Contemplative & New Spirituality Terms
Ancient Wisdom: The supposed laws of the Universe that, when mastered, enable one to control one's own reality—another word for metaphysics or occultism.
Ancient Prayer Practices
Aquarius/Aquarian Age: Sign of the Zodiac represented by
the water carrier, Earth Age associated with this astrological sign.
The term New Age refers to the coming Aquarian age which is in the
process of replacing the Pisces age. According to astrologers, every
2,000 years constitutes an age. New Agers predict this Aquarian
age will be a time of utopia.
Alice Bailey: British-born occultist who wrote under
the guidance of a familiar spirit and channeled nineteen books on
the New Age. She also popularized the term.
Centering/Centering Prayer: Another term for meditation (going deep within your center). A type
of meditation being promoted in many mainline churches under the
guise of prayer
Breath Prayers
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Chakras:
Believed by New Agers to be the seven energy centers in man which
open up during the kundalini effect in meditation.
Christ-Consciousness: Taught by New Agers to be the state of awareness,
reached in meditation, in which one realizes that one is divine and
one with God and thereby becoming a Christ or an enlightened being.
Contemplative Prayer: Going beyond thought by the use of repeated
prayer words.
Creative Visualization: Imaging in the mind, during meditation,
what you want to occur and then expecting it to happen. In simple
terms, you are creating your own reality.
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Desert Fathers: Mystics who first taught the practice of contemplative prayer.
Divine Mystery
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Ecstasy: The hoped for outcome of contemplative prayer or mediation
Existentialism: an atheistic philosophy in which everything is relative; there are no absolute truths
Enneagrams
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False Self :The false self is the
ego or personality that is observable by others. One rids oneself
of the false self to find the true self through mantra-meditation.
New Agers would consider people like Buddha, Ghandi, and even Jesus
Christ as examples of people who found their true self.
Guru:
Master of Metaphysics who teaches students how to attain their
optimal spiritual level.
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Higher Self: Supposed God Self within that New Agers seek to connect with through meditation. Also called the Christ Self.
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Ignation Contemplation
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Jesus Candles
The Jesus Prayer
Kundalini: Powerful energy that is brought on through meditation, associated with the Chakras.
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Labyrinths
Lectio Divina
Mantra: Word or words repeated either silently or verbally to induce an altered state.
Meditation: Meditation is practiced by all major world religions and is often described as an essential discipline for spiritual growth. Yet, like mysticism, there is great diversity in the practice of meditation. While some see meditation as simply spending time thinking quietly about life or about God, others use meditation techniques to experience altered states of consciousness that allow them to have esoteric experiences. In addition, meditation is promoted in secular society for the personal benefits of health, relaxation and improved productivity.
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New Age: The Age of Aquarius, supposedly the Golden Age, when man becomes aware of his power and divinity.
New Thought: Movement that tries to merge classic occult concepts with Christian terminology.
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Occult/Occultism: Kept secret or hidden; the practice of metaphysics throughout history.
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Palms Up, Palms Down
Pantheism: God is all things. The universe and all life are connected in a sum. This sum is the total reality of God. Thus, man, animals, plants, and all physical matter are seen as equal. The assumption—all is one, therefore all is deity.
Panentheism: God is in all things. In panentheism God is both personal and is also in all of creation. It is a universal view that believes God is in all people and that someday all of God's creation will be saved and be one with Him.
Prayer Stations
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Contemplative Centering Centering prayer Prayer of the Heart Dark night of the soul Practicing the Presence Divine Center Inner light Mantra Awareness of Being Slow Prayer Being in the Present Moment Beyond Words Spiritual Disciplines Spiritual Formation
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Self-Realization: Full contact with the higher self resulting in knowing one's self to be God.
Spiritual Direction
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Taize
Theosophical Society: Organization founded by Helena P. Blavatsky in 1875, to spread the Ancient Wisdom (i.e. occultism) throughout Western society. The forerunner of the modern New Age movement.
The silence: Absence of normal thought.
A Thin Place
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Universalism: All humanity has or will ultimately have a positive connection and relationship with God. A universalist belief system or universalism states that every human being will be reunited with God whether they believe in Jesus Christ or not. This belief system also says that every human being has Divinity or God within them
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Yoga
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