The signature Muertos (2012, January 28) writes, referring to some of the foreground figures of new age, which have now reached middle age:

I suspect that what's going on is that New Age, now entering its third generation, has developed a theodicy. Now, this is a theological term, but it essentially means an explanation of the existence of evil – why bad things happen to good people. For some of those in the New Age milieu – Foster Gamble, David Icke, Whitley Strieber, Duncan Rhodes and others, all incidentally in middle age and with a long term involvement in the New Age milieu – an explanation is needed as why, if we've entered the Age of Aquarius, is the world less peaceful, equal and progressive than ever? Conspiracy theories offer such a theodicy – the New Age hasn't happened because evil people prevented it from happening (Muertos, January 28).

Vitz (1977) is on the same idea based on the promises that came with the so-called humanistic psychology:

Second, as people aged, they realized that many of the things thought necessary for self-actualization would not be attainable in their lives. Besides interpersonal disasters, there were career failures, serious health problems, and many other disappointments. The discrepancy between the promised "high" of the Maslovian self-actualization or Jungian individuation and the reality of their lives created a vast disappointment and "credibility gap." The belief that psychology could make you happy, that it was the answer, began to fade (Vitz, 1977, Kindle location 2231).