January 29, 2023 • 15 mins
Intro: Welcome to our video on spirituality and new age spirituality. In this video, we will explore the meaning of spirituality, its connection to religion, and how it differs from new age spirituality. We will also delve into the different practices and beliefs associated with new age spirituality, and how it has evolved over the years. So, grab a cup of tea and let's dive in. Segment 1: What is Spirituality? Spirituality can be defined as the search for meaning and purpose in one's life. It is often associated with religion, but it can also exist outside of organized religion. Spirituality is a personal, individual experience that can take many forms, such as meditation, prayer, or simply spending time in nature. It is about connecting with something greater than ourselves and finding a sense of inner peace. Many people find that spirituality brings them a sense of comfort, understanding and inner strength. It can be a way to connect with oneself and the world around us, and to understand the mysteries of life and the universe. Segment 2: Spirituality vs Religion While spirituality and religion are often intertwined, they are not the same thing. Religion is a set of beliefs and practices that are shared by a community, while spirituality is more personal and individual. Religion often includes specific beliefs, rituals, and practices that are passed down from generation to generation, while spirituality is more about personal experiences and beliefs. One can be spiritual without being religious, and vice versa. Some people find that religion provides a sense of community and belonging, while spirituality is a more personal, individual journey. Segment 3: New Age Spirituality New age spirituality is a modern movement that has gained popularity in recent years. It is a blend of ancient spiritual practices, such as meditation and yoga, with modern ideas, such as environmentalism and self-help. New age spirituality emphasizes personal growth and self-discovery, and encourages people to explore different practices to find what works for them. It is often seen as a way to combine traditional spirituality with more modern ideas, and to create a more holistic approach to living. Segment 4: Practices and Beliefs of New Age Spirituality New age spirituality encompasses a wide range of practices, such as meditation, Reiki, and crystal healing. Meditation is a practice that is central to many new age spiritual beliefs, as it is seen as a way to connect with one's inner self and to find inner peace. Reiki is a form of energy healing that is believed to balance the body's energy, and to promote healing and wellness. Crystal healing is the practice of using crystals and gemstones to balance the body's energy and to promote healing. Many new age spiritualists believe in the power of energy and the interconnectedness of all things. They often believe in the existence of a higher power or consciousness, and the importance of living in harmony with nature. They also often believe in the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction, and that our thoughts and beliefs shape our reality. Segment 5: Evolution of New Age Spirituality New age spirituality has evolved over time, with new ideas and practices being added to the mix. For example, the incorporation of mindfulness and self-compassion practices in the movement, which have been gaining popularity in recent years. Mindfulness is the practice of being present and aware in the moment, and it has been shown to have many benefits for mental and physical well-being. Self-compassion is the practice of being kind and understanding towards oneself, and it is seen as an important aspect of personal growth and self-discovery. Additionally, with the rise of the internet and social media, new age spirituality has become more accessible and has a wider reach, allowing more people to
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:11):
Hello, and welcome back to anotherepisode of the Owl Spiritual Podcast. My
name is Christian Brito. If you'vebeen following along here with my journey,
this podcast is really about a transformationaltype of life. And because I get
a lot of questions about this onmy other social media, so just stick
talk, I decided that I wasgoing to do a little bit of a
(00:32):
video on spirituality and New Age spiritualityjust to kind of dive into what that
kind of means and what that lookslike. So for those of you that
are not familiar, New Age spiritualityis just kind of diving in. It's
not necessarily a religion. It's justkind of a connection with that God or
source energy or whatever you have aname for it. And so I just
(00:53):
want to define what that is.And this might look different for every person.
This is really just an information typeof video and educational so hopefully you
can stick on buy with us,and we're just going to talk a little
bit about what exactly is New Agespirituality and spirituality in general. So in
this in this podcast, we're justgonna be exploring that meaning of spirituality,
(01:15):
what its connection is to religion,and how it differs from religion and so
we're also going to kind of delveinto the practices and beliefs a little bit
of what New Age spirituality looks likeand how it's evolved over the years.
So, you know, grab acup of coffee and let's dive right in.
(01:36):
So, right off the bat,spirituality spirituality in general. We're not
specifically talking about New Age spirituality,but spirituality in general is just the idea
that we're searching for a meaning orpurpose in life, right where we're trying
to figure out something bigger than ourselves, right what happens after we pass,
(01:57):
or what is what zis beyond thehuman realm, our souls, our spirits.
It's really trying to define that meaningand purpose in one's life and beyond
one's life. So it's often associatedwith religion, but it can exist outside
of organized religion. And so spiritualityis often the way I describe it is
(02:20):
it's as a personal individual experience,and that in and of itself can take
many forms, you know, adirect connection with God or the universe,
meditation, prayer, simply spending timein nature. But it's about connecting with
something greater than ourselves and finding asense of purpose and inner peace. Most
(02:44):
of the time. Many people findthat spirituality brings them a sense of connection
and comfort and understanding. It kindof gives them that breath of life.
It provides them with an inner strengthto be able to go through their daily
lives and their daily routines. Andit can be a way to not just
connect with the universe, but away to connect with oneself and the world
(03:07):
around us. And it's a reallygreat way to start to access that world
around us, to begin to unlockthe mysteries of life and the universe.
Now, let's talk a little bitabout what that means in comparison to religion,
because spirituality and religion are often intertwinedin our ideas, right. I
(03:27):
ask people very often, Hey doyou believe in God? And immediately they
jump to some sort of assumption thatI am talking about religion, that I'm
talking about Judeo Christian religion, verytypically based on where I live, or
based on their perception of who Imight be, or just kind of those
immediate gut instincts of just are Weput people in boxes and our assumptions.
(03:52):
But religion is not the same thingas spirituality, And I want to caution
you to think of them as twodifferent things, because religion is a set
of beliefs and practices and they're sharedby a community, while spirituality is more
personal and individual. So you willvery often see even amongst specific religions,
(04:15):
right somebody, let's say Christianity,for example, where somebody might say,
hey, I don't necessarily follow exactlywhat the Catholic Church or you know,
the Jewish Jewish Orthodox Church or whateverpart of the Judeo Christian religion they follow
beliefs, but I really care abouthaving a connection with God or with Christ
(04:36):
or whatever sub part of that religionthey believe in, because it's more of
an individual practice for them. Andso keep in mind that that's kind of
the idea of where spirituality and religionbranches off. Where religion often includes these
specific beliefs, specific ritual, specificpractices, and those are passed out from
(05:00):
generation to generation from member of thatchurch a member of that church, spirituality
is much more about a personal experienceand personal beliefs, and so one can
be religious without being spiritual, andalso be spiritual without being religious. So
think of these as two separate boxesthat do very often have overlapping factors,
(05:23):
but are not the same thing.So some people find out that, you
know, religion for them might betoo impersonal, or on the other side,
they might feel like it brings outa sense of community and belonging.
So it really kind of just dependsand what is more for you. Now,
I want to talk a little bitspecifically about New Age spirituality. It's
(05:46):
kind of taking the idea of thesepersonalized beliefs, but kind of involving a
little bit of the practice and specificbeliefs and perhaps even rituals to not spiritual
concepts. So New Age spirituality isa little bit more of a modern movement
(06:09):
that's gained popularity in recent years,but it's a blend of ancient spiritual practices
such as meditation, yoga, thingslike that, with modern ideas of using
these ideas for not just those practices, but also self help or personal growth
(06:30):
or self discovery, or even connectionswith nature and environmentalism. It's really about
taking this personal growth and spiritual growthand involving them and meshing them together,
and it encourages people to explore differentpractices to find out what works for them.
(06:51):
It's often seen as a way ofjust kind of meshing traditional spirituality with
more modern ideas to create a moreholistic and complete approach not just to living,
but to our practices and our beliefs. Okay, so now let's talk
a little bit about what exactly aresome of the practices and beliefs of New
(07:15):
Age spirituality, because it does kindof confuse people a little bit because it
encompasses such a large range of practicesand different beliefs. So not everyone is
going to kind of fall into allof these different New Age Spirituality beliefs,
even within the same community. Sothink of it as I typically will compare
(07:44):
it to Christianity, because there's differentsubsects of the same religion, and so
people practicing spirituality may find that withinthemselves they have practices that they believe in
or find comforting or helpful on theirspiritual journey or their spiritual evolution, but
(08:05):
may not be as beneficial or workor be something that someone else practices or
believes in. So let's talk alittle bit about each. The most common
practice that I think you will findin spirituality and spiritual beliefs as meditation.
It's really the connecting strategy, theconnecting belief system, the connecting practice for
(08:33):
anyone that is spiritual. It's ourway to not only become more mindful and
ground ourselves, but also to connectto God, connect to that source energy,
connect to that loving energy, connectto the universe. Is to stop,
pause, meditate and be in thatmindful state. Other practices may not
(08:56):
be as common, but are thingsthat you might see, such as raiky
healing or the use of crystals.So we could talk a little bit about
each one, right, Meditation,I want to continue elaborate because it's a
practice that is central to almost anyonethat is engaging in spiritual beliefs, and
it's seen as our way to connectwith our inner self and to find inner
(09:22):
peace. And so just as youmight see prayer in other different religions,
this is the practice and belief thatI think is not just for someone that
is spiritual, or it's not justfor someone that is practicing New Age spirituality.
(09:43):
It's really for anyone that is tryingto connect with themselves and to find
inner peace, and if they wishto then connect to something grander than themselves,
bigger than themselves, meditation is oftenthe way to do that. Now,
other practices like braiky or creer,use of crystals, or you know
(10:07):
belief in the power of our energyto heal or the interconnectedness of things.
This is where it maybe can branchoff into different aspects or areas that not
everyone will follow along or have thatsimilar belief, But many New Age spiritual
us believe in the power of theenergy that connects all of us. And
(10:33):
for some people they might call thatGod. For some people they might call
that the universe, they might callthat source energy. But it's this idea
that this one energy connects all livingthings and all things in general. And
it's this belief that there is ahigher power, there is a higher consciousness,
and that there's an importance of thatbeing connected to us and being connected
(10:58):
to all that is around us.I think everything besides that really is superfluous
and it's not always going to align. But the idea that we're all one,
we're connected to God. This isall that loving, pure energy of
God and that one consciousness that weare breathing and living connected to, and
(11:22):
there is that higher power, andthat the way for us to kind of
get in touch with that is throughmeditating and praying and being connected to our
inner selves and finding that inner peaceto be able to connect with that.
That is the one foundational belief.Like I mentioned, there are other practices
(11:45):
is that you might encounter, andwe could talk a little bit about that.
New Age spirituality has kind of evolvedover time, and with new ideas
and practices, you might see differentforms and different iterations of it over time.
However, mindfulness is the practice ofbeing present and aware in the moment,
(12:09):
and I think that that will showmany benefits regardless of these specific practices
and beliefs that an individual might have. Those benefits are not just on our
spiritual well being our spiritual health,but can help our mental health and even
our physical wellbeing when we start tothink about how this mindfulness practice can be
applied in our day to day lives. When we start to practice that mindfulness,
(12:33):
we can then kind of elaborate alittle bit more with ourselves and start
to have self compassion and start topractice this kindness and understanding with oneself,
with ourselves and just see it asan important aspect of our own personal growth
in our own self discovery. Sothese things have kind of become more accessible
(12:56):
over the years, and it's certainthings that we've seen over time as this
growth of New Age spirituality, andI think sometimes we might get a little
bit concerned because there's things that maybedon't resonate with us. Right, Not
every New age spiritualist is somebody thatbelieves in, you know, practicing raiki
(13:18):
or you know, making a spelljar or meditating under the full moon or
the use of crystals, And that'sperfectly okay, Right, Everybody's gonna have
their own practices and their beliefs andthey're all going to be different. But
as long as we can understand theinterconnectedness of each of us and understand the
(13:41):
beauty of this higher power and higherconsciousness, then that's kind of the framework
of what that spiritual belief might looklike. I am very much of the
idea that everyone's path is individual intheir own and so regardless of whoever you
(14:03):
are, I do welcome you tokind of just consider what it is that
your belief is, what is itthat's out there for you, and what
is it that you resonate with becauseit may not be the same as me,
and I think that's fine. Ithink we each have to find our
own path and figure out what resonateswith us. Otherwise, what is kind
(14:31):
of the point of even evaluating anyof this right, we have to understand
what is our purpose, why arewe here? And how did we get
here? Those are some fundamental questionsthat humans have been asking since the dawn
of man. But it's something toconsider and hopefully this little bit of information
is something that might help you ifyou've had some questions. As always,
(14:54):
if you aren't already and would liketo subscribe, you may do so.
Welcome you to drop some questions andanything that you might want to know about
this podcast or any of the videosthat I put up, and as always,
stay blessed,
Hello, and welcome back to anotherepisode of the Owl Spiritual Podcast. My
name is Christian Brito. If you'vebeen following along here with my journey,
this podcast is really about a transformationaltype of life. And because I get
a lot of questions about this onmy other social media, so just stick
talk, I decided that I wasgoing to do a little bit of a
(00:32):
video on spirituality and New Age spiritualityjust to kind of dive into what that
kind of means and what that lookslike. So for those of you that
are not familiar, New Age spiritualityis just kind of diving in. It's
not necessarily a religion. It's justkind of a connection with that God or
source energy or whatever you have aname for it. And so I just
(00:53):
want to define what that is.And this might look different for every person.
This is really just an information typeof video and educational so hopefully you
can stick on buy with us,and we're just going to talk a little
bit about what exactly is New Agespirituality and spirituality in general. So in
this in this podcast, we're justgonna be exploring that meaning of spirituality,
(01:15):
what its connection is to religion,and how it differs from religion and so
we're also going to kind of delveinto the practices and beliefs a little bit
of what New Age spirituality looks likeand how it's evolved over the years.
So, you know, grab acup of coffee and let's dive right in.
(01:36):
So, right off the bat,spirituality spirituality in general. We're not
specifically talking about New Age spirituality,but spirituality in general is just the idea
that we're searching for a meaning orpurpose in life, right where we're trying
to figure out something bigger than ourselves, right what happens after we pass,
(01:57):
or what is what zis beyond thehuman realm, our souls, our spirits.
It's really trying to define that meaningand purpose in one's life and beyond
one's life. So it's often associatedwith religion, but it can exist outside
of organized religion. And so spiritualityis often the way I describe it is
(02:20):
it's as a personal individual experience,and that in and of itself can take
many forms, you know, adirect connection with God or the universe,
meditation, prayer, simply spending timein nature. But it's about connecting with
something greater than ourselves and finding asense of purpose and inner peace. Most
(02:44):
of the time. Many people findthat spirituality brings them a sense of connection
and comfort and understanding. It kindof gives them that breath of life.
It provides them with an inner strengthto be able to go through their daily
lives and their daily routines. Andit can be a way to not just
connect with the universe, but away to connect with oneself and the world
(03:07):
around us. And it's a reallygreat way to start to access that world
around us, to begin to unlockthe mysteries of life and the universe.
Now, let's talk a little bitabout what that means in comparison to religion,
because spirituality and religion are often intertwinedin our ideas, right. I
(03:27):
ask people very often, Hey doyou believe in God? And immediately they
jump to some sort of assumption thatI am talking about religion, that I'm
talking about Judeo Christian religion, verytypically based on where I live, or
based on their perception of who Imight be, or just kind of those
immediate gut instincts of just are Weput people in boxes and our assumptions.
(03:52):
But religion is not the same thingas spirituality, And I want to caution
you to think of them as twodifferent things, because religion is a set
of beliefs and practices and they're sharedby a community, while spirituality is more
personal and individual. So you willvery often see even amongst specific religions,
(04:15):
right somebody, let's say Christianity,for example, where somebody might say,
hey, I don't necessarily follow exactlywhat the Catholic Church or you know,
the Jewish Jewish Orthodox Church or whateverpart of the Judeo Christian religion they follow
beliefs, but I really care abouthaving a connection with God or with Christ
(04:36):
or whatever sub part of that religionthey believe in, because it's more of
an individual practice for them. Andso keep in mind that that's kind of
the idea of where spirituality and religionbranches off. Where religion often includes these
specific beliefs, specific ritual, specificpractices, and those are passed out from
(05:00):
generation to generation from member of thatchurch a member of that church, spirituality
is much more about a personal experienceand personal beliefs, and so one can
be religious without being spiritual, andalso be spiritual without being religious. So
think of these as two separate boxesthat do very often have overlapping factors,
(05:23):
but are not the same thing.So some people find out that, you
know, religion for them might betoo impersonal, or on the other side,
they might feel like it brings outa sense of community and belonging.
So it really kind of just dependsand what is more for you. Now,
I want to talk a little bitspecifically about New Age spirituality. It's
(05:46):
kind of taking the idea of thesepersonalized beliefs, but kind of involving a
little bit of the practice and specificbeliefs and perhaps even rituals to not spiritual
concepts. So New Age spirituality isa little bit more of a modern movement
(06:09):
that's gained popularity in recent years,but it's a blend of ancient spiritual practices
such as meditation, yoga, thingslike that, with modern ideas of using
these ideas for not just those practices, but also self help or personal growth
(06:30):
or self discovery, or even connectionswith nature and environmentalism. It's really about
taking this personal growth and spiritual growthand involving them and meshing them together,
and it encourages people to explore differentpractices to find out what works for them.
(06:51):
It's often seen as a way ofjust kind of meshing traditional spirituality with
more modern ideas to create a moreholistic and complete approach not just to living,
but to our practices and our beliefs. Okay, so now let's talk
a little bit about what exactly aresome of the practices and beliefs of New
(07:15):
Age spirituality, because it does kindof confuse people a little bit because it
encompasses such a large range of practicesand different beliefs. So not everyone is
going to kind of fall into allof these different New Age Spirituality beliefs,
even within the same community. Sothink of it as I typically will compare
(07:44):
it to Christianity, because there's differentsubsects of the same religion, and so
people practicing spirituality may find that withinthemselves they have practices that they believe in
or find comforting or helpful on theirspiritual journey or their spiritual evolution, but
(08:05):
may not be as beneficial or workor be something that someone else practices or
believes in. So let's talk alittle bit about each. The most common
practice that I think you will findin spirituality and spiritual beliefs as meditation.
It's really the connecting strategy, theconnecting belief system, the connecting practice for
(08:33):
anyone that is spiritual. It's ourway to not only become more mindful and
ground ourselves, but also to connectto God, connect to that source energy,
connect to that loving energy, connectto the universe. Is to stop,
pause, meditate and be in thatmindful state. Other practices may not
(08:56):
be as common, but are thingsthat you might see, such as raiky
healing or the use of crystals.So we could talk a little bit about
each one, right, Meditation,I want to continue elaborate because it's a
practice that is central to almost anyonethat is engaging in spiritual beliefs, and
it's seen as our way to connectwith our inner self and to find inner
(09:22):
peace. And so just as youmight see prayer in other different religions,
this is the practice and belief thatI think is not just for someone that
is spiritual, or it's not justfor someone that is practicing New Age spirituality.
(09:43):
It's really for anyone that is tryingto connect with themselves and to find
inner peace, and if they wishto then connect to something grander than themselves,
bigger than themselves, meditation is oftenthe way to do that. Now,
other practices like braiky or creer,use of crystals, or you know
(10:07):
belief in the power of our energyto heal or the interconnectedness of things.
This is where it maybe can branchoff into different aspects or areas that not
everyone will follow along or have thatsimilar belief, But many New Age spiritual
us believe in the power of theenergy that connects all of us. And
(10:33):
for some people they might call thatGod. For some people they might call
that the universe, they might callthat source energy. But it's this idea
that this one energy connects all livingthings and all things in general. And
it's this belief that there is ahigher power, there is a higher consciousness,
and that there's an importance of thatbeing connected to us and being connected
(10:58):
to all that is around us.I think everything besides that really is superfluous
and it's not always going to align. But the idea that we're all one,
we're connected to God. This isall that loving, pure energy of
God and that one consciousness that weare breathing and living connected to, and
(11:22):
there is that higher power, andthat the way for us to kind of
get in touch with that is throughmeditating and praying and being connected to our
inner selves and finding that inner peaceto be able to connect with that.
That is the one foundational belief.Like I mentioned, there are other practices
(11:45):
is that you might encounter, andwe could talk a little bit about that.
New Age spirituality has kind of evolvedover time, and with new ideas
and practices, you might see differentforms and different iterations of it over time.
However, mindfulness is the practice ofbeing present and aware in the moment,
(12:09):
and I think that that will showmany benefits regardless of these specific practices
and beliefs that an individual might have. Those benefits are not just on our
spiritual well being our spiritual health,but can help our mental health and even
our physical wellbeing when we start tothink about how this mindfulness practice can be
applied in our day to day lives. When we start to practice that mindfulness,
(12:33):
we can then kind of elaborate alittle bit more with ourselves and start
to have self compassion and start topractice this kindness and understanding with oneself,
with ourselves and just see it asan important aspect of our own personal growth
in our own self discovery. Sothese things have kind of become more accessible
(12:56):
over the years, and it's certainthings that we've seen over time as this
growth of New Age spirituality, andI think sometimes we might get a little
bit concerned because there's things that maybedon't resonate with us. Right, Not
every New age spiritualist is somebody thatbelieves in, you know, practicing raiki
(13:18):
or you know, making a spelljar or meditating under the full moon or
the use of crystals, And that'sperfectly okay, Right, Everybody's gonna have
their own practices and their beliefs andthey're all going to be different. But
as long as we can understand theinterconnectedness of each of us and understand the
(13:41):
beauty of this higher power and higherconsciousness, then that's kind of the framework
of what that spiritual belief might looklike. I am very much of the
idea that everyone's path is individual intheir own and so regardless of whoever you
(14:03):
are, I do welcome you tokind of just consider what it is that
your belief is, what is itthat's out there for you, and what
is it that you resonate with becauseit may not be the same as me,
and I think that's fine. Ithink we each have to find our
own path and figure out what resonateswith us. Otherwise, what is kind
(14:31):
of the point of even evaluating anyof this right, we have to understand
what is our purpose, why arewe here? And how did we get
here? Those are some fundamental questionsthat humans have been asking since the dawn
of man. But it's something toconsider and hopefully this little bit of information
is something that might help you ifyou've had some questions. As always,
(14:54):
if you aren't already and would liketo subscribe, you may do so.
Welcome you to drop some questions andanything that you might want to know about
this podcast or any of the videosthat I put up, and as always,
stay blessed,
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