensions. There is only letting go of attachments in order to kgnow 'that' which is self-evident and can not be described without corruption.


• Service to self and service to others (law of one doctrine);
The concept is older than the Ra Material: "Love and treat others as Self."
When we understand All is One, we understand that 'others' are indeed Self... so to serve others is to serve Self and All.


• Denying of the self as the way to happiness;
We can not deny self because All is Self. To deny self is to deny All.

reply to post by Manula


I read it and responded but it is not to your liking.
Oneness is one. What is 'other'?

reply to post by Manula


Let's just revise karma to mean that the stupid things we do come back to bite us in the azz. But the really really stupid things we do end up coming back to bite our offspring in the azz.

reply to post by Itisnowagain



About wishes and we are all one
About wanting, you say to want is bad because we are all one?
We may be all one but this one being is acting upon the manifested reality, creation is always being uptaded by this one-being (all of us) actions.

Do you want to collaborate on evolution and creation, or just watch others do it?

This one being is evolving through working on his creation, do you want to be part of it, or just observe from the outside?

reply to post by Manula


What is 'other' if it is one? What is there to want when it is one? Is there any thing outside of one?

I did not say 'to want is bad because we are all one?'

reply to post by Itisnowagain


Wishes and we are all one

There is one being who is always updating himself (evolving).

The being is not his creation. His creation is always evolving, being created.

So this beings wants to create and evolve (there is wanting after all).

Wanting is delusional when it is known to be one.
The game is up.

reply to post by Manula


Think about it though, if all is one, what is this 'other'? Other time? Other person?
Going around saying it is all one and then talking about 'other' is delusional.

'All is one' is just a belief until it is seen as truth, recognized, realized.
When the truth is seen it is seen and known that there can be no 'other', until then it is just an idea.

reply to post by Manula


"This one being is evolving through working on his creation, do you want to be part of it, or just observe from the outside?"(quote)

If It is all one and i know i am then i am not a part of it. I am It.
I am not a belief. All beliefs appear in truth.

Most of those aren't "new age" beliefs, at least not exclusively and definitely not originally.

However, I will play at this game, in the hope that perhaps I might liberate a mind from a false idea.

I choose KARMA, because it is a term that most new agers have misunderstood quite badly.

so...

Karma

If you ask just about any western person "What is Karma?" they will say something along the lines of "some mysterious force that rewards or punishes you sooner or later for your good or bad deeds, respectively". They may elaborate that this concept of karma comes from Hinduism, and that there are actually two flavors of karma, good and bad. They might also add that if you've got particularly good karma, you will get a particularly good incarnation next time, full of material pleasures and easy living. This is, of course, a strict regurgitation of the newer New Age beliefs about karma, which is at best an oversimplification of its original, and at worst, disgustingly inaccurate.

Karma, literally meaning action or deed, is generated, you guessed it, by actions and deeds. While some karma may come back to bite the living during the same incarnation, most of it accumulates on the equivalent of a spiritual bar tab, and it takes lifetimes to come back on the person, for to endure all of one's karma in a single lifetime would be unbearable; and to be free from samsara, the cycle of reincarnation, one must eliminate his or her karma through correct action (dharma) while living. This is obviously a monumental task, as one must eliminate his or her karma while accumulating no more karma in the process. If there is any "good" karma in the New Age sense, it is primarily put towards negating the "bad" karma and freeing the living from the pain and struggle of incarnate life, not ensuring that we win the lottery or gain some other randomized material "reward" for being good. And, considering that the end reward for being good is liberation from samsara, that should not ever be viewed as a poor reward. This too is an oversimplification, and it does not go into karma as a concept in other eastern religions, but it outlines the ways in which the west has misinterpreted karma and its effects.

Where exactly the west went wrong with karma, I cannot say. Its earliest injection into the New Age came from the Theosophic school, and, surprisingly, their version very closely resembles the Hindu belief. Perhaps the modern western mind is geared to be materialistic and consumeristic, only viewing what is physically and materially pleasureable as good and real, and even in matters of spirituality, misequating spiritual virtue with material rewards. The idea that "If I'm a good person, God will give me a Mercedes!" is so prolific and pervasive in the spiritual psychology of the west, that perhaps there is no hope of correcting this mistaken view in the spiritual life in western culture.

Before the truth is known there is belief in 'other'.
After enlightenment there is seen to be no 'other'. There is this.
This is It. This is one. There is no 'other' except imaginary (illusional/delusional) 'other'.
There is no this 'and' you because that is two.
There is 'this'.
'This' is inseparable from 'you'- they are one.

Originally posted by Itisnowagain
reply to post by Manula

 

Restrictions and control. Wanting it to be a certain way.
Wanting is suffering.

indeed, poor op
limiting himself to Positivism 1.0 and trying to "reason it all away":shk:

he's also managed to create an even messier hodge-podge of ideas
than the disinfo agents
making himself look like an emperor of ignorance