ii. Ideological residence and practice
- Interviews 2009-2010
- i. Background and relationships
- ii. Ideological residence and practice
- iii. Fate and laws of life
- iv. God or a larger, ordering entity
- v. Health, ill-health and care
- we. Faith and knowledge
- vii. Future visions and goals
- Summary i-vii
"That there are meanings that are bigger than what you can understand. Much like the ant doesn't know... the ant in Stureby doesn't know that Bandhagen exists."
What the interviewees say about how they practice their spirituality and in what ways it affects their lives and everyday life.
Inspirers
Important authors or founders of various thought systems mentioned by the interviewees are Madame Blavatsky, Alice Bailey, Laurency, Rudolf Steiner, Martinus, Paul Brunton and Aurobindo. These enjoy great respect as fully or partially "enlightened", that is to say that they were able to base their teaching or their teachings on insights that came to them in a supersensible way. The ancient philosopher Pythagoras is mentioned with respect: "Pythagoras was then a person who had reached beyond the limit of the human. And there are very few such people in history”. Several of these writers or thinkers have also laid the foundation for various movements, such as Theosophy, Hylozoicism and Anthroposophy. A couple of movements are mentioned without specifying a specific figure in the foreground, specifically the Rosicrucian Order and AMORC.
Other individuals mentioned are Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, the Hicks couple, Sanya Roman, Anna Bornstein, James Van Praagh, Benny Rosenqvist, the astronaut Edgar Mitchell, Jane Roberts, Sture Johansson, Brian Weiss, etc. These are active today as authors, teachers or mediums in this new spiritual or adjacent field. A special category of teachers are the souls who convey their knowledge via a human being, a so-called "channel", here on earth. Examples of such souls are Ambres, Set and Orin.
Among the contemporary fiction writers Marianne Fredriksson and Paulo Coelho are mentioned. From world literature, August Strindberg and Fyodor Dostoevsky are highlighted. The latter is mentioned by a couple of the respondents as an important and shocking acquaintance, above all for the questions he asks about how there can be a god when the world looks the way it does. Carl Gustav Jung is highlighted by several respondents, as someone whose psychological insights or image of man is close to the new spirituality. The originator of psychosynthesis, Roberto Assagioli, is also mentioned. Di Leva is a musician who in his lyrics often touches on thoughts that are found in the new spirituality.
Various forums
The spiritual view of life is nourished by the respondents through reading, or attending courses and lectures. The Aquarius bookstore in central Stockholm, which specializes in literature in this area, is mentioned by many as an important place where you can buy literature and get new inspiration. Another store in Stockholm is called Harmonikällan, where one of the respondents received good advice. A couple of the interviewees state that they belong to organizations that arrange regular meetings. One respondent goes on a retreat a couple of times a year. These retreats can be under Christian auspices as well as more newly spiritual. Moving between these different worlds is not perceived as a problem by the respondent.
A couple of different magazines are mentioned in the interviews: Sökaren and Ljusåret. Both are now closed. Today, the Internet and e.g. YouTube offer information and new impulses. An interviewee describes the people she has met sporadically at new spiritual talks as "very questioning people often, of themselves and of different things, so they are usually hungry, the ones I have met". About taking an interest in one of these spiritual writers, the same interviewee says:
It's no stranger than, for example, Sartre… or some people who are very interested in Sartre, or Elsa Beskow, or whoever, get together and talk about a writer or philosopher, and he has complicated issues that are very fun to discuss with others who thinking along the same lines.
Eclectic
Even if the informants have their main sympathies with a certain school of thought or author, they have often taken an interest in others in the past. Several of the respondents emphasize that they still read different authors. "So you sort of hear... That I'm mixing... I do exactly what I want, because I'm not bound by some guru here or some Buddhist direction there. But I do WHAT I WANT”. It is possible to find inspiration also in the Bible, for example, or in different communities, but it is important to be free at the same time:
And then we have to live here and now, we are HERE, we are not... This was over two thousand years ago, so... nah. But at the same time, it's the same thing... I say, there is always something good in the Bible, and there is always something good in most contexts, communities, or whatever it is. And that's it, a bit... I've picked a bit of each, I think, as I like.
One of the interviewees has gone through several phases. For a while she was involved in Buddhism. She says she kept the best bits from this and others:
I kept the best bits. Like Buddhism, I became very involved in around -98. And it's not a new-spiritual direction, although there are many... it's kind of become a bit new-spiritual anyway, with this thing with celebrities and a lot of stuff... Dalai Lama and all that... And then I found Set huh, and it turned up and down to everything huh. I thought, wow, like this, so it's one of my favorites. Then I have other favorites too. But he's always followed along as well.
The same interviewee believes that the author Eckhart Tolle, with his border-crossing message, is someone who attracts many who are like herself:
And you can say he is this enlightened almost, he is so wise, he brings so much... He has helped a lot of people with... So he has a kind of spiritual philosophy, which goes beyond all religious boundaries and everything... So he bring many people with them who are like me... That they are free, they don't want to get stuck in something, right? But they want to understand more like who they are, how to improve themselves, how to grow spiritually and so on, and so on.
Serious studies
Taking an interest in the new spirituality can be stressful. Partly because the teaching encompasses enormous perspectives, in both time and space, and partly because the law of reincarnation and karma puts the individual's actions and own responsibility in focus in a new way. An interviewee emphasizes how this working with oneself based on a new spiritual worldview is something different than turning to the church with one's concerns. New spirituality does not offer forgiveness of sins in the traditional sense. It is not enough to "drink a little wine at communion":
That you might dare to think the thought to... not just PLAY with it... but think the thought that maybe I will be reborn, and that the stupid things I've done now I may have to learn from... So it's not a world view to rest in , but it is a worldview to work with.
One of the respondents has studied a particular branch of the new spirituality for many years but still does not want to say that he has fully mastered it:
I haven't found any evidence... something that refutes the hylozoic theses, one might say. But I'm still... So the hylozoic system is huge, extensive and intricate... so complex. And I still don't master the whole system, after studying it for twenty years.
The neo-spiritual worldview is demanding, as it demands that the individual himself actively takes responsibility for his own development: "You don't just get it for free when you die." Here, the Christian expression the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom fits, says the interviewee:
Godliness is the beginning of wisdom. It's such a classic Christian thing... So, if I may reinterpret it a little according to my interpretations, I really believe that if there is something in the existential questions, then they are so truly enormous, that the first reaction... it is healthy if it is that you get scared.
However, this is a line of reasoning that he does not agree with in circles that are very into new age and the like, he says.
Ideal approach
The interviewees are not interested in trying to impose their thoughts on others. This more restrained approach is contrasted with how the traditional religions used to try to win followers, with crusades and demands for conversion. The interviewees share a belief that people, when they are ripe for this, will want to acquire this knowledge themselves. The new spirituality certainly offers answers to the big questions, but these are not something that people can be convinced of prematurely. Tolerance for other opinions is central and people should be free to believe what they want.
The ideal way of being is stated in several cases with reference to the "golden rule" of Christianity, that you should treat others as you yourself wish to be treated. Having a pacifist attitude is natural. Progress and change must not be achieved via agitation or revolution: "It is better to be for peace than against war". One respondent describes how she tries to see something good in everyone, even if they have hurt her in some way:
If I live like Jesus, then I will have a good life. But if I don't get it right, then life gets a bit messed up... If you can't be loving and humane in all situations, there will be a little friction on the thread everywhere. You get a bit of a disagreement, it becomes a bit of a difficult situation.
Understanding oneself and cooperating with others is very complex, emphasizes one of the interviewees:
It's like a thicket in the psyche itself, what... Is this my opinion, or is it the opinion of the herd. What... When do I have contact with... Yes, with... Who I am... Or is it in and of itself, there is... There are so many such questions. But this ambivalence that happens in almost all communications, all attitudes, all personal presentation, it interests me terribly.
Some individuals may experience difficulties or enjoy freedoms that we do not think they deserve. However, we are here on earth for different reasons. Each person follows an individual plan that is adapted to him or her. Understanding this can make us more cautious in judging others:
Yes, no, but that you shouldn't compare yourself to others, that there are those who are much richer, and much happier, and much bigger houses, and much nicer cars, and so on, that they... Everyone has THEIR burdens, that's I am completely convinced. And then everyone has different reasons for being HERE too. So that, well... You can't judge, or you shouldn't, at all.
The interviewees strive to be able to contribute to a more peaceful and more humane world with their thoughts and actions. It is desirable to try to "live in the present" and not mourn what has been. Here, the neo-spiritual view of life can be of great help, because it explains how there is an underlying meaning to everything that happens and that everything will be fine in the end.
Like my grandmother, she always said something that I thought was good, I still think it's good... Do something good for someone every day, something, it doesn't have to be something big. Make sure to laugh every day. And pray every day. The three things she said. And I think that's good, and it's kind of how I live.
One of the interviewees reflects on a difficult relationship with a close relative:
If I were like Jesus, for example, and so safe and so stable and like this, then it wouldn't concern me. It's something that I still have to work with, and learn to deal with that, and still feel good.
Regarding the reporting in the media about environmental problems, one respondent says:
And now I don't want to join those who say there are no problems at all, because I don't think so. But I think about all the environmental alarms that have come, and then I think about how much has gone quite well, so people have learned to be environmentally friendly, and so on. So I think… I'm an optimist.
There may also be times when you need to stand up for yourself and act in a more determined way. It can be about ending a love relationship that is no longer experienced as rewarding or simply demanding a better room in a hotel.
One of the interviewees reserves himself against an overly optimistic approach:
So that I am absolutely not as optimistic as... So from the big perspective very optimistic... but from the like more concrete smaller perspective then I am not as optimistic as a new ageare is... that it is like we should just embrace each other, and that is lovely, and the future is just lovely and so, I don't share that, unfortunately.
Although the neo-spiritual thoughts explain that everything happens for a purpose and that deep down there is no reason to be upset, this is not always easy to live up to, or even something to strive for:
I'm thinking that, it's not like I'm putting up with difficult experiences for this. I don't accept that there were concentration camps, I don't accept that when I had close relatives who died of cancer, for example. It's nothing that I make peace with, and think that it will work out, because it was so and so. But I think it was absolutely terrible.
Self-care, meditation, etc
Several of the interviewees say that they meditate regularly and how this practice is important to them. There are different forms of meditation. One of the respondents mentions "light body meditation", which involves the individual taking care of aspects of their inner self via guided exercises:
I started with some ordinary simple relaxation CD, with Uneståhl, guided meditations which I also tried. Then I tried regular stillness meditation, where you just sit quietly and try to still your mind and not think and so on. Then yes then I have... What comes next? Yes, then there was this light body course then.
Meditating in a group can enhance the effect. One of the respondents previously visited the Swedish-Tibetan School and Culture Association: "They had, they don't have anymore, but they had meditations where you sat in groups, and it's very cool to do that. It will be a much stronger experience". Prayer is mentioned as a way to get into better balance. You don't have to be religious in the traditional sense to use this. "HoloSync" is the name of a method for personal development that involves the individual listening in headphones to audio files with a specially composed content. Listening to these audio files in a certain order causes new neural pathways to form:
Yes, you get very quickly and deeply in this method, with HoloSync. It's very cool. And then it works so that there is a stress on the brain so that it... I don't know how much this is true, but according to those who have developed it that way, the brain is forced to build new, what shall we say, nerve pathways or neural pathways simply.
The power of thought
It is possible to use the laws and principles of karma consciously to create the life the individual desires. This is based on how the individual himself creates both lack and abundance in his life depending on his inner state: "That you yourself create your own lack. And that you can create your own abundance yourself, through an inner orientation, in some way".
The phenomenon is mentioned in the Bible, as "he who has, let him get, and he who does not have, let him also get rid of what he does not have". It is also possible to mentally attract or draw people or, for example, material things, regardless of distance. This is an application of the new spirituality which is currently popular and which is referred to as the "Law of Attraction", or in Swedish "tildragningslagen". Another phenomenon in the same genre is "The Secret", or "Hemligheten" as it is called in Swedish. One respondent tells us that in addition to the literature that describes the highest principles of existence, she also feels a need to read books that are more tangible. While the former books are described as "maps", the latter are more like "handbooks".
Now I read a lot... how you can kind of fix your thinking... All thoughts are about chemistry, about how to mix, that you can get the wrong effects, if you mix the wrong actions or the wrong thinking. So from what I understand, it is precisely with the power of thought itself, and it is very threatening in the new age.
How you deal with your thoughts and desires is likened to a kind of "chemistry". This is something you can practice and get better at:
How to set the thoughts and that... that all thoughts are about chemistry, about how to mix, that you can get the wrong effects, if you mix the wrong actions or the wrong thinking... To get away from certain given thought patterns, which drag you down, to try be active, and that you CAN learn to think in other ways. And that you can sort of try to adjust to such thoughts that feel more pleasant than sinking into these bad ones.
Affirmations are phrases with a positive, supportive message that the person repeats out loud to themselves. This is an effective method for bringing about changes, for example in one's self-image and self-esteem. Such affirmations are personally designed and focus on things that the person needs to improve on: "It's like a mantra, I say this to myself... I say it once. Then it can happen that if I feel like it, I say it more times. But usually it happens once, in the morning then". Such focusing thoughts can also be embodied in a more concrete way, by the person making a collage of images that depict what they wish to realize, for example material prosperity. The interviewee says that she wrote down certain wishes and selected suitable pictures that she arranged on the door of her refrigerator:
Some Chinese sign for happiness, and tarot cards that mean happiness, and then I have pictures of me and my children, that we are holding each other and are happy, and then I have friends and joy, and then I have some brides and grooms like this, because I'm going to get married too, I've thought, sometime again... So it's a vision like this. This is how I want it to be in the future then. Those are my goals as well.
Animal rights and vegetarianism
Having a vegetarian diet is something that goes without saying for the respondents. This is not primarily for health reasons, but for humanitarian, pacifist reasons. That the respondent does not want to "participate in murder". From one perspective, animals are equal to humans and it is therefore wrong to kill them and use them as food:
We actually raise animals. Is it okey? ... We raise cows, we raise lambs, we raise fish. And then we kill them. Imagine if there was a superhuman like this who started growing people and then ate them.
Man easily overestimates his importance, with the result that he thinks he has the right to misbehave with animals:
But there is greatness in all people, and in all creatures, even animals. It's also something that I think... is that animals have, well all living things really, have a bigger soul and reason than you think. The greatness of man is not so great.
We need to learn to consider the whole of creation. Succeeding in this is something worth striving for: “But there are plants and animals, and even matter, that is... minerals and everything. If you see it as a part of God and treat it accordingly, we get a really nice person".
In a plant there is some degree of almost dormant awareness. But there are still... yes man... there have been experiments where you can measure that the plant senses things and such. And animals, we know that, they are quite highly developed... to varying degrees of course, depending on the animal species. But mammals, for example, can have very well developed emotions, and even some intelligence and such.
Those who are vegetarian today are seen as pioneers. Sticking to a vegetarian diet also helps to purify the individual spiritually. This goes hand in hand with not using drugs. Coffee is an exception:
Coffee is perfectly fine, but there are some who may question it... But my intellectual work /laughs/ requires coffee. And then it's good too, so there's a bit of a borderline case, you could say. But I mean, coffee is also a form of drug, in a way, it's a stimulant. Yeah…
Diffusion work
One respondent tells us that she sent a letter to the church in the town where she lives and made comments that the priests should reevaluate their view of "sin". According to the respondent, the doctrine of human sinfulness is a misunderstanding. An interviewee writes his own texts, with spiritually marked reflections and thoughts, and tries to get these published.
Motives for standing up
Several of the interviewees state that the reason they chose to participate in this study is that they think it would be good if these ideas were better known, especially in higher education:
Yes, I felt hit and my spontaneous thought is that it is good if such questions are illuminated in the academic world as well, the more the better, that is my opinion... I see it as a very rigid world, and if such here thoughts can be rubbed in there as well, I think that is positive... If you want to dampen your ego, it is dangerous to sit and talk like I have done. But I have taken as an excuse that I want to take every straw to get such thoughts into the academic world.
One of the respondents has suffered from long-term depression, which she received help with in traditional care. However, she wishes that these spiritual thoughts would have more influence there:
So I have a lot of experience with traditional care. And of course want the spiritual part in there much, much more... If I can be of help, I would like to join and help bring it in somehow. Because what I say might spark a little seed in someone. So it can spin on. That's what I thought.
Participating in the study is perceived as a way of making these lines of thought a little more well-known:
No, but in this case it's about you expressing a genuine interest, you're investigating this area, and then I think that... Then I'd like to contribute to it. I would like to spread information and knowledge about this, which is something that is lacking and is in very little demand. So it's commendable that you actually want to know.
One of the interviewees sees signs that a breakthrough for the neo-spiritual perspectives may be underway and that her participation may be valuable:
So I think a lot is happening now at the grassroots level that is not visible. But it may appear there, if there happens to be someone who will write about it later, in turn. They can sometimes do that about essays, so it's good that it shows. Because there is a lot going on.
What it should be called
None of the respondents like the term "new age". It is a name associated with much that is bad. Nowadays, new age has "become a label on EVERYTHING". One respondent believes that the concept of new age has been damaged and that she, for her part, prefers to speak of "spiritual development". One respondent thinks that new age sounds "a bit superficial" and associates it with health fairs, with tarot cards and where money is to be made and people who claim to see things which are impossible to verify: "[New age] doesn't feel serious enough, I think. I am in the process of exploring what life is all about". New age is "rather badly used... tattered... one stupidity after another". "I think it's the wrong expression... Because new age has been around for almost a hundred years now".
One of the interviewees associates new age with modern superstition, which can still fill a need: "Krimskrams and superstition... modern superstition. Which I think is a deplorable phenomenon, and which unfortunately ruins the reputation of serious thinking, and serious truth-seeking. But which also fulfills a need, so of course that…”.
Also the term "new spirituality" is perceived as problematic: "New" in relation to what? Here the concept collides with the view that this spirituality actually has roots far back in human history. "New spirituality is a concept that I personally would never put my name under. Because it is associated with so much strangeness and superstition which, yes, is very foreign to me”.
The division into esotericism and exotericism is mentioned, and the new spirituality is described as a hitherto hidden doctrine, an esotericism, which has only been made public in our time. One respondent describes the approach he is interested in as "very old thinking, and which we also see as quite a bit of the core of the various world religions then as well". The fact that this knowledge has so far been hidden is explained by the fact that humanity has so far not been ripe for it. Support for this point of view can be found in the Bible: "Well, traditionally, in different directions, you have also distinguished those who have been ready for the inner esoteric teaching. While the public may not have been. Paul, for example, says that he distinguishes between giving milk and giving meat". One of the respondents has perceived that booksellers have begun to categorize literature in this area as "esotericism". The esoteric teachings, though different on the surface, are consistent:
And to a superficial observer they may seem contradictory and completely different from each other. But if you look deeper than that, that they have arisen in different times, in different cultures, different contexts, then they are basically... that's how they express... they describe the same reality. But they do it in different ways, they have different symbols... often it's symbolic language, a lot, huh. And if you interpret the symbols correctly, you see that a unified worldview emerges, which unites the various esoteric traditions here. And it's all from Greece, here in the West then... and yes it has also existed... Christianity also has an esoteric tradition. The Gnostics, who were opposed by the church of course. And in Islam there is a Sufi tradition that is esoteric. And in India there is... India has a very strong esoteric tradition. And even Buddhism is esoteric to its core and origin. And even in ancient China there have been esoteric teachers and traditions.
"It's a bit important to define what new age is, it's very broad. I mean, there's crystal healing and aroma therapy and finding the shaman within you and stuff that I might not... I'm not interested in THAT part". What an interviewee wants to call himself: "Seeker, free thinker... That's what Strindberg did, he called himself a free thinker, that's quite nice. Seekers and free thinkers I would probably say. And I don't like going into groups, and belonging to certain groups like that". The prefix "alternative", as in alternative spirituality, is also problematic. In the request, it had said "alternative answers" and one of the respondents jokes about this: "Alternative answers... How are the ordinary answers then?" One respondent calls himself spiritual in short: “I say I am spiritual... I use spiritual. Then what that means, I don't know".
What the interest in the new spirituality gave
A deepened sense of life, a certainty that life is bigger and more complex than it may seem on the surface: "That there are meanings that are bigger than what you can understand. Much like the ant doesn't know... the ant in Stureby doesn't know that Bandhagen exists". People can largely solve their problems on their own. Through studies and self-reflection, it is possible to get to the bottom of many of your problems. Gaining knowledge about how experiences from past lives influence, both theoretically and practically, is effective.
The idea of reincarnation means that many gloomy feelings can be counteracted or completely overcome. A new spiritual view of life means that we don't have to fear death, or mourn those who have passed away in the same way as if they were gone forever. Especially not as the new spirituality explains that life on the "other side" is very pleasant and there is also the possibility of getting in touch with friends and relatives who have crossed over there. One respondent talks about taking care of his father when he contracted cancer. She expresses that it was very difficult, but that her spiritual perspective made the situation easier to bear:
So I was with him. He lived with me recently, and nurses like these came home then and took care of him, because mother couldn't bear it. So he lived with me until the last fortnight, when he went in. And then he died, because he had liver cancer. But it was... So it was incredibly difficult, because it was my father, but at the same time it was a... I am very grateful for that, because I could see this in him... It was like a light from the other side which sort of shined through more and more huh.
Another interviewee has had similar experiences at a close relative's deathbed:
Because when he was lying there fighting, it probably took a day as he had a really hard time then. And then when he died... So I looked at him, it was just a shell. I didn't go over and touch him like this, no he wasn't there. He was gone. So the soul had disappeared, and there lay an empty shell, totally uninteresting. I got that feeling. And the others were standing there clapping for him but me, but no, he wasn't there. I try to talk to him in a different way now then.
Respondents talk about how they got rid of the stress and anxiety that previously plagued them. Even worries about personal finances have disappeared, as it is possible to have confidence that everything will work out in the end. Someone tells about how today she feels braver, more stable and secure in herself, dares to challenge life and take new paths, for example to leave a destructive or stagnant love relationship when necessary. One of the respondents opposes the fact that so many young people today are diagnosed with burnout. These can then spend many years in therapy. An interviewee has been in a similar situation herself, but says that it was by realizing how a turning point must come from her own strength that she managed to improve her well-being. The fact that she went ashore with this herself without hiring a therapist meant that this feeling of being able to cope with problems on her own became strong.
One of the interviewees talks about how, at a young age, she ended up in a difficult life crisis. After a long night, when her thoughts were just spinning in her mind, she got a beautiful vision. She wrote a poem based on this vision. Then it turned around. She says that later in life she has been able to feel a little depressed for periods, but never again like that time. An interviewee says that through her studies she gained a greater understanding of why it is so difficult with love relationships, why men and women are the way they are. Another interviewee expresses that she has matured as a person, which has had positive effects on her relationships with others, including her children. One of the respondents tells how he got out of a difficult life crisis on his own. The first phase was to really get to the bottom of who he was, to be able to see his dark sides. Then, with the help of the thoughts of reincarnation and karma, he was able to reorient himself. These two basic ideas together form a unit with great explanatory power and logic, the respondent believes, the "key" that makes it actually possible to answer the big questions about existence, why fate takes shape as it does, etc. Together they explain the nature and meaning of suffering. One of the respondents who came into contact with these thoughts in adulthood says:
So it's actually fifteen years then that I have... this development has... Yes, it's gone very well... Yes, I look at people differently. I have no anxiety whatsoever, I feel very little stressed. I used to worry a lot about my finances, but I don't at all anymore. I've kind of learned that it works out and so what.
One respondent tells us that her worldview changed dramatically when she began to recover memories of past lives. The conviction that we only live one life has disappeared: “Put away. Actually, I'm surprised I'm not more dazed than I am. I'm dazed. But it's such a big change that you just kind of... huh. I thought this was it, and science and stuff like that". When asked what the interest in the new spirituality has given, one respondent answers:
Yes, the desire to live on... if I end my life voluntarily now by jumping from the Katarina elevator, or chew up all the sleeping pills I have, and so on, I will still end up in the same situation next life, and the next and the next, until I have learned me that it's wrong… you're on the wrong path. So that what I put off today will come tomorrow anyway. Then it's just as well to try to find life's real... the real substance, what makes life worth living.