tâm linh webtretho

1. New Age Spirituality is all about getting back your power. Not that you ever lost it. Sometimes you gave your power away, misplaced it, or forgot you had power in the first place. ™ And why does the term: "New Age Spirituality"... seem to bother some religious leaders, especially leaders of the Christian faith? After all, we are in a new age: The Age of Aquarius. The concept of an Age exists within ancient spiritual traditions, and lasts 2000 years. It denotes a change process, occurring during those 2000 years, for the evolution of consciousness, for the good of all. The energy which entered this plane over 2000 years ago, at the beginning of what astrology calls the Piscean Age...was Agape (brotherly and sisterly love) - love of one human being for another, simply because each is worthy of love and part of the same human family. That energy is only now being accepted in any general manner. It has taken us the entire Age for us to "get it." Christ brought this love-energy to our world over 2000 years ago, and we humans have been working on it ever since. We are just beginning to open, to sisters and brothers everywhere. And now that The Age of Aquarius is finally here...maybe we have developed that critical mass of love-energy that is needed for this New Age Spirituality. This time, the message expands to, "not only are we brothers and sisters...we are one." The Piscean Age taught us, we are all connected; we must love one another as ourselves. The "other" is an illusion. You and I are one consciousness, reflected in an infinite rainbow of seeming difference. All is one. The Age of Aquarius is referred to as the "New Age," but there is nothing new about it. It is simply an evolution in human thinking. "New Age" thinking, asks that each person take responsibility for everything that happens in life...because everything in life is connected. We must learn to love ourselves; for out of love for one's self, comes love for others. The person who is bound by a negative image, wallowing in self-doubt, does not permit time or energy to really care about anyone else. When we confront ourselves, and understand the causes for our feelings of hatred and anger, we can change the feelings...or even let them go. This involves taking responsibility for what we feel; becoming Tâm linh Việt Nam more consciously aware of why we feel what we do. In doing so, we are expanding our conscious awareness. To use a New Age term- we are "raising our consciousness" about our unconscious perceptions of who we are, and how we are behaving. Peace for the world begins with peace within ourselves. The biggest hurdle is learning how to create that inner peace and balance. The best way to inner peace...is to go within. How do you go within? You meditate. If prayer is talking to God, (Divine Intelligence, Source, Creator or whatever word you prefer to use) then "meditation" is the art of listening to God, while in an altered state of consciousness. By going within, you connect with your God-Source, and you can receive all the answers to any question about your life that you might pose. This is what gives you back your power. For truly, you are a child of God, and as a child of God...a co-creator, One with the Infinite. You do not need a priest or a minister to intercede for you. And that scares your religious leaders. They recognize that you no longer need them in the same way you did in the past. They also recognize; they can no longer control you, through guilt or fear. Is it any wonder the words, or the

2. concept of New Age Spirituality frightens religious leaders? There is no doubt: We have left the Piscean Age, symbolized by the sign of the fish...and have entered the Aquarian Age symbolized by the water bearer. It is time to take back your power. It is time to remember you had it all along. ART AND SPIRITUALITY What is the relationship between art and spirituality? We know there is one, but can we articulate it? An artist might say he is dedicated to his art. Does that connote spirituality? Is the art his spiritual path? Many would not take him seriously - yes, one honors the artist's choice to dedicate himself to art. But dedication to one's work does not necessarily a spiritual path make. Or does it? "I'm dedicated to my art." Pshaw, many would say, and, don't take it so seriously. Besides, one knows very well that art cannot take the place of a divine Creator. Where is God in all this? For many dedicated artists, God does not exist, or at best his or her or its existence is in question. Are those artists spiritual? Can one be spiritual and not believe in a divine Creator? One can have character. One can have scruples and be a solid citizen. Is that spiritual? I would think so. But is it spirituality? Is it a spiritual path? Maybe. Maybe not. Does dedication to a profession make a spiritual path? Not all artists are professionals. Making money has nothing to do with it. One might say that the professional artist has dedicated himself to art in the way a monk, priest, or nun has dedicated him or herself to God. Here one must look at the love of the profession as overriding the need to make money. Here, strangely or not so strangely enough, the profession of artist and that of the clergy collide. To have extraordinary passion for ones work: Is that not spiritual? But is it spirituality? And again, what about God? What to do here: Define art and define spirituality and see if they have anything in common, see what they have in common and how closely they resemble each other. For this task, the widest definition of art would be desirable. And so for spirituality, the widest definition. I'll begin with art. Art is the embodiment of life, that which is real, that which contains the primary forces of consciousness: vision, essence, and flow. Anyone who embraces life can make art. That's what art is about: embracing life and making art of that. Artists are human, just like anyone else. They don't always embrace life. But in their art, they have learned how to. The art reflects where they have embraced life. "The path of the heart," to quote Castenada's Don Juan. What is spirituality? It is the embracing of life. The spiritual path is the path that allows us to do that more and more. Art is the result of spirituality. Do you doubt this? Is the result of living a spiritual life that you are closer to God, more pious, more holy? Or is the result that you are more alive and real and full of consciousness? Faith, ritual, and acts of goodness and virtue contribute. But that in itself does not connote spirituality. We know very well that belief in God does not in itself make a saint. In some sad instances, it can propel a sinner to do much harm.

3. The true artist is one who cultivates a spiritual path, at least in his art. This is why artists feel such passion and devotion regarding their art: the creation of art becomes integral to the spirituality and spiritual path. While artists have their eye on the goal, or, one goal, which is to make art, others have their eye on living the spiritual life. They, too, I would maintain, produce art. It may or may not come in a marketable or tangible form. Nevertheless, it is there. To live a spiritual life is to live a creative life, a life that inevitably will produce art. Notice I said nothing about being religious. I said nothing about dogma. Religion is hollow without feeling, and feeling comes from the personal spiritual path, a path that can include religion but does not have to. What I say here may seem a bit odd, to equate the spiritual person with the creative artist. Let us recall that in other cultures at other times, often it was the holy man or woman who created icons of worship and taught others how to experience the divine. I talk of the shamans of old, and of ancient priests and priestesses. In our present western culture we have removed a lot of juice from holy rituals, beliefs, customs, and from religion. This is a mistake. Spirituality and art are bound together. You can't have one without the other. Thus, those artists who do not listen to their soul and respond suffer. And spiritualists who deny their creativity also suffer. Art and spirituality are one.