New Age
You’re walking down the street and see a small shop. It’s painted with blues, golds, and purples – much different to the mostly drab shops around it. Curious and with some spare time, you walk inside.
You immediately smell one or more of the incense or candles burning. You see candles, rocks, jewellery, books, clothing, candles, incense, and much, much more.
You have entered a New Age store.
So what is New Age and when did it start? What is it all about?
There is no concrete definition for what New Age is. However, it can be broadly described as large movement towards spiritual exploration and adding on additional beliefs to traditional religions.
New Age encompasses a lot of beliefs, ideas, and activities. It can also touch on a lot of subjects from astral to psychic to even new spiritual movements. Thus New Age isn’t probably something that should be easily disregarded.
The lovely thing about New Age beliefs is that they can often mesh easily with commonly held beliefs of the major religions. ‘New Agers’ often practice mainstream religion along with some of the ‘out there’ practices of New Age.
True, some beliefs go directly against others, but there is no denying a feeling of flexibility and acceptance.
New Age often incorporates some form of the mind-body-spirit awareness. Whether it comes in the form of alternative (or ‘natural’) medicines or the use of meditation for strengthening and focusing the mind, New Age beliefs and practices can offer a lot to any person without causing people to ‘betray’ their religion.
Start with the basics. When you walk into the store, look around. The first step to becoming more open-minded and informed is to not generalize or assume.
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