Joe Greenwell, 41
Phoenix AZ
Joe_Greenwell@hotmail.com
I never really began to consider whether I was indeed a New Ager until recently. Up until a few years ago, I had a pretty good idea what I wasn't, but not any
real definition of what I was.
I was raised Catholic, or I should say, was
made to go to our church every Sunday with my Dad. But I knew even then that
going to church had everything to do with form and appearence, and little to
do with anything else.
I guess there has to be someone who actually did get
something out of going there, but for me it was keeping a good mask. I always thought that the only
sincere and spiritual Catholic I ever knew was Father Mulcahey on M*A*S*H. I
think I still feel that way. In my family once you got your driver's
license you had a way to get out of the house on sundays, so therefore you
could get out of going to Mass.
From 16 to 26 years old I was a devout
materialist. if science couldn't answer the question, it wasn't worth
knowing. I would watch Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' and know that science would
give me my sense of purpose, my answers to the unknown.
Then at 26 I went
into rehab for a month, for various vague maladies. It was a 12-step based program, and while I didn't follow the steps to the letter (I
never was a good note taker in school) I did meet several people who had a
sense a Spirit with in them. It was the first time in my life that I
realized there was a difference between religion and spirituality. It was
the first time that I realized that there could be a power great than me,
and that I may not be alone on this path and where ever it leads me.
It was
also the first time I could say the word God and not feel a tightness in my
gut. It was the first time that the thought of a higher power could be a
good thing. In time I began to see that there could be a connection between
the inter-connectedness of science and this new spiritual energy that I was
beginning to sense within me.
My field of study at university was energy,
and it's distribution through out the world. I have been fascinated all my
life with energy in the material world. How much there was, what types,
where it was, how it worked. But with my new discovery of spiritual energy
I began to see a different form of energy, and in many ways much more
powerful.
I had previously only understood energy in terms like Millions of
Metric Tons, or Quadrillion BTUs, known as Quads. The U.S., for instance
might use something like 100 Quads of energy in a given year. A Quad is a
lot of energy. But very small amounts of spiritual energy can have much
greater impact. One can see even today, that if just a small amount of
gentuine spiritual energy was absorbed by just a few of the right people in power, it could save thousands of lives in the great American quest for energy in the form of petroleum in the Middle East.
I
now believe that all energy, down to the tiniest unit of measure is basically
the same. Down to the smallest particles, particles smaller than quarks and
beyond. The energy in a drop of oil or the energy in a drop of Spirit.
Energy can be put toward the goal of positive change, to make the world a
better place. Material energy can be created, used and recycled again in
and endless cycle for the health and spiritual well being of the planet,
Mother Earth.
Spiritual energy can be created and shared and created again
in an endless cycle for the health and well being of all of life on Mother
Earth. I have seen it happen in my life. I have seen the sharing of Spirit
between one another help the healing of those I met in rehab. I have seen it
change those I met in the years I studied and taught yoga.
Small groups of
people, in a safe place, sharing the energy of spirit with one another so
that the may all feel their power within grow. A spiritual village can
start out small, with just a few, but its energy potential is many times
greater. Our village is growing, and it's growing fast. This is indeed a new age
that we live in. A new age of potential, a new age of energy, a new age of
spirit. I'm greatful and proud to be alive in this new age.
I am proud to be a New Ager!
