Perennial Wisdom versus New Age Wisdom. Which side are you on? (Philosophy)

Tonight's meeting is about looking at the spiritual modality of "new age" and compare it with "perennial wisdom".

Here is a definition of "perennial": lasting or existing for a long or apparantly infinite time; enduring or continually recurring. (Oxford Dictionary).

Relative truth may evolve but does capital "T" Truth evolve? Does what we are at the core of our being evolve? Does our essence evolve?

Does the truth in 2025 BC equate to the truth in 2025 AD? Can we in this fast paced culture fall for the "spirit of the times", the zeitgeist? Can we get swallowed up in the zeitgeist and not be able to discern the wood from the trees?

Zeitgeist meaning: "the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time".

Do a lot of the "new age" spiritual modalities spawn from a spirit of our times rather than providing any real sustenance to our spiritual paths? Can they be more distracting from a real direction than setting us straight?

What is perennial wisdom? Can I learn something from observing people and cultures throughout time? Watch their habits and the outcomes of their habits?

Can we learn, for example, from the Spartans and in an opposite way learn from the Persians? Can we see the trends that lead to spiritual poverty and the trends that lead to spiritual fruition on a general and then more specific scale? Are the Buddha, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Jesus, Muhammed still the best spiritual teachers that are popular and mainstream?

Do New Age spiritual modalities cater for only man number 1 and 2 as classified by Gurdjieff. Here is a cursory video outlining his spiritual classifications of man: https://youtu.be/LGMEqFHKXUg?si=uSlS2619yFJRaDKZ

Here are some concepts and ideas that came up on Wed 6 August:

Do rationalisations come from “defense mechanisms” or “mal-adaptive coping mechanisms”?

Which is more important, to find a question difficult to answer and be left confused or to be confident in your answer to a question?

Can you align with higher vibrations of energy in meditation or is it what Richard Rose calls “auto-suggestion”? I believe he used the term auto-suggestion as a synonym for “self-affirmation”, repeating mantras to ourselves like “I am courageous, strong, healthy, wealthy, in every way, every day” or believing that I am experiencing higher/freer energetic states when in reality nothing has changed. Is auto-suggestion beneficial or misleading?

Is the opposite of rationality the emotional side? How do I draw a healthy balance between the two if this is the case? Is another set of opposites the feeling impulsive side versus the rational controlling side?

Can you volitionally be humble? An interesting line taken from Bob Ferguson's poem about pride is as follows, “to humble be is a trick you see, it will lead you around to pride's great sea”, taken from here: TAT Forum - Spiritual Magazine | featuring Michael Conners, Bob Fergeson

Does strength lie in how much discomfort you are willing to tolerate and endure? Do we have to go looking for discomfort or is there a ready supply within if we open up to it?

What are your push buttons? To react skillfully and perfectly in difficult situations, where does that come from? Is it a byproduct of your wisdom or is it a discipline to be practiced or both?

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/nativity-painting-of-people-inside-a-dome-159862/

Check out the "What we are about" section in the groups' main page for some guidelines we work to adhere to. Meetings are run on the popular Zoom platform. Please contemplate the topic in advance of the meeting to get the best out of it and bring your views and convictions to the meeting, if possible have a pen and paper close by to record anything useful that may come up that you resonate with on the night, little things you may want to contemplate further.