Pathways to the Spirit

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During the late sixties and early seventies, many Americans abandoned the churches that had been guiding our spiritual lives since this nation began. Mainstream Christianity, they felt, had grown out-of-touch with the needs of modern men and women. Although many became materialist (or what the religious right refers to as “secular humanist”) and abandoned any spiritual beliefs, others still felt the need for spiritual expression.

In those days, the dawning of the “age of Aquarius,” there weren’t many options outside the Judeo-Christian monopoly. Then Tim Leary’s friend, Richard Alpert, made his pilgrimage to India, quit dropping acid to take up meditation, changed his name Ram Das and extolled the virtues of meditation. With the publication of his book “Be Here Now.” America was off and running and Christianity was no longer the only game in town. The church finally had competition.

Since then, a broad range of spiritual practices has been brought under the broad umbrella of “the new age,” and anyone setting out on the journey of personal spiritual discovery has a kaleidoscope of beliefs and practices from which to borrow and choose. For the next couple of weeks we will be looking at some of these in an attempt to help sort out any confusion about what’s available for anyone attempting to choose a spiritual path.

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Wicca - Every year around Halloween the media becomes fascinated with the Wiccans. These are our modern day witches who celebrate life with rituals performed, usually outdoors, beneath the moon. But while the lore of Wiccanism may be witchy and evoke images of the dark ages, the practice these days has been somewhat adapted to fit into the modern world and to address modern issues like feminism and the ecology.

Wicca is probably the most well known of a variety of spiritual practices that fit into a broad category known as Neo-Paganism. In all cases, these are attempts to revise the nearly lost wisdom of pre-Christian European religious beliefs - with varying degrees of success.

Neo-Paganism, in general, is a goddess based religion. Here is a world where the creative principle is seen as being both male and female, with the god and the goddess both being necessary to maintain the balance of nature. It is the goddess that prevails, however, because her nurturing is seen as having the most profound influence upon us humans. It’s also an earth based religion, with rituals celebrating the cycles of life through honoring the effects the changing of the seasons has upon us.

Because of this, Wicca has been particularly attractive among those feminist who are disdainful of male-based Christianity but who, nevertheless, feel the need for a spiritual outlet. There are many all-female covens, where women come to celebrate the goddess (and their own sense of womanhood) without male influence. Wicca has also come to be practiced among a segment of the gay male population, whose covens are called “fairie circles.”

Although Wiccanism is often associated with devil worship, nothing could be further from the truth. To the Wiccan there is no devil, only the polarities of life. Light and darkness, male and female, winter and summer - all of the forces of nature are deified and animated with life.

For more on Neo-Paganism and Wicca read “Drawing Down the Moon,” by Margot Adler, “The Spiral Dance” by Starhawk or “Wicca” by Vivian Crowley.

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Native American Spirituality - There are very few within the New Age community who don’t at least pretend to pay homage to Native American beliefs. There is a rich lode to be mined here, but the path can be confusing for westerners - especially for those of us who believe that we should be working toward equality of the sexes.

Because each tribe (or nation) has its own beliefs, any summary of native spirit will be necessarily misleading. Like the neo-pagans, native spirituality is an earth honoring religion. Unlike neo-paganism, native beliefs at least seem to be male-dominated, a situation that many try to explain away and others attempt to rectify.

There are a couple of native rituals that non-natives regularly take part in. One is the pipe ceremony, the passing of a pipe around a circle while honoring all of God’s creations. The other is the sweat lodge, a ritualized cleansing of the body, mind and soul in sort of a primitive sauna. Both of these practices are extremely powerful and moving and are highly recommended for anyone whose mind open to experiencing a different culture on a very deep level. Women should be aware that many native groups will not allow them into a sweat lodge if they are in “moon time.”

For more information on Native American spiritual beliefs read “The Teachings of Don Juan” by Carlos Castaneda or “The Hopi Survival Kit” by Thomas E. Mails.

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Mahayana Buddhism - The Tibetan form of Buddhism is not so much a religion as it is a system of psychology. There is no god here, nor any concrete beliefs on the nature of the spirit. Buddhism is primarily concerned with healing the troubled mind and offers workable practices to accomplish this goal, all of which fit neatly into a Jungian scheme.

The Buddha was a man who was born with all of the difficulties that plague us all. After renouncing his birthright as a ruler (he was a prince), he spent years meditating on the nature of life and the mind before achieving enlightenment, which is seen as being the state of human perfection. According to the Buddhist, anyone can achieve enlightenment by following the examples set forth by the Buddha and those who followed him.

At this time, Tibetan Buddhism is still steeped in the culture and traditions of Tibet. For this reasons, many Americans find the system to be alien and a little difficult to grasp. But the tactics used are universal in scope and therefore highly adaptable, and many Tibetans are working on the problem of tailoring the practices to accommodate the western mind-set. Buddhism requires great patience. Healing a lifetime of destructive patterns can’t be accomplished in a single meditation session.

To learn more about Tibetan Buddhism read “How to Meditate” by Kathleen McDonald, “Essence of Refined Gold” by the third Dali Lama or “The Way to Shambhala” by Edwin Bernbaum.

NEXT: OTHER PATHS AND HOW TO CHOOSE ONE

In Part 1 of this article we began looking at some alternative approaches to celebrating life and spirit. We are understandably only hitting the high points, because these days there are so many options out there that I’m reminded of Parmahansa Yogananda’s saying that for as many souls there are as many answers - or words to that effect.

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Ceremonial Magick - Often called “the yoga of the west,” Ceremonial Magick attempts to blend what we know of the magical practices of ancient Egypt with aspects of eastern philosophy. Although most practitioners would trace their roots to The Order of the Golden Dawn, the ground-breaking, turn-of-the-century group founded by Wynn Westcott, MacGregor Mathers and the poet W.B. Yeats, the beliefs and practices draw heavily upon the works of Madame Blavatsky, who was largely responsible for bringing esoteric yogic practices to the West, as well as the Masons, who researched and recorded all things occult. The modern ceremonialist also incorporates the ideas of contemporaries like Timothy Leary and Carl Jung.

The magician finds more truth than fiction in Doctor Strange and Silver Surfer comic books. The physical universe is seen as being constructed by consciousness and it’s believed that, through careful manipulation of the mind, matter, energy, space and time can be made fluid. Here, travel through space and time is thought to be possible through mind power alone and elaborate rituals are performed to that effect.

Although there are some women practitioners, Ceremonial Magick is primarily a male-based system with many, if not most, groups being exclusively male. Coed groups tend to be dominated by the male members and, as a general rule, women feel uncomfortable with the energy raised through the rituals. This is, perhaps, due to the fact that Ceremonialists takes as the basis of their beliefs the Kabbalah, a system devised by the ancient Hebrew mystics which borrows heavily from the Jewish cosmology, arguably the most masculine system in the history of spiritual practices. It’s difficult to grow a gender neutral tree from a patriarchal root.

Ceremonial Magick is definitely not for everyone and should never be entered into lightly. The rituals practiced are extremely powerful and can have a profound effect on the unconscious. Israel Regardie, one of Magick’s biggest champions, said that anyone starting this practice should undergo therapy for at least one year. Pay attention to this - he knew what he was talking about.

For more information on Ceremonial Magick read Real Magick by Isaac Bonewits, Magick in Theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley or The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie.

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Hinduism - This is an extremely broad category as there are, literally, thousands of practices that can be brought under this heading. This category includes everything from the Hare-Krishnas, who offer free vegetarian dinners on college campuses across the country, to the writings and teachings of Ram Dass, the former Dr. Richard Alpert of Timothy Leary fame. Even Buddhism, although considered to be a separate religion, could be brought under this banner since it was originally an outgrowth of Hindu practices.

Hinduism is concerned with meditation and the different styles or types of practices are the different forms of yoga. Like the Buddhist, the Hindi attempts to work around the mind/body split through training designed to make the practitioner aware of the inter-relatedness of the entire human being. The goal of these practices falls under the catchphrase “expanded consciousness,” a deeper awareness of your part in the world in which you live. The practice of yoga does not require you to change your current belief system. Many devout Christians derive great benefit “doing yoga.”

For more information read Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda or Be Here Now by Ram Dass.

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Alternative Christianity - There are several worldwide Christian denominations for people who think that the focus of mainstream Christianity is wrongheaded. Among these are the Unitarians, who allow their members to incorporate a broad range of beliefs into their structure, and the Universalists, “metaphysical Christians” who use meditation in their services. Perhaps the most interesting is Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), who believe that the divine spirit loves all people regardless of race, creed, national origin or sexual orientation. Although their approach is somewhat fundamentalist, many gay Christians have found solace here.

For more information on Metropolitan Community Church read The Lord is My Shepherd and He Knows I’m Gay by Rev. Troy Perry.

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Satanism - The worship and deification of the devil in modern America is a fact that cannot be overlooked. Wishing it was not there will not make it go away.

Although the various forms of Satanism are usually associated with witchcraft and other pagan beliefs, modern devil worship is concerned with the Christian idea of the devil and puts great store in the Bible. It is a response against Christianity, which makes it a Christian cult. This point is made not at the expense of Christianity, but in defense of the neo-pagans, who generally do not believe in a personified evil being like the devil, even though they are often branded as "devil worshipers."

It’s generally believed that most Satanists are teenagers and young adults seeking thrills and personal power, and that most eventually scare themselves into outgrowing this obsession. This is a dangerous form of spiritual expression. The worship of evil can only bring about evil - and there’s enough of that in the world already.

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This list is in no way complete. For example, we have not even began to touch upon the rich lode of spiritual beliefs and practices that have been brought to this country from Africa and the Caribbean.

But it’s a start.

Before deciding which path you want to incorporate into your life, you need to investigate many. Decide which fits your special needs and your personality. Eventually you will probably discover that you are not Buddhist, Wiccan or Christian, but a unique combination of many of these. The important thing is, make finding your path a journey into yourself.

©Copyright 2004 by AlternativeApproaches.com