Even the most proud and dedicated New Ager may never talk to others about his or her belief system. We spiritual idealists are a “live and let live” bunch. We don’t impose our views on people, we see faith and belief as a private matter. We could actually live next door to another New Ager, or work at the next cubicle, or sit on the same bench at our kids’ Little League games week after week -- and never even know it.
Our reticence to identify ourselves means that most New Age-style believers, unless they live in Sedona or belong to a particular group, miss out on the life-enriching experience of belonging to a spiritual community. I grew up going to the Vermont Avenue Church of Christ every Sunday, and all these many years since leaving the church, I feel the loss of fellowship. But how silly to feel so alone when there are so many of us with the same set of ideals, the same hopes and dreams.
We need to ask ourselves, is it really best to forsake the warmth of companionship on the journey, or support and encouragement when the road gets rough? Answering for myself, I say no. True, many New Agers are independent and do well on their own. But just because one can be comfortable in isolation doesn’t mean it is wise. Community is about more than just companionship. It’s also our most effective means of gaining self-knowledge, which is the foundation of all spiritual growth.
We can sit in meditation for years, watching our own thoughts, and still be relative strangers to ourselves. But spend time with other people, and our deepest thoughts, feelings, insecurities and judgments rise up almost immediately. Our interaction with other people serves as our clearest mirror. I don’t know how many times I have been uncertain how I feel about an issue or event until I hear myself explaining it to someone else. Through interaction with others, we come to know our own minds.
In Buddhism, the community of believers is known as a sangha. I read somewhere that sangha is like a bag of barley, the husks fall away and the grains rub together, polishing each other. In community, we help each other become “more” ourselves -- that is, more soul, less ego, thanks to a group interaction that prevents the ego from puffing up on too much of its own thoughts.
We also gain access to wisdom through other members of the group. No matter what challenges we face, there is always someone who has been through something similar and can provide insight or help us see things from a different perspective. The more people we talk to people about our spiritual questions, the more we will avoid getting lost in error, and the more we will stay focused on what’s real. Beyond that, a community allows us to encounter others who are further along the path, others who can inspire us by showing us what a life aligned with spirit looks like.
How to create community
We need spiritual community in order to truly grow in spirit. But we ‘spiritual but not religious’ are unlikely to find much of it unless we take on a common identity -- a New Age identity -- and make it a point to connect with each other.
Identify Yourself
- When spiritual subjects come up in conversation, talk about what you believe and what the New Age means to you. You might stumble across fellow New Agers in the most unexpected places. And even if you don’t, since so few people even know what the New Age stands for other than the pop culture connotation of “woo-woo stuff,” you might be surprised how many people are curious and are eager to talk about it and ask questions.
- Wear a New Age t-shirt or emblem. Or, sport a New Age bumper sticker on your car.
Reach Out to Others
Join or start a circle. New Age thinkers have long advocated “circles” as the most powerful way to gather and support spiritual growth. Claudia Horwitz, in her book The Spiritual Activist, says circles are “small groups who gather regularly, with intention, to support each other, renew themselves spiritually, and explore areas of common interest.” (See her organization, Stone Circles, at http://www.stonecircles.org/)
But while the personal impact of a circle is considerable, and can even be life-changing, circles are meant to have an impact beyond the personal. According to Jean Shinoda Bolen in the Millionth Circle, these small gatherings are based on a simple hypothesis: “When a critical number of people change how they think and behave, the culture does also, and a new era begins.”
Bolen suggests that when enough circles are convened as spiritual centers of peace and growth and love, then, like ripples reaching out and intersecting in a million directions, we will be able to transform the fabric of society and be able to truly create a world that works for everyone.
- A circle can be a basic meeting for silent prayer or conversation on spiritual topics. Or, you could form a circle with a particular activity, theme or goal. For example:
- A study circle or book circle that focuses on spiritual or progressive books.
- A movie club where you get to together to watch a spiritual movie or progressive documentary.
- A “New Church a Month” Club for spiritual explorers and seekers, where once a month you go visit a different church and soak in a new version of wisdom. Or, meet and try reading from a different holy book.
- Start a “Wine and Spirit” club -- get together with a bottle of wine and spiritual conversation. (If you prefer a more politically-oriented conversation with your alcohol, check out Drinking Liberally, a national group with local chapters where you can get together with other progressives for drinks and political talk. www.drinkingliberally.org)
- Start a “Serving Others” Group -- Get together with other New Age idealists to focus on service as a spiritual path. Organize fundraisers for charity of local families in need. Gather clothes and blankets for homeless shelters, or food for local food banks. Organize volunteers for civic projects, community clean up projects, youth after school activities or whatever else needs attention in your community.
- Start a New Age Politics Group -- Gather to help address issues of progressive politics, on both the local and national level. For instance, your group can join the fight to save a local stream or watershed in the spring, and work to elect a progressive candidate in the fall. Investigate what your government is doing. Locate your progressive representatives, then help them achieve their goals even as you enlist them to help you with yours.
For guidance on starting a group or circle, read Bolen‘s short and succinct how-to book, “The Millionth Circle” (http://www.millionthcircle.org/). Or, visit the Spirit In Action Web site to learn about their “Circles of Change” at www.spritinaction.net.
I would love to post a list of New Age groups. If you belong to a group you would like to have listed here, please e-mail me at teenabooth@newagepride.org.
Connect Through the Internet
The Internet is the single best community-creating medium since the invention of the town square. Get online, begin connecting with other spiritual idealists through Internet-based coalitions, groups and blogs. One of my favorite groups is a network that combines spirituality with political action. The Network of Spiritual Progressives boasts many local chapters. Visit www.spiritualprogressives.org.
If you can’t find a group that feels right to you, then start your own. To help you find or facilitate any group, visit Meet Up: a networking Web site, at www.meetup.org
Join an Established Spiritual Center
Connect with others at a Buddhist Temple or spiritually progressive church such as Unitarian Universalist, Unity, Church of Religious Science or Kabbalah Center. Many of the more mainstream Christian churches can be very liberal and a good place to discover other idealists. (See Progressive Christianity: http://www.religioustolerance.org/prog_chr.htm)
Express Yourself
A vibrant community is full of colorful individuals. Community is not meant to make you more like everyone else, but to create a safe place in which to discover and become more yourself. In the process, you enrich the community, and make it more inviting for others.
William Ernest Hocking, an early 20th century idealist, said is our duty to “universalize thyself; that is, consider thyself a unique being, having a view of reality granted to no other, which is thy destiny to express. Express this latent idea, make thy private feeling or intuition of the world the universal sense; incorporate it in action… revising a law, painting a picture, building an arch, educating a child; acting in such wise that your deposit of truth finds its way into the universal current of life.”
Creativity is of course a spiritual path in itself, bringing the artist or creator to confront many aspects of themselves. Through creation we learn to step out of linear rational thought and exercise other parts of our psyche. We learn to identify and listen to our intuitions, and gain insight into “spirit.“
But beyond its importance to individual growth, art is above all a community event, meant to be a shared communication between artists and audience. Stories, plays, movies, paintings, even blog posts -- all can stir emotions, foster compassion and help reveal greater truths through changes in perspective. Expressing yourself in a group or public forum invites others to interact with you and each other.
- Write a letter to the editor-- The most read section of the newspaper
- Start a blog, even if just your friends and family check in, you can connect them to the larger world through other blogs
- Launch your own radio show
- Start a newsletter or magazine
For information on how to find your voice and get it out there, go to www.bethemedia.com
Go to Feed Your Head: Study & Knowledge.
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