New Age FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions

by Andrew Lutts

What Is The New Age?

The New Age movement means different things to different people. However, I feel that most all New Age topics have one basic underlying theme. That theme is personal spiritual development. Every day there are thousands upon thousands of people around the world who are waking up to the knowledge, understanding and realization of who they really are, where they came from, and why they are here.

This collective transformation of individuals can be described as the New Age movement. As a whole, the New Age movement is dynamic, rapidly-growing, and gaining momentum. The New Age movement provides the framework and the tools to assist people with their own personal growth and spiritual development.

The New Age movement itself is somewhat of a paradox, since to organize into some kind of "movement" could be considered to be contrary to the fundamentals of individual spiritual development. That is why there is some ambiguity to the meaning of the New Age, because it can mean different things to people. But that's okay. What is important is that each individual embarks on their own journey of learning, adventure, and discovery.

A key component of the New Age which many people prescribe to is the belief that our planet and its population are literally moving into a New Age. This New Age is one of awakened consciousness where people give up their limited third-dimensional survival mode of existence and awaken to a higher, more enlightened world. This coming New Age is an era of harmony, progress, knowing, and enlightenment.

What About Metaphysics?

The New Age is strongly related to some of the concepts defined in the branch of philosophy commonly referred to as metaphysics. Although the academic branch of metaphysics is most concerned about the nature of ultimate reality, popular metaphysical topics often include discussion and analysis of subjects beyond the physical third dimension. Some examples of metaphysical topics include: free energy, out of body experiences, UFOs, psychic phenomenon, alternative healing, and other topics that our conventional sciences find difficult to explain.

What About All the Various New Age Tools?

A study of the tools of the New Ager can help define the task at hand. A person may include crystals, candles, incense, tarot, runes, a pendulum, bodywork, meditation, toning and chanting, drums, and more. These tools can help a person transcend into various states of consciousness, and thus ultimately help a person turn within to look inside oneself for understanding and awareness. One reason that there are so many different tools to assist the New Ager is that different people find different values within each tool. For many, the Tarot works well. Others like crystals. Others meditate or channel. It matters little how one achieves higher understanding and wisdom. What is most important is that an effort is being made to transcend our limitations and seek out a higher good.

Is the New Age A Kind of Religion?

Although it may be spiritual, the New Age is far from being a formal religion. In fact, many New Agers tend to shy away from the structure and confines of traditional religious practices. But at the same time the New Age is and can be intensely spiritual. The New Age person often prefers a direct spiritual experience rather than one from organized religion.

All religions are essentially cultural institutions, reflecting the cultures that manifest them. Thus the growth in numbers of people exploring New Age topics would suggest that as individuals and as a society, we are willing to explore alternative explanations of who we are. The New Age is simply one path to choose on the road of spiritual growth. It matters little which label we put on the path, since in the end all paths ultimately converge at the same place. Everyone is searching for the eternal truths to some of life's most challenging questions, it is simply the way that people choose to go about their own search that is different. One reason the New Age path is popular is that it is more concerned with the ultimate truths themselves, rather than the process of how they are arrived at.

Are There Any Common New Age Beliefs?

Here's an unofficial list of beliefs that some individuals in New Age may have in common:

  1. You create your own reality and destiny. This is a planet of free choice, and you have your own free will.
  2. You have certain challenges to face and overcome in this lifetime. If you don't learn your lessons this time, you'll get them again.
  3. There is no such thing as coincidence.
  4. There is more to life than meets the eye, much more.
  5. Nothing really matters in this life unless it is done for the benefit of others.
  6. We are not alone.
  7. We are multidimensional beings currently having a human experience.
  8. We are all receiving more help than we know, from angels, spirit guides, ascended masters and others.
  9. We can heal ourselves, our society, and our world.
  10. The ultimate transformation for mankind is ascension.

What is a Lightworker?

A lightworker is a person who is defined by their mission. That mission is to share light and love with others on this planet, empowering them toward their own paradigm shift and spiritual awakening. The lightworker's goal is to help show others that they have a unique spiritual energy, and that they are free to explore and connect with the unlimited universal life force energy available to us all.

As people awaken to their true nature and connect with their higher selves, they too may choose to perform lightwork by manifesting unconditional love into the physical world around them. This goal of manifesting the Christ consciousness onto the earth plane, also known as creating heaven on earth, is a key component of a lightworker's mission.

Do We Have Free Will, Or Is Everything Destined?

This philosophical question is one of the more curious contradictions in the study of metaphysics and free will:

Some metaphysicians would argue that a rational universe is always based on cause and effect. That is, every effect is preceded by a cause, all the way back to the First Cause, that being God or the Divine.

On the other side, the act of pure, genuine, uncaused free will is considered somehow to negate the divine rational order and makes the universe seem irrational.

My interpretation: Although certain things may occur in one's life that may be destiny, we do have free will. This is important. And as time passes, our ability to manifest things and situations will accelerate so quickly that we will see that we can create and manifest results quickly and easily. To me, if we can bring about such change, this means we do in fact have free will.

Do New Age beliefs contradict science?

Many people feel that new age thinking just simply isn't rational. Traditional scientific models often include observation, analysis, testing and measurement. Quite often these things cannot be easily performed on paranormal and metaphysical phenomena. So how can someone believe in something they can't even see, measure, quantify or analyze?

It all comes down to beliefs, and often a deep inner knowing. It involves intuition and trust. It involves listening. It involves a whole lot of things that are currently beyond the scope of accepted scientific thinking.

The important thing to remember is that new age beliefs don't reject science. Modern science has brought tremendous good to our society in many ways. New age beliefs simply expand beyond accepted thinking in the exploration and search for life's eternal truths.

A Call To Action

We are one. To grow individually means we all grow a little bit. And that is why now, at this time, it may be essential that all New Agers, lightworkers, starseeds, walk-ins, and others who choose to make a difference work together at this critical time and help each other. It is vitally important to get together with like-minded spiritual souls at this time and amplify the effects of positive energies. Try to link up globally, via the internet, and locally, in your own community. We will leave no one behind.

Any more questions? Any answers? Please E-mail me: Andrew Lutts
copyright: 1995 - 1997 Salem New Age Center, Andrew Lutts

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