1 John 1:1-4
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
Perhaps no other movie in recent times has had a New Spiritual overtone like The Matrix. In this scene and others, NEO (The One) is being helped by Morpheus to wake him up and 'free his mind.' Watch the fight scene.
Morpheus is trying to "free" NEO's mind. How? To enlighten him to the real world.
Science fiction is a great vehicle for transmitting a New Spirituality religious point of view. Watch the explanation of what the force is.
Did you hear a pantheistic (god is in everything) point of view. This was no accident, watch George Lucus' interview.
New Spirituality is nothing new at all. It is rooted in an old teaching. The old heresy is called Gnosticism. Basically it teaches that all material is bad (our bodies for example) and all immaterial is good (our spirits for example.) We are striving to escape the bonds of our bad material. Read More Here
The height of the New Spirituality over the past few years is the book turned movie called "The Secret" The secret has both strong pantheistic (there is a force that binds everything and we have to tap into it) and strong gnostic (there is special knowledge out there that others know and you need to find out. Below is the first ~20 mins of the movie adaptation of the book. It was heavily promoted, even in churches.
What is the danger for Christians as we flirt with New Spirituality? What are some buzz words to be aware of or practices that we need to avoid?
First a few catch phrases:
Consciousness: One of the most prominent proponents of this is Deepak Chopra. What does he promise, healing. How, mediation.
Meditation: Mindful meditation.
Christian Meditation
Go to word study of meditation.
Little 'gods': The divine spark.
Recall the first great lie:
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Bottom line. There is no new secret. There is no experience you should strive for outside of God's revealed Word, The Bible. There is no need to even dabble with meditation, in the way Eastern mysticism and the New Spirituality calls us to do by emptying our minds or chanting. Rather we are told to 'renew our minds through the reading of God's Word. There is no reason to even dabble in yoga. As set of movements, chants and breathing that is designed to get us in touch with the universe's energy. Go for a run or lift weights. There is an infinite number of other ways to exercise.
Perhaps one thing you can start with is memorizing Psalm 63. Read it every day. Feast on it. Savory it.
Psalm 63 English Standard Version (ESV)
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; 10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.