Top 3 Worst and Most Self-Defeating Mistakes New Agers and World Savers Make.

Any advice for moving past/integrating with the shadow oh wise one? I definitely fall into category 2.

All bridges can be rebuilt.

Caviat Emptor! Let the buyer beware.... In a society surounded by messages of constant purchases which will solve every problem, is it any wonder we have the guru of the moment, the newest fad change, and predatory sage out to make a buck! You have nailed it on the head here... Step one... Look into the dark, Step two... Clean your own mirror. Step three... silence is the best action... action is the best silence. Thanks!

I like your blog. Anyone interested in identifying new age pitfalls should check out Catherine MacCoun's On Becoming An Alchemist.

I agree with some of the stuff.. other stuff.....

Have you read BRIGHTSIDED by Barbara Erenreich?... Do.. it is very good.

I am pretty harsh.. about my actisvism..

I do have a few friends who have that "eternal white light" glow about them.. and I wonder if they ever have a bad day.. it is IRRITATING.

That being said... practically.. I do believe in the idea that the "world is one".. but I delve down into the quantum physics implications... and while I may believe that.. I know that doesn't solve the pain and suffering.. just merely provides an opportunity for a paradigm shift.

I think that practical matters regarding our diet and lifestyle IS important and isn't just some "new age" thing. It is practically and something more folks should be aware of. How we choose to live on this planet IS important. It IS our "awareness" and you are right.. not everyone who following this "new age" path has a shred of "awareness".. they just are floating around.

While I believe there is a shift DEFINATELY occuring right now... (not just in 2012)... I don't necessarily believe that it is going to be some "magical" shift... but.. it could be profound.. but it requires US to do a lot of individual work.
There still is a lot of dark energy around......

It is important that we embrace a new paradigm shift... let go of old ideas that no longer serve us. (what is the old adage.. You cannot solve todays problems with the thinking that created them?)... I believe that is true.
This has nothing to do with dropping your brains out on the floor... but just being aware.. and moving through ...

It is a balance... always a balance......

There is potential out there..

I think that the mistake that a lot of people make is misinterpreting a lifestyle choice as a form of "change" or activism.

I'm all for a healthful and compassionate diet, and try to restrict my meat and dairy intake. I love cooking vegan and vegetarian meals and have turned on many of my friends to compassionate diets.

But I've seen many people who use their vegan diet in the same way that people with eating disorders use their diet. The food, and the discipline over what goes into our body, serve as a way for us to feel some measure of control. By not eating meat, or carefully inspecting the labels on all our foods for obscure animal products, we can feel that we are somehow having this huge moral impact on a world that is out of our control.

I'm certainly not trying to say that changing our diet isn't important, but it's also important not to take things to extremes. Let's not fool ourselves by taking on the trappings of lifestyles which promise only to relieve our guilt and give us an inflated sense of power and purity.

We must heal ourselves before we can heal our planet Earth.
Yes, we are all connected by the Zero Point Field we and all living things are constantly exchanging energy and when we heal our own individual energy fields we help all that we are connected to, all that exists.

We all must face a dark night of the soul and rise to the challenge to overcome and heal from it. The year 2010 will be and has been a year of challenges. We will all have opportunities to shine our inner light when we come out of a dark night.

Yes, your thoughts and intentions effect everything around us and all that we share a connection with.

May all be well our world.

"Preach that vegetarian, vegan, and raw diets are far superior to any other"

A vegan diet is superior to any other, the facts are undeniable, to those that actually look into it rather than ignorantly and arrogantly dismiss it:
http://sites.google.com/a/veganmail.com/veganicrevolution/

I think your post could be renamed:
"Perspective of a postmodern narcissist trying to justify their own apathy."

Pointing out a bad example of "charity" does not mean that most people that give to charity are like that. It's the same with those that dismiss the massive evidence that the official 9/11 story is a lie (the continued foundation of mass-killings of hundreds of thousands of civilians and domestic tyranny) and focus on unsubstantiated and much less important theories instead, again to "justify" the fact they are actually doing nothing of real importance themselves (your own behavior, which you project out on others, in this case "new agers", a classic ego defense/denial). Also those that "decry Big Brother" are doing more than you, which is basically just being a defender of the status-quo, though you'll deny this I'm sure, because you're really radical, but just in a "rational" way, right? When postmodern narcissists talk about what's "rational", they are really talking about irrational rationalization, always avoiding the crucial facts and focusing on exaggerations and irrelevant information.

I recommend you find better things to criticize (like say the occupations, fascism/tyranny/oppression/violence/injustice/exploitation) than those trying to make the world a better place (promoting those "bandy buzz words" of "sustainable" and "organic" and "present moment awareness"), it doesn't make you look cool to those that are aware, if that's your egoic belief, it just makes you look lame.

Peace

Until approached, I speak when spoken to. People that go around and try to change people are no better than the oppressive government of the new world order trying to enslave people. The wake up call will come from nature, not a bunch a hypocritical new agers. it will come from scientific discovery, not late blooming pseudo hippies. Just let these people be happy and when they try to push something on you, simply overwhelm then with intellect. Intelligence quiets even the loudest of talkers.

"in order for there to be order... there must first be disorder"

I like this article, it really gets straight to the thick of it.

I just had two notes that it inspired in me:

First, "Do I heal myself, or the world?" The question of projection. Peggy Holman said something that really struck me; She said: "If you have an issue that might be personal, -- raise it, because you might not be as alone as you feel you are." I think it's really important that, while, "yes," the person may be projecting, they should still voice what it is that's going on with them, and then other people who may know more, or further, can come and participate and/or respond. It is hard to know in chaotic situations where the correct view is, and I just choose to trust the flow of events, in general. I would rather people participate, than bottle up.

Second: If you want to see a really good example of a New Age community where people have responded to these 3 problems, -- check out the Federation of Damanhur.