N E W AGE TO POSTMODERN AGE the cultural location of metaphysical belief

Submitted for the award of Master of Arts i n Communication Studies (Research) t o the School of Communications, Dublin City University. Fiona Smyth July, 2001

I hereby certify that t h i s material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading t o the award of Master of Arts i n Communication Studies (Research) i s entirely my own work and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent t h a t such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of m y work.

ACKN O W LED G EM EN TS

With sincere thanks to m y supervisor Dr. B i l l Dorris for valued input and t o t a l support throughout t h i s project. Thanks also to Dr. B i l l Campbell for extending the co-operation of Manchester Metropolitan University and for helpful suggestions and recommendations made. Finally, thanks t oa l l others who assisted i n any way in the production of t h i st h e s i s .

T A B L E OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE - THE N E W AGE 1 . 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1.1 1 . 1 . 2.................................................. ROOTS OF THE N E W AGE - THE OCCULT METAPHYSICAL TRADITION

2 4

1 . 2

1.2 .2

1.2.1

1 . 2 . 3.................................................. 1 . 2 . 4..................................................

8 9

1 . 3

THE M O D E R N N E W AGE 1 . 3 . 1.................................................. 1 . 3 . 2.................................................. 1 . 3 . 3.................................................. 1 . 3 . 4.................................................. C O M M O N BELIEFS OF THE M O V E M E N T THE EMERGING CULTURE OF THE N E W AGE 1 . 5 . 1.................................................. 1 . 5 . 2.................................................. 1 . 5 . 3.................................................. 1 . 5 . 4.................................................. 1 . 5 . 5.................................................. THE N E W AG E A N D N E W SCIENCE

12 14 15 16 20

1 . 4 1 . 5

24 25 26 28 31

1 . 6

1.6.1............................................................................................................................

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35 35 36 38 38 43

1 . 6 . 2.................................................. 1 . 6 . 3.................................................. 1 . 6 . 4.................................................. 1 . 6 . 5.................................................. 1 . 6 . 6.................................................. 1 . 6 . 7..................................................

CH A PTER TW O - PH YSIC S AND M YSTICISM

2 . 1 2.2

INTRODUCTION THE PARALLELIST APPROACH 2 . 2. 1.................................................. 2 . 2 . 2.................................................. 2 . 2 . 3.................................................. 2 . 2 . 4.................................................. 2 . 2 . 5.................................................. 2 . 2 . 6 2.2.7................................................... SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE 2.3.1 .................................................. 2 . 3 . 2.................................................. 2 . 3 . 3.................................................. 2 . 3 . 4.................................................. 2 . 3 . 5.................................................. THE POSTMODERN DEBATE 2.4.1.................................................. 2 . 4 . 2 .................................................. 2 . 4 . 3.................................................. 2 . 4 . 4..................................................

51

53 53 54 55 57 60 60

2 . 3

62 62 63 64 65

2.4

67 68 70 72

CHAPTER THREE-THE N E W AGE IN MODERNITY A N D POSTMODERNITY 3 . 1 3. 2 3 . 3 INTRODUCTION THE N E W AGE AS RELIGION TRAJECTORIES WITHIN MODERNITY 3 . 3. 1.................................................. 3 . 3 . 2 .................................................. 3 . 3 . 3.................................................. 3 . 3 . 4.................................................. 3 . 3 . 5.................................................. 3 . 3 . 6.................................................. 3 . 3 . 7.................................................. THE N E W AG E A N D MODERNITY 3 . 4.1.................................................. 3 . 4 . 2 .................................................. 3 . 4 . 3.................................................. THE N E W AGE A N D POSTMODERNITY 73 73

78 79 79 80 81 81 83

3.4

85 86 87 90

3 . 5

CLOSING DISCUSSION ENDNOTES APPENDICES

BIBILO G R A PH Y

98 101 108
113

ABSTRACT As a cultural trend or a religious force the nature of the N e w Age has been persistently unclear. This paper proposes t h a t , as a movement, i tmanifests an older s e t of concerns and an ancient worldview, according to the particular cultural conditions of the time. The f i r s t section provides a comprehensive analysis of the N e w Age, outlining i t s origins in the Western occult metaphysical tradition, through i t s assimilation of aspects of Eastern philosophy and modem science, to i t s current status as an inf l u e n t i a l , and increasingly mainstream, cultural phenomenon. The second section assesses the relationship between the new age and science, forming an i l l u s t r a t i v e example of the proposed influence of contemporary cultural values on the characteristics and forms of the movement. The f i n a l section places i twithin the debate on secularisation and the status of the religious as we move from the modem t o the postmodern e r a .

INTRODUCTION

The aim of t h i s paper i s to establish a comprehensive theoretical background to enable an understanding of the position ofNew Age or occult-mystical beliefs in contemporary cult ure.

The f i r s t chapter introduces the New Age movement as the contemporary manifestation of a long-standing occult tradition in the West. Tracing i t s development from Hellenistic Greece to i t s peak in the United States in the 1980s the influence of social and cultural factors on the forms and practices of the movement become c l e a r . However, the Ne w Age also continues to influence almost every aspect of society as i t s ideas increasingly pervade the mainstream of our culture, becoming l ess readily associated with their origins. This two-way influence i s the subject of the second chapter, which examines, as an i l l u s t r a t i v e example, the relationship between science and religion, and especially between physics and mysticism. The emergence of a new physicshas been wholly adopted by new agers in support of theirb e l i e f s , but i ti s argued that the l i t e r a t u r e which draws parallels between the fi e l d s ofphysics and mysticism cannot be taken as objective fact in the manner i ti spresented, subject as i ti s to cultural influence. The third chapter analyses the particular conditions of our time which have formed and nurtured the contemporary new age. Set against theories of secularisation the persistence and evolution of N e w Age spir i t u a l i t y raises questions about the religious in modernity, and, as we enter the new millennium, postmodemity. A f i n a l discussion section will suggest some of the ways in which New Age concerns continue to exist in l a t e c a p i t a l i s t , postmodern conditions.

CHAPTER ONE

CH A PTER ONE - TH E N EW AG E M OVEM ENT

1 . 1

INTRODUCTION

I nh i s 1995 book The New Age

in American Culture Richard Kyle provides one ofvery few

academic works on the new age movement, most publications on the subject on a popular l e v e l come from e i t h e rNew Age w r i t e r s themselves or from evangelical C h r i s t i a n s , and he c a l l sf o r more s eriou ss t u d i e s analysing i ta sac u l t u r a l movementand r e l a t i n gi t smost important aspects t ot h e i rh i s t o r i c a l context . 1 While the new age i s a contemporary movement i ti spossible t oi d e n t i f yi t sroots i n ancient Western c i v i l i s a t i o n ,i t simmediate backdrop i n countercultural America i n the 1950s and 6 0 s ,i t speak v i s i b i l i t yi n the 1970s and 8 0 s , and i ti scontended, i t sp e r s i s t e n t influence i nthe 1990s and the new millennium a si t s forms and b e l i e f s are assimilated i n t o mainstream c ulture i n th e postmoderne r a .

The new age movement i sthe current expression ofthe older mystical/occult t r a d i t i o ni nt h e West but the manifestation ofi t sc e n t r a lb e l i e f shave been shaped a t every point by t h e c u l t u r a l conditions ofthe t i m e . Evidencing heavy influence ofpost-World War I I developments such a s the emergence ofEastern s p i r i t u a l i t yi n America and developments i n science and psychology i tr e f l e c t si t sc u l t u r e , exaggerating trends or r e j e c ting them, i t provides i n s i g h t si n t o the s t a t u s ofr e l i g i o u s and secular thought as we pass from modernity i n t ol a t e , or pos t- modem ti m e s .

The f i r s tp art oft h i s section w i l l place the new age movement i nh i s t o r i c a lc o n t e x t ,f i r s t tracing the o r i g i n s ofi t sforms and b e l i e f s from the H e l l e n i s t i c period through t o 19t hcentury America, t h e n , assessing i t svarious infl u e n c e s , through the 20t hcentury t oi t speak i nt h e 1980s. This i s followed by a comprehensive ou t l i n e ofthe common b e l i e f s of t he various aspects ofthe movement. Next i san analysis ofthe proposed emerging culture ,a description ofthe f e a t u r e s new agers a t t r i b u t et o the oldo r dominantparadigm, and an exploration ofthe elements they believe i tsuppressed. Finally the influence ofthe new scienceon the movement i sexplored, paying s p e c i a la t t e n t i o nt o the work on perceived l i n k s between physics and mysticism ( i np a r t i c u l a rt h a t ofF r i t j o fCapra and David Bohm), but a l s o looking a tthe place ofpsychology and health i n the new paradigm .

1 . 1 . 1 During the 1980s mainstream popular c u l t u r ebecame saturated by new age concepts more thoroughly than ever before. Crystals and channelling gained media a t t e n t i o n , shamanism and Native American s p i r i t u a l i t ycaptured the public imagination and people turned t oh o l i s t i chealth pr actices i n huge numbers. Self-help and popular psychology books such as M. ScottPeck s The Road Less

Travelled sold intheirmillions making the genre one

ofthe most popular i n the business, and commercial success was also recorded i n increased s a l e s health foods and herbal remedies. The adve rtising industry caught on t o o , MasterCard borrowed t h e slogan Master the P o s s i b i l i t i e s from Werner Erhard se s t and the U.S. Army urged r e c r u i t st o Be All You Can Be . The movement a t t r a c t e dhigh p r o f i l ec e l e b r i t y champions such as Shirley MacLaine with her 1983 book Out on a Limb and i t s 1987 t e l e v i s i o nv e r sion, and i n December of t h a tyear Time magazine published New Age Harmonies ,the most s i g n i f i c a n ta r t i c l e on the subject t o appear i n the news media.2 This faddish element ofthe new a g e, the o n -li ne t a r o treadings, psychic phone l i n e s , magazine a s t r o l o g i c a lp r e d i c t i o n s , had already begun t o fade by the early 1990s, but the ideas and ethos ofthe movement which have penetrated aspects of society from environmental science and health care t o education, business ente r p r i s e s and innumerable s e l f h e l p psychologies w i l l continue t oi n f l u e n c e , though perhaps not ca l l e d New Agei n the f u t u r e . In 1994 a Newsweek a r t i c l ee n t i t l e d In Search ofthe Sacredreported a p o l l on the number of Americans on a quest f o r personal meaningfound t h a t 58% f e e l the need t o experience s p i r i t u a l growthand 33% have had a mystical orrelig i o u s experience . While these i n t e r e s t s are by no means new, they have, i nWestern c ultur ea tl e a s t ,t r a d i t i o n a l l ybeen the preserve ofan educated e l i t e . The modem new age has seen an extensive dmocratisation of these e s s e n t i a l l yr e l i g i o u sp u r s u i t s , and the extent oft h e i r secularisationi s such t h a tt h e i r new ageor mystical s t a t u si soften unacknowledged. As Russell Chandler wrote i n

Understanding the New Age:

The New Age has touched you. You have heard i t si d e a s ,l i s t e n e dt oi t smusic, viewed i t sa r twork, watched i t ss u p e r s t a r s , read i t sl i t e r a t u r e , and bought i t s products. You may even have participate di ni t sr i t u a l s , and embraced i t s philosophies - a l lwithout knowing them a s New Age.3 The new agei sd i f f i c u l tt o define because i ti snot a movement i n any formal sense, i thas no c e n t r a l organisation or membership, no holy t e x t or agreed-upon doctrine and no geographical c e n t r e . Richard Kyle summarises the problems posed a s follows:

I si ta passing fad? In some ways, y e s , but aspects ofthe New Age have deep roots and w i l l probably be around f o r quite a while. I si ta r e l i g i o u sc u l t ? No, but some c u l t s teach New Age b e l i e f s and might be c l a s s i f i e da s New Age groups. I s

i ta conspiracy? Despite what fundamentalists a l l e g e , the New Age i snot organised well enough f o rt h i s .I si ta p o l i t i c a l movement? No, but many entrepreneurs have soldNew Age products forb i l l i o n s of d o l l a r s .I si tnew? Definitelyn o t . The New Age has roots t h a t go way back. Indeed i tmay not even be a movement.4 I nt h e i rbook Networking Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps suggest i ti sbest understood a s as e r i e s ofnetworks, defined as informal, loosely k n it organisations spontaneously created by people t o address problems and o f f e rp o s s i b i l i t i e sprimarily outside of established i n s t i t u t i o n s .E l l i o tMiller has simi l a r l y described i ta s a metanetwork ( o rnetwork of networks) and Marilyn Ferguson c h a r a c teri ses i tas a lead e r l e s s but powerful network . 5

One ofthe primary problems in attempting a d e f i n i t i o n ofthe new age i st h a tthe movement does not have d i s t i n c tboundaries. For example t he new age grew out of the long-standing occult metaphysical t r a d i t i o n , but although i tborrowed many elements from Theosophy and New Thought i tdid not absorb them, and they have continued t oe x i s ti nt h e i ro r i g i n a l form. Similar boundary problems occur i nr e l a t i o nt os e veral contemporary Eastern r e l i g i o n s and occult metaphysical movements, the new age shares much i n common with feminist s p i r i t u a l i t yf o r example, they are not i d e n t i c a lmovements but they do overlap t o an e x t e n t .

A f u r t h e ri d e n t i t yproblem i s caused i n sense i n which the term i sused; i tcan imply e i t h e rthe narrow, faddish element, usually i n reference t o phenomena, p e r s o n a l i t i e s , and events given prominence by the media ,or i n a broader meaning, refer r i n gt o a more serious adherence t o the occult metaphysical t r a d i t i o n and the attempt t o transform s o c i e t y . In his book A Pilgrim

in Aquarius David Spangler draws a distinctionbetween theNew Age and the New Age

Movement:

The l a t t e ri sa modem confluence ofi d e a s ,e vents, groups, and a c t i v i t i e swhich align themselves i n some f a s h i o n , however t r i v i a l l yand minimally, with the ide a s ofpersonal and planetary transformation and provide various ways of seeking t o a t t a i ni t . . . The New Age on t he other hand, i san idea t h a ti st i m e l e s s .I ti smuch la r g e r than the movement t h a tbears i t sname.6 Essentially what causes most d i f f i c u l t yi n forming a d i s t i n c td e f i n i t i o n ofthe new age i st h e highly e c l e c t i c nature ofthe movemen

Conspiracy Marilyn Ferguson argues thatwe are inthe midst of the most rapid
c u l t u r a lrealignment i nhistory ,t h i sg r e a ts h i f ti snot a new p o l i t i c a l ,r e l i g i o u s or philosophical system. I ti s a new mind - the ascendance of a s t a r t l i n gworldview .

Appropriating Thomas Kuhn s theory of paradigm s h i f t ,the notion t h a tthere i sa l a r g e r c u l t u r a ls h i f t underway, of which t he New Age i sbut the most v i s i b l e aspecti sa c e n t r a l theme. Professor Diogenes Allen has written t h a tt h e r ei sa massive i n t e l l e c t u a l revolution underway, as great a st h a twhich marked offthe modem world from the Middle Ages ,arguing t h a tthe i n t e l l e c t u a l foundations ofthe world formed i n the Age ofReason are collapsing and we a r e entering a postmodern world . 7

The combination oft h i ss h i f ti n worldview, t h e loosely networked s t r u c t u r e and t h e convergence ofEastern and Western philosophies and the philosophies of science have a l l combined t o cr e a t e a highly e c l e c t i c movement, described by Robert Ellwood f o r example, a s a contemporary manifestation of a Western a l t e r n a t i v es p i r i t u a l i t y (occult-mystical) t r a d i t i o n going back t oa tl e a s tthe Greco-Roman world . At the heart ofthe new age message i sthebelieft h a t society i spoised between two epochs, the Piscean Age and the Age ofAquarius. During the Piscean Age, they argue, C h r i s t i a n i t y dominated and occult knowledge was undervalued, but t h e i roptimistic view ofthe f u t u r e predicts a convergence between s c i e n c e ,r e l i g i o n and a r t ,as the dawning Age ofAquarius ushers i na new golden age ofpeace, brotherhood and progress . 8 The new a ge, as ac u l t u r a ltrend with r e l i g i o u s dimensions ,shares both objectives and methods with other r e l i g i o n s but marks a break i ns t r u c t u r e and worldview.

While these categories provide a useful framework f o r viewing the new a g e , a more complete characterizat ion can be formed by the assessment ofthe common underlying b e l i e f s ofthe movement, provided i n section 1 . 4 .

1 . 1 . 2 The lineage ofthe new age movement in the West i smost often associated with the occult-metaphysical t r a d i t i o n which ran l i k e an underground riv e r through the Christian c e n t u r i e s , breaking i n t o high v i s i b i l i t yinthe Renaissance occultism ofthe so-ca l l e d Rosicrucian Enlightenment, eighteenth century Freemasonry and nineteenth century Spiritualism and Theosophy . The following section w i l lt r a c e the development ofnew age through i t sh i s t o r i c a l precursors, beginning with the explosion ofr e l i g i o u si n t e r e s tt h a t characterized the Helle nistic e r a .

While the s p e c i f i c worldview ofthe new age movement may be described a sa fusion of Western occultmonism with t h a t ofthe Eastern religions ,i talso draws h i s t o r i c a l l y from

pantheism, animism and n a tu ral humanism.9 I tmay be useful a tt h i spoint t oprovide a description ofthe terms involved.

Monism i n the West developed through Platonism and Neoplatonism. I tsuggested t h a tt he r e i sonly one base substanceofwhich whatever e x i s t si s composed. This inclusive view meant t h a thuman beings ar ep a rt ofnature and have a divine essence. Christian theism, which was the dominant ideology in the West from the early middle a g e s , b u i l t on Hebrew and Homeric Greek assumptions t h a thuman beings were dominant over n a t u r e . Theism proposed a personal god who i sboth immanent and transcendent. Pantheism, as a v ariation ofmonism, has t r a d i t i o n a l l y informed much new age thinking on nature and ecological i s s u e s . The term (meaning everything i sGod )describes a view oft he world and God as e x i sti ng i n an indissoluble unity and underpins much Eastern philosophy. Early Greek thought a lso espoused a s p e c i f i c form known as hylozoistic pantheism. Animism, the belieft h a ta l lthings possess a l i f e f o r c e or s o u l ,i sthought t o have given r i s et o primitive r e l igion and commonly appears i n occult s p i r i t i s tp r a c t i c e s . The term dualism was f i r s tused t o character ize the good/evil c o n f l i c ti n Zoroastrianism and has a lso been employed t o describe Gnostic and T a o i s t ,a s well as Cartesian t h i n king. A modified form of dualism also permeates C h r i s t i a n i t y . New age b e l i e f s are a l so humanistic i nt h a thuman values and concerns are c e n t r a l . Humanism developed with the doctrines ofProtagoras, but the secular aspect i n the West developed with the Enlightenment i nthe eighteenth century and worked i n opposition t o Christian theism - the new age has been characterized as as p i r i t u a l force rushing i nt of i l l the voidl e f tby t he decline i nC h rist ianity.1 0

1.2

ROOTS OF THE N E W AGE - THE OCCULT METAPHYSICAL TRADITION

The new age movement can be viewed as the shape taken by the occult i n response t o conditions i n the modem world. Arguing t h a tth el a r g e r occult-metaphysical t r a d i t i o n responds and re a c t st o , and i s shaped by i t sc u l t u r a l context ,i t srelationship t o the new age should be viewed as one of type ,with more d i r e c tl i n k sbecoming evident in the r e l i g i o u s explosionofthe 1800s. This s e ction w i l lt r a c e the i n f l u e n t i a l aspects ofthe occult mystical t r a d i t i o n from the H e l lenistic e r a , through the Middle Ages and the s c i e n t i f i crevolutions of the ear l ymodem world t oi t sprecursors i nnineteenth century America.1 1

1 . 2 . 1 In tracing the roots ofthe new age through the Western occult and metaphysical t r a d i t i o n s Kyle and Albanese begin with the H e l l e n i s t i c period. The considerable growth i n r e l i g i o u si n t e r e s ti nt h i s era ( l a s t i n g from approximately 300BC t o 200AD) saw the convergence ofEgyptian and Near Eastern c u l t u r e with the native Greek philosophy r e s u l t i n g i n a remarkable p l u r a l i t y ofb e l i e f s and p r a c t i c e s , comparable i n many ways t o present day s i t u a t i o ni n developed c o u n t r i e s . In t h i s cosmopolitan and i n some respects.. .l i b e r a l empire th e r ee x isted a choice ofhundreds or even thousands of c u l t s and s u b c u l t s , appearing and d i s s i p a t i n g while attempting t oa s s e r tthemselves . By the end ofthe fourth century A.D. C h r i s t i a n i t yhad become the o f f i c i a lr e l i g i o n ofthe Roman Empire, but elements oft h i s older H e l l e n i s t i c synthesis provided the ingre dients f o r a metaphysical combinationism t h a twould p e r s i s t .1 2

One such movement was Neoplatonism, a mystical i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ofPlatonic thought which saw God as completely transcendent, and r ela ted t o the world by means of a s e r i e s of i n t e r m e d i a r i e s , who ( o rwhich) derive from the One by a pri nciple of emanation. In t h i s view r e a l i t yi sa graded s e r i e s from the divine t o the m a t e r i a l , and man, who has i n him some p a r t d i v i n e , longs f o r union with the e t e r n a l source ofthings . The term Hermeticism i sused t o cover t h i sbody of thought, as well as those of gnosticism, a s t r o l o g y , alchemy and magic. Also known as corpus hermeticum, i tregarded by some a s the oldest accessible human wisdom ).1 3

Gnosticism i sperhaps the ancient r e l i g i o n most often associated with new age t h i n k i n g . Meaning l i t e r a l l y t o know ,i ti sthe name given t oas e tofb e l i e f s and practices which f i r s t appeared i n coherent form i n the second century and which, a ti t shighest p o i n t , presented r e a l competition to the Christian Church. Markedly d u a l i s t i c and espousing a system of emanations from god t o the material world, gnosticism held t he goal ofmystical merging, but

s p e c i f i c a l l ythrough s e c r e tknowledge available only t o the i n i t i a t e dfew. Always on t h e f r i n g e s of Chri s t i a n i t y and denounced by Church leaders as heresy, Gnosticism eventually gave way i n prominence t o Manicheism i n the t h i r dc e n tury. P h i l i p Lee, writing on the Gnostic influence i nAmerican r e l i g i o n ,s t a t e st h a tthe r e l i gion has no continuous l i n e through h i s t o r y , but t h a t the connection between ancient and modem Gnosticism can be characterized a s one of type . Among many purported l i n k st o modem movements and b e l i e f s are Christopher Lasch and Carl Raschke s contention t h a t many aspects of science are Gnostic i nt h e i r equation ofknowledge with s a l v a t i o n . Rachel Storm makes the connection between and the teachings ofthe i n f l u e n t i a l Russian mystic Gurdjieff and the Gnostic e f f o r tt o rouse the soul from i t ssleepwalking condition and t o make i taware ofthe high destiny t o which i ti scalled . This i sa l so a familiar motif i nl a t e r new age w r i t i n g ,f o r example i n the seminal Aquarius

Conspiracy Marilyn Ferguson devotes

a chapter t o th ec e n t r a l i t y of d i r e c tknowingi ne f f o r t st o secure awakening . In h i s book

Studies in Gnosticism and the Philosophy of Religion Gerald Hanratty provides evidence of
Gnostic thinking throughout hist ory i n the teachings ofJoachim de F i o r e , Meister Eckhart, t h e Kabbalists and comprehensively i n the work of C.W.F. Hegel, Simone Weil and Martin Heidegger.1 4

Although t he precise o r i g i n s ofastrology are unknown Gordon Melton suggests i tdeveloped independently i nboth China and Mesopotamia, the l a t t e rv e r sion, influenced a l so by t h e c u l t u r e s ofI r an and I r a q ,i sthe precursor oft h a tmost studied i n the West today. I twas among the most popular occult a c t i v i t i e s ofthe ancientNear East and has remained enduringly so throughout h i s t o r y . Alchemy i sregarded as the ancestor ofmodem chemistry. I t smain p r a c t i c a l aim was the transmutation ofbase metals i n t o those more valuable, but i ta l so had a profoundly s p i r i t u a l aspect i n the belieft h a t , by s i milar process, the soul of man could be purified and e x a l t e d . This view ofknowledge as a s e c r e t ,redemptive force which could ultimately bring about mystical union between the s e l fand God has persisted throughout centuries i n many i n f l u e n t i a l guises and f o r Carl Jung was a d i r e c tprecursor ofpsychology, thereby ultimately informing humanistic psychology and the Human Pot ential movement. Another enduring s p i r i t u a lpractice i sshamanism. A mediumistic g i f tassociated with h e a l i n g , prophetic or paranormal power, the r o l e ofthe shaman i nt r a d i t i o n a l society has been studied i n many c u l tures and has enjoyed a reviv al i nthe Neo-shamanist movements oft h e new age.1 5

1 . 2 . 2I tcan be said t h a tinbasic form, the important occult and metaphysical b e l i e f s had been establishedby the end ofthe H e l l e n i s t i c pe riod, and so l a t e rmanifestations can be understood as c u l t u r a l l yinfluenced combinationism. The r e l i g i o u sd i v e r s i t y which characterized the H e l lenistic era was replaced in the Middle Ages by the dominance ofthe (Catholic) Christian church.3 6 In the early Middle Ages however, division existed within the Church and paganism persisted even during the height of Church strength (1050 t o 1350 A.D.).1 6

Catharism, a form ofEastern dualism with strong Gnostic elements, developed around t h i s time and established an i n f l u e n t i a ld i s s e n t movement which claimed a new s e c r e t understanding of C h r i s t i a n i t y . Gnostic influence a l so persi sted i n the teachings ofthe l a t e twelfth century abbot Joachim de Flora ( s p e c i f i c a l l y Chil i a s t i c gnosticism) and ofl a t e medieval mystic and theologian Meister Eckhard, reputedly the insp i r a t i o n the i n s t i g a t o r s of the Romantic movement.1 7

Modem wiccan r e l i g i o n st r a c et h e i ror i g i n st o medieval witchcraft and, along with neo paganism, much common ground with new age b e l i e f . Hermeticism and Kabbalism a l s o moved i n t othe Christian occult inthe Middle Ages. I n t e r e s ti n the Kabbalah and the corpus

hermeticum flourishedwith the Renaissance as educated people translatedmetaphysical

manuscripts and began to engage i n occultp r a c t i c e s . As a movement of c u l t u r a lr e b i r t h such a c t i v i t i e swere no longer viewed as mindless s u p e r s t i t i o n , but rat her a plunge i n t o the unconsciousness i n order t o prepare humanity f o r a leap i n t o the modem world .1 8

The Rosicrucian Manifestos f i r s tappeared in the early seventeenth century. Rosicrucianism attempted t o concretize the sacred c u l t u r e envisioned i nthe Hermetic t r a d i t i o nby giving i t p o l i t i c a l and r e l i g i o u s expression, influenced by Gnosticism and alchemical b e l i e f s , the group i ss t i l li n existence today, and has parented many s p l i n t e r groups though the ye a r s , (AMORC f o r example). I thas close t i e swith Freemasonry, and also shares much i n common with Christian Science and Theosophy.1 9

1 . 2 . 3 Up u n t i l the time ofthe eighteenth century Enlightenment, occult b e l i e f s ran more or l e s s with the mainstream ofthought i n Western Europe, largely agreeing with the science of the time on the nature ofthe universe and man splace within i t . However, with the i n t e l l e c t u a l and s c i e n t i f i c developments ofthe period 1650 t o 1800 came a s h i f ti n worldview t h a trendered rel ig i o u s and mystical explanations obsolete f o r the educated c l a s s e s .

At t h i spoint Catherine Albanese notes t h a tthere arose a d i s t i n c t i o nbetween the h i s t o r i c a l l y e l i t e forms of occultr e l igion c r y s t a l l i z e di na s e c r e tbody ofknowledge and practices passed on by a small group i n every ageand, among the l e s s educated c l a s s e s ,at r a d i t i o n a l and often r u r a l counterpart used f o r example t o guide agri c u l t u r e which shared i m p l i c i t religiophilosophical presuppositions with the e l i t ev a r i e t i e s ,( b u t ) emphasized secrecy l e s s than p r a c t i c a l i t y and performance . With the growing influence ofthe Enlightenment, Herbert Levenshal points out t h a ti twas the former ofthese elements which declined more rapidly and thoroughly (than d i d) the simple folkb eli efs . 2 0

The most s i g n i f i c a n tancestors t o the new age oft h i s time were perhaps the s e c r e ts o c i e t i e s . As one such society Freemasonry combined elements of standard Christian r e l igio n with an emphasis on reason and the s c i e n t i f i c worldview, but Edmond Mazet concludes i nh i sa r t i c l e on the e s o t e r i c aspectt h a ti ta l s o continues the hermetic t r a d i t i o n , with influence from Gnosticism, alchemy and Kabbalah as well a s more markedly Eastern t r a d i t i o n s .

The teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) are a lso ci t e d as d i r e c t l y influencing, f o r example, the transcend entalistmovement. As a seerhe shared many b e l i e f s regarding t h e s p i r i t u a ls t a t ewith e a r l i e rt r a d i t i o n sbut a s an engineer and s c i e n t i s the preempted l a t e r developments inphysics and anatomy, and h i s combinative vision l a t e rinspired a resurgence i n occult i n t e r e s ti n the nineteenth century which became known as the Metaphysical Revival.2 0

1 . 2 . 4 In her analysis ofthe roo t s ofthe new age i nAmerica, Catherine Albanese argues t h a t main movements ofthe nineteenth century, transcendentalism, s p i r i t u a l i s m , New Thought and Theosophy can be seen as i t simmediate precursors. She c h a r t s the development of an a ddit ional form ofmetaphysical belieforpractice (alo ngside, and without fixed borders w i t h , the more vernacular, organic occultism and the d e l i b e r a t e , knowledge-based version) which she terms mind-oriented religion . The rapid s o c i a l change ofthe time marked by major demographic s h i f t s ,immigration and urbanization went hand i nhand with a flood ofnew r e l i g i o n s of a l lt y p e s . These mind-oriented forms which s t r es sed s p i r i t u a l i z i n gtheories about l i f eand were mostly uninterested in ceremonialized r i t u a l forms and found i t easy.. .t or e l a t e t o the American public i n general.2 1

Transcendentalism had as members some ofthe leading l i t e r a r yf igures ofthe ti m e . Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was a l e a d e r , and the Brook Farm community was home t o

Margaret F u l l e r , Walt Whitman and Herman M elville. As a work of construction and reconstruction ofolder metaphysical b e l i e f s ,by a group ofi d e a l i s t i ci n t e l l e c t u a l s , Transcendentalism was an example ofthe new self-conscious form of occultism which echoed contemporary American values ofindividual freedom and personal r e s p onsibility i n i t ss p r i i t u a l i t y . I thas been recorded as the f i r s tAmerican r e l i gion t os eriously incorporate an Eastern element and th ef i r s tt o attempt t o r e t a i n the s p i r i t u a l experience ofthe Christian f a i t hwithout the substance ofi t sbeliefs .I tpaved the way f o r the New Thought and Christian Science movements and, according t o Marilyn Ferguson, has d i r e c t l y influenced both new age ecological and p o l i t i c a l thinking inspi r i n g generations of s o c i a lreformers and a c t i v i s t s . 2 3

The growth of a s p i r i t u a l i s tmovement i nnineteenth century America saw a popular swell i n i n t e r e s tin s p i r i tcontact and communication and a formalization ofthe procedures which today form the basis f o r thenew age practice of channeling. Although the concept was f a m iliar t o many c u l tures throughout the course ofhuman h i s t o r y ,t h i spopularized form i s considered t o have developed i n the decade a f t e r 1848. I t st h e o r e t i c a l lineage i straced d i r e c t l yt o the teachings ofFranz Mesmer s mental healingmovement (mesmerism, a forerunner ofhypnotism) and a g a i n , Swedenborgianism. Andrew Jackson Davis wrote and lectured extensively no t h e i rb e l i e f s and associated t h e s p i r i t u a l i s tmovement with h i s campaigning on women sr i g h t s and marriage reform. As a r e l i g i o ns p i r i tualism appeared t oo f f e r a reasonable and s c i e n t i f i ca l t e r n a t i v et o the r e j e c t e d t r a d i t i o n a l systems in t h a ti toffered empirical and t angible evidence of a world beyond t h i s one and willingly opened i t smeetings and seances t oi n v e s t i g a t o r s who might authenticate t h e communication and k i n e t i c phenomena. Although s p i r i t u a l i s tb e l i e f s were exceptionally widespread, a tthe time, with i n t e r e s t and l i t e r a r yinfluence extending back t o Europe from i t sNew York o r i g i n s , the formation oft h e Theosophical Society i n 1875 caused a s p l i n t e r i n g ofthe organization and i t sinfluence on new age thought i smore accurate an assessment of i t simpact than the number of surviving s p i r i t u a l i s tchurches i n America which i sestimated a taround only 1,000 t o 2,000.2 4

Sellon and Weber have tracedthe impressive ancestry ofTheosophy in the West t o Pythagorean Greece, through the Neo-platonic movement, noting i t sassociations with t h e Kabbalistic and Gnostic t r a d i t i o n s , Islamic sufism, hermeticism and alchemy a s well a sl a t e r movements such as Rosicrucianism and freemasonry and the teachings ofMeister Eckhart and Emanuel Swedenborg. In the E a s t ,a l t h o a l i s tmovement, and by 1930 there were 50,000 members i nf o r t yc o u n t r i e s . Members were

10

 t y p i c a l l y urban middle c l a s sprofessionalsand included i n f l u e n t i a li n t e l l e c t u a l s and l i t e r a r y fi g u r e s such as poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats .

Theosophists believe t h a tman i s p erf e c t i b l e . . .(and) on a pilgrimage of consciousness toward a wider and wider universality . Theosophical teachings are p a n t h e i s t i c , believing i n the immanence of God i na l laspects ofl i f e and n a t u r e . They borrow from Buddhist teachings on reincarnation and the coming ofa saviour for humanity, and have introduced t o new age thinking the c e n t r a l idea t h a twe a re entering a new phase i nhuman h i s t o r y . Theosophy has been ca lledthe mother ofthe occulti nmodem America, a suggestion echoed i n Mary F a r r e l l Bedamowski s statement t h a t modem new age thought i sboth a continuation and an expansion ofmany relig i o u s concepts t h a tTheosophy pulled together . 2 5

Another movement ofnineteenth century origin t o contribute s u b s t a n tiallyt o the development ofthe new a g e, i st h a t ofNew Thought. New Thought was not a coherent r e l i g i o n so much a s a movement, which in summary, wedded the s p i r i t u a lidealism ofRalph Waldo Emerson with the pursuit ofhealing a l t e r n a t i v e sthrough various mental and psychological processes . I t sorigin i s generally a t t r i b u t e dt o Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802-1866). Originally a mesmerist Quimby wrote ofthe healing power ofthe t r a n s f e r ofhealing thoughts, but he eventually came t or e j e c tmesmerism i n favour of a more obvious Swedenborgian i n f l u e n c e . His ideas were adopted and l a t e radapted by p a tient and student Mary Baker Eddy who used them as the basis forwhat would become her Church of C h r i s t ,S c i e n t i s ti n 1879. In t u r n , one ofEddy ss t u d e n t s , Emma Curtis Hopkins, formed her own school to teach and t r a i n p r a c t i t i o n e r s . The network of associations eventually being managed by her d i s c i p l e s became known f i r s ta s mind s c i e n c e , and th e n , by th e 1890s as the New Thought movement. By the mid 1890s some divisions ofthe movement had begun t os t r e s s ,i ni n d i v i d u a l i s t i c terms, the power oft h e mind t o heal d i s e a s e , achieve prosperity and enjoy personal success. Ralph Waldon Trine s 1897 In

Tune with the Infinite sold well over two million copies and isconsidered one ofthe Thinking brought the

e a r l i e s texamples ofthe selfh e l p genre ofl i t e r a t u r e . Al a t e rexample inNorman Vincent Peale s 1952 Power of Positive

message ofmental healing and the success e t h i ct o millions outside the movement and unobtrusively i nt o the mainstream ofAmerican c u l t u r e d i s s ol v(ing) the mystery t h a t surrounded occult metaphysics . 2 6

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1 . 3

THE M O D E R N N E W AGE

The modem new a ge, i ti sargued, took offi n the seventies and reached i t speak i nt h e e i g h t i e s , but developments much e a r l i e ri nthe century ensured a l lthe conditions were i n p l a c e . This section w i l l look a tthe influence ofthe s c i e n t i f i c discoveries ofthe e ar l y twentieth century and the impact ofEastern r e l i g i o n s , as well a s outlining the involvement of i n f l u e n t i a lc u l t u r a lf a c t o r s . The forms ofthe new a g e ,f i r s ti n the nineteen f i f t i e s and s i x t i e s , and then i n the seventies and e i g h t i e s are the subject ofthe f i n a lpart oft h i ss e c t i o n .

1 . 3 . 1 After the second World War Eastern r e l i g i o n s experienced a dynamic growth period i n theUnited S t a t e s , and came t o form a major component ofthe modem new age movement, but t h a tt h i ss i t u a t i o n could a r i s e was pa r t l y due t o an older presence. Andrea Diem and James Lewis have outlined a tl e a s tth ree d i s t i n c twaves ofAsian religi on entering the U.S. The f i r s twave was almost purely l i t e r a r y ,consisting ofthe importation ofHindu r e l i g i o u s s c r i p t u r e sby the B r i t i s h East India Company i n the l a t e eighteenth century and ultimately paving the way f o r the new age through t h e i rinfluence on the t r a n s c e n d e n t a l i s t , Theosophical and New Thought movements ofthe nineteenth century.2 7

The l a t enineteenth and early twentieth centur ies saw Indian r e l i g i o u s teachers such a s Swami Vivekananda and Swami Paramahansa Yogananda i n s p i r e the founding ofthe Vedanta Society and the Self-Realization Fellowship but t h i s small stream of Eastern teachers a r r i v i n g i nt h e U.S. came t oah a l twith the Oriental Exclusion Acts ofearly twentieth century. The r e s u l twas t h a tthe second wave ofHindu and Buddhist teachings t o reach the U.S. did so l a r g e l y through the writings ofAmerican occult teachers and i twas such a synthesis t h a tl a t e r provided much ofthe basis f o rnew age thought.

Immigration r e s t r i c t i o n swere l i f t e di n 1965 and the r e s u l t i n gt h i r d wave of Eastern r e l i g i o n and i t sinflux of gurus eventually formed the basis ofthe s p i r i t u a l subculture leading d i r e c t l y t o the new age movement.2 8

Writing i nthe f i r s tdecade ofthe twentieth century William James (1842-1910), chair of philosophy a tHarvard University, brought together themes from religion and science i na scholarly account ofthe psychological aspects of a l t e r e ds t a t e s of consciousness. His i n t e r e s t i nEmerson s transcendentalism, mental healing and r e l i g i o u s or mystical experiences led him t o develop what l a t e rbecame known as pragmatism This philosophy emphasized t h e

12

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ofideas through t h e i rconsequences, and he held t h a ti fthey created a meaningful universe f o r a person t h e i rt r u t hcould not be dispu ted. The legacy oft h i s work i s suggested i n Aldous Huxley s inquiry i n t oa l t e r e ds t a t e s ofconsciousness i n The Doors of

Perception (1954).

Meanwhile the world ofphysics was a l so breaking ground with discoveries t h a t would influence and i n s p i r enew age t h i n k ing. I n 1900 German physicist Max Planck challenged received wisdom with evidence t h a tl i g h ti nf a c tbehaved l i k ea p a r t i c l e , beginning th e new physicsof quantum mechanics. Later elaborations from Albert Einstein and others seemed t o echo the cosmology ofmetaphysics with the revelation t h a ta tthe sub-atomic l e v e l matter was not the s o l i de n t i t yt h a ti tappeared, and t h a tthe l i n ebetween matter and energy was f l u i d ra t h e r than fixed.2 9

The modem study ofpsychology developed i n the l a t enineteenth century and by the ear l y twentieth century there were two main schools were established i n Sigmund Freud s psychoanalysis and Ivan Pavlov and W.B. Watson sbehaviourism. While psychoanalysis based i t si n t e r p r e t a t i o n ofhuman behaviour l a rg ely i n terms ofthe subconscious or unconscious mind, behaviourism i sconcerned with the human being as a physiological organism. Both ofthese approaches however a re e s s e n t i a l l yreductionist i nt h e i r approach and have been l e s sd i r e c t l yi n f l u e n t i a lf o rnew age thinking than the work of C.G. Jung. The founder of a n a l y t i c a l or archetypal psychology Jung had studied esotericism in r e l i g i o u s and c u l t u r a l history and took motifs and contents from the s p i r i t u a lt r a d i t i o nboth t o compare and t oi n t e r p r e tthe products ofthe unconscious, not only the unconscious ofh i sp a t i e n t s but h i s own and t h a t ofa l lthose who were concerned f o r a deeper knowledge of themselves . Jungian psychology ( a s well as humanistic and transpersonal psychologies) came t o form one ofth e major t h e o r e t i c a l and p r a c t i c a l components ofnew age b e l i e f s from the mid-twentieth century onwards.3 0

Aspects oftranspersonal psychology, the work ofWilliam James and the s p i r i t u a l i s tt r a d i t i o n a r e echoed i n parapsychology, a study popularized i n the ear l y twentieth century by J . B . Rhine (1895-1980). Described by the Parapsychological Society as the s c i e n t i f i c and scholarly study ofc e r t a i n unusual events associated with human experience ,i tattempts t o provide positive evidence through laboratory t e s t i n gf o r such phenomena as extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK), t r a d i t i o n a l l yaccounted fo ri nrelig i o u s or quasi r e l i g i o u s terms as miraculous or magical. Dogged by associations with anything paranormal or bizarre.. .b i g f o o t , paganism, vampires, alchemy or witchcraft ,i tgained legitimacy with the admission ofthe Parapsychological Society i n t o the American Academy for t h e

13

Advancement of Science i n 1957. I t sversion ofthe r e l a t ionship between scien ce, r e l i g i o n and mysticism continues t o hold i n t e r e s tforthe new age movement.3 1

1 . 3 . 2 Religious pluralism has been a longstanding f e a t u r e ofthe American landscape, but t he l a t etwentieth century has been marked by a period of intense relig i o u s experimentation. Pluralism described ther e l i g i o u s and c u l t u r a lf a c t s ofAmerican l i f ebut i talso became an int e r n a l i z e dc o ndi tion, an ideology which prescribed how t o live . The expansion ofc u l t u r a l pluralism was one ofthe most i n f l u e n t i a lf a c t o r si nthe growth ofnew relig i o n si n the 1960s and 1970s. Gordon Melton i d e n t i f i e s the important events i nt h i srespect a s ,f i r s t l y ,the spread ofnew and formerly suppressed r e l i g i o u s groups from Japan following the end of the second World War, secondly, the influx of swamis and gurus from India following i t sindependence i n 1948, and f i n a l l y , the 1965 revocation ofthe Oriental Exclusion Acts by President Johnson. The resul t i n g immigration from Asia he describes as the si n g l e most important f a c t o ri nt h er i s e ofnew r e l i g i o u si n America . 3 2 As noted, these t r a d i t i o n s had already i n f i l t r a t e dthe American re ligious milieu via Transcendentalism, New Thought, Theosophy e ta l . ,but t h i s mass immigration meant t h a t they could a s s e r t a more d i r e c tpresence with millions ofpracticing Hindus and Buddhists and t h e i rt e a c h e r s , thus making the a l t e r n a t i v e s more v i s i b l e and more a c c e s s i b l e . Roof and McKinney note t h a tup t ot h i s point i n self-pe rception i fnot i nf a c t , the U.S. was a white country i n which Pr otestant C h r i s tiani ty s e t the norms ofr e l i g i o u s observance and conduct and white Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) c u l t u r e shaped much ofpublic l i f e . This consensus was f i n a l l ychallenged with the r i s e of s e c u l a r ,r a t i o n a l , occult-mystical and Eastern b e l i e f st o compete with the Judeo-Christian and the r e s u l t a n tp l u r a l i t y of c u l t u r e, values and b e l i e f s provided a seedbed f o rthe b i r t h ofthe new age movement in the 60s and 70s.3 3

Another aspect ofAmerican society which came t o the f o r ea tt h i s time was t h e prizing of individualism. The freedom t o decide on one s own choice ofreligion i senshrined i nt h e c o n s titution and i sa l s oc e n t r a lt o the new age v i s i o n . Individualism i n new age r e l i g i o ni s a lso evident the c e n t r a l i t y ofthe self and i ni t saim ofpersonal transformation.

Ar e vival i n occult i n t e r e s tand a c t i v i t yi n the 1960s and 70s i sa lso implicated i n the evolution and reception ofthe modem new a g e . Two defined, i foverlapping, trends were noticeable i nt h i s revival- the popularization ofp u r s u i t s such as astr o l o g y , palmistry, numerology and t heI

Ching and, perhaps more significantlyforthe new age, the worldview

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of occult-mysticism became widely accepted during the 1970s and 1980s. . ..(more s o ) than a t any time since the seventeenth century . 3 4

1 . 3 . 3 Kyle a s s e r t st h a tthe new age movement i sa post-countercultural development t h a t r e f l e c t s a modification ofthe more r a d i c a lb e l i e f s and concerns oft h a t time. The p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l turbulence ofthe era was the r e s u l tofrapid change i n the preceding decades. Fis c a l and p o l i t i c a lpractic es had been l e f tunable t o cope with the burgeoning urban and i n d u s t r i a l problems which had developing since the l a t enineteenth century. The seemingly endless s c i e n t i f i c and technological advancements depersonalized human r e l a t i o n s h i p s ,c reating a t h i r s tf o r intimacy and community t h a t some f r i n g er e l i g i o n s would f i l l . . . (and) a l loft h i s emphasis on r a t i o n a l i t y , technology and science caused a backlashwhich promoted t h e s u b j e c t i v e , experience-oriented approach t ol e a r n i n g , so prevalent in the new age . 3 5

Although Zen Buddhism arrived i nthe U.S. i n the earlypart ofthe nineteenth c e n t ury, i twas in the 50s t h a ti texperienced i t sg r e a t e s t growth, as a r e l i g i o n l e s sreligioni tbecame the symbol oft he s p i r i t u a lcounterculture of the decade. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brought the most successful ofthe Hindu groups, Transcendental Meditation (TM) t o the U.S. in 1959, and, although i t spopularity leveled offi n the mid 1970s, i tremains a cornerstone ofnew age p r a c t i c e . The introduction of Sufism, the mystical wing ofIslam, followed a similar t r a j e c t o r ybut i t s teaching s, ofoneness i n world r e l i g i o n s and the coming ofa new world e r a ,a r es t i l lresonant i n new age t h i n k i n g . A s i mi larprocess of assimilation saw the s p i r i t u a lt r a d i t i o n s ofnative Americans ( e s p e c i a l l y ecological and shamanistic b e l i e f s ) introduced and adapted t o mainstream America through the teachings o f ,f o r example, Sun Bear (Chippewa) and h i s Bear Tree Tribe Medicine Society which he established i n 1966.3 6

Astrology was probably the most popular aspect ofthe occult revival of the 1960s. I tserved a s a symbolic science f o rmany and l e n tt o the beliefi n a new dawn so c e n t r a lt onew age ideology i t ssymbol ofThe Age ofAquarius. Spiritualism a l so resurfaced i n the 60s and i t sp r a c tice ofchanneling became one ofthe most recognizable aspects ofthe modem new a g e . Si m i l a r l y , modem forms ofwitchcraft with s p e c i a li n t e r e s ti n whitemagic, herbology and nature i n general gained heightened v i s i b i l i t yi nt h i s decade.

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P a r a s c i e n t i f i ci n t e r e s ti n the world of spaceships and t h e i rparaphernalia brought together aspects of shamanism or channeling with the new technologies of the age i n movements such as George King sAetherius Society i n London i n 1956.

Developments i npsychology i n the 50s and 60s a l so had impact on what would become t he new age movement. Abraham Maslow shumanistic psychology began t o move the focus away from th e treatment of only the mentally i l l ,helping well people to improve themselves and achieve t h e i rp o t e n t i a l , usi n g , among other techniques, peak experienceand l i f eforce . The basic assumptions ofhumanistic psychology have been widely accepted i n Western society and a l s o formed the basis for the i n f l u e n t i a l transpersonal psychology.3 7

In 1962 the famed Esalen I n s t i t u t ea tBig Sur i n California became a center f o r those in t e r e s t e di nthe implications ofthese psychologies, and, combining material taken from comparative r e l i g i o n with mystical and meditation theory.. .worked with psychotherapeutic language and techniques toward goals of emotional growth and consciousness expansion . Esalen became a prototype f o r other cen ters and smaller l e s s formal groups who would propagate t h e i rmessage. Other early groups include l i g h t groups such a s the Findhom community established i n northern Scotland i n 1965 t h a t saw the development and a r t i c u l a t i o n of a comprehensive and self-conscious new age ideology.3 8

1 . 3 . 4 By the early 1970s new age people increasingly found each o t h e r . A loose network of groups and organizations became gradually self-conscious and slowly began t o gain a t t e n t i o n and, e v e n tu ally, national recogniti on. Word-of-mouth recommendations and b u l l e t i nboards i n health food s t o r e s ,s p e c i a l i s tbook s t o r e s and yoga centers were gradually supplemented by newsletters and d i r e c t o r i e s such as Common

Ground inthe San Francisco area andFree Spirit

i nNew York City which c i rculated l o c a l new age information and s e r v i c e s . By 1971 the

East-West Journal was beginning to articulatethe new age vision and itwas soonjoined by journals and periodicals such as the New Age Journal, New Directions and New Realities.
Such publications served not only t o spread the ideas ofthe movement but a l s ot o increase i t s v i s i b i l i t yi n the public a r e n a . These purposes were f u r t h e r served by the publication of numerous books by those who would become spokespersons f o r the new age v i s i o n . 3 9

F i n a l l y , the beginnings ofwhat would become a widespread i n t e r e s ti nh o l i s t i c health could be seen emerging i n ,f o r example, Dr. Evarts Leonis s Meadowbank health center and indeed

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a tEsalen where pioneering research work promoted a comprehensive approach t o health which promised t o care formind, body and s p i r i t .

Richard A lper t, a former Harvard psychologist expelled f o r experimentation with LSD, published the landmark book Be Here Now i n 1972 under h i s Eastern-influenced name Baba Ram Dass. The practice of channeling was brought t o the f o re by the 1975 publication of Columbia University psychologist Helen Cohn Schucmann s apparently automatically w r i t t e n , 1,200 page A

Course in Miracles.

The book, which r e i t e r a t e s new age themes

combined with Christian Science and Christianized Vedanta teachings, had sold over 500,000 copies by the l a t ee i g h t i e s and had spawned user groups a l lover the U.S. A sometime resident ofthe ScottishFindhom Community, David Spangler h a s , through h i s writing and public speaking, became an important a r c h i t e c t and i n t e r p r e t e r ofnew age b e l i e f s from h i s 1976 Revelation:

The Birth of the NewAge to 1996sA Pilgrim in Aquarius.

Marilyn

Ferguson began reporting on trends i npsychology and brain/consciousness research i n the

Brain/Mind Bulletin in 1975, and, despite not being overtly concerned with new age ideology, produced what has been calledthe Bible ofthe New Agewith her 1980 publication The Aquarian Conspiracy.40
Other i n t e l l e c t u a lt h e o r i s t s ofthe new age include F r i t j o fCapra whose 1975 Tao of Physics a lso sold over halfa million c opies, a pioneer of new physics ,Miller argues t h a th i s 1982

The Turning Point has served as a s o r tofmanifesto ofNew Age ideology . Away from the
i n t e l l e c t u a lf i e l dc e l e b r i t yproponents often provided leadership as well as heightened v i s i b i l i t yt o the movement. In 1983 ShirleyMacLaine sold several million copies ofher Out

on a Limb with the 1987 ABC miniseries provingjust as popular. Inthe same year the

Harmonic Convergence ofnew agers on sacred s i t e s around the globe t o usher i n the New Age became a major media e v e n t .

Organizations, groups and communes have a l so formed important bases f o rthe fo stering of new age thinking and the spread ofi t sideology. Some of e a r l i e r or i g i n maintained a c t i v i t y throughout the 70s and 80s ( f o r example, Theosophical bodies such as the Arcane School, I AM ,AMORC, and Eastern-variant groups such as Zen, Vedanta Foundation, T M and the S ufi Order i n the West), while others such a s Rajneesh Foundation and Scientology f i n a l l y flourished i nt h i speriod.4 1

Management t r a i n i n g groups such a se s t and MSIA were employed by business corporations t o improve employee productivity by teaching s t r e s smanagement, interpersonal r e l a t i o n s and employee. This practice became so widespread t h a t ,i n 1986, the New York Times reported

17

on a Californian survey which found t h a tmore than halfof company owners and presidents questioned had resorted t o some form of consciousness raisingtechnique. I ta l so l i s t e d some ofthe nation sl a r g e s tcorporations (including IBM, AT&T and General Motors) who had sentrepresentatives t o a New Mexico seminar t h a tyear t o discuss how metaphysics, t h e occult and Hindu mysticism might help executives compete i n the world marketplace . 4 2

Werner Erhart se s t (Erhart Seminar Training) became a multimillion do l l a r corporation, t r a i n i n g hundreds ofthousands ofpeople since i t sinception i n 1971. Kenneth Woodward has described i tas theReader s Digest ofthe consciousness movement - a distillation ofevery s e l f h e l p technique from Dale Carnegie t o Zen, packaged f o r quick consumption .S t r i d e n t l y self based, e s t denied being a r e l i g i o n , but propounded a worldview and attempted t o transform people and d e liver them from d i f f i c u l t y . According t o Rachel Storm, the s e l f r e l i g i o n s focused on enabling the individual so t h a t they could become enlightened members ofthe c a p i t a l i s tmainstream, and while enjoying a l l i t sb e n e f i t s , help t o transform i t . . .by taking t h e i r inner paradise i nto the o f f i c e , so i twas reasoned, big business i t s e l fwould become the engine room ofutopia . She notes t h a tt h e early 1980s were busy years f o rthe s e l f r e l i g i o n gurusand e s tl a t t e r l ytransformed i n t ot he l e s s confrontational Forum, which i t s e l fgave r i s et o the sim il a r l y successful Transformational Technologies (TT) and Programmes Ltd.4 3

S i m i l a r l y , Lifespring and i t soffshoot John-Roger HinkinsMSLA. (Movement f o rS p i r i t u a l Inner Awareness), borrowing heavily from the beliefsystems ofTheosophy, A M O R C and Eckenkar, began t o operate t r a i n i n g courses following the success of e s t , and, by the mid e i g h t i e s had had more than . 2 5 million p a r t i c i p a n t s . In a 1998 a r t i c l e on the o r i g i n s oft h i s movement Massimo Introvigne notes i t scontribution t o the establishment ofthe seminar religionofthe era as well as ofthe s e l f h e l p subculture . The publication s e l f h e l p books presenting the ideas ofthe group t o much broader audiences and i ne x p l i c i t l ynon-religious terms r e s ulted i n a succession ofb e s t s e l l e r s( t h eLife

Afford the Luxury of Negative Thought in 1981.

101 series),beginning with You Can't

The popularity ofh o l i s t i c health took offi n the 1960s. Melton i d e n t i f i e s the landmark years ofth e movement a s 1968 t o 1976 but a c r u c i a l event f o rthe movement was the 1978 establishment ofDr. Clyde Norman Shealy sAmerican H o l i s t i c Medical Association.4 4

While channeling gained high v i s i b i l i t yespecially i n the 1980s, other occult pract i c e s were only s l i g h t l ybehind i n terms ofmedia a t t e n t i o n as a s t r o l o g y ,c r y s t a l s , shamanism and i n t e r e s t i n the paranormal and science f i c t i o na l lentered American and Western mainstream c u l t u r ei n

18

t h e i r own r i g h t , largely leaving behind necessary association with the o c c u l t , they have gradually assimilated i n t o popular consciousness.4 5

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1 . 4

C O M M O N BELIEFS OF THE N E W AGE

The highly diverse and e c l e c t i c nature ofthenew age makes i td i f f i c u l tt o determine i t s b e l i e f s . Without a centra lized organization followers tend t o hold disparate combinations of b e l i e f , influenced t o varying degrees by sources such a s Western occultism, Eastern s p i r i t u a l i t y , modem psychology, natural s c i e n c e , and even C h r i s t i a n i t y .I ti showever, possible t oi d e n t i f y shared concerns and underlying b e l i e f s common t o the majority ofthe movement and these are outlined i nbroad terms i n the following s e c t i o n . In order t ob e t t e r understand where the movement l i e si nr e l a t i o nt o the r e l i g i o u si n our society a d d i t i o n a l characterizatio ns are provided in Appendices A t o C, and i n section 3 .2 ofthe main t e x t .

1 . 4 . 1 The Age ofAquarius was an earlyname used by new agers t o describe the new consciousness which would come t o replace the o l d . This era ofpeace and mass enlightenment w i l la r r i v e with the end ofthe Piscean Age ( o r th e Age of C h r i s t ) a time marked by c o n f l i c t and a duality or p o l a r i t y ofv i s i o n .I ti si n defining the nature oft h e transformation t h a t differences emerge. Kyle contends t h a tt h i snotion must be considered part ofthe longstanding Western millenarian t r a d i t i o n ,but Spangler a s s e r t st h a ti ti snot a c l a s s i c a lmillenarian movement although some ofthe c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of such groups can be found i nc e r t a i n aspects ofthe new age c u l t i cf r i n g e . The apocalypticism of such groups and even the pessimism ofEastern views ofthe cycle ofreincarnation and karma are absent from much new age thought, which i smarked instead by optimism and a utopian vision ofthe coming golden a g e . In t h i s way, f o r Marilyn Ferguson, the idea of a paradigm s h i f thas become c e n t r a lt onew age thinking i n the belieft h a tproducts ofthe old paradigm, such as patriarchy and the a u t h o r itarianp o l i t i c a l system, w i l l be balanced by a more inclusive t o l e r a n t and equal worldview. S i m i l a r l y , forF r i t j o fCapra, the damage wrought on Western societyby t h e mechanistic and r e d u c ti onistNewtonian/Cartesian worldview w ill be o f f s e tby the adoption of ah o l i s t i c and ecological view s i milar t o the views ofthe mystics . 4 6

New age beliefsees t h i ss h i f tas being brought about by a process oftransformation, both on an individual and s o c i e t a ll e v e l .E l l i o tMiller notes t h a t evolution i sc e n t r a lt oNew Age belief, where evolution has a progressive and comprehensive meaning, r e f e r r i n ga ti t s highest l e v e l st o the psychological and s p i r i t u a l growth ofhumanity . Ferguson t e l l sus t h a t personal transformation i s ajourney without a f i n a l destinationwhile the reward f o rt h e transformed individual may be v ariously, breaking with the c u l t u r a l trancei n which we

20

otherwise e x i s t ,a s p i r i t u a lre u n i f i c a t i o n with our innate d i v i n i t y or more p r a c t i c a l l y , awakening ofthe i n t u i t i o n or natu ral knowledge which might allow a more f u l lr e a l i z a t i o n of our p o t e n t i a l . This process can be triggeredby a mystical experience or i tmight comprise a s e r i e s of s tages which can be induced by use ofsuch psychotechnologies as biofeedback, hypnosis, meditation, s e l f h e l p systems, psychotherapies or systems such as Theosophy, G u r d j i e f f , Lifespring and e s t . According t o Melton the New Age i sultimately a vision ofa transformed world, a heaven on e a r t h , a society i n which the problems oftoday are overcome and a new existence emerges , such a condition w i l l come about, according t o new age t h i n k i n g , when a s u f f i c i e n tnumber of people have achieved a personal transformation - the so-called c r i t i c a lmass. Related t ot h i s th e o r y , Kyle n o t e s ,i sJames Lovelock s hypothesis ofthe ear t h as a single l i v i n g c r e a t u r e / c i v i l i z a t i o nand a l s o has resonances with evangelical emphasis on conversion.4 7

Ours i ss a id t o be an Information Age, our technologies have made information currency, knowledge power. The theme of gnosis a s a salv a t i o n a l knowledge has been noted through the history ofWestern occult thinking and Eastern philosophies. Where union with the immanent divine i sthe g o a l , transformation i sthe method and knowledge the key t ot h a t transformation. New age thinking continues t h i st r a d i t i o n- Ted Peters notes the equation ofignorance with darkness or sleepwalking, and Marilyn Ferguson describes d i r e c tknowingas the awakening.. .( t h a t ) reveals the context t h a t generates our l e s s e rr e a l i t y . This d i r e c tknowing i sregarded as mystical, i ti si n t u i t i v e , subjective understanding which does not r e j e c t science or r a t i o n a l thought; i ttranscends i t ,i ti sfundamentally e x p e r i e n t i a l and r e j e c t s belief. The new age focus on i n t u i t i v e knowledge i s a move away from the discredited l i n e a r or fragmented thought ofthe old paradigm. Miller notes the l i n k s with the new s c i e n t i f i c thought, as exemplified by General Systems Theory (GST) - systems thinking requires synthesis a s much as a n a l y s i s : an i n t u i t i v ea b i l i t yt o recognize wholes, or pattern of relationshipand points out t h a tt h i sview ofr e a l i t y i sa l s o supported by quantum physics . Peters notes evidence ofthe new age view ofknowledge, or neognosticismi nl i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m (Ihab Hassan) and science f i c t i o nl i t e r a t u r e (Robert Heinlein sStranger in a Strange

Landl ) . 4 8

While some d u a l i s t i c thinking p e r s i s t si n sections ofthe new a g e , the worldview oft h e movement largely continues the t r a d i t i o n ofmonism, believing t h a t the cosmos c o n sists of one all-embracing r e a l i t y . In t h i sview, a l lt h a te x i s t s ,m a t t e r , energy, s p i r i t / g o di scomposed ofthe same basic material and i si nr e a l i t y ,t h e r e f o r e , one, with any apparent differences

21

beingj ust t h a t ,t r a n s i e n tand i l l u s o r y . According t o Marilyn Ferguson there i sno.. . separation ofbody, s e l fand others . This notion extends therefore i n t o a concept of pantheism, i fa l li sone then a l li sgod, human bei ngs, animals, p l a n t s , inanimate objects - a s Benjamin Crme puts i t god i sthe sum t o t a l ofeverything t h a te x i s t si n the manifested and unmanifested universe .I ti st h i s idea which underpins much new age thinking on ecological i s s u e s , especially deep ecology ,a movement which advocates a r a dical approach t o environmental matters based on our d i r e c ts p i r i t u a lr e l a t i o nt o nature .I ta l so d i r e c t l y informs the belieft h a twithin each human th e r ei sa spark ofdivinity ,as Shirley MacLaine put i t : the greattragedy ofthe human race was t h a t we had forgotten we were each Divine .

The r e a l i z a t i o n oft h i si senlightenment or transformation thus provide the basis f o r the new age vision ofthe evolved individual and, by e xtension, s o c i e t y .I talso contains the implication ofp o t e n t i a l- the only l i m i t a t i o n st h a tthe transformed individual has are s e l f chosen ,i ti sthe mission ofmuch of the s e l f h e l p industry a s well as e s t s t y l e management t r a i n i n gt o help us t o discover t h i spoten t i a l . 4 9

Central t o the new age vision i sthe idea ofholism, or wholism. Ted Peters quotes David Bohm inpointing out t h a tthe word health i sderived from the old Anglo-Saxon word f o r whole ,so t h a tt o be healthy i st o be whole since t h a t wholeness or i n t e g r i t yi san absolute necessity t o make l i f eworth living . While t h i sc e r t a i n l y applies i n the l i t e r a l sense t o new age views on h o l i s t i c medicine, Kyle argues t h a ti ti san important concept i n many areas of i n t e l l e c t u a l inquiry i n a time when the assumptions ofthe Enlightenment have broken down .

In the new a g e, holism represents ther e integr ation ofwhat modem thought has pulled apart - body and s o u l , individual and s o c i e t y , masculine and feminine. For F r i t j o fCapra, the reduct ionistthinking ofthe Cartesian/Newtonian worldview has been rejectedby emerging evidence from the new physics and from General Systems Theory which support a more h o l i s t i c , organic approach - the world i sno longer seen a s a machine, made up of a multitude of o b j e c t s , but has t o be pictured a s one, i n d i v i s i b l e , dynamic whole . Alvin Toffler s The

Third Wave posits the view thatthisthinking has also penetrated economic, political and

educational t h i n k i n g , acknowledging d i v e r s i t ybut s t r i v i n gf o r unity within i t . 5 0

The acceptance ofmany occult b e l i e f s and pract i c e s (such a s reincarnation and p a s t l i f e regr e s s i o n , channeling and shamanism, a s t r o l o g y , psychic phenomena and UFO encounters) within the new age subculture can be explained as an extension ofthe new age worldview. I f a l li sgod and god i sa l lthen there cannot be a cle a rd i s t i n c t i o n between the n atur al and supernaturalrealms. This leads t o a beliefi n a multidimensional r e a l i t y common t o

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paganism, Eastern religions and most pre-modem Western religion also - only humanism has made superstition of the possibility of supernatural causes and spiritual beings.
The doctrine ofreincarnation holds t h a t soul becomes incarnate i n a succession of bodies u n t i l , by t he necessary p u r i f i c a t i o n or the using up ofone s karma, f i n a l release from the body occurs (where karma i sdefined as t h es t r u c t u r e ofone sl i f ea sr e s u l t i n g from one sp r i o r actions i ne a r l i e r exis t e n c e s , equatingj u s t i c e with r e t r i b u t i o n ) . The doctrine ofreincarnation or metempsychosis probably originated i nI n d i a , but has been widely held i n both o r i e n t a l and occidental c u l t u r e ss i n c e , as Ted Peters n o t e s ,i twas repudiated i nthe West f i r s tby t h e Christian Church f o r which reincar nation i s incompatible with i t sbeliefi n the resurrection of the body, and then by modem naturalism f o r which i ti smere r e l i g i o u s superstition . However, along with i t stwin concept of karma, beliefi n reincarnation i sstrong within mainstream culture.5 1

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1 . 5

THE EMERGING CULTURE OF THE N E W AGE

This section introduces the new ideologyofthe movement. Outlining the theory of

paradigm shift central tonew age debate, i ta l so o f f e r s a characterization ofthe old

paradigm ,and a discussion ofwhat the new age c r i t i q u e claims i thas suppressed in our s o c i e t y .I tw i l l conclude by assessing the debate on how and why such paradigm s h i f t s oc c u r , c i t i n g the evidence offered by the t h e o r i s t s most i n f l u e n t i a lt o new age thinking , Marilyn Ferguson and with s p e c i a lr efe rence, here and throughout, t o the work of F r i t j o fCapra.

1 . 5 . 1 E l l i o t describes the emergence of an ideology among an i n t e l l e c t u a l ,i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y e l i t edeveloping s c i e n t i f i c and s o c i o p o l i t i c a l theory with a global perspectivewhich, concerned above a l lwith t h r e a t st o world survival.. .i t sd i s t i n c temphasis i son finding

holistic solutions to planetaryproblems.

This new ideology i srepresented by groups such as The Club ofRome, the I n s t i t u t ef o r World o r d e r , the Society f o r General Systems Research and the Intern ational Federation f o r Systems Research and he names among i t sleading t h e o r i s t sf u t u r i s tMarshall McLuhan, philosopher Ervin Laszlo and economist Kenneth Boulding, as well a sc u l t u r a lh i s t o r i a n Theodore Roszak, psychologist Jean Houston and U.N. consultant Donald Keys. Though he warns against indiscriminately associating t h i swork s p e c i f i c a l l ywith the new age movement he points out t h a tmany among the ranks are i n t e r e s t e di n mysticism a s a possible s p i r i t u a l dimension t o complete t h e i rworldview . In turn t h e i rs c i e n t i f i c and s o c i o p o l i t i c a l philosophies have been adopted by many i n the new age and t o some extent the two have joined f o r c e s . In h i s words:

the primary glue being those i n t e l l e c t u a l mystics who f u l l y take part i nboth movements.. . As a r e s u l t oft h i s convergence the new ideology i sbuilding momentum, not only among an i n f l u e n t i a l but small c l a s s of i n t e l l e c t u a l s , but a l s o al a r g e ,s o c i a l l y and p o l i t i c a l l yactive gras s r o o t s movement.5 2 The work oft r a n s l a t i n gt h i shighly t e c h n i c a l , somewhat a bstruse ideology i n t o more popular new age terms has been undertaken by a host ofw r i t e r s , though probably none have been Ferguson i n The Aquarian more successful or i n f l u e n t i a l than F r i t j o fCapra in The Turning Point (1982) and Marilyn

Conspiracy (1980). While these books may never have been

intended to take parti n any new age movementthey share and lend ideology t oi t ,and t h e i r very existence a t such a time makes them a part ofthe broader s o c i a l sea-change with which we re concerned.

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1 . 5 . 2 Science h i s t o r i a n Thomas Kuhn introduced the concept oftheparadigm shift inh i s

1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. From the Greekparadigma, a paradigm i s

a framework of thought employed f o r understanding aspects ofr e a l i t y , and although, a s the t i t l esuggest, Kuhn o r i g i n a l l y applied i tt os c i e n t i f i c theories i thas since been widely adopted, including by new agers who apply i tt o world views of e n t i r ec u l t u r e s . David Spangler notes t h a ti ti spossible t o read today about paradigm s h i f t si n business (from hierarchica lt o nonhie r a r c h i c a l organizations, f o r example). In p o l i t i c s ,i nr e l i g i o n , and i n society in general . 5 3 Marilyn Ferguson describes the Kuhnian model and how i tcan be ofu s e :

A paradigm s h i f ti sa d i s t i n c t l ynew way ofthinking about old problems. For example, f o r more than two c e n t u r i e s , leading thinkers assumed t h a tIsaac Newton sparadigm, h i s description ofpredictable mechanical f o r c e s , would f i n a l l y explain everything i n terms of t r a j e c t o r i e s ,g r a v i t y ,f o r c e .I twould close in on the f i n a ls e c r e t s of a clockwork universe . But as s c i e n t i s t s worked toward the elus ive ultimate answers, b i t s ofdata here and the re refused t of i ti n t oNewton s scheme. This i st y p i c a l of any paradigm. Eventually, too many puzzling observations p i l e up outside the old framework of explanation and s t r a i ni t . Usually a tt h i spoint someone has a great h e r e t i c a li d e a . A powerful new i n s i g h t explains the apparent c o n t r a d i c t i o n s .I tintroduces a new principle . . . a new perspective. By forcing a more comprehensive t h eory, the c r i s i si snot destructive but instructive.... A new paradigm involves a principle t h a twas present a l l along but unknown t o u s .I tincludes the old as a p a r t i a lt r u t h , one aspect ofHow Things Work, while allowing for things t o work i n other ways a sw e l l . By i t sl ar g e rperspective i t transforms t r a d i t i o n a l knowledge and the stubborn new observations, reconciling t h e i r apparent contradictions.. . . New paradigms arenearly always received with coolness, even mockery and h o s t i l i t y . Their discoveries are attacked f o rt h e i rheresy.. . But t h e new paradigm gains ascendance. A new generation recognizes i t spower. When a c r i t i c a lnumber ofthinkers has accepted the new i d e a ,ac o l l e c t i v e paradigm s h i f thas occurred.. . . After a time t h a tparadigm, t o o ,i stroubled by contra d i c t i o n s ; another breakthrough o ccur s, and the process repeats i t s e l f . Thus science i scontinuallybreaking and enlarging i t sid e a s . 5 4

The symptoms a i l i n g our modem cu l t u r e - the spol i a t i o n ofna t u r e , the continuing s u i c i d a l build-up ofnuclear weapons, t o l e r a t i o n ofa p artheid, racism and economic oppression, spreading i l l i t e r a c y , the breakdown ofpersonal r e l a t i o n s , a haunting sense of f u t i l i t y , cynicism, i n c i v i l i t yand o u t r ightviolencea r ea l lconsidered ther e s u l t ofthe wrongheadednessofthe modemworldview. I ti sf e l tt h a ta tt h i spoint i n history we have reached a s t a t e of global c r i s i s . Capra blames these d e f i c iencies and almost everything t h a ti s wrong with modem c i v i l i z a t i o n on a c o l l e c t i v ei n t e l l e c t u a lblindness symptomatic of th e old

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paradigm . Formed by the Cartesian worldview, Newtonian physics and the Judeo-Christian t r a d i t i o n ,he contends t h a ti ti smarked by l i n e a rreasoning and the rejection of mysticism and i n t u i t i o n , a mechanized world view and the desacralization ofna t u r e ,p a t r i a r c h y , and a u t h o r i t a r i a n and cen tralized p o l i t i c a l system and a hie r a r c h i c a ls o c i a l organisation.5 5

1 . 5 . 3 The oldparadigm, the one from which we are now moving, has, according t oF r i t j o f Capra, dominated our c u lture f o rs evera l hundred y e a r s , shaping Western society and s i g n i f i c a n t l y influencing the r e s t ofthe world. The p a r t i c u l a r values oft h i sparadigm a r e summarized by Capra as follows: the beliefi nt h e s c i e n t i f i cmethod as the only valid approach t o knowledge; the view ofthe universe a sa mechanical system composed ofelementary material building blocks; the view of l i f ei n society a s a competitive struggle f o re x i s t e n c e ; and the beliefi n unlimited material progress t o be achieved through economic and technological growth . Capra c i t e sthe work ofboth Sorokin and Toynbee as support f o rthe paradigm s h i f ttheo r } ' , t r aci ng the cycles ofmaturation and decline ofthe various worldviews throughout human h i s t o r y . He t r a c e s the o r i g i n s ofWestern science t o the Milesian school of s i x t h century (B.C.) Greece, which, ratherthan separatingr e l i g i o n , philosophy and science instead evidenced a mysticalflavour and an organicview resembling th e philosophy of ancient India and China. The separation of s p i r i tand matter t h a t characterizes the dualism of Western thought began with the E l e a t i c school and was furthered by the Greek atomists and Aristo telian thought. During t he Middle Ages however, philosophy was l i t t l econcerned with t he material world, concentrating instead on God and s p i r i t u a lmatters and i twas not u n t i l the b i r t h ofmodem science i n the sixteenth and seventeenth cen turies t h a tthe sharp divisionbetween s p i r i tand matter was made.5 6

I twas Copernicus who overthrew the thousand year old dogma ofthe earth as centre oft h e universe and Johannes Kepler who formulated empirical laws ofplanetary motion, and when Galileo was able t od i s c r e d i tthe old cosmology and e s t a b l i s h the Copemican hypothesis a sa valid s c i e n t i f i c theory he was established as the f a t h e r of modem s c i e n c e . His empirical approach and use of a mathematical description ofnature were the aspects ofh i s work which would become the dominant f e a t u r e s of science i n the seventeenth century and have remained so up t o the present d a y. Francis Bacon i scredited with changing the nature and purpose ofthe s c i e n t i f i cq u e s t , from a pursuit ofwisdom and an understanding ofthe natu ral order t o the pursuit ofknowledge which can be used t o dominate and c o ntro l nature - Capra quotes Bacon sview t h a tnature

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must be hounded i n her wanderings , bound i n t o service ,and t h a tthe goal ofthe s c i e n t i s t should be t o t o r t u r e nature ss e c r e t s from her . In Capra swords the ancient concept oft h e earth as nurturing mother was r a d i c a l l y transformed i nBacon sw r i t i n g s , and i tdisappeared completely as the S c i e n t i f i c Revolution proceeded t o replace the organic view ofnature with the metaphor ofthe world as machine . This s h i f twas i n i t i a t e dand completed by the acknowledged f a t h e r s of modem thought , Rene Decartes and Isaac Newton.5 7

Like G a l i l e o , Descartes s trove t o describe nature i n mathematical terms and, f o r Capra, the crux ofthe Cartesian method i sr a d i c a l doubt - a l lt r a d i t i o n a l knowledge and even the impressions of the senses he doubted u n t i l reaching the one thing he could not doubt, the existence ofh i s own mind - from h i s celebrated statement c o g i t o , ergo sumhe deduced t h a t the essence ofhuman nature l i e si n thought, thus making mind more c e r t a i nf o rhim than ma t t e r , and leading him t o the conclusion t h a t the two were separate and fundamentally d i f f e r e n t . For Descartes the material universe was a machine and the r e was no purpose, l i f e ,or s p i r i t u a l i t yi nmatter - i twas t h i smechanical picture ofmature which came t o guide s c i e n t i f i c observation and the formulation of a l lt h e o r i e s ofnatu ral phenomena up u n t i l twentieth century physics brought about change.

Isaac Newton synthesized the work ofCopernicus, Kepler, G a l i l e o , Bacon and Descartes i n t o h i s theory ofthe Newtonian universe a s one huge mechanical system operating according t o exact mathematical laws ,which would remain the s o l i d foundation of s c i e n t i f i c thought well i n t o the twentieth century.5 8

Grof describes our r e s u l t i n g view ofNewton s cosmos a s a super-machine governed by l i n e a r chains of cause and e f f e c twhere s o l i dmatter has a si t sbuilding blocks i n d e s t r u c t i b l e atoms which i n t e r a c t according t o fixed and unchangeable laws. Time i suni-dimensional, flowing evenly from the past t ot h ef u t u r e . Capra notes t h a tthe success oft h i s mechanical model i ni t spragmatic, technological applic ations resulted i ni t semulation i na l ls c i e n t i f i ct h i n k i n g ,i nd i s c i p l i n e s including psychology, sociology, economics, p o l i t i c s and r e l a t i o nf i e l d s . The mechanical model, with matter as the basis f o ra l le x i s t e n c e , gave r i s et o the reductionistview which held t h a t complex phenomena could be understood by examining t h e i r basic building blocks and t h e mechanisms through which they inter acted.5 9 The negative r e s u l t oft h i s , and the core ofthe s o c i a lc r i s i si n which we f in d ourselves a tt h i s point i s ,according t o Ted P e t e r s :

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t h a twe think badly, we think a t omistically and d i v i s i v e l y . We perceive the world as divided up i n t o qua n t i f i a b l e and i s o l a t a b l ep a r t s , (and) i n an e f f o r tt o cont rol them.. .modem s c i e n t i f i c epistemology separates the object of study from the inquiring s u b j e c t . (The r e s u l ti st h a t ). .. i tleaves out a l lthe a f f e c t i v e dimensions ofl i f e- f e e l i n g ,i n t u i t i n g ,v a l uing ,w i l l i n g , supposing them t o be ofno i n t e r e s tt o scholars and s c i e n t i s t s . . .(and) being concerned with qua n t i t a t i v e rel a t i o n s h i p si t has nothing t o do with q u a l i t a t i v er e lationships such as the ultimate meaning of e x i s t e n c e ; yet these is s u e sa r ep art ofr e a l i t y as well.6 0 This has i n turn caused the emergence oftwo c u l t u r e s , or a s p l i tbetween sciences and the humanities, thereby unnecessarily fragmented human consciousness and thereby fragmented the human community as well . Marilyn Ferguson has likewise condemned the influence ofacademic s p e c i a l i z a t i o n which has kept most s c i e n t i s t s from trespassingi n t of i e l d s other than t h e i r own . 6 1

Feminists and ec ologists i d e n t i f ythese tendencies as root problems. According t o Shiva:

fragmentation and uniformity as assumed categories ofprogress and development destroy the l i v i n g forces t h a ta r i s e from relations hips with i n the web ofl i f e and the d i v e r s i t yi n the elements and patterns ofthose r e l a t i o n s h i p s . 6 2 Linda Shepherd notes the e s s e n t i a l l ymasculine nature ofl o g i c a l analysis based on separatingand compartmentalizingwhich, despite producing the marvels ofmodem technology has simultaneously given r i s et o many environmental and s o c i a l problems.6 3

1 . 5 . 4 Capra notes t h a tthe Chinese concepts ofyin and yang t h a thave come i n t o popular usage i n the West have had t h e i ro r i g i n a l meaning severely d i s t o r t e dby Western c u l t u r a l preconceptions. In Chinese c u lture yin i sassociated with the feminine and yang with the masculine. What i sgood and desirab le i s a dynamic balance between the two since the personality of each man and each woman i snot s t a t i c ,but ra t h e ra dynamic phenomenon r e s u l t i n g from the in terplay ofthese elements.

This view c o n t r a s t s sharply with t h a tofp a t r i a r c h a lc ulture which has established a r i g i d order based on the polarization ofgender c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ,d i s t o r t i n g the meaning ofthe terms masculine and feminine by giving men the leading r o l e s and most of society sprivileges . Capra p o s i t st h a t th e association ofthe feminine with passive and receptive q u a l i t i e s and t h e masculine with a ctive and c r e ative can be traced t o Aristot elian t h e or ies of sexuality which

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were used f o rcenturies as a s c i e n t i f i c r a t i o n a l ef o rkeeping women i n a subordinate, subservient r o l e . 6 4 Linda Shepherd a l s o notes Aristotle s description offemaleness as a deformityor mutation ,and l i n k s such thought t o the p a t r i a r c h a l and masculine nature ofthe i n s t i t u t i o n s of science i t s e l f , compounded f u r t h e r during the S c i e n t i f i c Revolution when Francis Bacon would s t a t ethe business ofthe newly formed Royal Society ofLondon was t or a i s ea Masculine Philosophy . Shepherd argues t h a ta s masculine values defined s c i e n c e , so they became a t o o lt o disenfranchise women.

In 1980 Merchant wrote:

In in vestigating the roots of our current environmental dilemma and i t s connection t os c i e n c e , and technology and the economy, we must re-examine t h e formation of a worldview and a science t h a t ,by re-conceptualizing r e a l i t y as a machine ra t h e r than a l i v i n g organism, sanctioned the domination ofboth nature and women.6 5 Capra notes the ancient association ofn a t u r e , and e s pec ially the e a r t h , with the feminine a s p e c t . Traditionally seen as a wild and uncontrollable female but also as a benign and nurturing mother, under patriarchy t h i s image gave way t o one ofp a s s i v i t y , and her dangerous aspects t o the idea t h a t she should be dominated by men. He notes t h a t the r i s e of the Cartesian view ofthe world as a mechanical system gave s c i e n t i f i c sanction t o the domination and exploitation ofnature f o rhuman b e n e f i t . This view i s echoed by Linda Shepherd, quoting Robert Boyle s seventeenth century description ofnature as God s greatpregnant automatonand h i s assertion t h a t th e r e can be no g reater male triumph than t o know ways ofcaptivatingNature and making her subserve our purposes . Capra a l so notes the influence ofthe Judeo-Christian t r a d i t i o ni n the a t t i t u d e ofthe dominant paradigm toward n a t u r e . The image of a male God ruling the world from above by imposing divine law was used t o dominate both nature and women by propagating a beliefi n the superior r o l e of the r a t i o n a l mind. In t h i s manner the s c i e n t i s t s search f o r the laws ofnature as r e f l e c t i o n s oft h i s divine law.6 6

Again drawing on the concepts ofyin and yang, Capra explains t h a t the r a t i o n a l and i n t u i t i v e kinds ofknowledge or modes ofthought are complementary modes of functioning oft h e human mind. I n t u i t i v e knowledge i sbased on d i r e c t ,non-in t e l l e c t u a l experience ofr e a l i t y a r i s i n gi n an expanded s t a t e ofawareness, i ttends t o be synthesizing, h o l i s t i c and nonlinear and has t r a d i t i o n a l l ybeen associated with mysticism or r e l i g i o n . Rational knowledge i s

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l i n e a r , focused and a n a l y t i c a l ,i t sfunction i st o discriminate, measure and cat e g o r i z e .I ttends therefore to be fragmented, and has t r a d i t i o n a l l ybeen associated with s c i e n t i f i ci n q u i r y . Capra notes t h a t our current c u l ture i sreferred t oa s the S c i e n t i f i c Age. I thas established t h e l a t t e r form ofknowledge as the only valid one, disregarding t h a twhich cannot be measured and denigrating the i n t u i t i v ef u n c t i o n . This has lead t oa profound c u l t u r a l imbalancewhich Capra believes l i e sa tthe root of our current c r i s i s . Shiva notes t h a tthe Western assumption t h a ti n t u i t i v eknowledge i sl e s s valuable and somehow primitive or even unreliable/dangerous has had f a rreaching consequences i n a t t i t u d e st o ecology and development i n the non-West. Shepherd notes t h a ti t sassociation with the femininei sa l so connected t o patriarchy and i t s denial of female i n t e l l e c t u a le q u a l i t y . She a l so observes t h a tby denying i n t u i t i o n and the f r o n t i e rof science t h a t includes the study of consciousness and phenomena, we r i s kmissing out on important aspects of r e a l i t yand innovation.6 7

The development ofbiology has gone hand i nhand with t h a t ofmedicine throughout the history ofWestern s c i e n c e , and according t o Capra, the influence ofthe Cartesian paradigm on medical thought culminated in the emergence ofthe biomedical model . In h i s opinion the main shortcoming oft h i s model was t h a ti tcame t o view t h e human body as a machine t h a tcould be analyzed interms ofi t sp a r t s ; disease was seen as a malfunctioning ofbiol o g i c a l mechanisms which are studied from the point ofview ofc e l l u l a r and molecular biology; the doctor sr o l ei st oi n t e r v e n e , whether physically or chemically, t o correct the malfunctioning of a s p e c i f i c mechanism. But, Capra argues, health i smore than an absence of d i s e a s e ,i t involves a complex interplaybetween the physi cal, psychological, s o c i a l and environmental aspects ofthe human condition and therefore cannot be precisely defined or understood i n reduct ionist terms.6 8

Traditional wisdom, on the other hand, has seen i l l n e s sa s a disorder ofthe whole person, involving not only thepatient sbody, but h i s mind; h i s self-image, his dependence on the physical environment as well as h i sr e l a t i o nt o the cosmos and the d e i t i e s . The folkhealers who have been informed by t h i s wisdom throughout the ages use a wide v ari ety of therapeutic techniques, which a r eh o l i s t i ct od i f f e r e n t degrees, and which often attempt t o influence th e patient smind to help stimulate the natu ral healing power t h a ta l lli ving organisms possess. He also notes t h a t such pr act i c e s have t r a d i t i o n a l l ybeen the prerogative ofwomen since t h e a r tofhealing i susually associated with the tasks and the s p i r i tofmotherhood. However, with the appearance oforganized, h i g h-tradit ion medicine p a t r i a r c h a l patterns a s s e r t themselves and medicine becomes male dominated ,leading t o the intr usion ofmedicine i n t o

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such domains as c h i l d b i r t h- one more manifestation ofthe control ofwomen sbodies by

69 men .
5

Just as new agers hold the mechanistic worldview ofpatriarchy responsible f o rt h e suppression and suppression ofwomen and nature s o , through the combined use of knowledge and power, has i tj u s t i f i e dthe domination ofnon-European peoples. Vandana Shiva argues t h a tf o rmore than three ce nturies t h i sWestern reductionism h a s :

hidden i t sideology behind projected objectivism, n e u t r a l i t y and progress. The ideology t h a ti des ideology has transformed complex p l u r a l i s t i ct r a d i t i o n s of knowledge i n t o a monolith of gender-based, class-based thought and transformed t h i sp a r t i c u l a rt r a d i t i o ni n t o a superior and universal t r a d i t i o nt obe superimposed on a l lc l a s s e s , genders and c u l t u r e s which i thelps i n controlling and subjugating.7 0 She a lso a s socia tes the growth ofthe nation s t a t ewith the Cartesian/Newtonian worldview and notes t h a tthe view ofthe c a p i t a l i s t and i n d u s t r i a l i s tmodel ofdevelopment a s desir a b l e has had a d isastr ous e f f e c ton non-Westem c o u n t r i e s . Economic biases and values agai nst n a t u r e , women and indigenous peoples have culminated i n the view oft r a d i t i o n a ls o c i e t i e sa s non-productive .

The b e l i e f s and p ract i c e s ofthe occulthave a l s o been suppressed by the domination ofthe Cartesian/Newtonian worldview. In the pre-modem world the occult a r t s were regarded primarily as p r a c t i c a l devices f o ra s s i s t i n g the everyday inquiry ofthe time did not make d i s t i n c t i o n between the n atura l and supernatural worlds. The t r a d i t i o n had co-existed with science and r e l i g i o nu n t i li twas eventually driven underground by the S c i e n t i f i c Revolution of the Enlightenment.

However a s the s c i e n t i f i c method of the dominant paradigm l e f tl i t t l eroom f o rt h e immeasurable or i n t a n g i b l e , so the onset ofthe Enlightenment combined with the Protestant r e j e ction ofi d o l a t r yt o push the occult t r a d i t i o n even f u r t h e r underground. Grof notes the r e j e c t i o n ofmystical or r e l i g i o u s concepts i n modem though, using the examples oft h e psychoanalytic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ofthe u nitiv e or oceanic s t a t e ofthe mystic a s a regression t o primary narcissism and i n f a n t i l e helple ssness, and the description ofr e l i g i o s i t ya s the obsessive - compulsive neurosis ofhumanity . 7 1

1 . 5 . 5 Marilyn Ferguson writes t h a tKuhn s ideas on paradigm s h i f t s are enormously h e l p f u l , not only because they help us understand how a new paradigm emerges but a l so how and why

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such new views are invariably r e s i s t e dt o begin w i t h . Grofnotes t h a t a paradigm defines not only what r e a l i t yi s ,but a l s o what i ti snot and cannot b e , once the paradigm i s accepted s c i e n t i s t s do not question i t sbasic philosophical assumptions but rather focus t h e i re f f o r t s on i t sf u r t h e r elaboration and a r t i c u l a t i o n .I n i t i a l l ythe new paradigm has a positive and progressive r o l e , defining legitim ate problems, offeringmethodologies f o r experimentation and c r i t e r i af o re v a luation, but eventually research w i l l invariably produce data which a r e incompatible with even the most sop histicated and complex s c i e n t i f i c theory.7 2 As Ferguson puts i t : eventually too many puzzling observations p i l e up outside the old framework of explanation and s t r a i ni t(and t h e n , ). .. u s u a l l ya tthe point of c r i s i s , someone has a gre a th e r e t i c a l idea.. .a powerful new i n s i g h tt h a t explains the apparent c o n t r a d i c t i o n . . and so the c r i s i si sinstructive rather than d e s t r u c t i v e . 7 3 She notes t h a t such heresies a r e nearly always received with coolness, i fnot even mockery and h o s t i l i t y . Such ideas w i l l often appear bi z a r r e since the discoverer has made an i n t u i t i v e leap and may not have a l lt h e data i npl a c e , and those established f i g u r e s who have worked f r u i t f u l l yi nt he old view a r e rar e l y converted t o the view. Hence the new paradigm gains ascendancy only when a new generation recognizes i t spower, or when a c r i t i c a lnumber ofthinkers have accepted i t s ideas . Historian Richard Tamas echoes t h i s ,when, writing from a Jungian perspective, he describes s h i f t si n worldview a s basically s h i f t si nt he c o l l e c t i v e unconscious . He a s s e r t st h a tt h e projectofthe oldparadigm was ! t o increase knowledge ofthe world i n order t o gain co n t r o l oft h a tworld and ofnature fo rhuman benefit . He points out i t ssuccesses i n the promotion of g r eaterhuman autonomy, freedom, s e l f determination and the adventurous exploration ofnew horizonswhile acknowledging t h a t the one-sidedness ofthe development has created more psychological and s p i r i t u a lproblems f o r humanity a s well a s an enormous ecological problem. He also notes the re-emergence of t he feminine p r i n ciple as an element i nt h e new worldview, i n the c o l l e c t i v e sense ofa connection with the whole and with n a t u r e , as well a si n the advent offeminism and female empowerment.7 4 Capra echoes t h i s ,describing the doctrines ofpatriarchy as so universally accepted t h a t they seemed t o be the laws ofn a t u r e ; indeed, they were usually presented as suchbut noting t h a t the feminist movement i sone ofthe strongest c u l t u r a l movements of our time and w i l l have a profound e f f e c t on our f u r t h e r evolution . 7 5 Dr. Beverley Rubik, Director ofthe Center f o r Frontier Studies a tTemple University, Philadelphia sees the paradigm s h i f ton a personal l e v e la sa religio us s h i f t or a deep conversion experience ,and pr edicts the new generation of s c i e n t i s t sw i l l embrace the ideas

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of t h e emerging worldview as they a r e more open-mindedand have l e s s ofa vested i n t e r e s t i n dogma.7 6 For Linda Shepherd, Kuhn s desc ription ofthe s h i f ti n worldview can be equated with t h e alchemical process, a process which w i l li ns c i e n c e , she contends, give r i s et oa r a d i c a l new theory.7 7

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1.6

THE N E W AGE A N D N E W SCIENCE

In an attempt t oe s t a b l i s hthe re l a t i o n s h i p between science and the new age t h i s section w i l l introduce th e new age assessment ofthe new physicsofr e l a t i v i t y theory and quantum mechanics, the i n f l u e n t i a l work ofDavid Bohm, and provide an outline ofthe movements arguments on General Systems Theory, emergent evolution and conscious evolution. The f i n a lpart ofthe section w i l l concentrate s p e c i f i c a l l y on the new science and eastern mysticism, and by outlining the new age position on these s u b j e c t s , provide and backdrop f o r the discussions of Chapter two.

1 . 6 . 1 Columbia University professor ofEducation David Sloane believes t h a ts o c i e t a l problems caused by d i v i si ve thinking can be cured with insightand imagination :

the recovery ofthe wholeness ofimagination i sa l so a healing ( a making whole) ofthe human being - ideas from the new physicsofr e l a t i v i t y theory and quantum mechanics, s p e c i f i c a l l ythe work ofp hilosopher/scientist David Bohm who demonstrates t h a tthe sciences and humanities can be united i n a world view t h a t incorporates both physical and mental processes, paving the way through t h e debris ofd i v i s i v e modem thinking toward a postmodern wholistic form of thinking.7 8 Newton smechanical view ofthe universe dominated s c i e n t i f i c thought up u n t i lthe e a r l y twentieth century, when, causing s i milar shockwaves as had the views ofCopernicus and Galileo s evera l cent uries e a r l i e r ,i n 1905 Einstein unveiled h i s theory ofr e l a t i v i t y , thus s h a t t e r i n g the view oftime and space as a b s o l u t e . He argued t h a tthe two could not be seen a s absolute and d i s t i n c ta s they were i nf a c tr e l a t i v et o each o t h e r , to the speed ofl i g h t ,t o energy and t og r a v i t y , thus replacing Newton st h r e e dimensional space and uni-dimensional time with a four dimensional space-time continuum.

Quantum t heory, or quantum mechanics was formulated t h e n , over the f i r s tthr e e decades of the century by an i n t e r n a t i o n a l team of s c i e n t i s t s which among others included Einstein himselfand German physicist Max Planck. The term New Physicswas used t o describe these two developments, theory ofr e l a t i v i t yand quantum th e o r y . According t oP e t e r s , perhaps even more than r e l a t i v i t yt heory, quantum theory disrupted the Newtonian worldview by introducing three revolutionary discoveries - f i r s t l y ,atomic p a r t i c l e s such a se lectrons so not appear t o function l i k e material o b j e c t s , they move discontinuously from one location t o another without appearing t ot r a v erse the distance between. Secondly, individual subatomic events a re not p r e d i ctab le, they do not seem t obe

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individually causally determined and must be studied instead i n groups, or quanta. Third, they display a non-causal, non-material i n f l u e n t i a l relations hip whereby interference with one electron can i n s t a n t l ya f f e c tanother from the same atom regardless ofthe distance between them, indicating a s o r toftelepathy between the p a r t i c l e snot dependent on s p a t i a lc o n t a c t . As physic istNiels Bohr wrote: i s o l a t e dmaterial p a r t i c l e s are a b s t r a c t i o n s ,t h e i rbeing definable and observable only through t h e i ri n t e r a c t i o nwith other systems ,so subatomic p a r t i c l e s and ultimately a l lp a r t s ofthe universe must be defined through t h e i rrela tionships and f o rt h i s reason are b e t t e r understood by h o l i s t i c rat h e r than reductioni st thin k i n g . Quantum physics a l s o changed the re lationship between subject and o b j e c t , the s c i e n t i s ti sno longer seen as an objective observer but rather an act i v ep a r t i c i p a n t which i n t e i j e c t s an element of s u b j e c t i v i t y i n t o th e process.7 9

1 . 6 . 2 Princeton physicistDavid Bohm sees a problem i n quantum physics in t h a tthere i sno consiste ntnotion a ta l lofwhat the r e a l i t ymight be t h a tunderlies the universal c o n s t i t u t i o n and s t r u c t u r e ofm a tter. He contends t h a t quantum p h ysicists avoid t h i s is s u e by concentrating on mathematical equations t opredict and control the behaviour of s t a t i s t i c a l aggregates ofp a r t i c l e s- on t h i s count, Peters no t e s , the practicing quantum physicists a r e s t i l lmodem, s t i l lcalculating the position and momentum offragments, even though t h e fragments are ofa d i f f e r e n t scale . Bohm s concept oft h i s underlying r e a l i t yi sone ofan undivided wholeness i n flowing movementfrom which by the t o o l s ofthought a b s t r a c t from i tp a t t e r n s ,o b j e c t s ,e n t i t i e s , cond i t i o n s ,s t r u c t u r e s and so on . So mind and matter e x i s t , but not by themselves, independently, i ni s o l a t i o nbut r a t h e r they a r e modes of the common underlying r e a l i t y mind and matter are not are not separate substances rathe r they are d i f f e r e n t aspects of one whole and unbroken movement- a whole t h a ti s governed by holonomy - t h a ti sthe law of the whole . 8 0

1 . 6 . 3 The t h e s i s of Capra s The

Turning Point isthatthisholistic perspective from the new

physics must be adopted i n other d i s c i p l i n e s such as biology, psychology and economics, a s well as by the i n s t i t u t i o n s and individuals t h a tmake up society as a whole. He s t a t e st h a tt h i s new vision ofr e a l i t yi sknown as systems viewand explains t h a ti t :

. ..looks a tthe world i nterms ofr e lationshi ps and i n t e g r a t i o n . Instead of concentrating on the basic building blocks or basic principle substances, the systems approach emphasizes basic principles oforgan ization. Examples of systems abound i nn a t u r e . Every organism.. .i san i ntegrated whole and thus a

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l i v i n g system. But systems are not confined t o individual organisms and t h e i r p a r t s . The same aspects of wholeness a r e exhibited by s o c i a l systems such a s an a n t h i l l , a beehive or a human family- and by ecosystems t h a t consis t ofa v a r i e t y of organisms and inanimate matter i n mutual interaction .. . All these n a t u r a l systems a r e wholes whose s p e c i f i cs t r u c t u r e sa r i s e from the i n t e r a c t i o n s and interdependence oft h e i rparts.. . Systemic properties are destroyed when a system i sd i s s e c t e d ,e i t h e rphysically or t h e o r e t i c a l l y ,i n t oi s o l a t e d elements. Although we can discern individ ual p a r t si n any system, the nature ofthe whole i salways d i f f e r e n t from the mere sum ofi t sp a r t s . Another important aspect of systems i st h e i ri n t r i n s i c a l l y dynamic n a t u r e . Their forms a re not r i g i ds t r u c t u r e s but are f l e x i b l e yet s t a b l emanifestations ofunderlying processes.. . Systems thinking i sprocess thinking.. . 8 1 Miller notes t h a tthe systems view was f i r s tformulated i n the 1930s by biolo g i s t Ludwig von Bertalanffy and by 1972 h i s General Systems Theory (GST) had generated an i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r ymovement. GST proposes t h a tthere are c e r t a i n natural laws which determine the functioning of a l l systems, phys ical, organic, psychological, s o c i a l , conceptual, and Bertalanffy believed t h a ti n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y study ofthese systems would yield a mathematically p r e c i s e , experimentally viabledescription of such laws, thereby making possible the long dreamed ofunificationoft he physical and s o c i a ls c i e n c e s .

Thus, adopting the views of Systems Theory, new agers propose a switch from r eductionistt o systemic thinking i sboth the essence ofthe new paradigm and a matter of immediacy i n dealing with the c r i s i s of global c i v i l i z a t i o n . However, they go furtherthan the systems movement by suggesting t h a tt h i s change require acceptance of mystical modes ofthought . Miller explains t h a tt h i si sthe case f o rtwo reasons - f i r s t l y ,because ofthe equation between mysticism and i n t u i t i o n . He notes t h a ti n t u i t i o n undeniably plays a r o l ei n systems thinking( f o r example, systems requires synthesis as much as a n a l y s i s : an i n t u i t i v ea b i l i t yt orecognize wholes, orpatterns of r e l a t i o n s h i p ) , and secondly, since a l t e r e d , or m ystical, s t a t e s of consciousness tend t o break down egoboundaries and cre ate a sense ofunif i c a t i o n with one s environment, so new agers believe t h a tthey o f f e r an e f f e c t i v e means f o r achieving t h i smore h o l i s t i c perspective t h a ti s necessary f o rboth th e individual and s o c i e t y . 8 2

1 . 6 . 4 Von Bertanalffy f e l tt h a tt h i s self-organizingforce brings assorted object si n t o increasingly complex r e l a t i on ships or toward higher organization. This suggests an emergenttype ofevolution i sa twork which i sthereforenot random but purposefuland creative . Where Darwin stheory implied l i f earose through s t r i c t l ychance mutation and n atural s e l e c t i o n seemed t o impose a c e r t a i nf u t i l i t yon man, the addition of t h i sc r e a t i v e princi ple t o evolution seemed t o guide things upward (and i n some fashion) t o legitimize

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s p i r i t u a l i t y . Thus a type of processphilosophy 'emerged in the writings of, for example, Pi e r r e Teilhard de Chardin, which embraced evolution as the basis f o rrather than the destroyer o f , man ss p i r i t u a la s p i r a t i o n s . 8 3

Evolution i sc e n t r a lt o new age conceptions of God, c r e a t i o n , man, h i s t o r y . In f a c t ,i nnew age b e l i e f , evolution i s God i nprocessand t h e i rd i s t i n c t i v e optimism t h a t the new paradigm w i l l be able t or e c t i f ythe world ss i t u a t i o ni sdependant on a s i g n i f i c a n tportion ofhumanity being willing t o make the s a c r i f i c e se n t ai led i n such a change i n thinking - i ne f f e c t an evolved humanity . There e x i s t si nnew age c i r c l e s the belieft h a t the majority ofhuman beings now a l i v e may experience an evolutionary s h i f tfrom ego-centred awareness t o a unified f i e l d of shared awareness . There i sa conviction t h a tf o r example, the r i s i n gnumber ofpeople who have experienced a l t e r e ds t a t e s of consciousnesscan be i n t er preted as evidence t h a tthe pace of evolution has been stepped up - a s John White puts i t(summing up the idea of an idealized new s o c i e t y ) :

The pace ofchange i snow unprecedented i n the l i f eof our s p e c i e s . We a r e witnessing the f i n a lphase ofHomo Sapiens and the simultaneous emergence of . ..what Ihave named Homo Noeticus, a more advanced form of humanity.. .A society founded on love and wisdom w i l l emerge. The change of consciousness underlying the passage involves transcendence ofego and recognition ofthe unity of l i f e . 8 4 But while many believe t h i snew humanity, characterized by an i n t u i t i v e / m y s t i c a l perspective and individual awareness of oneness with innate d i v i n i t y ,i salready emerging, Miller points out t h a tin s p i t e ofwhat may be s a id f o r technological advances, an objective look a tthe world s i t u a t i o nwould i n d i cate t h a tthings are instead g e t t i n g more fragmented and out of hand. He quotes Keys inhis description of the accelerating curves of overpopulation, wasteful use ofresources, p o l l u t i o n , unemployment disappearing a g r i c u l t u r a ll a n d , the un-met basic human needs in two-thirds ofthe world and the t h r e a t ofa run-away nuclear arms race which he says appear t o be converging rapidly i n t o a global mega-crisis . 8 5

In answer t ot h i s Marilyn Ferguson employs a s c i e n t i f i c theory developed by paleobiologists t o explain the emergence ofevidence from the f o s s i l record incompatible with Neo-Darwinist evolutionary t heory.

Punctuationalism orpunctuated equilibrium describes a mechanism by

which a c r i s i si n a speciesenvironment can t r i g g e rr a p i d , ra d i c a l evolutionary change. She employs i tt o explain the sudden appearance i n geological evidence of a new s p e c i e s , not evolved gradually by the steady change ofi t sancestors but a l la tonce and f u l l yformed .

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She explains the significance oft h i s evidence from the new s c i e n t i f i cparadigm f o r the new age t h u s :

( 1 )I trequires a mechanism f o rb iological change more powerful than chance mutation, and ( 2 )i topens us up t o the p o s s i b i l i t y ofrapid evolution i n our own time, when the equilibrium ofthe species i spunctuated by s t r e s s .S t r e s si n modem society i sexperienced a tthe f r o n t i e r s ofour psychological ra t h e rthan our geographical l i m i t s . Pioneering becomes an increasingly psychospiritual venture since our physical f r o n t i e r sa r ea l lbut exhausted, short of space exp l o r a t i o n . Given what we are learning about the nature ofprofound change, transformation ofthe human species seems l e s s and l e s s improbable.8 7

1 . 6 . 5 Barbara Marx Hubbard, f u t u r i s tand 1984 candidate f o r the US vice-presidency writes t h a t we are a tthe dawn of a period of conscious evolution ,when humanity f i r s tbecomes aware ofthe process of Creation and begins t op a r t i c i p a t e de liberately i n the design ofour world . I n his foreword f o rBarry McWaters1981 book Conscious Evolution David Spangler describes i ta s a new c u l t u r a l mythand McWaters defines i tas follows:

conscious evolutioni st h a tl a t t e rphase i n evolutionaryprocess wherein the developing e n t i t ybecomes conscious ofi t s e l f ,aware ofthe process i nwhich i ti s involved and begins voluntarily t op a r t i c i p a t ei n the work ofevol u t i o n . This can happen i n a number of dimensions, i n a number ofways, and i nf a c t has been happening f o r a long while both i n individuals and small groups. We are now approaching t h a tmoment i n evolutionary history when Humanity, as one s e l f conscious e n t i t y ,w i l l assume t h i sr o l e . 8 7 He adds t h a t i npreparation f o rt h i sunified function much work i srequi red, and, i nf a c t many individuals and groups are working d i l i g e n t l y . Miller elucidates the ideological signif icance of conscious evolution - i tprovides a context and impetus for s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l action- a vision ofthe futuret h a tnew agers are working toward . 8 8

1 . 6 . 6 New age w r ite rs see a synthesis ofconcepts between the emergence science and the ideas ofEastern r e l i g i o n s , especiallyHinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. New age science i s seen a s a return t o the science ofthe premodem world. In Marilyn Ferguson swords: science i sonly now verifying what humankind has known i n t u i t i v e l y since the dawn of historywhile F r i t j o fCapra points out t h a ti fthe new physics leads ( u s ) to a mystical worldview i tw i l l be going back t o the beginning, 2,500 years ago . The two b e s t s e l l i n g books on the subjectwere Gary Zukav s The Dancing s i g n i f i c a n t ,and Capra s The

Wu Li Masters which notes

s i m i l a r i t i e sbetween Eastern philosophies and physicst h a t seem t o him obvious and

Tao of Physics which aims to demonstrate the e s s e n t i a l

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harmony between the s p i r i tofEastern wisdom and Western science .I tcontends t h a tt h e new physics forces us t o see the world i n a manner very similarto t h a t ofeastern mysticism, so t h a twe become aware of the unity and i n t e r r e l a t i o n of a l lphenomenon and the i n t r i n s i c a l l y dynamic nature ofthe universe . 8 9 Stanislov Grof sums i tup t h u s :

The most exciting aspect of a l lthe (above) revolutionary developments i n modem Western science - astronomy, physics, biology, medicine, information and systems t h eor y, depth psychology and consciousness research- i sthe f a c t t h a tthe new image ofthe universe and ofhuman nature increasingly resembles t h a t ofthe ancient and Eastern s p i r i t u a lphilosophies - the d i f f e r e n t systems of yoga, the Tibetan Vajrayana, Kashmir Shaivism, Zen Buddhism, Taoism, Kabbalah, Christian Mysticism, or gnosticism. I tseems t h a twe are approaching a phenomenal synthesis ofthe ancient and t he modem and a far-reaching int e g r a t i o n ofthe grea t achievements ofthe Eat and the West t h a tmight have profound consequences f o r the l i f eon t h i sp l a n e t . 9 0

For new a g e r s , the primary c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ofthe new science ( o r those which disti nguish i t most s i g n i f i c a n t l y from t h a tofthe old paradigm) are i t ssubj e c t i v i t y and i t sholism.

Peters uses the term S c i e n t i f i c Wholismand says i tcombines three t h i n g s : twentieth-century discoveries i nphysics, an acknowledgement ofthe important r o l e played by imagination i n human knowing, and a recognition ofthe e t h i c a l exigency ofpreserving our planet from ecological d e s t r u c t i o n . Marilyn Ferguson believes t h a twholeness i sa fundamental c h a r a c t e r i s t i c ofthe universe and t h a t modem science has v e r i f i e dthe q u a l i t y ofwhole-making . She o u t l i n e s where t h i s concept was f a i l e dby modem/old science which t r i e dt o understand nature b tr ying t o break things up i n t ot h e i rparts ,wholes, she s a y s , cannot be understood by a n a l y s i s , theyj u s t come together . S i m i l a r l y ,i n arguing the fundamental agreement between the new physics and Eastern mysticism Capra points out t h a t subatomic p a r t i c l e s have no meaning as i s o l a t e de n t i t i e sbut can be understood only as interconnections . The revelations ofthe new physics, he b e l i e v e s , reveal the basic oneness ofthe uni verse. I tshows we cannot decompose the world i n t o independently existing smaller units . 9 1 The new science undoubtedly has a more subjective o r i e n t a t i o n than the old - Capra notes t h a twhile not ruling out the r ole oft r a d i t i o n a ls c i e n t i f i c method, i t sr a t i o n a l i t ymust be complemented by the i n t u i t i o nt h a t gives s c i e n t i s t snew i n s i g h t s and makes them creative . Beverly Rubik goes so f a r as t o deny the p o s s i b i l i t y of objective r e a l i t ys t a t i n gt h a t o b j e c t i v i t yi sonly a man-made concept ,and Fred Alan Wolf expands by s aying :

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. .. i nobserving r e a l i t y , an observer i screating mental r e a l i t y , and t h a tmental r e a l i t yi saffec t i n g the out therephysical r e a l i t y , however, i n a very s u b t l e way. That out therer e a l l y doesn te x i s tindependently of such an observational a c t . Many people s t i l ldon tbelieve t h a t ; they believe t h a t there i san out there world which i sr e a l l y independent of any kind of observational power t h a tthey may bear upon the world.9 2 Kyle notes t h a t since the Western mind has t r a d i t i o n a l l y seen science as dealing with objective r e a l i t y and r e l i g i o nr e l a t i n gt oi s s u e s concerning an objective personal God, so new age thinking has made both science and r e l i g i o n more subjective and thus more compatible. He goes on t o describe consciousness, i ni t spurest form a s non-material, formless and void of a l lcontentand notes t h a tinmany s p i r i t u a lt r a d i t i o n st h i s manifestation of consciousness i s associated with the d i v i n e , as i ti sbelieved t obe the essences ofthe universe and t o manifest i t s e l fi na l lthings.. .a l lforms ofmatter and a l ll i v i n g things are seen as p a t t erns of the divine consciousness . Marilyn Ferguson notes the beliefamong some new agers t h a tt h i s synthesis of science and s p i r i t u a l i t ycould eventually bring about t h e end of objective science as we know i t ,or a s Gary Zukav puts i t , we may be approaching the end of sciencesince only d i r e c tmystical experienceand enlarged awarenesscan carry as p a rt the l i m i t s of our logic t o more complete knowledge . 9 3

New age views on ecology are a lso informed by the themes ofholism and monism and are i n essence a f u r t h e r extension ofthe new age worldview. Kyle i d e n t i f i e s a three t i e r e d approach t o environmental is sues within new age l e a d e r s h i p : they attackboth the currentpractices of the i n d u s t r i a l world and the mind-set which has fostered the destruction ofthe environment; they have proposed an a l t e r n a t i v e worldview, h o l i s t i ci ni t sapproach which they believe w i l l solve many ofthe current problems; and they have developed p r a c t i c a l economic and p o l i t i c a l programmes f o r the implementation oft h e i rworldview. Capra denounces shallow environmentalism which he defines as the e f f i c i e n tcontrol and management of the natural environment f o rthe benefit ofmanas e ffectingno r e a lbreak from the Cartesian mentality ofthe old paradigm. The emerging notion of a deep ecology on the otherhand, with i t sview ofnature and the universe as being dynamic and of one essence, i sone common i n Eastern s p i r i t u a l i t y , especiallyTaoism but has a l so long been a minority view i n the West since Heraclitus taught the concept i n ancient Greece. The teachings ofdeep ecology persis ted i n the Western occult t r a d i t i o n and Capra notes a form of i ti nthe views of Christian mystics such as Saint Francis ofA s s i s i ,i n the work of philosophers Baruch Spinoza and Martin Heidegger, as well as being deeply embedded i n Native American c u l t u r e . 9 4

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Linked t o the idea ofdeep ecology i sthe Gaia hypothesis, developed by James Lovelock i n the 1960s, which proposed t h a tthe earth i sone si n g l e li v i n g organism:

The e n t i r erange ofl i v i n g matter on e a r t h , from whales t ov i r u s e s , and from oaks t oa l g a e , could be regarded a sc o n s t i t u t i n ga s ingle li v i n ge n t i t y capable of manipulating the earth s atmosphere t os u i ti t sov e r a l l needs and endowed with f a c u l t i e s and powers beyond i t sconstituent p a r t s . 9 5 Miller notes t h a tthe implications oft h i s hypothesis include the possible formation of a global brainon the suggestion t h a tthe globe i t s e l fi s now a conscious being or will.. . eventually evolve i n t o one . He s t a t e st h a t such a beliefmay i nrespects be consi stent with the underlying new age thought and value systems i n thr ee ways: f i r s t l y ,beliefi na l i v i n g , sacred planet i sperceived as having immense ecological value; an answer t o the exp l o i t a t i o n and abuse ofthe ear t h allegedly fostered by Cartesian mechanism and Judeo-Christian dominiontheology (based on Gen.l:23) ;secondly, belieft h a t the i n t e gratio n ofhumanity with i t s e l fand a l learth systems would cause something new and greater t o emerge i s p erfectly consistent with the emergent evolution view t h a t integrated par t s cr e a t e a whole greater than t h e i r sum ;t h i r d l y , the new myth i sconsistentwith New Age s p i r i t u a l experience, which i sthe ultimate shaper ofand f o r authority f o rt h e i rbeliefs . 9 6 Donald Keys write t h a t :

There i sa d i r e c t connection between the subjective or inner experience ofthe individual person and the emergence ofmyth. . ..myths such as Humanity-asBeing, Earth-asEntity, or Human Community are experienced as s e l f e v i d e n t and unquestionable f a c t si n the inner l i f e .A l i f eof active s p i r i t u a l pur suit provides an ultimate basis t or e a l i z e the unifying oneness through which a l ll i f e flows.9 7 That the Gaia hypothesis i snamed a f t e rthe goddess of ancient mythology a l so l i n k s with new age feminism and ecofeminism. The t r a d i t i o n a l association ofthe earth or nature with t h e feminine has been previously noted and Peters points out t h a ti n the new eminence within the new age ofthemes of i n t u i t i o n ,r e c e p t i v i t y , embodiment, attunement with nature and a sense of oneness with the whole planet earthwe are seeing ah i t h e r t o repressed feminine force.. . beginning t o exert i t spower i n our culture . He quotes Jungian psychologist Marion Woodman s t a t i n gt h a tour task i st o make t h i s feminine principle conscious, we must: connect with her.. .because t he power t h a t drives patr i a r c h y , the power t h a ti s raping the e a r t h , the power dri ve behind a d d i c t i o n s , has t o be transformed. There

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has t o be a counterbalance t oa l lt h a tf r e n z y ,a n n i h i l a t i o n , ambition, competition and materialism . 0 8 But he notes t h a ti n new age practice consciousness r a i s i n gi n some instances goes well beyond a mere psychological process t o a re-evocation ofthe Mother Goddess ofpagan t i m e s , characterized not only by the Gaia hypothesis but a l so a resurgence i ni n t e r e s ti n a wide v a r i e t y of pre-modern p r a c t i c e s such a s shamanism, root medicine, witchcraft and magic.

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1.6.7

PSYC H O LO G Y AND H EA LTH IN TH E N E W AG E

PSYCHOLOGY

I n the new a g e , personal transformation equals sal vation and t h i s quest f o r the higher s e l f ,t h e search f o rd i v i n i t yh a s , Kyle w r i t e s , both s p i r i t u a l and psychological dimensions. Martin Gross t e l l sus we are the c i t i z e n s ofthe contemporary Psychological Society ,li v i n gi n t h e most anxious, emotionally insecure and analyzed population i n the history ofman . Kyle s t a t e st h a tpsychology has come t o replace r e l ig ion a s the primary vehicle for improving t h e qu a l i t y ofthe inner l i f e . In f a c tJacob Needleman writes t h a tpsychologists came t ojudge, from a professional perspective , much ofcontemporary r e l i gion as psychologically harmfuland psychology therefore as b e t t e r su i t e d and equipped t o address the concerns of the inner l i f e . As a suggested explanation f o rt h i s Gross writes t h a t our Psychological Society i sone i n which, a s never before, man i spreoccupied with Self, and, a s Western relig i o n s have tended t o focus on exhortations and commandments without t e l l i n gus how t o follow them, i ti s consequently not seen as being able t o improve the quality ofhuman l i f e .I n con trast psychology and Eastern r e l i g i o n s are seen t o focus on the i n d i v i d u a l , on i sor her well-being and t h e i rprimary goal i sthe release from suffering - personal suffering as well a st h e s u f f e r i n g s ofhumanity . 9 9

Kyle suggests t h a t choice-fatigue ,a term Alvin Toffler employs t o describe our reaction t o the vast array ofideas and moral codes avai lable in our p l u r a l i s t i cs o c i e t y , causes us t ot u r n inward f o r guidance and meaning. Peter Beyer points out t h a tt h i s extreme p l u r a l i t y of the s o c i a ls t r u c t u r e means t h a t the individual s experience ofhimselfbecomes more r e a lt o him than h i s experience ofthe objective world . But t h i sturn inward can r e s u l ti nc r i s i s ofi d e n t i t y as the world ofthe psyche has few road mapsand the search within can f a l lshort ofthe auth e n t i c i t y and assurance t h a ti scraved , leading t oas t a t e of anxiety and s t r e s swhich i s ,in t u r n ,d e a l twith by the therapies which attempt t o give direc t i o n and guidance t o the search f o r meaning . 1 0 0

These therapies cover a wide variet y ofexperiences and operate i n several related movements which overlap wit h , and t o an extent a r e interchangeable w it h , th e new a g e . The New Consciousness movement f o r example denotes a range of groups which embrace an a l t e r n a t i v e worldview drawn from o c c u l t i s tt o Eastern s p i r i t u a l i t yt o paranormal r e s e a r c h ,

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while the human p o t e n t i a l movement i sconcerned with the various therapeutic techniques designed t o enhance psychological growth.1 0 1

PSYCHOANALYSIS A N D BEHAVIOURISM

As previously indicated the schools ofpsychoanalysis and behaviorism dominated psychology f o r the f i r s thalfofthe twentieth century. Freud spsychoanalysis has been termed a kind ofpsychic determinism, i theld t h a tpersonality was determined by i n h e r i t e d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and the s o c i a l influence ofthe early childhood y e a r s , humans were considered e s s e n t i a l l y as animals driven by i n s t i n c t and beliefi n God was considered a neu rosis, or an i l l u s i o nneeded by the weak. Jungian psychoanalysis l a t e rchallenged the a n t i r e l i g i o u s stance ofthe Freudian system, i n s i s t i n gt h a tthe s p i r i t u a laspect ofpersonality was both r e a l and important. His theory of archetypes accommodated the mystical aspect ofr e l i g i o s i t y and many f a c e t s ofh i sb e l i e f s were compatible with humanistic and transpersonal psychology a s well as eastern and occult s p i r i t u a l i t y . 1 0 2

Behaviorism shared with psychoanalysis the supposition t h a tpeople are determined by biological inheritance and s o c i a l environment but was more s c i e n t i f i ci ni t sapproach. I n s i s t i n g on a return t o observable methods ofinve stigation i tsaw humanity as basically a colle c t i o n of stimulus-response mechanisms . For F r i t j o fCapra the r i g i d i t y , determinism, dehumanization and a n t i r e l i g i o u s bias was evidence ofthe res cogitans and the res extensa a manifest consequence ofthe Cartesian division . He describes these psychologies as reduc(ing) a l lbehavior t o mechanistic sequences ofconditioned responsesand a s s e r t st h a tthe only s c i e n t i f i c understanding of human nature i sone t h a tremains within th e framework of c l a s s i c a l physics and biology; a psychology, furthermore, t h a tr e f l e c t s our culture spreoccupation with manipulative technology, designed f o r domination and control . He does acknowledged Jungian influence however i ni t si n c l i n a t i o nt o explore the s u b t l e r aspects ofthe human psyche t h a tl i ef a rbeyond our everyday experience . 1 0 3

HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY Humanism i sknown as t h i r d forcepsychology (where psychoanalysis i s f i r s tforceand behaviorism i s second force )and was e f f e c t i v e l y established with the publication of Abraham Maslow s 1954 Motivation and Personality. The g r e a t e s t attainment of i d e n t i t y ,

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autonomy or selfhood i si t s e l fsimultaneously a transcending ofi t s e l f , a going above and beyond s e l f , he wrote, promising the self -ac t u a l i z e d person would achieve acceptance and expression ofthe inner core or self and experience f l e e t i n gmoments oft h e i rhigher n a t u r e s , peak experiences i n which time disappears and hopes are f u l f i l l e d ,they can l i v ei nt h e i r inner psychic worlds ofemotion and experience and enjoy i tt o such an extent t h a ti tmay be called Heaven .1 0 4 Thus Maslow s work repeatedly s t r e s s e d the life-enhancing nature ofthe s c i e n t i f i c , deterministic view of l i f ebut a l s o infused modem psychology with a r e l i g i o u s dimension, and, according t o Rachel Storm, eventually developed i n t o what became known as fourth force- transpersonal or s p i r i t u a l psychology. Carl Rogers developed the client-centred approach whereby the r ole ofthe t h e r a p i s ti st o guide the c l i e n tt o answers within rather than t oi n s t r u c t or d i r e c t , echoing the new age emphasis on experience. Kyle notes the following ad ditional l i n k st othe new a g e :

F i r s t , human beings are good and t h e i rnatural bent i s toward goodness, toward growth . Second, human p o t e n t i a li sunlimited . Such p o t e n t i a li stapped largely through personal experience. Human autonomy i snecessary because growth and values emerge from personal experiences t h a t are not r e s t r i c t e d by b e l i e f s and s o c i a l conventions. Third, personal awareness i s a valid l i f e goal . The more self-awareness an individual h a s, the more a l i v e he or she i s . 1 0 5

TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

The term transpersonal psychology was f i r s tused by Stanislav Grof i nthe l a t e 1960s, when h e , along with Maslow, Anthony Sutich and John Lil l ybegan t oi n t e g r a t e the teachings of Eastern t r a d i t i o n s with t h e i runderstanding ofhumanistic psychology. In the launch iss u e of h i sJournal of Transpersonal Psychology Sutich defined the study a s : i n t e r e s t e di n those ultimate human capac i t i e s and p o t e n t i a l i t i e st h a t have no place i np o s i t i v i s t i c or b e ha vioristic theory, c l a s s i c a l psychoanalytic theory, or humanistic psychologyand concerned with becoming, individual and s p e c i e s wide meta needs, ultimate v alu es, unitive consciousness, peak experiences.. , mystical experiences and the transcendence ofs e l f . 1 0 6 Storm points out t h a tt h e i r concern was with an e x i s t e n t i a lpsychology - t h a t man, s e t down i n an a l i e n universe, has t o be enabled t o cr e a t e himself, cr e a t eh i s own r e a l i t y and somehow give meaning t oh i sl i f e . Transpersonal psychology developed i n the s i x t i e si n the midst ofthe counter c u l t u r e and i n t e r e s ti n , sometimes chemically induced, al t e r e ds t a t e s was hi gh. The human p o t e n t i a l

45

movement overlapped extensively with hippie cu l t u r e allowing f o r an infusion ofthe counter cu l t u r ei n t o psychology.

While Groothuis notes the growing influence oftranspersonal psychology (he gives examples ofU.S. u n i v e r s i t i e s offering masters degrees i nthe s u b j e c t ) , and growing popularization thanks t o leading t h e o r i s t s such a s Ken Wilbur, Woodhouse nonetheless observes t h a t we a r e witnessing not so much the emergence of another school ofpsychology, a s a transpersonal

perspective, which cuts across traditional disciplines and nurtures various grass-roots
movements . 1 0 7

THE H U M A N POTENTIAL M O V E M E N T

The human poten t i a l movement both provided an important backdrop f o r the new age and i s an e s s e n t i a l component ofi t .I ti sone ofthe v i t a lnetworks ofthe decentralized new age and l i k e the new age the human p o t e n t i a l movement must be seen as a general rat h e r than a s p e c i f i c movement. SociologistRay Wallis describes i ta s consisting of independent groups, l e a d e r s , communication media e t c . ,which display no common s t r u c t u r e of authority or membershipbut sharing a common commitment t o growth by s e l f d i r e c t e d means .

The core oftranspersonal psychology i shumanistic psychology but i thas moved on t of u l l y embrace an occult and Eastern mind-set and has d i v e r s i f i e dt o span a number oftherapies which Alvin Toffler has described as the odds and ends ofpsychoanalyses, Eastern r e l i g i o n , sexual experimentation, game-playing and old-fashioned revivalism . 1 0 8

Kyle l i s t ssome ofthe groups who would consider themselves p art ofthe human p o t e n t i a l movement as follows: encounter groups, Gestalt awareness t r a i n i n g , Transactional Analysis, sensory awareness, primal thera py, bio energetics, humanistic psychology, psychosynthesis, biofeedback, transcendental meditation, Arica t r a i n i n g , yoga, the martial a r t s , Synanon, Sil v a mind c o n t r o l , Gurdjieffgroups, psychic healing and mind contro lt r a i n i n g .

The Esalen i n s t i t u t ea tBig Sur i n Californiahas been described as the Harvard ofthe human p o t e n t i a l movement ,founded i n 1961 by Michael Murphy and with one ofi t sf i r s tl e c t u r e s delivered by Abraham Maslow, i tserved a s a place where academics and professionals gathered t o share information on mental and physical h e a l t h , government, education, business and so o n , and t o provide courses on mysticism, meditation, comparative r e l i g i o n , psychotherapy, expansion ofconsciousness and group awareness.1 0 9

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N EW CONSCIOUSNESS

As the movement turned East and became more mystical and s p i r i t u a li tgave r i s et ot h e consciousness revolutionwhich shares most ofthe c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t he human p o t e n t i a l movement while being even more e c l e c t i c ,s p i r i t u a l and mystical. I tendeavors t o give individuals a psychoreligious mystical experience, t h a t puts them i n contact with themselves and the universe, b u t , Woodward notes i t sp r a c t i t i o n e r s , methods and r h e t o r i c run the gamut from the serious t o the sham . .. ( a s )i t sranks included thousands ofpsychotherapists and psychologists and legions of gurus, swamis and babas .

Alvin Toffler estimates t h a tby the l a t e 1970s there were about 8,000 d i f f e r e n ttherapies avail a b l ei n the U.S. and i thad undoubtedly become big business, Woodward notes t h e consciousness revolu tion, once confined t o the youthful counter c u l t u r e , has mushroomed i n t o a mass movement, p a r t i c u l a r l ypopular with the more a f f l u e n tc l as ses who can afford the time and money t o develop t h e i r inner depths . Peter Marin echoes t h i s view ofthe p r o l i f e r a t i o n of such t herapies as an aspect ofthe new narcissism . 1 1 0

B.

HEALTH

Possible more so than any other aspect of the new a g e , non-medical forms of healing have both gained public a t t e n t i o n and permeated popular practice i n a manner Marilyn Ferguson considers a window to the transformation of a l l our i n s t i t u t i o n s . She notes i t ss u c c ess:

Within a few shorty e a r s , without a shot sbeing f i r e d , the concept ofh o l i s t i c health has been legitimized by f e d e r a l and s t a t eprograms, endorsed by p o l i t i c i a n s , urged and underwritten by insurance companies, co-opted i n terminology ( i fnot always i np r a c t i c e ) by many physicians, and adopted by medical students.1 1 1 Mark Woodhouse defines the three developments responsible f o r changing our a t t i t u d e toward health practice a s ,a l t e r n a t i v e medicines, an increasing acknowledgement of r o l e of personal re s p o n s i b i l i t y and consciousness i n achieving health and the p o l i t i c a l and economic d i f f i c u l t i e s increasingly facing conventional medicine.

Throughout most ofhistory and i n most c u l tur es the prac tice ofhealing was the domain of f a i t hh e a l e r s , shamans and mystics, and i ti sonly since the Enlightenment t h a tt h e

47

supernatural has been removed from the study ofthe human body and of i l l n e s s . Recent challenges t othe dominance ofthe biomedical model came i n the f i r s thalfoft he nineteenth century i n America where the burst ofr e l i g i o u si n t e r e s t which produced the S p i r i t u a l i s t s , Shakers and t r a n scendentali sts also saw the development of a l t e r n a t i v e health systems such a s homeopathy, hydrotherapy and Thomasonianism. The second halfofthe century which saw the r i s e ofNew Thought and Christian Science movements also saw the development of st u d i e si nc h i r o practic and osteopathy. From these precursors the modem h o l i s t i c health movement began t o emerge i n the l a t ef i f t i e sand s i x t i e s and i twas s o l i d i f i e di n the seventies when the founding ofnumerous health centres culminated i n the 1978 establishment ofthe American H o l i s t i c Health Association. According and Gordon Melton, i n these h o l i s t i c health centre s health i sconsidered a s ap o s i t i v es t a t e ,not merely an absence of diseaseand comprehensive programs are put i nplace which, t a i l o r e df o rthe needs of each c l i e n t , seek t o a c t i v a t e the individual sp o t e n t i a l toward s e l f c a r e ,thus placing an emphasis on the promotion ofwellness, including d i e t and exercise.1 1 2

DEFINTIONS

The new age health movement has been described by both the terms h o l i s t i c and a l t e r n a t i v e . The common approach i stoward treatment ofthe whole person, mind, body and s p i r i ti n c o n trast t o th e more reduction ist princ i p l e s ofWestern medicine which are considered t o view the human body as machine-likeand disease as a malfunctioning i nap a rt oft h i s machine . Capra notes the move away from t h i sl a t t e rapproach t h u s :

Modem s c i e n t i f i c thought - i nphysics, biology, and psychology - i sleading t oa view ofr e a l i t yt h a t comes very close t o the views ofmystics and ofmany t r a d i t i o n a lc u l t u r e s ,i n which knowledge ofthe human mind and body and the practic e ofhealing a re i n t e g r a lp a r t s ofn a t u r a l philosophy and of s p i r i t u a l d i s c i p l i n e . 1 1 3 Woodhouse notes t h a ta l t e r n a t i v e pract i c e s tend to be concerned with the areas t h a t conventional medicine i sl e a s t well equipped t o deal w it h : prevention and treatment of chronic or degenerative c onditions, but points out t h a ti ng e n e ral, p r a c t i t i o n e r sprefer t o work i n ways complementary t o conventional p r a ctice r ather than instead o f . Ferguson believes t h a tthe most s i g n i f i c a n t fa c t o ri n the growth ofthese practic es i sa widespread and growing disenchantment with our established health care systems which a r e considered too c o s t l y , unfairt o the poor, s e x i s t ,r a c i s tand generally inadequate.1 1 4

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HOLISTIC HEALTH PHILOSOPHY

The philosophy ofa l t e r n a t i v e health shares with the new age a monistic, h o l i s t i c world view and a r e j e c t i o n of Cartesian dualism and Christian theism. H olistic health aims t o heal by teaching people how t o manipulate the i n v i s i b l e flow ofl i f eenergy with which they a r e connected. In t h e i r 1983 book New Age Medicine,Paul C. Reisser, Terri K. Reisser and John Weldon o f f e r a description of ten themes which characterize the h o l i s t i c approach, which, while o ffering a conceptual framework f o runderstanding the movement, they emphasize t h a t a l lp r a c t i t i o n e r s do not adhere t oa l lt e n : 1 . ) The whole i sgreaterthan the p a r t s . 2 . ) Health or wellnessi smore than the absence ofd i s e a s e . 3 . ) We a reresponsible f o r our own health or d i s e a s e . 4 . ) Natural forms ofhealing a r e preferable t o drugs or s u r gery. 5 . ) Most methods ofpromoting health can be h o l i s t i c , but some methods are innat ely more h o l i s t i c than o t h e r s . 6 . ) Health implies ev olu t i o n . 7 . ) An understanding ofenergy, not matter i sthe key t oh e a l t h . 8 . ) Death i sthe f i n a l stage of growth 9 . ) The thinking and practices of ancient c i v i l i z a t i o n s are a r ich source f o rhealthy l i v i n g . 1 0 . ) H o l i s t i c health must be incorporated i n t o the f a b r i c of society through public policy.1 1 5

HOLISTIC HEALTH PRACTICES

There a r e a wide range ofh o l i s t i c healthpract i c e s some ofwhich are i d e n t i f i e d with occu lt t r a d i t i o n s and have a metaphysical approach and many which have been given a new lea s e of l i f eby the r i s e ofthe new age but which a r ep a rt of a long-standing a l t e r n a t i v et r a d i t i o n . As they a r e so numerous i twould be impossible t o deal with them a l l ,however i n the book

Wholistic Dimensions in Healing Leslie Kaslofsuggests a system ofclassificationwhich provides a useful framework for an overview ofthe main p r a c t i c e s : 1 .Integrative systems, such a s osteopathy, c h i r o p r a c t i c , reflexology and homeopathy; 2 . Nutrition and herbs, f o r the prevention and cure ofi l l n e s s ,based on t r a d i t i o n a l wisdom; 3 . Heuristic approaches,
used f o r diagnosis and treatment, acupuncture, acupressure and iridology are examples; and, 4 . Biofeedback, a technique from bringingnon-voluntary bodily functions such a s brain-wave p a t t e r n s , heartr a t e and skin temperature under voluntary c o n t r o l .

Alternative medical p ractices work on the principle t h a tboth i l l n e s s and healing can have nonmaterial and nonmedical causes. As societybecomes increasingly alarmed by the incidence of s t r e s sr e l ated i l l n e s s and the pers i s t i n g uncertainty surrounding the causes of

49

cancer, the a t t r a c t i o n s ofthe h o l i s t i c approach can only be expected t o grow. The p r o l i f e r a t i o n of a l t e r n a t i v e treatments and therapies available on the high s t r e e t i san indic a t i o nt h a t they are becoming l e s s and l e s s a l t e r n a t i v e ,and t h e i r absorption i n t ot h e corporate mainstream v i a the m u l t i b i l l i o nd o l l a r cosmetic industry and innumerable c e l e b r i t y endorsements s i g n a l our c a p i t a l i s tconsumer economy i srendering them l e s s the exception than the norm.1 1 6

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CHAPTER T W O

CH A PTER TW O - PH YSICS AND M YSTICISM

2 . 1

INTRODUCTION

In outlining the h i s t o r i c a l context and b e l i e f s ofthe new age the c e n t r a l i t y of science t oi t s c r i t i q u e ofthe old paradigm and i t svision ofthe new became c l e a ri n the previous s e c t i o n . As the following section w i l l attempt t o place the new age in a c u l t u r a lc o n t ext, exploring i t s position with regard t o modernity and postmodemity, so t h i s section w i l l , as a s o r t of i l l u s t r a t i v e example, examine i n depth the nature ofthe rel ationship proposed between r e l i g i o n and s c i e n c e ,p a r t i c u l a r l yphysics and mysticism and assess the influence of s o c i e t a l f a c t o r s on the s t u d y . I n a 1996 a r t i c l ef o rthejournal Zygon Ted Peters wrote t h a t revolutionary developmentsi n theology and science are moving th er e l a t i o n between the two f a rbeyond the nineteenthcentury warfare model . As both s c i e n t i s t s and theologians engage i na common search f o r understanding ,he outlined eightmodels of i n t e r a c t i o n , including scientism ,or secular humanism ,and New Age S p i r i t u a l i t y . 1 Diane Kennedy Pike expresslyrepresented the sentiments oft he new age movement when s t a t i n gher belieft h a twe arereaching a l e v e l where there can be a r e unificat ion ofr e l i g i o n and science.. a merging ofthe languages of science and r e l i g i o nw i l l be one of the keys t o the u n i v e r sality c h a r a c t e r i s t i c ofthe Aquarian Age'. Analysts such a s Miller acknowledge t h a t indeed, i n some s c i e n t i f i cc i r c l e s the t r a d i t i o n a ld i s t i n c t i o n s between science and r e l i g i o n do seem t o be breaking down ,and Robert Kirsch has written t h a tthere i scurrently a drive t o enlarge the scope ofs c i e n c e , a tendency t o examine questions which previously would be asked or emphasized only by those outside the boundaries ofscience . 2 This t h e s i s argues t h a t one ofthe strong appeals ofthe new age i st h a ti tseems t oo f f e ra re c o n c i l i a t i o n ofthese two f i e l d s , allowing one t o accept modem evolutionary science while s t i l lproviding the comforts ofr e l i g i o n (such a sf o r example, a purpose t ol i f e ,the prospect of a blessed a f t e r l i f e , a basis f o re t h i c s , an optimi stic outlook f o rhumanity sf u t u r e ) , and i t would seem t h a tt h i s fa c t o rhas strongly contributed t o the i n f l u e n t i a l p a r a l l e l -based theses ofF r i t j o fCapra and Gary Zukav, and t ot h e i rrapid and widespread acceptance. As demonstrated i n the previous s e c t i o n , new age thinking from a variety of d i s c i p l i n e s and backgrounds has attempted t o marry science t o (Eastem/occultic) r e l i g i o n . Such a union can be employed t o vindicate the mystical worldview but a l so t oo f f e rpowerful leverage i na cu l t u r e where science speaks almost ex cathedra'. As Marilyn Ferguson wrote:

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Abraham Maslow observed, although our visionary a r t i s t s and mystics may be correctint h e i ri n s i g h t s they can never make the whole ofmankind s u r e . Science ,he wrote, i sthe only way we have of shoving tru t h down the r e l u ctan t throat . 3 But, even by t h e i r own arguments, the science which i s so employed cannot e i t h e r be objective t r u t h , and i t s creationas well as i t suse must be subject t oc u l t u r a l and s o c i e t a l i n f l u e n c e . The f i r s tpartoft h i s sectionw i l l examine the arguments for l i n k s between science and mysticism with s p e c i a l reference t o the work ofF r i t j o fCapra. The next part w i l l assess t h i s genre as a s t r ategyi ni n t e l l e c t u a lc o n f l i c t , offering sociological perspectives on both physics and mysticism and placing p a r a l l e l i s t arguments i na s o c i e t a l cont ext. F i n a l l y , influence of such arguments on the suggested l i n k s between the new scienceand postmodernist t h e o r i e s wi llbe asses s e d .

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2.2

THE PARALLELIST APPROACH

This section w i l l assess the arguments claiming p a r a l l e l s between mysticism and the new physics. The f i r s ttwo p a r t sw i l l introduce parallelism and place i tin contex t, and the next w i l lo utline the s p e c i f i cp a r a l l e l s which are suggested between physics and mysticism. The fourth partw i l l provide an overview ofthep i t f a l l si np a r a l l e l i s targuments and the f i f t hw i l l off e r examples, the f i n a ls e c tions o f f e r a perspective on the study and introduce the p o s s i b i l i t y ofthe influence of s o c i a lf a c t o r s .

2 . 2 . 1 The theses which propose p a r a l l e l s between the newphysics and mysticism have come t o form a strong counterpoint t o the new age c r i t i q u e of s c i e nce, as well a st oa n t i science and a n t i r e l i g i o n movements. Such theses a s developed by Capra i n The

Physics and Zukav in The Dancing Wu Li Masters have largely shaped the literatureon the
postmodern s t a t u s ofphysics according t o Catherine Carson, and Sal Restivo argues t h a t parallelismi s an important i n t e l l e c t u a l curre nt a tthe i n t e r f a c e of science and r e l i g i o n , theology and mysticism . 4 However the nature ofparallelism i sunclear and Restivo suggests t h a tthe lack of c r i t i c a l a t t e n t i o ni thas received may be explained by 1 . )i t speriphe ralityt o the mainstream history of i d e a s , being nourished instead i nthe l i t e r a t u r e ofthe o c cult- and pseudo-sciences, and 2 . )i t has been characterizedby extravagant clai ms, such a s Sung st h e s i st h a tthe I

Tao of

Ching

anticipated the c e n t r a l ideas ofmodem s c i e n c e , and Beau s argument t h a t Einstein st h e o r i e s were presaged by one ofthe Yellow Emperor sadvisors f o r t y f i v ehundred years a g o. This s i t u a t i o nbegan t o change i nt he 1970s however a s increasing i n t e r e s ti np a r a l l e l i s t arguments saw the founding of such e d u c a t i o n a l s p i r i t u a l communities as the Lindisfame Association and eminent s c i e n t i s t s such as Robert Oppenheimer, Niels Bohr and C.H. Townes began t o describe observations on complementarity and convergence between science and r e l igion i n general and between physics and mysticism i np a r t i c u l a r . Restivo i n d i c a t e st h a t t h i s growing i n t e r e s t , advocacy and a c t i v i t y underlines the need f o ra c r i t i c a lanal ysis ofthe l i t e r a t u r e of contemporary physics-mysticism p a r a l l e l i s m , the p i t f a l l s ofparallelism and the s o c i a lo rigi ns and functions ofparallelism . 5

2. 2 . 2 Parallelism i snot a new phenomenon, using Ian Barbour s 3-step description ofthe ways ofviewing r e l a t i o n sbetween science and religion i ti spossible t oplace i ti nc o n t e x t . This viewpoint, championed by l i b e r a l theologians and process philosophers, emphasizes

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 general methodological p a r a l l e l s between science and religion ,claiming t h a t they a r e both characterized by empiricism, rationalism and the c r i t i c a li n t e r p r e t a t i o n of human experience, as well a s by presuppositions and moral commitments. Elements ofprocess philosophy which turn up, i np a r t i c u l a ri n Capra sarguments, include the view ofthe world as a process i nbecoming, r e a l i t ya sas e tof interconnected e v e n t s , ar e l a t i o n a l conception oft h i n g s , organicism ( a s opposed t o mechanicism), and the s e l f c r e a t i o n of events. Other version of parallelismvary in strength from Siu s tao of science ,a r e l a t i v e l y weak form which considers science and Taoism complementaryt o stronger versions which emphasize complementarity or convergence.6

2 . 2 . 3 On being knighted i n 1947, p hysicistNiels Bohr, author ofthe complementarity p r i n c i p l e , chose the Chinese yin-yang symbol f o rh i s coat-of-arms and the i n s c r i p t i o n Contraria sunt Complementata . In The Tao of Physics Capra a t t r i b u t e s these choices to an acknowledgement by Bohr ofthe harmony between Eastern wisdom and Western science and t o a symbolization ofh i st h e s i st h a tthe princ i p l e ideas ofmodem physics confirm , rediscover ,or otherwise p a r a l l e l the ideas ofHinduism, Buddhism and Taoism and, t o and e x t e n t ,t h e i r shared concerns i n Western mysticism.

The basic p a r a l l e l st h a tCapra i d e n t i f i e s between modem physics and Eastern mysticism can be summarized as follows: 1 . )organicism, an ecologicalor wholisticview ofr e a l i t y ;2 . ) paradoxes, such as p a r t i c l e duality in physics and Koans i n Zen Buddhism; 3 . )transcendence ofordinary language and reasoning, and oft r a d i t i o n a l ideas of space, time, i s o l a t e d objects and ev e n t s , and c a u s a l i t y ;4 . ) space-time, ( i n t u i t i v e comprehension, four-dimensional); 5 . ) oneness, t h a tthe i n f i n i t e variety ofthings i nthe universe manifests one ultimate r e a l i t y ;6 . ) empiricism, manifested as reliance on experimental methods i nphysics, and on meditative i n s i g h t si nmysticism. In addition he o u t l i n e s the following equivalenciesbetween the two: 1 . )the quantum f i e l d and ch i ;2 . ) the physical vacuum ;3 . ) S-matrix theory and the IChing; 4 . ) complementarity and Tao; and 5 . )the bootstrap model i n high-energy physics and Buddhism.7

Capra s evidence f o r these p a r a l l e l s comes from statements from primary and secondary sources on how Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists and Physicists seer e a l i t y , however he admits t h a t such statements cannot serve as rigorous demonstrations f o rhis t h e s i s and so instead uses them t o stimulate an appreciation ofparallelism as a subjective experience . To t h i s end he juxtaposes statements on physics and mysticism, drawing atten t i o nt o common images of

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r e a l i t y ,f o r example the metaphor ofthe cosmic dance ,or statements on the physical vacuumand ch i . 8

2 .2 . 4

THE PITFALLS OF PARALLELISM - OVERVIEW

The basic data f o rp a r a l l e l i s t arguments a r e common language ( f o r example, English) statements on the nature and implications ofphysics and mysticism; the methodology i st h e i r comparative a n a l y s i s ; and evidence i sfound inthe s i milar r h e t o r i c , imagery and metaphoric content of such statements. In Restivo swords the basic assumption i nt h i s approach i st h a ti fthe r h e t o r i c a l , imagery, and metaphoric content of statements on physics and mysticism i ss i m i l a r , the conceptual content must be s i m i l a r , and the experience ofr e a l i t ymust a lso be simila r among p h ysicists and mystics . One example ofthe application oft h i smethod can be found i nNeedham s s t u d i e s on Chinese and modem medicine - characterized by the continuing discovery of Whiteheadian philosophy, d i a l e c t i c a l thought, and anticipatory s c i e n t i f i ca t t i t u d e s , concepts and methods in Chinese text s . 9 Although t h i swork has been widely applauded some strong c r i t i c i s m s have a l so been leveled a th i sc l a i m s . The main problem i st h a tt h i smethod requires searching f o r ,s e l e c t i n g and t r a n s l a t i n gmaterials f o r comparative a n a l y s i s . Restivo i d e n t i f i e s three main d i f f i c u l t i e s accompanying t h i srequirement.

The f i r s ti st h a trepresentativeness must be achieved f i r s tin selecting a p a r t i c u l a rpiece of l i t e r a t u r e , and then i ns e l e cting a p a r t i c u l a rword, sentence orparagraph ,but he notes t h a tno rigorous sampling procedures have guided such s e l e c t i o n s and in the case ofancient t e x t st h i s can be problematic due t o fragmentation and corruption, as well as t o the c e r t a i n t i e s about what t e x t se x i s t e d , and s t i l le x i s t , undiscovered. The second a r i s e si nthe attempt to compare statements derived from mathematical formalism and the specialized language ofphysics with the meditative i n s i g h t s ofmysticism, which w i l l , i na d d i t i o n , have t o be trans l a t e d from o r i g i n a lt e x t s written i n one of a number ofd i f f e r e n t languages often a td i f f e r e n ttimes, possibly centuries a p a r t . The d i f f i c u l t i e s extend beyond those oft r a n s l a t i n g ,f or example, the formalism ofr e l a t i v i t yi n t o English sentences understandable t o those unfamiliar with mathematical prin ciples - Restivo notes t h a ti n advocating and evaluating parallelism i ti sa lso necessary t o consider more c a r e fully than has been thus f a r the ways inwhich ordinary words compromise the non-ordinary experiences (ofp h y s i c i s t s and mystics).1 0

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At h i r dp i t f a l li n comparing statements i sthe p o s s i b i l i t y of contaminationi nt h a t modem mystics w i l lbe a tt h e very l e a s t aware ofthose references t o physical concepts t h a t have f i l t e r e di n t o everyday language such as those regarding time, space and c a u s a l i t y , and a tthe same time p h y sicists w i l l have come i n t o contact with the ideas ofmysticism. Restivo gives the example ofthe work ofGell-Mann who uses the term the eightfold wayi nh i s application ofgroup theory t o the study of elementary p a r t i c l e s , echoing the eightfold way or eightfoldpathofBuddhist teaching . Levels ofr e a l i t y hypotheses and the idea of l e v e l appropriate languagesare also relevant t o the issue oft r a n s l a t i o ni np a r a l l e l i s m , not e ,f o r example, Feyerabend s (an d ,t oac e r t a i ne x t e n t , Kuhn s ) suggestions t h a t t r a n s l a t a b i l i t y i s v i r t u a l l yimpossible. Graves however suggests t h a ti tmakes sense t o assume t h a t o n t i c l e v e l sa r e not completely independent, and t h a t ,t h e r e f o r e , cognitive l e v e l s are not completely independent ,i . e . ,t h a tthere are commonalties across l e v e l s and t h a tthese a r er e f l e c t e di n language.1 1 In terms ofp a r a l l e l i s m , Graves shypotheses r a i s e the following q u e stions:

1. ) c a n we consider mysticism and physics t obe operating on d i f f e r e n tl e v e l s of r e a l i t y ;2 . ) does i tmake sense t o consider these l e v e l s ofr e a l i t y bounded( t h a t i s ,part of one r e a l i t yi n which the assumptions apply) ; or 3 . ) do mysticism and physics operate within d i s t i n c t l ybounded realms ofr e a l i t y( separate r e a l i t i e s ) f o r which there are no cross l e v e l terms and r e l a t i o n s ? The l a t t e rcase may hol d , f o r example, i fthere are two realms ofr e a l i t y , one open t o symbolic consciousness and expressible i n language, and one open t o non-symbolic consciousness and not expressible i n language.1 2 F i n a l l y ,p a r a l l e l i s t sand c r i t i c s ofparallelism must consider the p o s s i b i l i t yt h a tthe function of language may d i f f e rbetween the two f i e l d s ,i nt h a t , while i tmay be more or l e s sa b s t r a c t of more or l e s s remote from the world ofthe s e n s e ,i nmathematics/science, language i sused t o r e f l e c tr e a l i t y and t o say s i g n i f i c a n tthings about the nature ofr e a l i t y . Within the l i t e r a t u r e of mysticism an example of a common device t o communicate experience i sthe pr actice of making a statement and repudiating i talmost immediately. The r e s u l t i n g paradoxes and c o n t r a d i c t i o n s ,i fi n t erpret ed i n terms of the function of language i ns c i e n t i f i cd i scours e, appear t obe a s t r i n g ofa b s u r d i t i e s , but i f on the other hand, language i n mysticism i sapplied t o transcending the l i m i t a t i o n s and inadequacies of ordinary experience, then the s i t u a t i o nnot only lacks ab su r d i t y , but appears incompatible with the assumption oft r a n s l a t a b i l i t y and comparability i n parallelism . 1 3

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2 . 2 . 5 THE PITFALLS OF PARALLELISM - EXAMPLES

SPACE-TIME The space-time p a r a l l e li sone ofthe most frequently cit e d ofp a r a l l e l s between physics and mysticism. In The Tao of Physics f o r example Capra argues t h a tmodem physics and Eastern mysticism r e f l e c t an awareness ofthe intimate interconnectedness and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of space and time . However, Restivo notes t h a tthe semantics and syntax of spaceand timei n Plato or the Buddhist s u t r a s are r a d i c a l l yd i f f e r e n tt ot h a t ofEinstein or Minkowski. Inphysics the conceptual transformation of spaceand timehas rested heavily on mathematization and t h a tthere i sno reason t o suppose the process has ended, whereas i n mysticism there i sno indication t h a tthe non-ordinary experience of space and time f o r the n o v i t i a t ei sany d i f f e r e n ttoday than i twas f o rthe a n c i e n t s . As Restivo puts i t mysticism does not seem t o hold the same inherent promise ofa new conception of space and time t h a t physics does . 1 4 Further evidence t o imply d i s p a r i t i e s includes the suggestion t h a tmystical experience of space-time i sthe product of absorptive a t t e n t i o n and not oft he type of conceptual evolution which characterizes the physicist s experience of space and t i m e . Restivo concludes t h a t mystics may indeed experience space-time as a four dimensional continuum ,but i ti snot c l e a rt h a tt h e i rexperience i s conceptually equivalent t o the continuum experienced by physicis ts in thinking about physical r e a l i t y and rendering t h e i rmathematical formalism . 1 5

COMPLEMENTARITY Complementarity parallelism i sbased on the idea ofcomplementarity i n quantum theory introduced by Niels Bohr in 1927. The i d e a , which has spawned a l i t e r a t u r ei n which complementarity i sapplied t o the r e l a t i o n sbetween science and r e l i g i o n , between d i f f e r e n t r e l i g i o n s , and between d i f f e r e n taspects ofr e l i g i o u st r a d i t i o n s , has become probably the most debated version ofthe t h e s i s . Restivo notes t h a tBohr never provided an unequivocal de f i n i t i o n ofthe p r i n c i p l e and the repeated revisions of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n from, among o t h e r s , C.F. von Weizscker and E i n s t e i n , and concludes t h a t :

the case of complementarity underscores the dangers of generalizing ideas of concepts which 1 . )have not been rigorously defined within t h e i ro r i g i n a l realm of a p p l i c a t i o n ;2 . )a r e ,i n sofar as they are e x p l i c i t l ydefined or rigorously conceptualized, s p e c i f i ct o the substance, l o g i c , methods, and theories oft h e i r o r i g i n a l realm; and 3 . )may appear s u p e r f i c i a l l yt o have a kinship with very general patter ns ofhuman thought ( f o r example the complementary p a i r s notion) but which, because i n part ofthe second point on s p e c i f i c i t y , may a c t u a l l y represent a d i f f e r e n t and perhaps a new p a t t e r n . 1 6

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PARADOXES Complementarity parallelisms have been employed t o show t h a tboth re ligion and science deal i nparadoxes. However the p a r a l l e l i s tcontention t h a tparadoxes have the same function i n the two f i e l d s may not be readilyj u s t i f i e d , bearing i n mind t h a ti n mysticism they are generally part ofthe nature ofthings ,while i nphysics, c o n t r a s t i n g l y , they are subject t o study with the expectation t h a t they w i l l be resolved - t h a ti s , brought i n t o the sphere of r a t i o n a l comprehension through the development ofnew l e v e l s of awareness associated with advances i n mathematical and physical theory . Capra uses as an example the Koans ofthe Zen master which appear t o keep paradoxes i n t a c t i n order t o use them as devices f o r enlightenment but a tthe same time f a i l st o accurately represent t h e i r function i nphysics by t r e a t i n g wave-particle dualityi n a way t h a t underscores i t s mysteryand obscures the resolutionoft h i s alleged paradox i n modem physics . 1 7

ONENESS A N D TOTALITY The proposed c o r relat ionbetween concepts ofoneness or u n i t y ,t o t a l i t yand interpe netration i n mysticism on the one hand, and the wholisticd i r e c t i o n ofmodem physical t h e o r i e s , especially bootstrapphysics and monistic geometrodynamics ( o r modem general r e l a t i v i t y ) on the other form one ofthe two f i e l d s . Capra sview ofthese consistencies and the work of David Bohm a sc i t e d as support has been explored more f u l l yi n a previous s e c t i o n . Restivo notes t h a t , within physics a core consideration oft h i s argument must be whether references by Bohm and others t o a requirement in quantum theory t h a t the universe by t r e a t e d as a si n g l ei n d i v i s i b l e unitc o n s t i t u t e s an updated version of wholismi nphysics or a new conceptwhich transcends the cycles of whole and partsapproaches i nt h eh i s t o r y ofideas . 1 8 Convictions among phys i c i s t st h a tthe l a t t e ri sthe case are seen by p a r a l l e l i s t s as a movement i nthe d i r e ction ofmystical conceptions ofr e a l i t y but the l a t t e rcase introduces t h e problem ofwhether t h i s wholismi n modem physics i s si m i l a r or otherwise analogoust o wholismi n mysticism, and t o wholismi n pre-modem physics.

K N O W I N G A N D CONSCIOUSNESS Two views of change i n the s c i e n t i f i c outlook are associated with para l l e l i s m , the f i r s t (conservative) view i st h a t science and mysticism are independent but complementary ways ofknowing, res p e c t i v e l y ,r a t i o n a l and i n t u i t i v e- the second, more r a d i c a l view introduces a t h i r dmode ofknowing, f o r example Siu s no-knowledgemode, experienced beyond the l i m i t s ofr a t i o n a l and i n t u i t i v emodes ofknowing i ti s devoid of shape and time and

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transcends events and q u a l i t i e s .I ti st h i s realm ofthe s i l e n t apprehensionofthe undifferentiable wholewhich he employs i nhis discussion ofmysticism (but which he associates with i n t u i t i o n ) .P a r a l l e l i s tdescriptions of a comprehensive consciousness involving d i a l e c t i ci n t e r a c t i o n ofthese modes are purely spe c u l a t i v e , we do not have a convincing theory ofknowing and i ti spossible t h a tmodes ofknowing are a r t i f a c t s of analysis rathe r than a f a c tof consciousness.1 9 P a r a l l e l i s t sc i t ean agreement between mystics and phys i c i s t st h a t ordinary sensory experiences must be transcended i n order t o comprehend r e a l i t y but there i sa divergence i n process i n the extent t o which the mystic remains constrained i n quiet appreciationwhile t h e physicist presses forward, transcending ordinary experiences and a t the same time a c t i v e l y seeking t o explain what he experiences . Capra fu r t h e r claims t h a tphysics and mysticism ar e both strongly observational, but Restivo argues t h a tt h i si snot s e l f e v i d e n t since the mystic sd i s t i n c t i o nbetween 1 . ) seeking, looking and watching, and 2 . ) thinking may be a semantic t r a p :

The meditative s t a t emight be b e t t e r described as a s t a t e ofnon-ordinary thinking than as an observational s t a t e . The c e n t r a l i t y ofmathematical thought i nphysics (consider Einstein s work o r , or the r o l e of group theory i n elementary p a r t i c l e physics) could be pointed t oi n support ofthe argument t h a ttheory ra t h e r than experiment, or a b s t r a c treasoning ratherthan observation i sthe essence of modem physics. I fthere i s any p a r a l l e l here a ta l l ,i tmight more l i k e l yl i ei n the direction ofa b s t r a c t thought r a t h e r than empiricism.2 0 ANTICIPATION O R CONVERGENCE

The two p i t f a l l s of i n t e r p r e t a t i o ni nparallelism are t h a t1 . )p a r a l l e l s suggest t h a t discoveries i n modem physics were anticipa ted i nthe mystical t r a d i t i o n s and 2 . )t h a ti t sworldview i s converging toward t h a t ofmysticism. However the a n t i c i p a t i o n st h e s i s looks l e s s and l e s s l i k e l y and l e s s reasonable the more deeply p a r a l l e l sa r e examined, r e f l e c t i n g weak analogies which are possible only because there are c e r t a i n basic and recurring themes inhuman thought . 2 1 One explanation f o rt he apparent convergence i n thought i st h a t as phys icists probe deeper and deeper i n t o nature they are forced t o abandon the images and concepts of ordinary experience, and, assuming the non-ordinary r e a l i t y open t o them i sthe same as t h a t which mystics have been probing f o rc e n t u r i e s ,i tshould not be surprising t of ind correspondences i n t h e i r verbal descriptions of such a r e a l i t y . Restivo notes however t h a tt h i s may simply imply t h a tphysical inquiry i s passing through a stageofdiscovery which s t r e t c h e s the old vocabulary causing the employment of c e r t a i n general l i n g u i s t i c pat terns t h a tpeople turn t o i fthey have to describe the indescribable so t h a ta st h e i ri n q u i r i e s proceed and t h e i r

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experiences become more ordinary f o r them and f o rthe general p ubli c, the common language can be expected t o change and the p a r a l l e l s with mysticism w i l l disappear . I f ,as Capra claims, physi c i s t s have made a s t e p toward the world view of the Eastern mysticsi ti snot l o g i c a l l ynecessary t h a tthe next s t e p( o rs t e p s )w i l l be i nt h i s same d i r e c t i o n , o r even t h a tt h i s gr e a t stepwas i n the r i g h td i r e c t i o n . 2 2

IDEOLOGY Finally Restivo notes Capra sreference t o the marked a n t i s c i e n t i f i ca t t i t u d e ofthose oft e n a t t r a c t e dt o Eastern mysticism, and one ofh i s main objectives i n The

Tao of Physics was to

show t h a tphysics too can be a path t o the heart ,leading t os e l f r e a l i z a t i o n and s p i r i t u a l knowledge.2 3 Parallelism can function therefore as both a t o o lf o r the defensivej u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r and explanation ofthe s c i e n t i f i c approach and t h e image of science and s c i e n t i s t si n general and a lso as a source ofvalidation f o rr e l i g i o u s truthapparently supported by p a r a l l e l s with the more successful s c i e n t i f i c truths .

2.2.6

By identifyi ng the p i t f a l l s of arguments f o rp a r a l l e l s between science and mysticism

i thas become apparent t h a tthese p a r a l l e l s may be spurious f o rreasons ranging from semantics t o ideology and the f a c tt h a t they can be i d e n t i f i e d along with analogies and convergence between the f i e l d s may r e f l e c t only a temporary condition i n the development of physical t heory , since as we have noted, physics, and s c i e n t i f i c inquiry i n general a r e expected t o change and develop in fundamental ways as they press ever forward, whereas mysticism appears t o have long arrived a t ultimateexperiences and t r u t h s . This does not mean however t h a tparallelismhas nothing t oo f f e r and examples such as Ten Houten-Kaplan s limited isomorphismand (HelierRobinson s and) L.L. Whyte s r e l a t i o n a l hypothesiscan serve t o moderate the skepticism generated by the above considerations.2 4

2 . 2 . 7A f i n a l consideration i sthe influence of a s o c i a lf a c t o r operating i np a r a l l e l i s m , Restivo summarizes the questions raised here t h u s :

I si tpossible t h a tparallelism and relationalismr e f l e c t and generalize our increasing awareness of sociologi cal and ecological phenomena? Are these causally r e l a t e d , and i fso which i scause and which i se f f e c t ? Are these phenomena simultaneous e f f e c t s of some underlying causal f a c t o r , perhaps a neurological one? Or are they outside the realm ofc l a s s i c a l cause and e f f e c t , self-exemplifying the emergence and development ofrelationalism? I fa s o c i a l force i sindeed o p e r a t i v e ,i si tone rooted i n the evolution ofour understanding of r e a l i t y( f o r example sociology), or one t h a tr e f l e c t s a more immediate need t o

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o f f s e tth e disastrous human and environmental e f f e c t s of unfettered individualism, and s p e c i a l i z a t i o n without interdependence? Obviously s o c i a l fa c t o r can involve a l lofthese thi ngs as well as be a p a r t of a general trend toward r e l a t i o n a l theoiy and a r e l a t i o n a l perspective.2 5 Parallelism there fore may be spurious, i tmay a l so however be a manifestation ofemerging changes i n the nature of science and indeed, t h a t nature of i n q u i r y , more broadly s t i l l ,i tmay be implicated i ns o c i a l and c u l t u r a l dynamics which r e f l e c tthe working our ofcontradictions i n prevailing s o c i a ls t r u c t u r e s and value systems.2 6

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2 . 3

SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

The f i r s tp a rt oft h i s section w i l l suggest the p o s s i b i l i t yt h a tphysics and mysticism a r e employed as c u l t u r a lresources by p a r a l l e l i s t s , and the next w i l l outline the sociological perspectives on both f i e l d s , suggesting ways i n which t h i sview can d i f f e r from t h a tposed i n p a r a l l e l i s tl i t e r a t u r e . The challenges offered by //-paralle lism are introduced n e x t , and t h e section ends with an attempt t o place parallelism i n the broader context of s o c i a li n t e l l e c t u a l change.

2 . 3 . 1 In The

Tao of Physics Capra summarizes the two-fold argument ofphysics/mysticism

parallelism with the a s s e r t i o n st h a t :1 . ) a consistentview ofthe world i sbeginning t o emerge from modem physics which i sharmonious with Eastern wisdom ,and 2 . ) Eastern mysticism provides a consistent and beautiful philosophical framework which can accommodate our most advances t h e o ries ofthe physical world . 2 7 Restivo defines a more general form ofparallelism as one in which contemporary knowledge i sviewed as a rediscovery of ancient knowledgeand suggests i ti sa recurring strategy i nthe history ofi n t e l l e c t u a lc o n f l i c t and change.

knowledge the ways i n which ideas are employed as c u l t u r a lresources t of u r t h e r individual and c o l l e c t i v ei n t e r e s t s , writing t h a tideas have no inherentproperties whatsoever, and have fe a t u r e s imputed t o them e n t i r e l y according t ot h e i rmode ofuse . For example a phy si c i s t such a s Capra may present parallelism as a defense of science against t he t h r e a t of a n t i science movements - he s t a t e sh i s aim i n The Similarly Gary Zukav i n The Dancing

2 . 3 . 2 In t h e i rbook Natural Order Barnes and Shapin highlighted f o rs o c i o l o g i s t s of

Tao of Physics as seeking to improve the

image of scienceamong the youth who have turned instead t o Eastern ways of l i b e r a t i o n . 2 8

Wu Li Masters aims to translate the concepts of

quantum physics and r e l a t i v i t ytheory f o rnon-sci e n t i s t st o understand the extraordinary processofconvergence which he believes t obe taking p l a c e . However Restivo points out t h a tthese same physical ideas have been popularized by other a u t h ors, Gerald Feinberg f o r example, without a t t r i b u t i n g mystical aspects t o them. Feinberg emphasizes the continuities and overlaps between modem and c l a s s i c a l physics where Capra and Zukav s t r e s s irreco n c i l a b l e changes and revolutionarybreaks - the difference according t o Restivo, being the audience t o whom he i sdire cting arguments.

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2 . 3 . 3 Restivo a s s e r t st h a t , although the r ei sno general sociological theory ofmysticism i tcan be viewed a sa s o c i a l phenomenon and examining i t ss o c i a lroots and e f f e c t s on society serves t o provide a c r i t i q u e ofthe p a r a l l e l i s tportray al ofmysticism. Dumont f o r example h i ghlights the l i n k s between mysticism and India ss o c i a ls t r u c t u r e( c a s t e system) and Collinsstudy of the occult and mystical t r a d i t i o n s through h i story and various cultures o f f e r s evidence t h a t mystics have struggled among themselves and other i n t e l l e c t u a l s for p r i v i l e g e , wealth and p r e stige often manipulating ideas t of u r t h e rt h e i r own i n t e r e s t s . 2 9

Schtz, Horton, and Kuhn have a l li d e n t i f i e da manner i n which science and r e l i g i o n , and physics and mysticism, account f o rf a i l u r e s and e r r o r s , developing a ce r t a i n conceptual resiliencyt o immunize against external c r i t i c i s m . For p a r a l l e l i s t sl i k e Capra, who believe t h a tthere i sa marked a n t i s c i e n t i f i ca t t i t u d e among the young people who turn t o Eastern mysticism, i twould appear t h a tthe best s t r a t e g yf o r improving the image ofphysics would be one which brings science closert o mysticism while simultaneously exempting mysticism from s c i e n t i f i ca n a l y s i s . Capra mystifies and de-technologizes modem physics adopting a complementary perspecti ve: science and mysticism are two complementary manifestations ofthe human mind; of i t sr a t i o n a l and i n t u i t i v ef a c u l t i e s . Zukav adopts a similar s t a n c e , writing the p r a ctice ofTantra does not mean the end ofr a t i o n a l thought ;notably neither one i sprepared t os a c r i f i c e science and r a t i o n a l i t yi n the i n t e r e s tof appealing t oa n t i r a t i o n a l sentiments.3 0

S i m i l a r l y , the sociological view ofphysics d i f f e r s from t h a tproposed by p a r a l l e l i s t s and can be said t obe based on Merton s early statements on the dynamic interdependence of science and s o c i e t y , and more recent formulations about the i n t e r a c t i o nbetween the s o c i a ls t r u c t u r e s of science and the l a r g e r str uctureofsociety and the influence of the s o cioc ultural milieu of a science on the v a lues, b e l i e f s and ideologies i ni t sd is c i p l i n a r y matrix . I l l u s t r a t i v e examples include Frankel s study of corpuscular op tics and the wave theory of l i g h ti n earl ynineteenth-centuryFrance, Wynne s study ofphysics and psychics i nl a t e Victorian England, and most notable, Paul Forman s study ofthe work ofGerman p h y s i c i s t s i nWeimar Germany which a s s e r t st h a t s c i e n t i s t sw i l l take measures t o counter a decline i n prestig e aimed a ta l t e r i n gthe public image of science t o make i tconsonant with a l t e r e d public v a l u e s ;t h i sw i l l , however, a l t e rs c i e n t i f i c values and ideology, and even d o c t r i n a l foundations .3 1 Commenting on the extent t o which p a r a l l e l i s t s claims may have begun t o influence v a l u e s , ideology, or doctr i n a l foundations i nphysics, Restivo c i t e srecent labeling ofDavid Bohm s work i n quantum physics as mysticaland h i s friendship with Krishnamurti. Other s t u d i e s

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which have advanced our understanding ofthe s o c i a l nature of science and s c i e n t i f i c knowledge include Latour and Woolgar s account ofthe s o c i a l construction of s c i e n t i f i cf a c t s and Harvey s account ofhow p hys i c i s t s self-consciously and confidently use non-empirical c r i t e r i ai n evaluating knowledge-claims, while C o l l i n s , Pinch and other have also written on the contextu al, contingent, and c o n s t r u c t i v i s tnature of s c i e n t i f i cf a c t s and theories . 3 2

While the construction and use ofideas and f a c t si n science are influenced by s c i e n t i s t s d i f f e r e n ti n t e r e s t s and the d i f f e r e n ts o c i a l millieux i n which they are a c t i v e ,t h i s does not necessarily mean t h a tthere are not areas ofconsensus in s c i ence. However, the p a r a l l e l i s t s s t r e s s on the consistency ofmodem physics ignores areas of c o n f l i c t , and the p o t e n t i a lf o r t h e o r e t i c a l , methodological and substantive changes and t h e i r arguments which depend on the various aspects ofmodem physics converging with each other a r e ,a tl e a s tt o an e x t e n t ,a t odds with the sociological p o r t r a i t of science i n general and physics i np a r t i c u l a r . So Restivo concludes t h a t the ideas ofmodem physics and ancient mysticism are c u l t u r a l resources which are used i nd i f f e r e n ts o c i a l contexts t o serve d i f f e r e n tindividual and c o l l e c t i v ei n t e r e s t s . 3 3

2.3 . 4 Contemporary parallelism can be viewed as an a l t e r n a t i v e response t o counter-cul tural c r i t i q u e s of science and a reaction t oa n t i s c i e n c e ,a n t ireligion and ant i-mystical sympathies and movements, but i thas i n turnbeen opposed by a n t i p a r a l l e l i s t s such as Isaac Asimov. Asimov r e j e c t s the suggestions made i n The Tao of Physics t h a t conclusions reached by s c i e n t i s t s , based on observation and measurement can be equated with quotations from ancient mythology or philosophy and warns ofthe f o l l y of deference t o mystical b e l i e f s , noting th e r e has been a tl e a s t one other occasion i nhistory when Greek secular and r a t i o n a l thought bowed t o the mystical aspects ofC h r i s t i a n i t y , and what followed was a dark a g e . We can tafford another . Asimov thus defends the idea of science a s ar a t i o n a l ent er p r i s e and without denying the r o l e of i n t u i t i o ni n science he a s s e r t s the t r u t hor f a l s i t yof a conclusion i n science must be decided by reason and reason al o n e . A s o f t e rargument against parallelism can be found i n work by, f o r example, Nasr and S i v i n , which proposes t h a tt he ancient sciences should be studied i nterms oft h e i rs o c i o c ultural contexts ra t h e r than in terms oft h e i rr e l a t ion ship t o the development ofmodem s c i e n c e , allowing t h a t the o r i g i n a l meanings might be useful i n dealing with current issue si n science and societybut maintaining t h i sa s a matter f o r study and not something t obe taken f o r granted.3 4

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Restivo notes t h a tthe defense of science i n the face ofp o t e n t i a l challenge t oi t sl o f t yposition i n our society i s sometimes aligned against the r i s e ofrelig i o u s consciousness movements. So the c r i t i q u e of a mechanistic or m a t e r i a l i s t i c science can have a tl e a s ttwo consequences/alternatives - f o r Capra i ti sa complementary relationshipbetween new physicsor wholistic scienceand mysticism while the works ofTheodore Roszak instead propose a new gnosis . While both cases see theresurrection ofancient wisdom Roszak has written ofthe mystic a s more t r u l ys c i e n t i f i cthan the conventional s c i e n t i s t s and i nh i s 1969 book The Making of a Counterculture helped t oa r t i c u l a t e the offensive t h a thad science as an i n t e l l e c t u a la c t i v i t ya si t so b j e c t . Finally Restivo notes evidence of i n t e r n a lc o n f l i c ti np a r a l l e l i s m . W.I. Thompson f o r example was openly suspicious ofthe type ofcollaboration undertaken by Carl von Weizsacker and Gopi Krishna, s i m i l a rt ot h a tnoted between Bohm and Krishnamurti and indeed between Capra and Pir Vilayat Inayat Kahn, Head ofthe Sufi Order i n the West. Both i n t e r n a l and external c o n f l i c t , Restivo argues, can be understood as part ofthe s t r u g g l e between s c i e n t i s t s and other i n t e l l e c t u a l sf o r s o c i e t a l resources . 3 5

2 . 3 . 5 Frances Yates proposed t h a tthe S c i e n t i f i c Revolution took place i n two s t a g e s , the f i r s t ofwhich was rooted inthe idea ofan a n i m i s t i c , magically operated universe, a r e t r e a tfrom reasoni nresponse t o the s t i f l i n ge f f e c t s of a r i g i d i f i e d system ofthought, and, she hypothesizes, a necessary condition f o r the breakthroughs of stage two. Mary Douglas followed t h i s argument, echoing Kant with the statement t h a t thought can only advance by freeing i t s e l ffrom the shackles of i t sown subjective conditions . The r e s u l t i n ghypothesis which suggests t h a tparallelism i sa reaction t o a perceived closure ( l o s s of a d a p t a b i l i t y )i n modem science orr a t i o n a l i t y , has a lso been proposed by a number of scholars including Yinger and Tiryakian. In an address t o the American Sociological Association in 1977 J.M. Yinger urged s o c i o l o g i s t st o undertake int ensive s t u d i e s of counter-cultures a s a way ofunderstanding t h e planet-wide c i v i l i z a t i o n transformation he believed t o be underway, since they could be conceived of as a r tformswhich h i g h l i g h t , dramatize and a n t i c i p a t ed r a s t i c problems . Tiryakian a ls o emphasized t h e i r importance as forces for s o c i a l change, c a l l i n ge s o t e r i c cu l t u r e a source ofi d e a t i o n a l innovation i nWestern modernization' and heralding the approach ofa new c u l t u r a l synthesis i n describing the occultrev ival a sp a r t ofa new, i n t e r n a t i o n a l' c u l t u r a lmatrix . 3 6 Singer and Mendelsohn have i d e n t i f i e dperiods of speculative a t t i t u d e within i n q u i r y ,i n which t r a d i t i o n a lpatterns of a u t h o r i t y , dogma and consensus may be broken down by the

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 loosening ofcanons ofrigorallowing new areas t obe explored and helping science/inquiry out ofthe r u t si n t o which i ti n e v i t a b l ef a l l s . 3 7

Following on from the Yates-Douglas a s s e r t i o nt h a tp a r a l l e l i s m ,l i k e other s t r a t e g i e si n i n t e l l e c t u a lc o n f l i c t , ebbs and flows a s hi s t o r y unfolds. Boulding and Wartofsky have argued t h a t science and r a t i o n a l i t y are g e t t i n gi n t o ecological and evolutionary rutsand so parallelism can be seen as one ofthe attempts t or e e s t a b l i s h the potency ofreason i n human a f f a i r s . Another way t o view t h i si st h a t a decline i n the power of science/ s c i e n t i s t si sa stimulus t o groups i n t e r e s t e di n taking over science sniche i n society . Bourguignon has suggested t h a ta l ls o c i e t i e s must regulate the r e l a t i o n s between th er a t i o n a l and i r r a t i o n a l so t h a ta ttimes where contro l oftechnological, economic and s o c i a lf a c t o r s appears t o be waning we might expect a resurgence ofi n t e r e s ti n the i r r a t i o n a l . This i s especially potent i n the contemporary climate of technics-out-of-controland can perhaps be placed i nthe context ofWeiman s conception ofi n t e l l e c t u a l history as a pendulum swinging between mysticism and s c i e n t i f i cmethod.3 8

Restivo concludes with the asse r t i o nt h a t parallelism i s a recurring phenomenon i n strug g l e s I t sideology can be s a id t o be rooted i n thr e e basic s t r a t e g i e s :1 . )Forman shypothesis t h a t s c i e n t i s t sw i l l take measures t o counter a decline i np r e stige aimed a ta l t e r i n g the public image of science t o make i tconsonant with a l t e r e dpublic values and t h i s ,i nt u r n ,w i l la l t e r s c i e n t i f i cv a l u e s , ideologies and d o c t r i n a l foundations. 2 . ) The p r e vailing , or p r e s t i g e , modes ofknowledge i n a society w i l l be exploited by advocates of other modes i n order t ol eg itimate and add p r e stige t ot h e i r own, usually by adopting the methods and r h e t o r i c ofthe prevailing modes. 3 . )To somehow subordinate the prevailing mode. Restivo notes t h a tthese s t r a t e g i e s are not necessarily impediments t os c i e n t i f i c growth and change and thus parallelism can a l so be viewed as an attempt t o work out now modes of thinking and behaviour inresponse t o problems of sustenance and growth i n human communities .
. .
an

f o rpower within i n t e l l e c t u a l communities and between i n t e l l e c t u a l and other communities .

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2.4

THE POSTMODERN DEBATE

This section defines the genre ofthe philosophical popularization of s c i e nce ,i dentifying i t s s o c i a l and h i s t o r i c a lo r i g i n s , and discussing the manner i n which i thas influenced the debate on postmodern physics. The l i n k s between the new science and postmodern theory a r e outlined ne x t , with s p e c i a l reference t o quantum mechanics and chaos t h e o r y .

2 . 4 . 1 The s p e c i f i cl i t e r a r y genre of philosophical popularizationofphysics has a d i s t i n c t l i n e a g e . Eger notes t h a tthe category ofwork i sr e s t r i c t e dt o those which s t r i v et o increase the popular knowledge ofphysics p r i nc ipally on the grounds ofi t squasi-philosophical consequences ra ther t h a n ,f o r example a concern with the ci t i z e n sr e s ponsi bility t o be informed about s c i e n c e . In i t smodem form, t h i sd i s t i n c tgenre emerged i nl a t enineteenth century c e n t r a l Europe ( e s p e c i a l l y Germany) i n the work ofHelmholtz, Hertz and Boltzmann. McCormmach a s s e r t s t h a tt h e i rnon-specialist writings were sustained by the Germanic i d e a l of s c i e n t i s ta s

Kulturtrger (bearer ofculture) which allowed physicists a certain amount of c u l t u r a l space

fo rmeditating publicly on the implications oft h e i rt h e o r i e s . 4 0 Carson notes t h a tu n t i lthe 1970s the t r a d i t i o n of such meditations continued t o be c u l t i v a t e d primarily by o l d e r , established scholars i n the somewhat s t a i ds e t t i n g s of c e n t r a l European academiaand were not always well suited t o the needs ofthe r i s i n g counterculture . The new generation ofphilosophical popularizers such a s Capra and Zukav were marked by the concerns ofthe counterc ulture, including a h o s t i l i t y toward s c i e n c e , and found themselves i n the new r h e t o r i c a ls i t u a t i o n ofhaving t o use the implications t h a t could be drawn from physics t o argue on i t sb e h a l f , no longer able t or ely on i t sauthority t o make the case for i t s i m p l i cati on, Inp a r t i c u l a rt h i sresulted in a heavy s t r e s s on the revolutionary nature ofthe new physics and the new paradigm i tintroduced, the break i trepresented with a science ofthe past which was implication the mechanization and domination ofn ature.4 1

The difference i n tone between these and the e a r l i e rworks i n the genre i smarked and can be explained by the wider and l e s s specialized audience a twhich they were aimed - t h i snew p u b l i c , Carson notes would not simply buy physics; i thad t obe sold t o them, made a t t r a c t i v e and e x c i t i n g , and i fp o s s i b l e ,s l i g h t l y subversive . That Heisenberg had, of a l lthe authors from the older school, most success with post 1960s audiences can perhaps be a t t r i b u t e dt o t h i sf a c t o r- he assigned the English e d i t i o n s ofthree ofh i s work t o World Perspectives,a

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publishing s e r i e s with a manifesto t h a tread l i k e t he counterculture avant la lettreand which offered l a r g e , low-priced e d i t i o n sf o r student s a l e s . The Kuhnian language ofrevolutions and paradigms has two f u n c t i o n s ,t o explain why most s c i e n t i s t shave not yet been converted and t o mark the work as p a r t i c u l a r l y appropriate t o the new era ofthought, an era t h a tboth enables and builds on the work. Carson summarizes as follow s:

Revolution-talk thus functions f i n a l l ya s a mode of contention on behalfof a t h eor y, a s an attempt t o define a new domain of argumentation where i t smerits can be s e tf o r t h , outside the arena of s p e c i a l i s t s , who, despite t h e i r own unawareness ofpostmodernism, have defined the f i e l d s up f o r consideration, the manner of argumentation, and the terms circumscribing the discussion.4 2

2 . 4 . 2 In her analysis ofthe l i t e r a t u r eproposing a postmodernphysics Catherine Carson argues t h a tthe common presuppositionsunderlying the discussion point back t oa genre of l i t e r a t u r ewrittenby physicists and undertaken f o rt h e i r own purposes ,a genre which she r e f e r st o as philosophical popularization . She points out t h a tthe i n i t i a t o r s ofthe genre were not themselves advocates ofpostmodern physics, but proposes t h a t t h e i r general o r i e n t a t i o nhas strongly influenced, even determined, the shape ofthe present-day l i t e r a t u r e on t h a t subject . She believes t h a t these f a c t s should, i n using the notion of a postmodern physics:

Attune us t o the hazards oftaking over preexisting argumentative s t r a t e g i e s ,t o the d i f f i c u l t i e s oftracin g c u l t u r a l influencesi ns c i ence, and t o the problems of fi x i n g a science with a l a b e lt h a tpresumes t oi d e n t i f yi t se s s e n t i a l import, a s opposed t oi t sh i s t o r i c a lo r i g i n . 4 3 Of the authors Carson i d e n t i f i e sa s involved i n discussions of a postmodern physics (Toulmin, Froula, Lyotard, Hayles) non i sa c t ually a practicingp h y s i c i s t , but a l lhave heard about branches ofphysics l i k e quantum mechanics and chaos t h e ory, i n a form, moreover, t h a t makes them look s u i t a b l ef o r drawing p a r a l l e l s topostmodernism . In addition t h e r e f o r e ,t o t h e i rinvolvement with postmodernism i na l i t e r a r yor generally c u l t u r a l context t h e i r l i t e r a t u r e on a postmodern physicsi sd i s t i n c t l y influenced by a p a r t i c u l a r genre i nt h e popularization ofphysics which, despit e covering a variety of approaches and subject matter a r e , she a rgues, a l l characterized by a common program : they a l lannounce t o nonspecialist readers the advent of a new s c i e n t i f i cparadigm, a paradigm t h a t overcoming r e s t r i c t i v e and outdated ways of t h i n k i n g , opens up fre s h new prospects f o r or understanding ofth e
44 cosmos .

She argues t h a tthe dominance ofthose quasi-philosophical, quasi-popularbooks i n the writing on postmodern physics has had a number ofimportant consequences.

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The f i r s ti st h a tthe options considered f o r a postmodern physics tend t os tay within t he framework l a i dout by the s c i e n t i f i ca u t h o r s ,l i m iting the discussion she b e l i e v e s ,t o those f i e l d s with p a r t i c u l a r l yvocal promoters - namely quantum mechanics and chaos th e o r y . She notes the absence from the postmodemizing discussion ofthe example ofthe path -in t e g r a l formulation ofquantum mechanics which she suggests can be explained by the f a c tt h a t no physicisthas yet ventured t o proclaim i tpopularly as a revolution i n physics . 4 5

A f u r t h e rr e s u l t ofthe arguments staying l a rgely within the bounds defined by t he popularizing authors i st h a tthey have tended t o reproduce the stance oft h a tl i t e r a t u r e .A primary contention ofthe popularizing genre, fo r example, i sthe unambiguity ofthe implications of s c i e n t i f i ctheories ,and while she acknowledges t h a tmost ofthe postmodemizing authors are too sophisticatedt o accord science the power ofd i c t a t i n gt r u t h she suggests t h a t even as they contestthe connection between theory and r e a l i t y , , they preserve t h a tbetween theory and i m plications ; t h i s ,they s t i l largue, i swhat the new paradigm means. She regards claims t o lay our theimplications of a theory a s problematic since they represent a l l i a n c e s between d i f f e r e n trealms - biology and s o c i a lt h eory , physics and metaphysics, and the d i f f e r e n ta l l i a n c e st h a t get constructed a re themselves contingent creations r e f l e c t i n g as much about t h e i rc r e a t o r sa s about the domains under discussion . She o f f e r s the example ofthe present i n t e r p r e t e r s ofquantum mechanics, a l lofwhom seem t o concur on the agreeable implications oft h a tt h e o r y , and c o n t rasts them with Pacual Jordan, one ofthe founders of quantum mechanics, who b u i l tup a l l i a n c e s between h i st h eo ry, via positivism i n philosophy, ultimately t oNational Socialism i np o l i t i c s . Implications t h e n ,l i k e p a r a l l e l s , are constructed, but t h e i rc r e a t o r s regard them, and so present them, a s unconstructed, noncontingent, i n e v i t a b l e , and, she believes t h i s stance has a lso been c a r r i e d over i n t o the l i t e r a t u r e on postmodern physics, r e f l e c t i n g a de s i r e notj u s tt oi d e n t i f y the h i s t o r i c a l or i g i n s ofa brand ofphysics, but t o f i xi t simport . 4 6

A f i n a lway i n which the popularizing genre has shaped the postmodemizing discussion i si n i t sadoption ofthe idea of a revolution orparadigm s h i f ti n physics. Carson no tes, and indeed i thas been f u l l yexplored i n the previous c h a pte r, t h a ti ti s one ofthe defining c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ofl i t e r a t u r e on the popular implications ofmodem physics or chaos theory t h a ti ti spervaded with references t o revolutions i n physics and t h e i r consequences f o r our world view. I fphysics i sgenerally understood as a quintessential^ modem endeavor, th e emergence of a postmodern physics would necessarily have a ti t score the idea of a revolutionary change i n worldview. Carson notes t h a tmany postmodemizing authors find the notion of such a revolution i n physics a very appealing one, s i n c e ,i ni t sstrongest version i t speaks t o a non-

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r a t i o n a lt r a n s i t i o n between incommensurable paradigms, a s h i f tofview t h a th i s t o r i c i z e s and r e l a t i v i z e s the forms of s c i e n t i f i creason on e i t h e rs i d e ofthe divide ,and so by divesting science ofthe authority of u n i v e r s a l , objective c r i t e r i ai tbecomes just one among a multitude of c u l t u r a la c t i v i t i e s , with no claim t o excel over the others in accessing a t r u t hbeyond human i n t e r e s t s . 4 7

2 . 4 . 3 The following section w i l l summarize some ofthe proposed l i n k s / p a r a l l e l s between t h e new physicsand postmodemity. The two d i s c i p l i n e s which have been most extensively examined i n the search f o rpostmodern tendencies i nphysics a r e modemphysics ( ac a t c h a l l term t o describe sp e c i a l and general r e l a t i v i t y , quantum mechanics and p a r t i c l e physics) and chaos t h e o r y .

Q U A N T U M PHYSICS AS POSTMODERN

A more o p timistic vision ofpostmodemity, described f o r example by David Ray G riffin i nh i s 1988 The Reenchantment of Science: postmodern proposals,hold the hope ofrecovering a l o s t sense ofwholeness t oc o n trast with, among o t h e r s , Capra s and Ferguson s assessment of modem science al ie n a t i n ghumanity from a mechanized nature described more f u l l ye a r l i e ri n the t h e s i s . Stephen Toulmin recognized the new a t t i t u d ei n ,f o r example, the Uncertainty P r i n c i p l e , whereby the s c i e n t i s t sa c t of observing a quantum mechanical p a r t i c l e unavoidably influences the r e s u l tofthe measurement a s s e r t s a connection between observer and observed, subject and o b j e c t , and can be seen as an i n s t a n t i a t i o n of a new, postmodern form of science which he perceives t o he on the horizon.4 8

However quantum mechanics i sa l s o called upon t o exemplify the l e s s romantic vision of postmodemity, one which denies wholeness and magnifies fragmentation, discontinuity and u n c e r t a i n t y . Christine Froula, f o r example has noted the relation ship between quantum mechanics and Derridean deconstruction - the l i n k sbetween t he radi c a l l y challenging representation ofnature discovered by quantum physicists and Derrida sc r i t i q u e ofthe d u a l i s t i cs t r u c t u r e ofWestern metaphysics since Plato a re strong and s p e c i f i c ones . She argues t h a tthe Uncertainty Principle n u l l i f i e s the notion of an independently exis ting r e a l i t y and suggests Derrida snotion ofthe t r a c e , which dissolves simple temporality, undermining the l i n e a rprogression oflanguage by tying s i g n i f i c a t i o nt o everything t h a ti sabsent as well a s p r e s e n t , can be seen a sac o r r e l a t e ofthe four-dimensional space-time ofr e l a t i v i t ytheory.4 9

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N. Katherine Hayles provides f u r t h e r examples i n her analysis of the l i t e r a r yconcerns of authors such as Vladimir Nabokov, D.H. Lawrence and Robert Pi r s i g whose work she suggests plays with the notion ofthe world a s a dynamic web, a network i n which a l lofthe nodes i n t e r a c t ,a f i e l dwhose s t a t ei saffected by i t si n t e r a c t i o n with the observer - she t i e st h e emergence oft h i s concern in l i t e r a t u r e with the development of a f i e l d concepti n physics though without unidirectio nal c a u s a l i t y . Carson notes t h a t while Hayles has stopped short of c a l l i n g the phenomenon postmodern, the p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s t analogies are unmistakable.5 0

CHAOS THEORY AS POSTMODERN In The Postmodern

Condition Jean-Fran9ois Lyotard proposes thatchaos theory, in studying

systems characterizedby i n s t a b i l i t y and i r r e g u l a r i t y ,i nf a c t exemplifies a r i s i n gc l a s s of sciences t h a t co ntradict the modernist demand f o rp r e d i c t a b i l i t y , performativity and u n i v e r s a l i t y . He suggests t h a tareas l i k e chaos t h e o r y , replacing performativity with i n s t a b i l i t y ,c o n s t i t u t e a new, postmodern form of s c i e n c e , summarizing t h a t postmodern knowledge i sno simple a t o o l ofthe a u t h o r i t i e si tr e f i n e s our s e n s i t i v i t yt o differences and r e inf orces our a b i l i t yt ot o l e r a t ethe incommensureable.5 1 Hayles r e j e c t st h i s approach suggesting t h a tt h eprogram of chaos theory i si n searching out t he order hidden within disorder thus reinforcing with i t stheory ofuniversali ty the t o t a l i z i n g character ofknowledge t h a t Lyotard seeks t oundermine - she nonetheless provides a number ofp a r a l l e l s between chaos and postmodernist ( e s peci allyDerridean) l i t e r a r yt h eory, which a r e summarized below:

The new s c i e n t i f i cparadigms challenge the primacy oft r a d i t i o n a l l y accorded t o offered systems; deconstructive the ories expose the i n t e r r e l a t i o nbetween t r a d i t i o n a l ideas oforder and oppressive i d e o l o g i e s . The s c i e n t i f i ct h e orie s show how deterministic physical systems become chaotic because i n i t i a l conditions cannot be specified with i n f i n i t e accuracy; deconstructive readings operate upon t e x t st o reveal the indeterminacy t h a tre-marks an absent o r i g i n . The s c i e n t i f i c paradigms embody a s h i f tofperspective away from the individual u n i tt o recursive symmetries; deconstruction writes about the death ofthe subject and t h e r e p l i c a t i n g ,s e l f s i m i l a rprocesses t ha tc o n s t i t u t ei n d i v i d u a l s . The science of chaos reveals a t e r r i t o r yt h a tcannot be assimilated to e i t h e r order or d i s o r d e r ; deconstruction de t e c t sat r a c et h a tcannot be assimilate t o the binary oppositions i tdeconstructs.5 2 Carson notes t h a tthese p a r a l l e l sa r e t o be seen as i n d i c a t i v e of a common r e a c t i o n , evident i n f i e l d sa s di sparate as physics and l i t e r a r yc r i t i c i s m ,t oac r i s i si n the modernist c u l t u r a l project ofunivocal representation ,insof arthen as chaos theory can be considered p a rt oft h i s transformation i tcan, Hayles argues, be considered a postmodern form ofphysics.

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2 . 4 . 4

ScottF.Gilbert wrote t h a tModernism, whether considered as a Renaissance i d e a , an

Enlightenment program, or a c a p i t a l i s tp r o j e c t , embodies within i tthe notion t h a t a physical r e a l i t ye x i s t s outside the human cranium and t h a tt h i sr e a l i t y can be apprehended and understood by the human mind . Modernism has allowed the p o s s i b i l i t y of science and encouraged i t s ascendancy, but postmodernism on the other hand, has many components t h a t deny the p o s s i b i l i t y of modem s c i e n c e . Examples include the v a l i d i t y ofp l u r a l i s t i cknowledge clai ms, the lack of a centre and a periphery within a f i e l d ofknowledge ,the a b i l i t yt ot e x t u a l i z em a t e r i a l , and the blurring of the d i s t i n c t i o nbetween the knowingsubject and the knownobject- Gilbert asks i fscience can even continue to e x i s tunder such c o n dit ions. Gary Zukav has s i m i lar ly suggested t h a twe may be approaching the end of science ,and Marilyn Ferguson summed up the new age p o s i t i o n , saying the end of conventional science may mean the coming ofWestern c i v i l i z a t i o n ,i ni t sown time and i ni t sown way, i n t o the higher dimensions ofhuman experience . 5 3

In the strong formofpostmodernism, science can be seen as a s e tofvalue claims s i t u a t e d i nthe hegemonic attempt t o proscribe a p a r t i c u l a r view ofthe world ,and so the s c i e n t i s t s who write of a postmodern quantum mechanics or chaos theory have already relinquished t h e t r a d i t i o n a lt r u t hclaims of t h e i rd i s c i p l i n e . 5 4 As most s c i e n t i s t s admit t h a ts o c i a lf a c t o r s play a r o l ei n direc t i n gs c i e n t i f i c researc h, and some would agree t h a tthe i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of data i s influenced by s o c i a l norms so the new age understanding ofdevelopments must be understood i nl i g h t oft h e i rpositioning within the broader dynamic ofc u l t u r e .

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CHAPTER THREE

CH A PTER T H R E E - TH E N EW AGE IN M O D ERN ITY AND PO STM O D ER N ITY

3 . 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter w i l li n v e s t i g a t e the c u l t u r a l signific ance ofthe new age, examining i t sposition with regard t o modernity, and l a t t e r l y ,postmodemity. Suggested t r a j e c t o r i e s of modernisation such a ss e c u l a r i s a t i o n and d e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o na r e assessed and the s oci o l o g i c a l t h e o r i e s offered i nt h e i r analysis w i l l be discussed. The opening section w i l l outl ine a bri e f sociol ogical description ofaspects ofthe new age t o help c l a r i f yi t sposition with regard t ot h e following discussion.

3.2 THE N E W AGE AS A RELIGION

In s o c i a lt h eor y, a f u l l y functioning r e l igi onrequires a cr e e d , code, cul tus and community. Although i ti s obvious t h a tthe new age i snot a r e l i g i o ni n any t r a d i t i o n a l sense ( i twas described i n Chapter one, f o rexample, a sa^ w a s i r e l i g i o n ) , even an e t h i c a l (code-oriented) r e l i g i o nw i l l show th e presence ofthese elements since i tw i l l predicate i t scultus on a common beliefsystem and encourage c e r t a i n forms of everyday behaviour . This section w i l l provide an understanding ofthe new age based on these precepts (Appendices A t oC f u r t h e r i l l u s t r a t ei t sposition with regard t o broader contemporary r e l i g i o u s developments).

3 . 2 . 1 Albanese provides a working defini tionofr e l i g i o na s : a system of symbols ( c r e e d , code, c u l t u s ) by means of which people ( a community) o r i e n t themselves i n the world with reference t o both ordinary and extraordinary powers, meanings and values.1 By orie n t a t i o n we e s t a b l i s h where t he boundaries a r e and place ourselves i nr e l a t i o nt o them, not necessarily w i thin, and from t h i sperspective she notes t h a t many people l i v e without god, but none without r e l i g i o n . We may absorb seemingly contradictory elements from more than one r e l i g i o u s system and even self-consciously r e j e c t the term religion t o speak instead of s p i r i t u a l i t y . The benefit oft h i sd e f i n i t i o ni st h a ti tgives p r i o r i t y in understanding r e l i g i o nt o concrete human experience and expression, i tdoes not t e l lus about r e l i g i o u s functions ( t o d eal with boundaries), and i tt e l l sus what forms ( c r e e d , code, c u l t u s , community) i ttakes . 2

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In order t ob e t t e r understand the new age i ti shelpful t o note the d i s t i n c t i o n between i t s philosophical and phenomenal a s p e c t s , as well as d i s t i n c t i o n sbetween ordinary and extraordinary r e l i g i o n s .

Within the new a g e, on the one hand are those thinkerswith environmental, transformation and h o l i s t i chealth agendas who s t r e s s a way ofl i f e shaped by t h e o r e t i c a lr e f l e c t i o n , and, on the o t h e r , the actorswho immerse themselves in such p r a c tices as channeling and work with c r y s t a l s , and who bring an i m p l i c i t theology t ot h e i rreli gion while emphasizing cultus and symbolic behaviour.

Ordinary religion i smade foremost by philosophical new agers by s e l l i n g a recon stitution of society so t h a ti tw i l l become what they regard as i n t e g r a t i v e and supportive, l e v e l ( i n g ) transcendence and elevating ordinariness . Meanwhile, phenomenal new agers are s p i r i t u a l seekers who want d i r e c t evidence of and contact with the extraordinary. Although t h i s extraordinary world i snot usually supernatural inthe t r a d i t i o n a l sense i tbrings transcendence i n t o everyday l i f e and, as much as possible transform(s) the ordinary . 3

CREED The main f e a tures ofa new age creed have been d e a l twith more f u l l yin section 1 . 4 . Albanese notes t h a tnew age teaching about the nature ofthe work and human l i f ecan be viewed as a modem day version ofthe theory of correspondence, where, using a mystical t r a n s l a t i o n ofthe language of quantum physics, a cosmology and anthropology are posited i n which matter and energy are d i f f e r e n tmanifestations of one encompassing r e a l i t y and therefore interchangeable making transformation from one t o the other conceptually simple.

As i n other versions ofcorrespondence, i feverything i severything e l s e then everything can a l s oa c t on everything e l s e , thus giving r i s ei n a view ofthe universe and the planet as places ofmagic and miracle, and wherein transformation can oftenbe sudden, dramatic and strongly p e r c e p t i b l e . Transformation i n the new age i sunderstood a s a work ofhealing, the human condition i sin some ways d e f i c i e n t and the perfection t h a ti spossible i snot yetp r e s e n t . I n the following way Albanese l i n k s these aspects ofthe new age creed to i t scode:

Thus, New Age creed tends t og r a f tto the idea ofperfection now, a s taught by t h e theory of correspondence, ideas of imperfection and future completion suggesting

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the influence ofC h r i s t i a n i t y . In t h i sl o g i c , what needs t o be healed i n the f u t u r e cannot be an exactr e f l e c t i o n ofthe ordered pattern ofthe universe. What i ss i ck has somehow gone awry and needs t o be made r i g h t . In t h i sc o n tex t, the New Age description ofr e a l i t ytransforming i t s e l fs wiftlybecomes a New Age prescription f o r everyday li v i n g and f o rr i t u a lwork.4

CODE As t h i s suggests, new age code i sderived from i t screed, and new agers seek t ol i v e according t o a perceived e t h i c ofharmony. But the e t h i c ofharmony i sa l so an e t h i c of change since i t i slinked with personal transformation and the c u l t i v a t i o n of s e l f ,i n common with both the American c u l t u r a l legacy which champions progress and the Christian legacy of imperfection/future p e r f e c t i o n . This e t h i c ofchangeo f f e r s a view ofl i f eas a kind of pilgrims progresswhere individual r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for one sl i f e and choices i semphasized and l i f ei sviewed as a s e r i e s oflessons t o be l e a r n e d .

The general e t h i c ofharmony, change, healing and learning has been specified in the new age i nnumerous ways - the New Age t e a c h e r , favoured t e x t and community lineage become especially s i g n i f i c a n t -and the m u l t i p l i c i t y of actionpathwaysfor applying the general e t h i c has given r i s et o a strong t r a d i t i o n ofr e l i g i o u s combinationism.

In keeping with correspondence t h eor y, new agers have long linked t h e i rpersonal well-being with planetary well-being, thus emphasizing a s o c i a le t h i c alongside the individual code. This s o c i a le t h i c has prompted reforming actionranging from r i t u a lmeans t op o l i t i c a l organization with the aim ofpromoting environmental healin g, as well as feminism and a concern f o r world peace.5

CULTUS

The f l u i dand informally structurednature ofthe new age means t h a tl i n k s between code and c u l t u sa re especially close - i n the absence of churchesinwhich r i t u a lr e l i g i o u sa ction conventionally takes p l a c e , new agers instead perform everyday actions i nd eli berate and s e l f consciously symbolic ways, o r , conversely, stage r i t u a l events a s methods of aff ec t i n gpublic and p o l i t i c a l opinion. This closeness (between code and c u l t u s ) underscores the seriousness with which many ofthe phenomenal r i t u a l s ofthe new age ( f o r example, c r y s t a l s and channeling) are p r a c t i c e d . Rituals which may seem faddish are t h u s ,f o r many, purposeful actions.6

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Cultus, t h e r e f o r e , can be seen as providing a s e r i e s ofr i t u a lvehicles for expressing new age creed and code. The two main methods of such r i t u a l s , both ofwhich are both symbolic and p r a c t i c a l , seek t oa l t e rthe human c ondition, t oh e a l , even as they act out symbolically th e creed and code ofthe New Age . The f i r s tmethod, ( R e i k i , the Japanese method ofpalm-healing i san example), s t r e s s e st h e material world and seeks t o harmonize the energies ofthe body so t h a tthey resonate with l a r g e rn atural forces and laws .Reiki aims t o heal by using energy t o transform bodily organs and f u n c t i o n s , the r i t u a lthereby acquires p r a c t i c a l i t y and, f o rb e l i e v e r s , provides material proofofthe metaphysical system on which i ti sbased . Other r i t u a l s seek t of a c i l i t a t e mentaljourneying i n t o nonmaterial worldswith a goal of stimulating forces ofmind and imagination so t h a tthey assume control over matter .I n an example such as shamanism, mind becomes the r i t u a l focus i n ways which a r e not only symbolic but also p r a c t i c a l , by, illuminating a problem s i t u a t i o ni n everyday l i f e ,off ering d i r e c t i o n sf o r a healing, aiming t oe f f e c tthe h e a ling, or giving advice f o rs p i r i t u a l growth . 7

Additional examples of seemingly n o n r i t u a l i s t i ca c t i v i t i e swhich have acquired q u a s i r i t u a l s t a t u s could include the wearing of c r y s t a l s and other gemstones thought t opossess powers i n order t o aid or protect individuals or develop aspects of t h e i rc h a r a c t e r , and even the use of flower/mineral essences t oa s s i s thealing or otherwise help change one sl i f es i t u a t i o nby a l t e r i n gthe mind s t a t ei ns u b t l e ways.

Even when such r i t u a l work i spracticed alone i ti sbased on b e l i e f s and lifeways t h a ta r e shared thus associating the cu l t u s oft he new age with the new age community.8

C OMMUNITY

There i sa general characte rization ofthe new a g e r , suggested i npartby the popularity of high-priced and fashionable weekend workshops and conferences, as often middle-aged, sometimes young, usually urban and middle-class, possible more often female than male, b e t t e reducated than average and not p a r t i c u l a r l y alienated from s o c i e t y . However, l i t t l ei s known i n the s t r i c tdemographic sense s i n c e , owing t o the vague and dispara te nature ofthe movement ,the c r i t e r i af o r membershipwould prove d i f f i c u l tt od e f i n e . Paul Heelas suggests over 10 million have had some contactwith new age practices and Albanese notes s e r i o u s sociol ogical estimatesfrom 20,000 t o 60 million i n the United S t a t e s al o n e , the r e a l f i g u r e probably l i e s somewhere i nbetween.9

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Insofar as i ti sviewed as a response t ot h es o c i a ls i t u a t i o n ofthe counterculture i ti snot s urprising t h a tnew age religion has a s p e c i a lrelationshipwith the generation bom and reared i nt h i se r a , the s p e c i f i cr e l i g i o s i t yoft he baby-boomers has been the study of s e ver al i n depth a nalyses. On the nature ofthe community ofthe new age Albanese writes t h a tthe loose networking has been generally e f f e c t i v e i nbringing people t o g e t h e r ,t h e i r language communityfinding i t s e l fvoiced i n common concerns, she suggests i tworks towards a sense ofempowerment i n a world t h a t , f o rmany, has grown too impersonal, too corporate and bureaucr atic, and too r e s i s t a n tt o personal leverage . She summaries as f o l low s:

In s h o r t , New Age community has been as expansive as the New Age i t s e l f .I t provides a summary statement ofthe patterns of expansion t h a t form one s ide of American c u l t u r e . Indeed, i n a society i n which boundaries have h i s t o r i c a l l y been everywhere, the New Age provides a dissolution ofboundaries. I t s members t e s t i f yt o a pluralism and combinationism become omnipresent, become, in f a c tthe very substance ofr e l i g i o n . 1 0 The manner i n which the position ofthe new age r e f l e c t s the changing s t a t u s ofth er e l i g i o u s i n our s o c i e t y ,i n which i t streatment, and manifestation ofi t sp a r t i c u l a r ideology, can be seen t or e f l e c tthe values our c u l ture w i l l be the subject ofthe following e x p l o ration .

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3 . 3 TRAJECTORIES WITHIN MODERNITY

In a sp e c i a l iss u e ofthejournal Religion i n 1993 Paul Heelas introduced a r e l a t i v e l yi l l explored, a l b e i tc u l t u r a l l ywell-established topic- the c u l t u r a l context ofthe New Age. Sociological analyses ofthe movement have had a s a recurring theme the response t o modernism, c a l l i n g on t h e o r e t i c a l frameworks ranging from Durkheim s c u l t ofmant o Berger stheory of s e c u l a r i s a t i o n , the perceived c u l t u r a l significance ofthe movement has been contingent on i t salignment, i n whole or i np a r t , with various anti-modernist, modernist and postmodernist tendencies i n our s o c i e t i e s . In Heelaswords, the New Age:

would appear t o have a great deal t o do with the premodem, drawing much ofi t s p r a c tices and wisdom from the gre a t and minor relig i o u st r a d i t i o n s . Yet i thas recentlybeen argued t h a ti ti s ,par excellence, the religion ofpostmodemity. To complicate things f u r t h e r ,i thas a l s o been claimed t h a t the New Age i sp a rt and parcel ofdynamics c o n s t i t u t i v e ofmodernity.1 1 He notes t h a t th e movement( a si ti scommonly designated) somehow collapses the conventional periodization ofchange . 1 2

This section w i l l attempt t o place t he new age i nthe debate over the s t a t u s ofthe r e l i g i o u si n modernity. An overview ofthe t h e ories of s e c u l a r i s a t i o ni sprovided, and the conventional view of r e l i g i o ni n modernity i so u t l i n e d . The process of d e d i f f e r enti ation i n modernity i s assessed and the f i n a ls ections introduce the concept of d e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o n , looking a l s oa ti t s relationship to s e c u l a r i s a t i o n .

3 . 3 . 1 Lome L. Dawson describes the dilemma raised f o r soc i o l o g i s t s by the general unexpected resurgence ofr e l i g i o u sl i f ei nt h el a t e twentieth centuryi n the form ofboth New Religious Movements (ofwhich by t h i sd e f i n i t i o n , the new age i sone), and the various kinds of fundamentalism or r e v ivals oforthodoxy, as causing a growing doubt about the veracity of the theory of secularization . Linda Woodhead puts i tmore s u c c i n c t l y : as the twentieth century draws t oi t sclose those who spoke ofthe inexorable march of s e c u l a r i s a t i o ni n modem c u l tures a r e exposed a sf a l s e prophets . While she acknowledges the steady decline ofthe major churches i nWestern Europe she argues t h i s should not be allowed t o obscure Christianity s continuing i n f l u e n c e , i t srobust s t a t ei nnon-European countries and t he continued growth ofnon-Christian r e l i g i o n s in the West.

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But most damaging ofa l lt o the s e c u l a r i s a t i o nt h e s i s she a s s e r t s has been the rapid r i s ei n both Europe and America ofnon-trad itional forms ofr e l i g i o s i t y other than the Christian , such post-Christian s p i r i t u a l i t i e s a r e , she argues a l lvariants ofwhat she terms a New S p i r i t u a l i t y ,i t s e l f intimately connected with the New Age . 1 3

3 . 3 . 2 Outlining the main c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s oft h e stronger (disappearance) version oft h e secula r i s a t i o nt h e s i sP hi l i p Hammond drew a t t e n t i o nt oi t su n i l i n e a r , one-dimensional c h a r a c t e r , and t o some ofthe f a c t o r st h a thave been evoked t o explain the process. He s t a t e s t h a tthe l i n e a r image which dominates Western thought about society helps maintain the notion t h a t s o c i a ll i f ei ssystematically coming from somewhere and going elsewhere . Social science was imbued with t h i sperspectiv e, bom as i twas i n nineteenth century evolution, and i tgave us the forms we use t o describe s o c i a l change: industrialisation,

modernisation, rationalisation and urbanisation -

a l lofwhich imply one-directional

processes. He argues t h a ti n the s c i e n t i f i cs o c i a l study ofr e l i g i o n , t h i s dominant l i n e a rimage i sexpressed c h ie fly i n the term secularisation, the idea t h a t society moves from some sacred condition t o successively secular conditions i n which the sacred evermore recedes. In f a c t , so much has the s e c u l a r i s a t i o nt h e s i s dominated the s o c i a ls c i e n t i f i c study ofr e l i g i o u s change t h a t i ti snow conventional wisdom.1 4 I nl i n e with Enlightenment philosophy, but grounded i ns o c i a l and c u l t u r a la n a l y s i s , Weber contested t h a tthe exercise ofreason (empirical s c i e n c e ) ,i n t e l l e c t u a l i s a t i o n and r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n has meant t h a t there are no mysterious incalculable forces t h a tcome i n t o play but r a t h e rt h a t one c a n, inp r i n c i p l e , master a l lthings by calculation . The consequence forreligio ni st h a t with the progress of science and technology, man has stopped believing in magic powers, i ns p i r i t sand demons; he has l o s th i s sense ofprophecy and, above a l l ,h i s sense of the sacred . Bryan Wilson extends t h i s saying t h a t a l lt h e evidence i stoward the decline ofbeliefi n the supernatural . He r e j e c t s the idea t h a tthe supernatural any longer has a s i g n i f i c a n tinfluence i n the everyday l i f eofmodem man, and, a s ar e s u l t :

r e l igionhas come t o be associated much more a s one among a number of l e i s u r e a c t i v i t i e s ,i te x i s t si n the area of f r e e choice ofthe use oftime, energy, and wealth i n which the end products ofthe economy are marketed f o r consumers.1 5

3 . 3 . 3 For Wilson t h e r e f o r e , se c u l a r i s a t i o ni sthe process whereby r e l igion ceases t o be s i g n i f i c a n ti n the working ofthe s o c i a l system ,but t h i sleaves open the p o s s i b i l i t yt h a t

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people may nevertheless remain i n t e r e s t e di nr e l i g i o nf o r personal reasons, allowing i tt o continue t oe x i s ti n a privatised f a s h i o n . The process of s t r u c t u r a ld i f f e r e n t i a t i o n involving the development of autonomous spheres ofprocedure and valuemeant t h a tr e l i gion l o s ti t s presidency over other i n s t i t u t i o n s ,i np a r t i c u l a r the p o l i t i c a l( t h e secular s t a t e ) ,l e g a l and economic. However, Heelas notes t h a tr e l i g i o na l s o became more i n t e r n a l l yd i f f e r e n t i a t e d ,i n t h a tconsiderable c o n t r a s t s can now be i d e n t i f i e dbetween:

T r a d i t i o n a l ,a u t h o r i t a t i v er e l i g i o n s ofthe t e x t ,l i b e r a l teachings with a strong dose ofhumanism, prosperity teachings stamped with the mark ofu t i l i t a r i a n individualism, and a l lthose a l t e r n a t i v es p i r i t u a l i t i e s or New Age teachings with t h e i r emphasis on the expressive.1 6

3. 3 . 4 Berger proposes t h a twith the emergence ofthe modem world r e l i g i o n s were compelled t o adapt t o two new r e a l i t i e s .F i r s t , since r e l i g i o n has become a matter of choice, r e l i g i o u s o r i e n t a t i o n s no longer r e f l e c tthe legitimatingrequirements of society so much a s the preferences ofi n d i v i d u a l s , a process known a s p r i v a t isatio n . Second, the demise ofth e r e l i g i o u s monopolies ofthe p a s t , unlikely t oreturn under the highly d i f f e r e n t i a t e d conditions of advanced c a p i t a l i s m , has led t o a new s i t u a t i o n of pluralism . Berger argues t h a tthe implication ofp r i v a t i s a t i o n and pluralism f o rr e l i g i o u st r a d i t i o n s which previously could be a u t h o r i t a t i v e l y imposedi st h a tthey now have t obe marketed, . ..must be soldt oac l i e n t e l e t h a ti sno longer constrained t o buy. In Dawson swords relig i o u si n s t i t u t i o n s have become marketing agencies and the r e l i g i o u st r a d i t i o n s consumer commodities . Religious organisations therefore underwent changes t o both s t r u c t u r e and ideologies with t h e r e s u l tt h a tthey became, l i k e other i n s t i t u t i o n s ofmodernity, increasingly bureaucratic and business-like and ever more s imilar i n form and f u n c t i o n . The r e s u l t ofp l u r a l i s t i c competition according t o Berger i st h a t the p l a u s i b i l i t y of each rel igion i sundermined as i t s content i sr e l a t i v i z e d , deprived oft h e i rs t a t u s as taken-for-granted, objective r e a l i t y ,and t h e i rveracity claims became a matter of s u bjective consciousness and conviction alone.1 7 There a r e , he proposes, two s t r a t e g i e s open t or e l i g i o n si n these condition s:

They can e i t h e r accommodate themselves t o the s i t u a t i o n , play the p l u r a l i s t i c game ofr e l i g i o u sf r e ee n t e r p r i s e , and come t o terms as best they can with t h e p l a u s i b i l i t yproblem by modifying t h e i rproduct i n accordance with consumer demands. Or they can refuse t o accommodate themselves, entrench themselves behind whatever socior e l i g i o u ss t r u c t u r e s they can maintain or c o n s t r u c t , and continue t o profess the old o b j e c t i v i t i e s as much as possible a si fnothing had happened.1 8

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3 . 3 . 5 Paul Heelas argues t h a tdespite the importance ofd i f f e r e n t i a t i n g processes, t h e powerful countervailing tendencies witnessed by modernity are now in favour of d e d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n . With regard to r e l i g i o nhe argues t h a tmodernity has witnessed the development ofthe s p i r i t u a l i t yofthe perennial ,t h a tr e l i g i o u s exclusivism has given way t o inclusivism and as people move from denomination t o denomination they are inclined t of i n d much the same s p i r i t u a l i t ya tthe heart of a l lr e l i g i o u st r a d i t i o n s . 1 9 This can a l s o be s a i dt o be the case with regard t o the secular-sacred boundary as the r e l i g i o u s becomes l e s s obviously r e l i g i o u s and the secul ar l e s s obviously s e c u l a r :

This can be considered, f o r example, i n connection with expressive individualism. An estimated ten per cent or more ofWestern populations now speak the language of a u t h e nticity ,of being t r u et o oneself:and t h i si st o operate i n some s o r t of indeterminate zone, the language being humanistic, t h e ontology smacking ofthe Immanent. Rain f o r e s t s are tr e a t e d as if they were sacred ; the boundary between the sacred and the secular loses i t shold i nmany a l t e r n a t i v e therapies and healing provisions.2 0

3. 3 . 6 New age r e l i g i o s i t yi sc l e a r l y inspiredby the premodem. Marion Bowman has written extensively on the influence ofthe C e l t i c and Druidic b e l i e f s , and the numerous way i n which ancient Eastern mysticism and the pagan t r a d i t i o n s have been resourced are documented i n the f i r s tChapter. Heelas contends t h a ti nt h i s manner the new r e l i e s on the o l d ,f o r wisdom ,p r a c t i c e , and -(one) might add -legitimization . Further t othe d i s t i n c t i o n s drawn i n se c t i o n 3.2 i tbecomes obvious however t h a tnew age d iscourse, i fnot p r a c t i c e ,i sla rgely d e t r a d i t i o n a l i s e d . In 1991 Robert Bellah wrote t h a t one aspect ofthe greatmodem transformation involves the internalisation

of authority... and this

has profound consequences f o rreligion . The process of d e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o n takes place i n the move from an external authority t o the i n t e r n a l authority ofthe u t i l i t a r i a nindividual ,o r t o the autho rity ofthe f i r s t h a n ds p i r i t u a l l y informed experience of the self.2 1 Instrongly traditionalised r e l igion a transcendent and a u t h o r i t a t i v e past transmits t h e knowledge and wisdom which informs thepresent and f u t u r e . The pathway t o salvation i s provided by the t r a d i t i o n a l and transcendent which are necessarily seen as being superior t o l i f ea si tcurrently i s , and the s e l f( t ovarying degrees) i sthus seen as f a l l e n ,i nneed of s a l v a t i o n .

Strongly detraditionalisedreligion on the other hand, rejectsthe merely external

and what the past has t os a y , and places f a i t hi n the knowledge and wisdom a t t a i n a b l e by t h e individual i n the here-and-now, i n d i r e c t experiencerather than second-handr e c e p t i o n . The divine i st o be found within the individual or i n the natur al o r d e r , and only thus can one be l i b e r a t e d from the a n t i s p i r i t u a l( c a p i t a l i s t i c , consumeristic) tendencies ofthe modem world . Heelas contends t h a tthe new age i sde tra d i t i o n a l i s e di nt h a ti ttranscends voices from

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the p a s t , as well a s ,f o rt h a tmatter voices belonging t o the established order of contemporary society and culture . In de tra d i t i o n a l i s e dr e l i g i o n Stephen Tipton a r gues, the expressive ethicreplaces the a u t h o r i t a t i v e ethicoft r a d i t i o n , the extent t o which the authority ascribed t o one s own true experience i sbound up with the f a c tthe Self i t s e l fi ss a cred ,i n contrast with strongly t r a d i t i o n a l i s e dr e l i g i o n where the s e l fi sr e l a t i v e l y devalued.2 2

Strongly t r a d i t i o n a l i s e dr e l igion i scharacterisedby i t s i n s t i t u t i o n a l forms, b e l i e f s and r i t u a l s ,and t h i s element ofthe t r a d i t i o n a l , Albanese n o t e s ,i spresent i n new age p r a c t i c e . However f e a tures ofthe detra d i t i o n a l i s e da r ea l s op r e s e n t ,i n ,f o r example, the informality of i n s t i t u t i o n a l arrangements, as the church, chapel or mosque which serve t o organise worship from without ,are replaced by ad hoc encounters ,and rel ig i o u s leaders a re replaced by non-directive f a c i l i t a t o r s . In t h i s manner, the a uthority within, rather than belonging t oa p a r t i c u l a rr e l i g i o u s organisation or following a prescribed form of worship, leaves one f r e et o choose which r i t u a l s or myths t o follow i n order t o make contact with the s p i r i t u a l .

Af u r t h e r point of c o n trast between t r a d i t i o n a l i s e d and detraditional ised r e l i g i o n s can be i d e n t i f i e di n the f a c tt h a tthe former w i l l assume t h a ti tand i talone provides the best path t o the t r u t h and other t r a d i t i o n sw i l lbe judged accordingly, while the l a t t e rby d e f i n i t i o n ,r e j e c t s the differences and associated evaluations made by the t r a d i t i o n a l i s e d order and instead assumes an interconnected or interfusing s p i r i t u a l i t y running through a l lr e l i g i o n sa s well a s the s e l fand th e natural order as a whole . 2 3

Heelas and Woodhead i n s i s t st h a ti n order t o understand d e t raditional isedr e l i g i o n si ti s necessary t o think i n terms ofinterlocking forces and transformation, these i n c l u d e :

a wider c u l t u r a l turn from transcendence t o immanence; from an external locus of authorityt o an i n t e r n a l one; from f a t et o choice; from e t h i c a lp r in ciples t oe t h i c a l experiences; from t e s tby way of t e x tt ot e s tby way of experience; from negative evaluations ofhuman nature t op o s i t i v e ; from li v i n gi n terms ofwhat the establishedreli g i o u s order announces ( o r imposes) t ol i v i n g out one sown s p i r i t u a l i t y ; from d i f f e r e n t i a t e dr e l i giont od e d i f f e r e n t i a t e d ; from happiness by way of s a c r i f i c et o happiness by way ofr e a l i s a t i o n ; from salvationby following t r a d i t i o nt o enlightenment through self-chosen r i t u a l s (including those informed by technology); and, very importantly, from looking t o the fu ture i nterms of t h e past to experiencing l i f ei n the here-and-now.2 4 I ti spossible t oi s o l a t ef i v e main varieties of d e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o n . The f i r s tcan be described as the weakeningoft r a d i t i o n , the second involves the s a c r a l i s a t i o n ofthe s e l fand the t h i r d , individua lisation ofreligion ,describes t he s h i f tfrom commitment t op a r t i c u l a rr e l i g i o n st o

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the exercise ofone s own authority i n constructing personal s p i r i t u a l i t i e s . The fourth v a r i e t y describes the consumerisation and instrumentalisation ofr e l i g i o n , where consumerisation involves d e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o n or s e c u l a r i s a t i o n insofar as r e l i gi on serves largely t os a t i s f y and pleasure the self, and instrumentalisation involves the reduction ofr e l i gion t o serve l a r g e l y a s a means t o the end of obtaining prosperity . The f i f t hi sthe universalisation ofr e l ig ion t h a t emphasises what i sheld i n common by r e l i g i o n s rath er than the t r a d i t i o n s and externals t h a t serve t od i f f e r e n t i a t e them.2 5 Heelas and Woodhead suggest t h a t each ofthe f i v ev a r i e t i e s orprocesses of d e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o n can be explained i nd i f f e r e n t ways, i tmay be useful t o provide a summary a tt h i sp o i n t . The f i r s t ,they argue, involves such f a c t o r sa s the application ofc r i t i c a lreason t o t r a d i t i o n a l t r u t h s formerly held s a c r e d . The key explanatory f a c t o rin the second i sthe wider c u l t u r a l turn t o the self c h a r a c t e r i s t i c ofmodernity, i nt h i s argument d e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o n leads not t o s e c u l a r i s a t i o n and atheism b u t , inste ad a form ofr e l i g i o s i t yi s(sometimes) regenerated. The t h i r dtype c r i t i c a l l yinvolves the development i n modem times of a culture of choice ,s i n c e , because ofthe emergence ofconsumer c u l t u r e , people have come t o believe they have t h e r i g h tt o choose and devise t h e i r own r e l i g i o n s . In the fourthtype ofd e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o nt h i s aspect of consumer c u lture can a l s o be seen t o play a r o l e ,a s the s e l fi ni t s u t i l i t a r i a n r a t h e r than expressiveg u i s e , seeking t og r a t i f yi t s e l fi n terms of what i soffered by c a p i t a l i s t i c modernity, d e t r a d i t i o n a l i s e s( o rs e c u l a r i s e s ) by accommodating religion t oi t sown d e s i r e s . F i n a l l y , the f i f t htype of d e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o nmay be explained a s a response t o the p o t e n t i a l l y d i v i s i v e pluralism c h a r a c t e r i s t i c ofmodem times by moving beyond differences i n order t o find what i sheld i n common.2 6

3 . 3 . 7 Detrad itionalisation and s e c u l a r i s a t i o n are not the same. Secularisation necessarily involves the disappearance ofr e l i g ion from public or private l i f e , or a tl e a s ta l o s s ofi t s s i g n i f i c a n c e , while d e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o n ,e s s e n t i a l l y , has t o do with i t s transformation. As a r e s u l td e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o n leads ( u l t i m a t e l y ) not t o atheism but t o ( t h er i s eo f )s p i r i t u a l i t i e s of l i f e . While sometimes admittedly, t h i sprocess w i l l involve the d e i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n ofr e l i g i o n and the spread ofa precarious privatised r e l i g i o s i t yt h i sneed not necessarily be the c a s e : Heelas and Woodhead point out t h a tther e are plenty of publicly and p o l i t i c a l l ypotent s p i r i t u a l i t i e s of l i f earound, both i n the West and in India . 2 7

These points notwithstanding there are a number of s i g n i f i c a n t overlaps between the t h e o r i e s ofd e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o n and s e c u l a r i s a t i o n -they can both involve similar ( i fnot i d e n t i c a l )

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processes, such a s ,f o r example the application ofreason t or e j e c tt r a d i t i o n a lb e l i e f s -and f a c t o r sc r u c i a li nf u e l l i n gd e t r a d i t i o n a l i s a t i o n , such as the turn t os e l f , are also bound up i n s e c u l a r i s a t i o n . The extent t o which the consumerisation and instrumentalisation ofreligioninvolves e i t h e r , or indeed both, trends i si l l e x p l o r e d and remains u n c lear. For example, while aspects of Chri s t i a n i t ymay be t a i l o r e d t os u i tconsumers i tc l e a r l yremains religious ,although i tmay l ose aspects ofi t st r a d i t i o n . But when r e l i g i o ni st reated as a means ofpleasuring or empowering the s e l fand i s f u l l y accommodated t o the d e s i r e s ofthe person , consumerisation and instrumentalisation would appear t o lead t os e c u l a r i s a t i o n . 2 8

To summarise t h e n , with regard t o the new a g e , basic themes such a s the r e j e ct ion of e x t e r n a l i t i e st o do with b e liefs(which simply nurture the ego) in favour ofs p i r i t u a l l y sourced expressivism ,ensure t h a tthe t r a d i t i o n a l doctrines ofrel igion a r e :

viewed innegative l i g h t . . . (however), such r e l i g i o s i t y can s t i l lbe drawn upon t o provide p r a c t i c e s . And indeed t h i si swhat has happened. New agers are adept a t drawing on t r a d i t i o n s , often transforming a c t i v i t i e s (say shamanism as o r i g i n a l l y envisaged) t o put them t o use i n terms ofthe search within.2 9

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3.4

TH E N EW AG E AND M O D ERN ITY

This section w i l l assess the arguments surrounding the manner i n which the new age r e l a t e st o modernity. This f i r s tp a rt deals with the conventional view of anti-modernity while the l a t t e r p a r t s suggest ways i nwhich the movement displays more compatible, or even p r o c a p i t a l i s t , tendencies.

3 . 4 . 1 Many commentators on the new r e l i g i o u s consciousness ofthe l a t t e rhalfofthe twentieth century have sought i t ssignificance i n terms of i t sappeal. Typical of such analyses , Hunter has b u i l ton Berger sbasic understanding ofthe human condition and the s o c i a l construction ofr e a l i t yt o propose t h a tthe answer l i e si n the a lienation and anomie t h a t are s t r u c t u r a l l y endemic t o advanced i n d u s t r i a l society ,and more s p e c i f i c a l l y , on the c r i s i s ofmeaning and personal s e c u r i t y stemming from the d e i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s a t i o n ofthe modem world.3 0 According t o Berger, humans, a sa s p e c i e s , have sought t o cr e a t ea s t a b l ec u l t u r a l order t o compensate for our lack ofi n s t i n c t u a l programming, an order which w i l l come t o be taken f o r granted and hold the t h r e a t ofanomie a tbay. The aspects of l i f ewhich become s u f f i c i e n t l yroutinized and habitual t o be beyond ready questioning are s a i dt obe i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s e d . Hunter propose t h a t while much ofl i f ei n t r a d i t i o n a ls o c i e t i e si sorganised i nt h i s way, modernity i sinstead characterised by an unprecedented degree ofd e i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s a t i o n . This problem, exacerbated by the uneven nature ofthe d i s t r i b u t i o n of d e i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s a t i o ni s ,he argues, the cause of the turn Eastof so many middle c l a s s youths . 3 1

The d e i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s e d aspects of privatel i f e such a s courtship p a t t e r n s , marriage, c h i l d r e a r i n g ,s e x u a l i t y , gender r e l a t i o n s , consumption, vocation and s p i r i t u a l i t yr e s u l ti nt h e i r conversion from the realm of taken-for-granted experience t ot h a t of c hoic e. I n s t i t u t i o n a l i s a t i o ncontinues unabated however i nt he public spheres, dominated by massive bureaucracies which organise and operate government, the law, business, communication and even r e l i g i o n . The formal r a t i o n a l i t y which guides the i n s t i t u t i o n si sgeared toward the functional requirements ofthe s o c i a l system with no regard f o r the de s i r e s or needs ofthe i n d i v i d u a l . Hunter argues t h a tthe consequences i sa public sphere, wherein everything i s seemingly a matter ofchoice but where many individuals may yearn f o rmore guidance, a t odds with a

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public sphere where guidance i smanifestbut i n ways which belie the meaningfulness of p a r t i c i p a t i o nf o r the i n d i v i d u a l . He summarises t h u s :

The dilemma ofmodernity, i n which a l lindividuals are variously caught, i san oppressively formidable public sphere, which i ss t r u c t u r a l l y incapable of providing individuals with concrete and meaningful s o c i a l confirmation oft h e i r sense ofr e a l i t y(including t h e i r understanding of s o c i a l processes, subjecti ve meaning and personal i d e n t i t y ) , and an enfeebled private sphere, which i s d i s t r e s s i n g l yu n d e r i n s t i t u t i o n a l i s e d , and which i ss t r u c t u r a l l y unable t o provide r e l i a b l es o c i a lparameters f o rthe more mundane a c t i v i t y of everyday l i f eand a p l a u s i b l e , well-integrated system ofmeaning which gives location and purpose t o the individual st o t a ll i f e experience.3 2 For Hunter and others t h e r e f o r e , thenew s p i r i t u a l consciousness which emerged i nt h es i x t i e s i sa sociocu l t u r a lp r ot est against these conditions, representing a demodemising impulseand an attempt t os o c i a l l yreconstruct the world by reimposing i n s t i t u t i o n a l l yr e l i a b l e meaning upon existence .

3 . 4 . 2 Also examining he new age as a responset o modernity, Paul Heelas al i g n s aspects of t he counterculture with a r e j e c t i o n of the contaminations ofmodernityi np a r t i c u l a r those involving commitment t o the m a t e r i a l i s t i cl i f e . For seriou s s e l f r e l i g i o n i s t s enlightenment was believed t o be incompatible with ego-derived temptations and attachments and they accordingly sought l i b e r a t i o n from the i n s t i t u t i o n s ofmodernity by dropping outt ol i v ei n squats or communes, or t o make thejourney t o the pre-modem enclaves ofthe E a s t . Heelas notes t h a ta f t e r a period of come stagnation evidence ofa revival oft h i s wing can be seen i n the increasing number ofpeoplejoining the bands oft r a v e l l e r s who roam from f e s t i v a lt of e s t i v a li na l a rgel y summertime New Ageism . Charac t e r i s t i c s oft h i sa t t i t u d e can a lso be seen i n those who attempt t oo f f e ra l t e r n a t i v e st o what the mainstream has t oo f f e ri n , incr e a s i n g , almost every aspect ofthe s e r v i c e , cosmetic and a g r i c u l t u r ei n d u s t r i e s and a lso i n how new age p r i n c i p l e s have been brought t o bear on such domains a s education, s o c i a l work and big business.3 3

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3 . 4 . 3 The analyses of Stone, Westley and Campbell are compatible with Hunter s conventional views i nmany ways, yet none choose t o frame the adaptive response ofr e l i g i o n , as manifested i n the new s p i r i t u a l i t yofthe l a t etwentieth century, i nthe negative terms of reference implied by the anti-modernistl a b e l . In t h e i rreadings ofthe s i t u a t i o nthe changes recorded ar e not t r eated as rea ctionary, but r a t h e r a s being symptomatic ofthe continued and healthy evolution ofthe forms ofr e l i g i o u sl i f e . The discussions provided i n these papers are obviously d i f f e r e n tbut in h i s extensive a n a lysis oft h e i r contributions Lome L. Dawson has i d e n t i f i e d the common, i n t e r r e l a t e dc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which i n d icate a common perception ofwhat he c a l l sthe new r e l i gious consciousnessoft h e tim e .

From a summary ofthese s i xp o i n t s , included i n Appendix C, i ti scle ar t h a tf o r these purposes the new age movement can be understood t o be a p a rt o f ,i fnot interchangeable with, t h i s consciousness . In assessing the significan ce ofthe consciousness ,Stone notes t h a ti ti s emblematic oftrends t h a thave been developing i n American r e l i gion f o r decades but t h a tt h e i rincidence (have) never been documented t o be a s strong or as widespread before. He a l so remarks, i n common with both Westley and Campbell, t h a ti ti smarkedly more compatible with science and the s o c i a l sciences than with conventional r e l i g i o n s , and likewise with the new s o c i a l order emerging around u s , whether i ti s called advanced c a p i t a l i s m ,l a t e or high modernism, p o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s m , or post-modernism.3 4 While perhaps not of s u f f i c i e n t sca l e or permanency t o form the basis of a new r e l i g i o u s c u l t u r e he counters t h a ti tmay nevertheless serve a s midwife fornew s e n s i b i l i t i e s , concluding t h a t :

the significan ce ofcurrentr e l i g i o s i t i e smay be l e s s as s o c i a l movements than a s part of a c u l t u r a ld r i f ttoward an innerworldly mysticismt h a ti scompatible with (non-reductionist) s c i e n t i f i co r i e n t i a t i o n s . 3 5 He f u r t h e r suggests t h a t such an innerwordly mysticismcould have a c u l t u r a ls u r vival valuesince i ti s complementary t o bureaucratic p o s t i n d u s t r i a l society ,and, seeing Berger and Hunter s diagnoses of modernity i n a more p o s i t i v el i g h tcomments:

Finding s a t i s f a c t i o ninr e l i g i o u s experience may help accommodate l a t e capitalism sc h a r a c t e r i s t i c separation ofprivate l i f efrom vocational l i f e ,of finding meaning i n consumption rat h e r than produ ct i o n . . . A mystical o r i e n t a t i o n i s applied t o the private sphere of l i f ea s individuals supply t h e i r own s olut i o n st o r e l i g i o u s problems, are assured of a sense of s e l f( o r sequence of s e l v e s ) , and gain r e s p i t e from the workaday world t oreturn refreshed t o support bureaucratic asceticism i nt h e i r wor k r o l e . . . 3 6

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Westley likewise acknowledges the inaccuracy of continuing t o characterise the a t t i t u d e of the movement t o science as one ofr e j e c t i o n ,s u b s t i t u t i o n and escape ,since he argues, they are actively seizing on both the new c u l t u r a l re lativismpromoted by the spread of s o c i a l s c i e n t i f i cknowledge and some ofthe means and data ofthe natural sciences t of a c i l i t a t e and legitima te t h e i rexistence . Dawson supplements h i s arguments (writt en i n 1978) pointing t o the wide array ofmore s p e c i f i c and important t h e o r e t i c a l developments i n the sciences t h a t have s i n c e :

Become foundational t o the model ofr e a l i t y emerging from the new r e l i g i o u s consciousness( i . e . ,ideas l i k e the holographic paradigm ofDavid Bohm and Karl Pribram, the paradigm of selfo r g a n i s a t i o n associated with I l ya Prigogine, t h e formative causation ofRupert Sheldrake, and the Gaia hypothesis ofJames Lovelock).3 7 Campbell adds t h a twhile the r a t i onalis m, materialism and . . .self-concerned t h i s worldlinessofmodem man may be the focus of mystical opposition and scorn ,there i sno opposition t oa b s t r a c t , secular systems ofthought i ng e n e r a l . . . (and t h i s ) leaves many areas i n the a r t s ,philosophy and the s c i e n c e s , where mysticism can draw on material syn cretisation , concluding with h i s asser t i o nt h a t the monism, r e l a t i v i s m , toler a n c e , syncretism, and above, a l l ,( t h e ) individualismofthe new r e l i gious consciousness i sc l e a r l y highly congenial t o the ethos ofcontemporary society . 3 8

Westley and Campbell u s e ,r e s p e c t i v e l y , Durkheim s c u l tofmanand Troeltsch s s p i r i t u a l and mystical religiont o explain the emergence ofthe new s p i r i t u a l consciousness a s r e s u l t i n g from the advancement ofs o c i a ld i f f e r e n t i a t i o n , with regard t oi n s t i t u t i o n s ,t he division ofl ab our, and what Weber c a l l s spheres of actioni n ge neral, b u t , assessing the incomplete causal explanationsof each, Dawson i d e n t i f i e st he resulting dilemma t h u s :

I sthe new re lig i o u s consciousness a mere epiphenomenal r e f l e c t i o n of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r a l changes? Or i si tboth one ofthe mediums and the sources ofthe c u l t u r a l changes we ar e experiencing? . . .j u s treaction t o modernity o r . . . r e p r e s e n t ( i n g ) some i n t r i n s i c adaptation ofr e l i g i o u s forms t o the modem s o c i a l world?3 9 Parsons believes the cor r e l a t i o n s can be viewed i n a more optimistic l i g h t , arguing t h a t (such as new age) s e n s i b i l i t i e s above a l ls t r i v et or a t i o n a l i s e cu l t u r ei n the name ofthe expressive values and emotional practices t h a t ar e highly legitimat ei n contemporary society ,i n other words he fin d st h a tthere i sa marked element ofc u l t u r a l continuity between these supposedly deviantr e l i g i o n s and the dominant c u l t u r e .

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Heelas i n attempting t oi s o l a t e some ostensiblypro-capitalist tendencies i nt he new age movements s p e c i f i e sa wingofthe movement which, he argues, developed i n tandem with the triumphalist c a p i t a l i s m . . . ofthe 1980s . He notes t h a ti n Britain alone there are thousands oft r a i n i n g organisations promising t o enlighten workers, most often management, and argues t h a tthe r h e t o r i c ofenabling the s e l ft obe put t o workresonates strongly with the language of i n d i v i d u a l i s t i ce n t e r p r i s e culture . Many ofthese r e l a t i v e l y secularised new age organisationshe argues ,a re l i t t l ei n t e r e s t e di nnurturing s p i r i t u a l i t y , promising instead t o tap i n t o the powers ofthe Selfin order t o pursue success defined i npsychological or m a t e r i a l i s t i c fashion . 4 0 The idea t h a t success i n the marketplace i sp erfectly compatible with s p i r i t u a lprogress i s exemplified by (author ofthe b e s t s e l l i n gMoney is my Friend) Phil Laut sc r i t i c i s m ofthe idea t h a t money and s p i r i t u a l i t ydon tmix :

Having a prosperity consciousness enables you t o function e a s i l y and e f f o r t l e s s l y i n the material world. The material world i sGod sworld, and you are God being you. I fyou are experiencing pleasure and freedom and abundance i n you l i f e , then you are expressing your t r u es p i r i t u a ln a t u r e . And the more s p i r i t u a lyou a r e ,the more you deserve p r o s p e r i t y . 4 1 In her book How to be

Chic, Fabulous and Live Forever Sondra Ray insists in a chapter

e n t i t l e d That Art ofEnlightened Shoppingt h a tthe exteriorcan be enjoyed by way ofthe inner q u e s t , declaring God i sunlimited. Shopping can be unlimited . Similar best ofboth worldsteachings have been noted i n Chapter one, Werner Erhart se s tt r a i n i n g seminars f o r example have long emphasised the value ofobtaining r e s u l t s while questing within.4 2

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3.5 THE N EW A G E AND PO STM ODERN ITY

Postmodernism i sthe very loose term used t o describe the new a e s t h e t i cc u l t u r a l and i n t e l l e c t u a l forms and p ractices which a r e perceived t o have emerged i n the l a t t e r decades of th e twentieth c e n t ury. The degree t o which /70,s/ m o d e r n i s m represents a break with, reaction against or accommodation t o modernism va r i e s between t h e o r i s t and from one f i e l d ofinquiry t ot h e ne x t .I nh i s book Against Post-modernism Callinicos presented the arguments ofmany against the t h e s i st h a tthere has been a decisive s h i f tfrom a modem t o a postmodern e r a , suggesting t h a tthe concept i sunnecessary t o explain what ar e merely the i n e v i t a b l e developments ofthe phase of l a t e capi t a l i s m . 4 3 In each individual f i e l dthe same dilemma must be addressed and most of the t h e o r i s t s whose views are discussedbelow i d e n t i f yf e a t u r e s ofboth condition i nthe practice and b e l i e f s oft h e new a g e .

Summarising the debate a si tstands i n the various d i s c i p l i n e s , Thompson has written t h a ti n r e l i g i o u s thought,

t he r e have been attempts t o develop a post-modern theology which reaffirms s p i r i t u a l and moral bases of action neglected by secular modernism, whilst not abandoning t he powers ofreason. Sometimes t h i s takes the fonn of a pastiche of r e l i g i o u s ideas and selected elements of science and secular reason, a si nNew Age r e l i g i o n . 4 4 So whether or not i tcan claim t o be par e xcellence, the r e l i g i o n ofpostmodemity ,i ti s c e r t a i n l ya tth e centre ofany discussion ofpostmodern r e l i g i o n , and a tl e a s ts i m i l a r l y involved i n those on postmodern s c i e n c e .

I nl i g h tof suggestions i n a previous section t h a tmuch ofnew age discourse i s counteror a n t i modem and considering i t sagenda f o r a new f u t u r e ,i tmakes sense t o think of i ti na manner as post-modem. But s e l f r e l i g i o s i t yi t s e l fcannot be considered postmodern f o r chronological reasons so the argument, presumably, must centre on the way i ti sused. Heelas summarises th e proposal as f o l low s: the c u l t u r a ll o g i c of l a t ec a p i t a l i s m ,t o quote Jameson, has generated a postmodern consumer c u l t u r e ; and those involved can t r e a tNew Age provisions as consuming delightsofan appropriate postmodern variety . 4 5

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James Beckford o f f e r sa c h aracterisa tion ofwhat i smost often understood my the term, suggesting the following hallmarks ofthe postmodern s e n s i b i l i t y : 1.A r e f u s a lt o regard p o s i t i v i s t i c ,r a t i o n a l i s t i c , instrumental c r i t e r i aa s the s o le o r exclusive standard of worthwhile knowledge. 2 . A willingness t o combine symbols from disparate codes or frame works of meaning, even a tthe cost ofdisjunctio ns and ecle c t i c i s m . 3 . A celebration of spontane ity, fragmentation, s u p e r f i c i a l i t y , irony and playfuln ess. 4.A willingness t o abandon the search f o r over-arching or triumphalist myths, narra t i v e s or frameworks ofknowledge.4 6 The d i s t i n c t i v e expression oft h i ss e n s i b i l i t ywhich Beckford expects i nr e l i g i o n would:

be t h a tputatively post-modern forms ofr e l igion would embrace d i v e r s i t y of discourse and the abandonment ofunitary meaning systems; cross-references between, and pastiches o f ,d i f f e r e n tr e l i g i o u st r a d i t i o n s ; collapse ofthe boundary between high and popular forms ofr e l i g i o n ; and a accent on playfulness or cynicism.4 7 While he acknowledges t h a tthese themes c a l lt o mind a few new age groups ,mentioning the followers ofBhagwan Shree Rajneesh and some other s y n c r e t i s t i c Buddhist groups i n p a r t i c u l a r , he i n s i s t st h a tthese are only the g l i t t e r i n gbaubles on the e xotic fr i n g e ofreligion , and concludes:

M y assessment ofthe new s p i r i t u a l i t i e s . . .i sthe s a me... t h e i rvery holism l o c a t e s them much more firmly i nt he t r a d i t i o n s ofmodernity than ofpost-modernity. The s t r e s s on the inter-connectedness ofa l ll i v i n gt h i n g s , the heightened awareness of the global circumstance . . .the strong sense ofevolutionary equilibrium and change, the be liefinthe p o s s i b i l i t y ofpersonal and s o c i a l transformation, and the affirmation ofnoninstrumental r a t i o n a l i t i e s are a l l redolent of a revised Enlightenment projectwith the emphasis more firmly placed on the human s c a l e and s p i r i t u a l implications of science implications of s c i e n c e ,p o l i t i c s , and s t a t ead ministration.4 8 He observes the fragmentation i n the sacred canopy of the pastand th e juxtaposition of formerly separater e l i gions may have created the impression . . .of a patchwork q u i l t ,but i n s i s t st h a tthe new r e l i g i o u s consciousness and the s h i f ti ns e n s i b i l i t yi tr e f l e c t si ss t i l l concerned with the pursuit oftru thand have turned more t o science (now ofa non r e d u c tion istkind) than away from i t . 4 9

I tseems customary i n the discussion ofthe manner i nwhich a subject e x h i b i t s postmodern tendencies t o suggest schematic differencesbetween modernism and postmodernism, Grace Davie provides the following version f o rr e l i g i o n , based on Harvey s which i sa lso included i n Appendix D:

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Religion and Modernity: a Schematic Representation

Modernity I n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n Urbanization Production Postmodemity

Information Technology De-urbanization Consumption Both modernity and post-modemity are problematic for religion but in different ways

Modernism

Post-modernism Fragmentation/ decentring of t he r e l i g i o u sn a r r a t i v e but also ofthe s e c u l a r ;i . e .oft h e s c i e n t i f i c ,r a t i o n a l or a n t i r e l i g i o u sn a r r a t i v ee . g . rationalism/ communism A space for the sacred but often i n forms d i f f e r e n t from those which have gone before The Holy S p i r i t Varied forms ofthe sacred Healing Ecology5 0

The grand narrative: religious Or anti-religious

S ecularisation

God the Son The i n s t i t u t i o n a l churches Medical science Agribusiness

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Postmodern thinking i soften considered i ntwo d i s t i n c ts t r a n d s . The aspect usually ref erred t o aspostmodernism i sassociated with t h e o r i s t s such as Lyotard, Baudrillard, Heidegger and Derrida and i scharacterisedby fragmentation, indeterminacy, and intense d i s t r u s t of a l l universalising or t o t a l l i n g discourses .I thas been described a s the pessimistic face of the postmodern, a r i s i n g from a perceived c r i s i si n modernity i t issues i nr e l a t i v i s m , even nihilism . 5 1

Postmodernity can be said to describe the cultural context which has experienced a
noticeable s h i f ti ns e n s i b i l i t y ,p r a c t i c e s , and discourse formationsdistinguishing i tfrom t h e preceding p e ri od, while remaining within the modernist paradigm. Gallagher summarises t h e d i s t i n c t i o na s foll ows:

Both share a questioning ofthe achievements ofmodernity but whereas postmodern/.?/ seems t o remain l a rge ly i n a mode ofr e f u t a t i o n ,c u l t u r a l postmodemiYy,... goes beyond negative c r i t i q u e and, i n some i n s t a n c e s , represents a search f o rl i v eable languages beyond the narrowness ofmodernity.5 2 Various scholars from d i f f e r e n td i s c i p l i n e s have taken the more po sitive approach t o post modernism, discerning trends t h a tc o n s t i t u t e a challenge t o the negativeaspects of modernism, such as i t smaterialism, secularism, individualism, patr i a r c h y , scien tism, anthropocentrism and ecological vandalism, Thompson proposes t h a tt h i sc o n s t i t u t e s a new constructive post-modernismwhich he defines as follo ws:

Constructive post-modern thought seeks new connections and syntheses t h a t might off e ra l t e r n a t i v e st o thenegative aspects ofmodernism. The kinds of phenomena studied include some t h a t modernist thought would have regarded a s marginal or a n t i t h e t i c a lt o modem l i f e ;the s a c r e d , charisma, passion, s p i r i t u a l i t y , cosmic meaning and u n i t y , enchantment, community and so-called feminine q u a l i t i e s such as loveand romance . 5 3

While some ofthese q u a l i t i e swere emphasised inthe Romantic Movement ofthe nineteenth century i n a reaction against assumed negative aspects ofEnlightenment thought and modernity, the difference with constructive post modernism i st h a ti sdoes not have a romanticised view ofthe pre-modem, but seeks t o combine the b e n efit s ofmodernity with the values and q u a l i t i e st h a ti tbelieves were devalued by modernism a s an ideology . He suggests New Age religionsare an example ofconstructive post-modernism t h a t combine elements ofr e l i g i o n ,s c i ence, psychology and business . 5 4

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David Ray Griffin s i m i l a r l yc o n t r a s t s deconstructive or eliminative postmodernism with

constructive or revisionary thought, characterised by the aim ofovercoming the modem

a new one through a revision ofmodem premises and t r a d i t i o n a l concepts .

worldview not by eliminating the p o s s i b i l i t y ofworldviews a s such, but ratherby constructing

Again, resonances with new age i d e a l s and optimism are immediately apparent, i nh i s 1997 introduction t o the S t a t e University ofNew York Series in Constructive Postmodern Thought, G r iff inw r i t e s : going beyond the modem world w i l l involve transcending i t sindividualism, anthropocentrism, p a t r i a r c h y , mechanisation, economism, consumerism, nationalism, and m i l i t a r i s m . Constructive postmodern thought provides support forthe ecology, peace, feminist and other emancipatory movements of our t i m e , while s t r e s s i n gt h a tthe incl usive emancipation must be from modernity i t s e l f . The term postmodern, however, by contrast withpremodern, emphasises t h a tt h e modem world has produced unparalleled advances t h a t must not be l o s ti na general revulsion against i t snegative f e a t u r e s . 5 5 Gr i f f i n acknowledges t h a tt o the deconstructivepostmodernists, t h i s view i s s t i l lwedded t o hopelessly outdated conceptsi ni t sattempt t o salvage positive meaning f o rnotions ofthe s e l f ,h i s t o r i c a l meaning and t r u t ha s correspondence, ideas which were c e n t r a lt o modernity, a s well a st h e premodem notions ofa divine r e a l i t y , cosmic meaning, and an enchanted n a t u r e . However he argues t h a tt h i srevisionary postmodernism i s more genuinely postmodernsince i t does not simply carry the premises ofmodernity through t ot h e i rl o g i c a l conclusions, but c r i t i c i s e s and r evises those premisesthrough i t sreturn t o organicism and i t s acceptance ofnonsensory perception, thereby opening i t s e l fup t o the recovery of t r u t h s and values from various forms ofpremodem thought and practice t h a thad been dogmatically r e j ectedby modernity , 5 6

In her analysi s ofthe r e l a t i o nbetween the New Spirituality/New Age and postmodernism, Linda Woodhead makes a d i s t i n c t i o nbetween two uses ofthe term, where the f i r s tdescribes a movement within philosophyand the second the most recent phase ofWestern c u l t u r e . She denies any connection between the postmodernism i n the f i r s tsense and the New Age on t he grounds t h a t i t sexperience based epistemology assumes a n o n l i n g u i s t i c , ideologically untainted experience ,the r e j e c t i o n ofwhich i sthe grounds ofpostmodern l i n g u i s t i ct h e o r y . Furthermore she suggests t h a tthe New Age beliefi n the deep r e a l i t y ofthe Selfc o n tradicts the postmodern s t r e s s on l o s s of self which has grown out of i t sl i t e r a r ytheory and deconstruction ofFreud . 5 7

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Finally she proposes t h a tthe New Age i t s e l fi sa prime example ofthe grand narrative , c l e a r l ytherefore owing f a rmore t o Modem thought than t o Postmodern. For Woodhead, i ti s only when the term i sused i n the second s e n s e ,t o describe our l a t e c a p i t a l i s tc u l t u r et h a t s i m i l a r i t i e s become apparent:

For the New Spirituality/New Age i sa s o r t of consumer r e l igion - consumers may buywhichever s o r t s ofr e l i g i o u s goods give them pleasure. I tseems t o get s a t i s f a c t i o n from a constant inte rplay ofd i f f e r e n t images and d i f f e r e n t experiences. There i sno grasping a f t e rthese images, no clinging t o them. People are aware t h a t they a re merelyimages, and generally see them t o have no p a r t i c u l a r attachment t os p e c i f i c ones. And perhaps the New S p i r i t u a l i t y knows some oft h a tplayfulness and lack of seriousness supposed t o be displayed by the postmodern condition.5 8 On the whole however, she i n s i s t st h a tthese postmodern f e a t u r e sa re f a rl e s ss u b s t a n t i a l than t he modem ones, and concludes with a summary ofthe fundamental incompatibility ofthe concepts:

Underlying t he whole project (ofthe New Age) i sa deep seriousness about t h e quest f o r authentic l i f e , the t r u e path ,connection with deep r e a l i t y ,a s well a s ad i s s a t i s f a c t i o nwith postmodern consumerist c u l t u r e . Few people can l i v ei na world where deepmeaning and value have been radic a l l y eliminated and, and the search t o find them, a search s t i l ldeeply conditioned by modernity, i s surely a tthe heart ofthe New S p i r i t u a l i t y . 5 9 Postmodernism, f o r Lyotard, i sne i t h e ra s t y l e nor a h i s t o r i c a l period, but r a t h e r an unrepresentable deferment of conceptualisation and t o t a l i t y . His major contribution toward a d e f i n i t i o n ofthe term i shis theory of metanarratives (grand recits) . While modernity privileged such all-encompassing nar ra t i v e s as fascism, Marxism and capi t a l i s m , Lyotard s postmodernism encourages l i t t l enarr a t i v e s {petits recits)t h a tclaim t o avoid t o t a l i z a t i o n and preserve heterogeneity. A f f i n i t i e s with t h i sa t t i t u d e can be seen i n the eclecticismof t h e new age movement, i t sacknowledgement ofthe v a l i d i t yof other beliefsystems and i ni t s embracing of otherness .

David Lyon acknowledges t h a tthe debate over postmodemity i s open t o religious p o s s i b i l i t i e s and believes t h a tthe new age l i k epostmodemity, may be viewed a s a response t o a perceived c r i s i si n modernity . Arguing t h a t postmodemity f i n a l l ymakes space f o rt h e r e l i g i o u s he l i n k s Simmel sprediction t h a tpost-Christian r e l i g i o s i t y would be a formless mysticismi n which the soul would be i t sown inmost metaphysical l i f enot moulded by any fomis of f a i t hwhatsoeverwith Harvey s suggestion t h a t even religi on and myth can be of the g r e a t e s t significancet o the new c l a s s of c u l t u r a l producers.6 0

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The pagan revival with i t sregeneration ofthe symbols of mother earthand gaiaa l s o f i t nicely with postmodern c u r rent s which denigrate logocentrism in favour of image and sign . He notes however, t h a twhile thenew age seems t o mirror some postmodern concerns about modernity c r i s i sth ere are a l s o ambiguities - most important, perhapsi s :

the way t h a tNew Age both expresses postmodern moods and simultaneously o f f e r sa ntidotes t o modernity. The expression ofmodernity c r i s i s can be seen i n the l a i d b a c k ,f l u i d and undogmatic pastiche ofnostalgia and kitsch -the circus ofNew Age. The cures f o rmodernity c r i s i s , on the other hand a r ev i s i b l ei n the new techniques f o r overcoming materialism and r e s i g n a t i o n , the new s p i r i t u a l d i s c i p l i n e s ofmeditation or channeling.6 1 I n conclusion Lyon o f f e r s seven mutual echoeswhich he f e e l s ind icate t h a ts u f f i c i e n t evidence e x i s t sf o rhypothesising t h a tNew Age i sa r e l i g i o u s expression ofpost-modemity, Simmers post-Christian r e l i g i o s i t y .

Briefly summarised, the f i r s ti st h a tboth a re a l labout a new era ,while debate continues a s t o whether or not the postmodern condition i sac tually with u s , so new agers a r e divided as t o when we w i l l pass or have passed i n t o the new paradigmor Age ofAquarius. The passing ofth e old necessita tes the abandonment ofold v e r i t i e s ,f o rpostmodernism these are the metanarratives ofthe Enlightenment with the quest f o r correctepistemology giving way t oa new concern with ontology, an outlook c e r t a i n l y compatible with the new age equation oft h e Cartesian/Newtonian worldview with oppression and d e s t r u c t i o n . The common c e n t r a l i t y of s e l fi sthe t h i r d resonance, which i nt u rn leads t o the fourth -the postmodern s h i f ti n t o consumer capitalism i sechoed i nt he characte risation ofthenew age as a pot pourri of s p i r i t u a l ideas offered i nthe r e l i g i o u s supermarket . The f i f t hi sa shared doubt about t h e efficac y ofp o l i t i c s ,and the s i x t hi sg l o b a l i s a t i o n , accelerating i n the postmodern age with t h e development ofnew information and communication technologies while a lso c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the transna tional networking which epitomises New Age organisation . Lastly he a s s e r t st h a t both connect with the f i n de s i c l ei fnot millennialism, asking i f perhaps both postmodemity and New Age c o n s t i t u t e the seduction ofa millenarian s p i r i tofwhich Raymond Williams warned? . 6 2

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The debate on postmodemity i ss t i l lopen and few discussions of i t simplications or influence can off e r concise verdict orr e s o l u t i o n . The new age cannot be regarded a spurely or completely postmodern, no c u l t u r a l trend can, i twould a tany r a t e be contrary t o the s t a t e d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s ofth e term. But more fundamentally, the postmodern i snever proposed a s unrelated t o the modem and neither can the new age be regarded as such. Probably the most revealing charact erisation ofthe position ofnew age r e l i g i o s i t y or the new s p i r i t u a l consciousness i n our contemporary society i st h a twhich suggests i tbe considered as a c u l t u r a lresource . As a d i r e c t descendent ofthe expressive revolutionof the 1960s t h e pervasion of s e l f r e l i g i o s i t y has enteredpopular cu l t u r ei n our p u r s u i t s ,p r a c t i c e s , vocabulary and, consciously as well as unconsciously, i n our b e l i e f s and worldviews. The following sectionw i ll take one aspect oft h i s worldview and examine i t scurrent manifestation as both an underlying beliefand a l e i s u r eo p t i o n .

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CLOSING DISCUSSION

In h i s book A

Crash Course on the New Age Movement ElliotMillerproposes thattheNew

Age can only be adequately understood by reference t o mystical experience . Sections within the movement employ psychotechnologiessuch a s meditation, c r e a t i v e v i s u a l isation ,chanting e t c . ,i n order t o temporarily suspend normal patterns ofthought without extinguishing or diminishing consciousness i t s e l f . The resulting a l t e r e ds t a t e s of consciousness (ASCs) can produce a profound mystical sense of transcendenceof i n d i v i duality and i d e n t i f i c a t i o n with everything, thus illuminating via fi rst h a n d experience the underlying new age worldview ofultimate r e a l i t y as u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d : everything i sone, and the nature ofthe One must be consciousness since a tthe peak of the mystical s t a t e consciousness i sv i r t u a l l ya l lt h a ti sexperienced . Miller argues t h a tthose who a c t i v e l y pursue orpassively submit themselves t o ASCs s e tthemselves up f o r nothing short of a r e l i g i o u s conversion ,and he or she w i l l experience things once considered impossible, e c s t a t i cf e e l i n g s , psychic power.. .a l lcr e a t e hope f o r a more purposeful, s a t i s f y i n gl i f e .A new world view.. .t oreplace the shattered old one . 1

Considering the new age emphasis on experience, the c e n t r a l i t y ofnotions of evolution and transformative union, and i t sethos ofmonism or pantheism, the i n t e r e s ti n such pursuits and t h e i rperceived d e s i r a b i l i t yf o r the seri ous new ager i snot s u r p r i s i n g . Eastern r e l i g i o n s have long employed meditational and yogic exercises t o induce such s t a t e s , and t o similar ends. I n the Western occult t r a d i t i o ntoo the pursuithas been c e n t r a lt o gnostic philosophies. But u n t i l now i thas always been a resolutely minority practice i n the West, just as the occult metaphysical knowledge i n which i ti s steeped has always been a s e c r e tknowledge ,open only t o an educated e l i t e and persi s t i n gi n a subculture outside the mainstream ofr e l i g i o u s and s o c i a lp r a c t i c e .

As we have seen through the course oft h i st h e s i s , new agers have blamed the project of modernity f o rthe marginal position inWestern society ofmany elements and q u a l i t i e s they consider v i t a l . One propagator ofthe mechanistic worldview was Freud sreduct ionist approach t o psychoanalysis. As an explanation ofthe un i t i v e experiences t h a t occur as symptoms of schizophrenia, Freud proposed i n 1905 t h a t consciousness of a d i f f e r e n t i a t e d , ex ternal world i sa secondary a cquisition (which, i n schizophrenia i sapparently r eversed). In 1920 Cavendish Moxon took t h i s theory ofi n f a n t i l e solipsism t o explain the mystical union a s nothing l e s s than a return t o the i n t r a u t e r i n e condition ,the God/universe with whom t h e mystic un ites i s a projected image ofthen a r c i s s i s t i cl i b i d o . . .a regression t o the mother . 2

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I ft h i s can be taken as a r e f l e c t i o n ofthe mainstream a t t i t u d e ofmarginalisation or r e j e c t i o nt o the mystical union i n modernity, has ther e been a perceptible change in the new paradigmof /joj/modemity? In psychoanalytic theory a tl e a s tMerkur writes t h a ti n f a n t i l e solipsismhas given way t o a new consensus in d i r e c ti n f a n t observation, which, when applied by Irving B. Harrison in 1986 t o the phenomena ofunitive experiences suggests t h a tthey should be regarded instead as f a n t a s i e s :

The mystical immersion r i d e s on a grandiose fantasy ofunion with an omnipotent and i n f i n i t elove o b j e c t . . . mystical experiences universally have the q u ality of wish-fulfilments - l i k e dream experiences t h a ts a t i s f yunconscious desires . 3 The a t t r a c t i o n of such q u a l i t i e si na l a t e c a p i t a l i s tsocietywhere the consumer w i l lpay f o r wish-fulfilment, where sensation and pleasure are so highly prized, would seem t o be very great indeed. The s t a t u s ofthe pursuit ofmystical or uni tive experiences i npostmodemity could be very revealing, not only with regard t o the p e r s i s t i n g influence ofnew age or g nostic i n t e r e s t s ,but a lso with regard t o the organisation ofour c u lt ure and the experience oft h e individual within i t . Such an investigation i sbeyond the scope oft h i ss t u d y , but by providing a comprehensive background t o the f a c t o r s involved i thas attempted t o form a t h e o r e t i c a l framework which might serve as an introduction t o the t o p i c . In conclusion, the following suggestions are offered a sas t a r t i n gpoint f o r any such i n v e s t i g a t i o n . 1.With h i s multi-million s e l l i n g The Road Less

Travelled M. ScottPeck launched into the

mainstream ofpopular c u l t u r e genre of poppsychology with i t sp a r t i c u l a rhybrid of psychoanalytical and new age themes. In i the describes the experience of f a l l i n gi n lovea s a dissolution ofego boundariesallowing the experience of a mystical u n i fica tion ofthe s e l f with the non-self, the non-selfbeing the otherofboth p a r t n e r , and by extension, t h e universe.4 He suggests t h a ti ti sthe pursuit oft h i s e c s t a t i c sens a t i o n , enjoyed only i n the i n i t i a l stages ofthe r e l a t i o n s h i p , which causes not only our c u l t u r a l obsession with romantic l o v e , but a l s o our d i s i n c l i n a t i o nt os u s tainr e lationships t h a thave ceased t o provide i t . I n her 1997 book Consuming the Romantic

Utopia Eva Illouzprovides an extensive analysis

ofthe s o c i a l construction ofromantic love as a product, placing i ti nthe context of postmodern marketplace of t h r i l l s e e k i n g , exoticism and the search for intense authentic experiences . 5

99

2 . Rachel Storm suggests t h a tt h e lineage of t he p u r s u i t ofa l t e r e ds t a t e s ofconscious through a r t i f i c i a l meanscan be traced back t ot h e mythologies ofancient Greece, through Gnosticism and the occult mystical t r a d i t i o n ,t oi t sresurgence i n the LSD experimentation of the counterculture.6

Rave culturei spossibly th e pre-eminent youth movement ofthe past two decades. At i t s hea r ti st h e drug ecstasy ,designed s p e c i f i c a l l yt o induce u n itive s t a t e s ,f o r around f i v e pounds and f o r about four hours a t a tim e , millions ofyoung people purchase t h e experience every weekend. F i l t e r i n g on t o th e dance scene since th e early 1980s from i t suse i n new age psychotherapies, t h e ebusiness was, by 1993 estimated t o be worth 2 b i l l i o n a year i n B r i t a i na lone, and has undoubtedly grown since then .7

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ENDNOTES

CHAPTER ONE:
1Richard Kyle, The New Age movement in American culture (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1995): ix. 2 Ted Peters, The Cosmic Self: A Penetrating Look at Today's New Age Movements (San Francisco: Harper, 1992): vii, viii, Otto Friedrich, New Age Harmonies (Time. December 7, 1987): 65-66. 3Kyle, 1995: 3, Annette Miller, Corporate Mind Control (Newsweek, May 4, 1987): 38-44, Raymond Chandler, Understanding the New Age (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1988): 19 4Kyle, 1995: 3 5Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps, Networking (NY: Doubleday, 1982): 6,7, Elliot Miller, A Crash Course on the New Age Movement (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989): 14, Marilyn Ferguson, The Aquarian Conspiracy (LA: J.P. Tarcher, 1980): 1 6 James R. Lewis and Gordon Melton, Perspectives on the New Age (N Y: SUNY, 1992): 1 , David Spangler, A Pilgrim in Aquarius (Forres: Findhom Press, 1996): 18 7Kyle, 1995: 5, 6-10, Ferguson, 1980: 23, Kyle, 1995: 6, Allen quoted in Kyle, 1995: 6 8Ellwood, in Lewis and Melton, 1992: 59, Kyle, 1995: 9 9 Ellwood, in Lewis and Melton, 1992: 59, Kyle, 1995: 16 1 0Ellwood, in Lewis and Melton, 1992: 366, 42, Kyle, 1995: 15, 16, William Reese, Concise Philosophy and Religion: Eastern and Western Thought (NJ: Humanities Press, 1980): 573, 409, 16, 234 1 1Kyle, 1995: 14 1 2Kyle, 1995: 16, Catherine Albanese, America: Religion and Religions (London: Wandsworth, 1999): 254, Jon D. Mikalson, Religion in Hellenistic Athens (London etc: University of California Press, 1998): 2, Kyle, 1995: 17, Mikalson, 1998: 4. 1 3Reese, 1980: 385, 108, Kyle, 1995: 18. 1 4Albanese, 1999: 254, Reese, 1980: 192, 647, Gerald Hanratty, Studies in Gnosticism and in the Philosophy o f Religion (Portland, OR: Four Courts Press, 1997): 102, J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedia o f Occultism and Parapsychology (London etc: Gale Group, 2001): 647, Kyle, 1995: 18, Lee, quoted in Kyle, 1995: 19, Lasch, C. and Raschke, C., quoted in Kyle, 1995: 19, Chadwick, H., quoted in Rachel Storm, In Search o f Heaven on Earth: The History o f the New Age M ovement (N Y: Bloomsbury, 1991): 36, Ferguson, 1980: 371, Hanratty, 1997: 41-184 1 5Melton, 2001: 108, Kyle, 1995: 18, Albanese, 1999: 255, Melton, 2001: 23, Albanese, 1999: 255, Storm, 1991: 65, Melton, 2001: 1395, Kyle, 1995: 17, Albanese, 1999: 366, M.D. Jakobsen, Shamanism: Traditional and Contemporary Approaches to the M astery o f Spirits and Healing (NY: Berghahn Books, 1999): 147 1995: 20, Albanese, 1999: 353 1995: 21, Reese, 1980: 9, Hanratty, 1997: 148 1995: 21, 22, Albanese, 1999: 256 1995: 22, Edighotter, quoted in A. Faivre and J. Needleman, J. (eds), Modern Esoteric Spirituality (NY: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1992): 208 2 0Albanese, 1999: 251, Levenshai, H., quoted in Kyle, 1995: 24 2 0E. Mazet, quoted in Faivre and Needleman, 1992: 248-276, Kyle, 1995: 25, Melton, 2001: 1515 2 1Albanese, 1999: 355, 253, 252 2 3 Storm, 1991: 163, Albanese, 1999: 263, Kyle, 1995: 29, 30, Ferguson, 1980: 123 2 4Albanese, 1999: 263, 265, 264, 266, Kyle, 1995; 30, Reese, 1980: 547, Melton, 2001: 1465 2 5 Sellon, E.B. and Weber, R. in Faivre and Needleman, 1992: 311, Gordon Melton, New Age Almanac (Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1991): 16, Albanese, 1999: 268, Storm, 1991: 7, Kyle, 1995: 35 2 6Melton, 2001: 1115, Albanese, 1999: 270, 272 2 7Diem, A. and Lewis, J., quoted in Kyle, 1995: 36 2 8Kyle, 1995: 37 2 9Albanese, 2001: 273, Reese, 1980: 453, Daniel Merkur, M ystical Moments and Unitive Thinking (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1999): 98, Albanese, 1999: 355 3 0Kyle, 1995: 38, 32, Reese, 1980: 52, Wehr, Gerhard, quoted in Faivre and Needleman, 1992: 382, 3 1 Kyle, 1995: 38, 39, Melton, 2001: 1181, Albanese, 1999: 358, David Ray Griffin, Parapsychology, Philosophy and Spirituality: a postmodern exploration (Albany: SUNY, 1988) 3 2Albanese, 1999: 352, Kyle, 1995: 42, Melton, quoted in Kyle, 1995: 42 1 6Kyle, 1 7Kyle, 1 8Kyle, 1 9Kyle,

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3 3 Albanese, 1999: 359, Roof and McKinney, American Mainline Religion (NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1988): 31, Kyle, 1995: 44 3 4Kyle, 1995:47 3 5Kyle, 1995: 49, 50, 52 3 6 Kyle, 1995: 58, 59, Albanese, 1999: 359 3 7Albanese, 1999: 358, 357, Kyle, 1995: 61, 63 3 8 Albanese, 1999: 357, Kyle, 1995: 64 3 9 Kyle, 1995: 66, Albanese, 1999: 353 4 0Kyle, 1995: 64, 67, Albanese, 1999: 358, 351, Miller, 1989: 56 4 1 Miller, 1989: 55, 89, Kyle, 1995: 68 4 2 Miller, 1989: 99, 100, Kyle, 1995: 69 4 3 Kyle, 1995: 70, Storm, 1991: 88, 87, Woodward, quoted in Kyle, 1995: 70 4 4Kyle, 1995: 71, 73, Massimo Introvigne, 1998: 5 4 5Kyle, 1995:74 4 6 Kyle, 1995: 77, Spangler, 1996: 242, Ferguson, 1980: 45, Miller, 1989: 56, Fritjof Capra, The Turning Point (N Y: Bantam, 1982): 15 4 7 Miller, 1989: 53, Kyle, 1995: 80, 81, 84, Ferguson, 1980: 68, Peters, 1991: 75, Ferguson, 1980: 85, Melton, quoted in Kyle, 1995: 83 4 8Ferguson, 1980: 371, Peters, 1991: 82, Kyle, 1995; 84, Ferguson, 1980: 372, Miller, 1989: 62 4 9Kyle, 1995: 85, Ferguson, 1980: 372, Crme, quoted in Kyle, 1995: 86, Gilliam, quoted in Kyle, 1995: 87, MacLaine, quoted in Kyle, 1995: 87 5 0Bohm, quoted in Peters, 1991: 58, Kyle, 1995: 88, Peters, 1991: 58, Capra, 1982: 367, Kyle, 1995: 88, Toffler, 1980: 300 5 1 Reese, 1980: 280, 485, Peters, 1991: 71 5 2Miller, 1989: 57 5 3Miller, 1989: 57, Ferguson, 1980: 26, Spangler, 1996: 153 5 4Ferguson, 1980: 26-27 5 5Peters, 1991: 133, Miller, 1989; 56, Capra, 1982: 59-74 5 6 Capra, 1982: 31, Fritjof Capra, The Tao o f Physics (NY: Bantam, 1977): 20 5 7 Capra, 1982: 54, 55, 56, Bacon quoted in Capra, 1982: 56, Kyle, 1995: 95 5 8Capra, 1982: 60, 63 5 9 Stanislav Grof, Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science (Albany: SUNY Press, 1984): 7, 8, Capra, 1982: 55 6 0Peters, 1991: 134 6 1 Peters, 1991: 134, Ferguson, 1980: 146, 147 6 2Vandana Shiva, Staying Alive (London: Zed Books, 1988): 3 6 3 Linda Shephard, Lifting the Veil: The Feminine Face o f Science (Boston: Shambala Publications, 1993): 40 6 4 Capra, 1982: 36 6 5 C. Merchant, Radical Ecology: The Search fo r a Liveable World (NY: Routledge, 1980):18 66 Capra, 1982: 41, Linda Shepherd, The Feminine Face o f Science /Resurgence. No. 182: 37-40, 1997): 39, Capra, 1982: 41 6 7 Capra, 1982: 38, 39, Shiva, 1998: 35, Shepherd, 1993: 34-40, Shepherd, 1997: 40 6 8 Capra, 1983: 123 6 9 Capra, 1983: 123, 124 7 0 Shiva, 1988: 17 7 1 Shiva, 1988: 4, Kyle, 1995: 104, Grof, 1984: 9 7 2Ferguson, 1980: 26, Grof, 1984: 5-7 7 3Ferguson, 1980: 27 7 4Ferguson, 1980: 28, Tarnas quoted in Russell DiCarlo, Towards a New World View (PA: Epic Publishing, 1996): 21-28, 31 7 5Capra, 1983: 29, 30 7 6Rubik quoted in DiCarlo, 1996: 38, 45 7 7 Shepherd, 1988: 31-33 7 8Peters, 1991: 135 7 9Capra, 1983: 75, Kyle, 1995: 96, 97, Capra, 1982: 82, Peters, 1991: 38, 142 8 0Peters, 1991: 141, Bohm quoted in Peters, 1991: 144 8 1 Miller, 1989: 60, Capra, 1983: 266, 267 8 2Miller, 1989:60,61,62

102

8 3Miller, 1989: 64, 65 8 4Miller, 1989: 66, Russell quoted in Miller, 1989: 66, White quoted in Miller, 1989: 66 8 5Keys quoted in Miller, 1989: 67 8 7Ferguson, 1980:158,159, Miller, 1989: 68 8 7Hubbard quoted in Miller, 1989: 69, Barry McWaters, Conscious Evolution (LA: New Age Press, 1981): 27, 28 8 8Miller, 1989: 70 8 9Zukav quoted in Kyle, 1995: 99, Capra, 1977: 17, 24 9 0 Grof, 1984: 21 9 1 Peters, 1991: 133, Capra, 1982: 80, 81, Ferguson, 1980: 156, 9 2Capra, 1982: 31, Rubik quoted in D i Carlo, 1996: 58, W olf quoted in D i Carlo, 1996: 64 9 3 Kyle, 1995: 101, Capra, 1982: 145, Ferguson, 1980: 172 9 4Kyle, 1995: 103, Capra, 1982: 458, 459 9 5 Lovelock, 1982: 9 9 6Miller, 1989:71,72 9 7Keyes, quoted in Miller, 1989: 67 9 8Peters, 1991: 44, Woodman quoted in Peters, 1991: 44 9 9 Gross quoted in Douglas Groothuis, Unmasking the New Age (NY: Intervarsity, 1986):71, Kyle, 1995: 136, 137, 139, Jacob Needleman, The New Religions (London: Penguin Press,1972):7-19 1 0 0Beyer quoted in Kyle, 1995: 138, 139, Groothuis, 1986: 72 1 0 1 Groothuis, 1986: 15, 16, Kyle, 1995: 141 1 0 2Groothuis, 1986: 73, 74 1 0 3Kyle, 1995: 142, Capra, 1982: 176, 177, 187 1 0 4 Storm, 1991: 66, Abraham Maslow, 1970: 105, 197, 214, 212 1 0 5Storm, 1991: 66, Groothuis, 1986: 78, Kyle, 1995: 144 1 0 6Sutich quoted in Kyle, 1995: 145 1 0 7Storm, 1991: 66, 67, Kyle, 1995: 145, Groothuis, 1986: 80, Paul Woodhouse, Paradigm Wars: Worldviews fo r a New (CA: Frog Ltd., 1996): 310 1 0 8Wallis quoted in Kyle, 1995: 147, Toffler, 1981: 366 1 0 9Kyle, 1995: 147, 148, Melton, 1991: 205, Storm, 1991: 67 1 1 0Woodward quoted in Kyle, 1995: 150, Marin quoted in Kyle, 1995: 151 1 1 1Ferguson, 1980: 241, 242 1 1 2Woodhouse, 1996: 349, Kyle, 1995: 158, Capra, 1982: 334-338, Groothuis, 1986: 56, Melton, 1991: 173, 174 1 1 3Capra, 1982: 333 1 1 4Woodhouse, 1996: 59, Ferguson, 1980: 244, 245 1 1 5Paul Reisser, Teri Reisser & John Weldon, New Age Medicine (IL: InterVarsity Press, 1987): 14-32 1 1 6Leslie Kaslof, Wholistic Dimensions in Healing (NY: Doubleday, 1978): 47, 48

Age

CHAPTER TWO:

1Peters, 1996: 323, 338 2Pike quoted in Miller, 1989: 35, 36, Kirsch quoted in Miller, 1989: 36 3Ferguson, 1980: 224 4 Sal Restivo, Parallels and Paradoxes in M odem Physics and Eastern Mysticism: I - A Critical Reconnaissance ^Social Studies of Science. 8: 143-81, 1978): 143, Catherine Carson, Who Wants a Postmodern Physics? (Science in Context. 8 (4), 1995): 635-655 5Z.D. Sung, The Symbol ofY i King (Shanghai: The China Modem Education Company, 1934) and Beau, 1965 in Restivo, 1978: 143, 144 6Restivo, 1978: 145,146 and Ian Barbour, Issues in Science and Religion (London: SCM Press, 1966): 127 Whitehead in Restivo, 1978 and Siu, The Tao o f Science (MA: M IT Press, 1957) 7Restivo, 1978: 146, 147, Capra, 1977: 160-162 8Restivo, 1978: 147 9Restivo, 1978: 151 1 0Restivo, 1978: 151, 153 1 1 Restivo, 1978: 153 (also M. Gell-Mann & Y. Neeman (eds), The Eightfold Way (NY: W.A. Benjamin, 1964)

103

1 2Restivo, 1978: 153, 154 1 3Restivo, 1978: 154 1 4Capra, 1977: 161, Restivo, 1978: 155 1 5Restivo, 1978: 155 1 6Restivo, 1978: 155, 157, 158, Barbour, 1966: 1 7Restivo, 1978: 158, 159 1 8Restivo, 1978: 160, 161, David Bohm, Quantum 1 9Restivo, 1978: 163, Siu, 1957 2 0Restivo, 1978: 164, 165 2 1Restivo, 1978: 166 2 2Restivo, 1978: 166, Capra, 1977: 142 2 3 Capra, 1977: 25 2 4Restivo, 1978:168, 169

Theory (N Y: Prentice Hall, 1951): 139-140

Causality and Quantum Theory, 1918-1927: Adaptation by German Physicists to a Hostile Intellectual Environment (HSPS. 3. 1971): 1-115 3 2 S. Woolgar, Interests and Explanationo in the Social Study o f Science (Social Studies of Science. Vol. 11, No. 3, 1981): 365-94, B. Latour and S. Woolgar, Laboratory Life (CA: Sage, 1979), Restivo,
1982: 44 3 3Restivo, 1982: 47 3 4Isaac Asimov, Scientists

2 5Restivo, 1978: 170 2 6Restivo, 1978: 170, 171 2 7 Capra, 1992: 12 2 8 B. Barnes and S. Shapin, Natural Order (London: Sage, 1979): 188, Capra, 1992: 25 2 9L. Dumont, Homo Hierarchichus (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1970): 9-44, R. Collins, Toward a Modern Science o f the Occult (Consciousness and Culture. Vol. 1, No. 1, 1977): 43-58 3 0 Sal Restivo, Parallels and Paradoxes in Modem Physics and Eastern Mysticism: II - A Sociological Perspective on Parallelism ('Social Studies of Science. 12: 37-71, 1982): 43, Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962): 92, Capra, 1977: 25, Zukav, The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview o f the New Physics (New York: William Morrow, 1979): 11-39 3 1 Restivo, 1982: 45, Wynne in Barnes and Shapin, 1979: 167-186, Paul Forman, Weimar Culture,

and Sages (The New York Times. 27 July: 19, 1978): 19, Isaac Asimov, Do Scientists Believe in God? (Gallery. Vol. 7, No. 7: 51-52, 1979): 106, S. H. Nasr, The Encounter o f Man and Nature (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968): 51-80, N. Sivin, & Nakayama (eds), Chinese Science (MA: M IT Press, 1973): xi-xxxvi 3 5Restivo, 1982: 49, 50, T. Roszak, The Making o f a Counterculture (NY: Anchor Books, 1969): 128 3 6J.M. Yinger, Countercultures and Social Change (American Sociological Review. Vol. 42, No. 6, 1977): 833, E.A. Tiryakian, Toward the Sociology o f Esoteric Culture (American Journal of
Sociology. Vol. 79, No. 3, 1972): 493-510 3 7 C. Singer, A Short History o f Scientific Ideas to 1900 (NY: Oxford University Press, 1959): 389, 390, E. Mendelsohn, The Social Construction o f Scientific Knowledge, in Mendelsohn, E., Weingart, P. & Whitley, R. (eds). The Social Production o f Scientific Knowledge (Boston: D. Reidel, 1977): 10 3 8Restivo, 1982: 52, E. Bourguignon, Religion, Altered States o f Consciousness, and Social Change (Ohio: Ohio State University Press, 1973): 350, H. Weiman, Religious Experience and Scientific M ethod (IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1971): 84 3 9Restivo, 1982: 53, 54, Forman, 1971: 6 4 0 R. McCormmach, On Academic Scientists in Wilhelmian Germany (Dordrecht: Reidel, 1976): 157171 4 1 Carson, 1995: 649 4 2 Carson, 1995: 637 4 3 Carson, 1995: 637, 644, 645 4 4Carson, 1995: 644, 645 4 5 Carson, 1995: 645, 646 4 6 Carson, 1995: 646, 647 4 7 Carson, 1995: 647 4 8 Stephen Toulmin, The Return to Cosmology: Postmodern Science and the Ethology o f Nature (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982): 46 4 9 Christine Froula, Quantum Physics/ Postmodern Metaphysics: The Nature o f Jacques Derrida (Western Humanities Review. 39, 1985): 287-311

104

5 0 N. Katherine Hayles, Chaos as Orderly Disorder: Shifting Ground in Contemporary Literature and Science (New Literary History. 20, 1989) 305-22, N. Katherine Hayles, Chaos Bound: Oderly Disorder in Contemporary Literature and Science (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990), Carson, 1995: 639 5 1 Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984): xxv, 53-60 5 2Hayles, 1989: 317 5 3 Carson, 1995: 641, F. Scott Gilbert, Postmodernism and Science (Science in Context. Vol. 8, No. 4, 1995): 559, Ferguson, 1980: 43, 44 5 4 Gilbert, 1995: 560 CHAPTER THREE:

1Albanese, 1999: 362, 1 1 2Albanese, 1999: 1 1 3Albanese, 1999: 361, 362 4Albanese, 1999: 363 5Albanese, 1999: 364, 365 6Albanese, 1999: 365 7Albanese, 1999: 366,367 8Albanese, 1999: 367 9Paul Heelas, The New Age in Cultural Context: the Premodern, the Modern and the Postmodern (Religion. Vol. 23, 1993): iv, Albanese, 1999: 368 1 0Kyle: 1995, 11, Darren E. Sherkat, Counterculture or Continuity? Competing Influences on Baby Boom ers Religious Orientations and Participation (Social Forces. Vol. 76, No. 3, 1998): 1086-1109, Albanese, 1999: 369 "Heelas, 1993: 103 1 2Heelas, 1993: 103 1 3Lome L. Dawson, Anti-Modernism, Modernism, and Postmodernism: Struggling with the Cultural Significance o f New Religious Movements (Sociology of Religion. Vol. 59, No. 2, 1998 (b)): 132, Linda Woodhead, Post-Christian Spiritualities (Religion. Vol. 23, 1993): 1, 8 1 4Philip E. Hammond, The Sacred in a Secular Age. Toward Revision in the Scientific Study o f Religion (CA: University of California Press, 1985): 1 1 5Max Weber in H.H. Gerth & C. Wright M ills (eds), From Max Weber (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1958): 139, 267, Wilson, quoted in Daniel Bell, The Return o f the Sacred? The Argument on the Future o f Religion (British Journal of Sociology. Vol. 28, No. 4, 1977): 423 1 6Bryan Wilson, Religion in Sociological Perspective (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982): 149, 12, Paul Heelas, Introduction: On Differentiation and Dedifferentiation, in Paul Heelas (ed), Religion, Modernity and Postmodernity (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998): 2 1 7P.L. Berger, The Sacred Canopy: Elements o f a Sociological Theory o f Religion (NY: Doubleday, 1967): 133-138, 151, Dawson, 1998 (b): 134 1 8Berger, 1967: 153 1 9Heelas, 1998: 1-18,3 2 0Heelas, 1998: 3 2 1 Heelas, 1993: 109, Robert Bellah, 1991: 223, Paul Heelas in Paul Heelas and Linda Woodhead (eds), Religion in Modern Times (Oxford: Blackwell, 2000): 342 2 2Heelas, 2000: 342, Heelas, 1993: 109, Stephen Tipton, Getting saved from the sixties (London: University of California Press, 1982): 282-285 2 3 Heelas, 2000: 343, 344 2 4Heelas, 2000: 344 2 5Heelas, 2000: 344 2 6Heelas, 2000: 345 2 7Heelas, 2000: 346 2 8 Heelas, 2000: 347 2 9Heelas, 1993: 110

105

3 0J.D. Hunter, The New Religions: Demodernization and the Protest Against Modernity in Bryan Wilson (ed), The Social Impact o f the New Religious Movements (N Y: The Rose of Sharon Press, 1981): 1-19 3 1 Berger, 1967: 130-136, Hunter, 1981: 4 3 2Hunter, 1981: 5 3 3Hunter, 1981: 7-9, Heelas, 1993: 105, 106 3 4Dawson, 1998 (b): 138, D. Stone, New religious consciousness and personal religious experience (Sociological Analysis. Vol. 39, 1978): 123-134, F. Westley, The Cult o f Man: Durkheim s Predictions and the New Religious Movements (Sociological Analysis. Vol. 39, 1978): 135-145, C. Campbell, The secret religion o f the educated classes (Sociological Analysis. Vol. 39, 1978): 146-156 3 5 Stone, 1978: 131, Westley, 1978: 135-145, Campbell, 1978: 146-156 3 6 Stone, 1978: 131, 132 3 7Westley, 1978: 140, 141, Dawson, 1998(b): 142 3 8 Campbell, 1978: 155, 153 3 9Dawson, 1998(b): 143, Westley, 1978: 135-145, Campbell, 1978: 146-156 4 0A. S. Parsons, The secular contribution to religious innovation ^Sociological Analysis. 50, 1989): 213, Heelas, 1993: 106 4 1 Phil Laut, Money is my Friend (Cincinnati: Vivation, 1989): 14 4 2 Sondra Ray, How to be Chic, Fabulous and Live Forever (Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts, 1990): 125, Tipton, 1982: 211 4 3 Callinicos, Against Postmodernism ( Cambridge: Polity, 1989) 4 4Kenneth Thompson, in Hall, Stuart, Held, David & McGrew, Tony (eds), M odernity and its Futures (Cambridge: Polity, 1992): 229 4 5Heelas, 1993: 103, 110 4 6 James Beckford, Religion, Modernity and Postmodernity, in Bryan Wilson (ed), Religion: Contemporary Issues (London: Bellew, 1992): 19, 20 4 7 Beckford, 1992: 21 4 8Beckford, 1992: 21 4 9Beckford, 1992: 21 5 0 Grace Davie, Religion in Britain since 1945: Believing without Belonging (Oxford: Blackwell, 1994): 192 5 1 David Harvey, The Condition o f Postmodernity (NY: Blackwell, 1989): 9, David Ray Griffin, Parapsychology, Philosophy and Spirituality: a postmodern exploration (Albany: SUNY, 1997): xii 5 2Harvey, 1989: 9, Michael P. Gallagher, Clashing Symbols: An Introduction to Faith and Culture (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1997): 87 5 3Thompson, 1992: 248 5 4Thompson, 1992: 248 5 5 Griffin, 1997: xii, xiii 5 6 Griffin, 1997: xiii 5 7Linda Woodhead, Post-Christian Spiritualities (Religion. Vol. 23, 1993): 1 1 5 8 Woodhead, 1993: 11 5 9Woodhead, 1993: 11 6 0Victor E . Taylor, Para/Inquiry: Postmodern Religion and Culture (London: Routledge, 2000): 120, David Lyon, A Bit o f a Circus: Notes on Postmodernity and the New Age (Religion. Vol. 23: 117-126, 1993): 117, 121, George Simmel, in Peter Lawrence, Georg Simmel: Sociologist and European (NY: Barnes and Noble, 1976): 259, Harvey, 1989: 39 6 1 Lyon, 1993: 122 6 2Lyon, 1993: 124 CLOSING DISCUSSION:

1Miller, 1989: 36 2Miller, 1989: 37, Merkur, 1999: 51 3Merkur, 1999: 51 4M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled (London: Arrow Books, 1990): 24-56 5Eva Illouz, Consuming the Romantic Utopia: Love and the Cultural Contradictions (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997): 222-267 6 Storm, 1991:47-61

o f Capitalism

106

7Steve Redhead, Rave Q/f (Aldershot: Avebury, 1993): vii, 32-39, 41-45, Miriam Joseph, Ecstasy (London: Carlton, 2000): 8-28, 82-92, J .Beck and M. Rosenbaum, Pusrsuit o f Ecstasy: the MDMA Experience (Albany: SUNY, 1994): 13-17, 50-89.

107

APPENDICES

A PPEN D IX A

Linda Woodhead on the New Spirituality and the New Age:

In her discussion ofPost-Christian S p i r i t u a l i t i e sLinda Woodhead i d e n t i f i e sa s e r i e s of shared c h a r a c t e r i s t i c sbetween the New S p i r i t u a l i t y and New Agemovements.

At the deepest and most general l e v e l Ithink t h a tthe New S p i r i t u a l i t y /New Age i s fed by what may be cal ledr a d i c a le g a l i t a r i a n i s m . The New S p i r i t u a l i t y loathes any form ofhierarchy and i ssuspicious of a l lpower except s p i r i t u a lpower .I ta t t a c k s a l lforms of dualism (male/ female, us/ them, s p i r i t /body e t c . ) ,regarding them a s disguised h i e r a r c h i e s . I t si d e a li s connectednessor wholeness ,a s t a t e where everything i son a l e v e l , nothing and no-one i shigher than any o t h e r , and where id e a l l ya l lr e a l differenc es have been abolished. There can be no God above u s , nor a t r a d i t i o n which has authority over u s . This r a d i c a l egalitarianism must be linked t os o c i a l and economic changes i n modem society ( g r e a t e rd i s t r i b u t i o n ofwealth and power), a s well as t o ideological currents l i k eMarxism.. . Closely linked t ot h i sr a d i c a l egalitarianism and reinforcing i ti sthe experience-based epistemology t h a ti s so c e n t r a lt o the forms of s p i r i t u a l i t yIhave surveyed. This feeds i n from the Romantic revision ofthe empiricistt r a d i t i o n .I ti s linked t or a d i c a l egalitarianismbecause i f9my) experience i sthought t o be the basis of a l lknowledge then Inever have t o accept the authority of anyone or anything outside me. M y Self i sthe master ofa l li tsurveys. Radical egalitarianism and the privileging ofexperience both encourage the turn of the s e l fdocumented by many observers ofthe modem condition, and very apparent i n the writers Ihave been looking a t . The r i s e ofpsychology has undoubtedly reinforced t h i st u r n , and many ofthe writers Ihave considered a re deeply influenced by Freudian and Jungian notions.. . The New S p i r i t u a l i t y and the New Age a l so share a suspicion ofr a t i o n a l i t y and t he r a t i o n a l self which flows from the privileging of experiencing and the suspicions of r a d i c a l egalitarianism 9reason may be something one has t o obey; i tmaay cr e a t e hierarchies by judging some things t r u e others f a l s e ; and i tmay reveal some people as cleverer than o t h e r s ) . This c h a r a c t e r i s t i ci sreinforced by a tendancy within much feminist thought to view women as more i n touch with t h e i remotions and deep experiencethan men.1

1Woodhead, 1993: 8-9

A PPEN D IX B

Linda Woodhead on the New S p i r i t u a l i t y /New Age and fundamentalism:

In l i g h toft h i s intimate relationshipbetween the New S p i r i t u a l i t y and the New Age Woodhead concludes t h a tthe two c a n ,f o rthe purposes of st u d y , be understood as r e f e r r i n gt ot h e same phenomenon. However she a lso contests t h a t they share a s i g n i f i c a n t amount with another conspicuous fe a t u r e ofcontemporary r e l i g i o s i t y : fundamentalism.

. ..though surface differences tend t o obscure t h i s , Ibelieve t h a t the New S p i r i t u a l i t y / New Age actuallymanifest a number ofthe defining c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of a fundamentalism. This struckme most f o r cefully when reading Matthew Fox, and I w i l li l l u s t r a t ethe point with reference t oh i s work, though Ibelieve i tcould be i l l u s t r a t e dby several ofthe other works Iconsidered. F i r s t ,i thas a c l e a r sense of us and them- those who experience things a r i g h t (creation-centred s p i r i t u a l i t y ) and those who do not (fall-redemption s p i r i t u a l i t y ) with a cle a r implication i n the w r i ting s t h a t the l a t t e rare notj u s t deluded but malicious. And of course those who are enlightened do notj u s thave God on t h e i rs i d e ,i n an important way they a re God. Second, there are very c l e a r fundamentalst ot h i ss p i r i t u a l i t y . So c l e a r are they t h a t Fox can s e tthem out pointby point a tthe end ofh i s book. Like a l lforms ofthe New S p i r i t u a l i t y ,h i s system i sextremely easy t o understand. I t s simplicity and i t st o t a l explanatory power (ofGod, the world and everything) no doubt contributes importantly t oi t si n f l u e n c e . Third, there i sno awareness t h a tt h i s system i sone historically-conditioned ideology amongst o t h e r s . Experiencei sregarded as a u t h o r i t a t i v e ,a h i s t o r i c a l and innocent rather than as an inte r n a l i z e d ideology. There i sthe claim t h a t the return t oa creation-centred s p i r i t u a l i t yi sthe return t o the p r i s t i n eo r ig ins of the Christian t r a d i t i o n ,t o the s p i r i t u a l i t yofJesus himself. Fourth, there i sa powerful mechanism f o r deflecting/emasculating c r i t i c i s m . Not only are those who oppose the creation-based s p i r i t u a l i t y said t o be deluded and trapped i nt h e i rego-selves, they are said t o be biologically d e f e c t i v e , working only with the l e f thalfoft h e i rb r a i n s . Academics c l e a r l yf a l li n t ot h i s category according t o Fox. F i n a l l y , there i sa c l e a rd e s i r et o spread the s p i r i t u a l i t y . 2

2 Woodhead, 1993: 8,9 109

A PPEN D IX C

Lome L. Dawson on the New Age and Pentecostal and Charismatic movements:

Dawson summarizes Arthur Parsonsaccount ofthe points of convergence between the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements on the one hand, and the various New Age movements on the o t h e r s , arguing t h a th i s points a lso share much i n common with the t r a i t s ofthe New Religious Movements i d e n t i f i e dby Stone, Westley, and Campbell.

F i r s t ,both the Pentecostal-Charismatic and the New Age movements s t r e s sa rediscovery ofthe experience of sacred power in the daily l i v e s ofordinarypeople. The experience i n question i senvisioned as i n t e n s e , personal, e c s t a t i c , and susceptible t o being r epeated. Both movements associate these experiences with the continuous presence ofs p i r i t u a l energy, whether prana, mana, orgone energy, or t he Holy S p i r i tin human a f f a i r s . . . But h i s t o r i c a l l y ,s o c i a l l y , and c u l t u r a l l y , each movement contributes t o a new and marked democratization ofnuminous experience i ns o c i e t y . Second, both movements represent attempts t o fashion new s t r u c t u r e s of s o c i a l cohesion, under the guise of sacred communities . In doing so however, both a r e distinguished by t h e i rworld-wide v i s i o n . In t r u eg l o b a l i s t i c manner they have consciously sought t o transcend conventional denominational, n a t i o n a l , and et h n i c boundaries. As i n t e r n a t i o n a l i s tmovements they have adapted t o current g e o p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t i e s and trendsand taken f u l ladvantage ofthe new means ofmass communication and t r a v e l ,a s well as mechanisms and forums f o rc u l t u r a l exchange. Third, a tthe heart of each movement i sa strong focus on the task and means of s p i r i t u a lhealing, both ofthe mind and ofthe body. Underlying t h i spreoccupation with the well-being ofthe individual i sa common h o l i s t i c beliefi n the interconnectedness of s p i r i tand matt er, the mind and the body, the individual and the community, and the sacred and the profane. Fourth, both groups are geared t o the a r r i v a l ofa new a ge. Their b e l i e f s and p r a c t i c e s are a l lpremised on elaborate eschatologies, though New Agers usually promote a kind of s o f t apocalypticism whereby the world w i l lbe suddenly changed f o r the b e t t e r as a r e s u l tof some c o l l e c t i v es p i r i t u a le f f o r t , while the Pentecostal-Charismatic revival adheres t oB i b lical prophecy and thus i sf a rl e s s sanguine about the prospects ofthe modem world . Fifth and l a s t l y , both movements display an a n t i i n s t i t u t i o n a l and decentralized c h a r a c t e r . Loose organizational s t r u c t u r e s , resembling networks f a rmore than t r a d i t i o n a lbureaucracies, ar et y p i c a l ofboth movements and the primary locus of authoritytends t obe the individual and h i s or her i n t e r i o rexperience,judged i nt h e l i g h t ofi t spragmatic f r u i t sf o rthe individual and humanity.3
3Dawson, 1998: 146, 147

110

I n common with Stone, Westley and Campbell, Lucas l a t e rnoted how these fea tures l i n kboth these movements t o some long-standing themes of American r e l i g i o u sl i f e : a messianic view of t h en a t i o n , and ethos of individualism and egalita r i a n i s m ,at r a d i t i o n ofrevivalism, and a preference f o r pragmatism t h a te n t a i l s be l i e fi nthe r e c o n c i l i a t i o n ofthe r e l i g i o u s and the s c i e n t i f i c worldviews.4

4 Lucas, 1995:207, 208

1 1 1

A PPEN D IX D:

Schematic differences between modernism and postmodernism proposed by Hassan (1975,

1985):

Modernism Romanticism/Symbolism Form (conjunctive, closed) Purpose Design Hierarchy Mastery/logos Art o bject/finis hed work Distance C r e a t i o n / t o t a l i z a t i o n /synthes is Presence Centring Genre/boundary Semantics Paradigm Hypotaxis Metaphor Selection Root/depth I n t e r p retation /reading Signified Li s i b l e( r e a d e r l y ) Narrative/grande histoire Master code Symptom Type G e n i t a l / p h a l l i c Paranoia Origin/cause God the Father Metaphysics Determinacy Transcendence

postmodernism Paraphysics/Dadaism Antiform ( d i s j u n c t i v e , open) Play Chance Anarchy Exhaustion/silence Process/performance/happening P a r t i c i p a t i o n Decrea tion/detota l i z a t i on / a n t i t h e s i s Absence Dispersal T e x t / i n t e r t e x t Rhetoric syntagm Parataxis Metonymy Combination Rhizome/surface Against interpretation/misreading S i g n i f i e r S c r i p t i b l e( w r i t e r l y ) Anti-namlwdpetite histoire I d i o l e c t Desire Mutant Polymorphous/androgynous Schizophrenia Difference-difference/trace The Holy Ghost Irony Indeterminacy Immanence5

5Hassan, 1985 in Harvey, 1989: 43.

112

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