On The "New Age" to Christian Phenomenon
I need to share something that has deeply impacted me over the last few years.
There is a trend of people in “New Age” spirituality becoming born-again Christians and denouncing everything before as demonic.
I’ve been aware of such things since oracle card creator Doreen Virtue had this conversion in 2020. However, I didn’t take it seriously until the phenomenon fell closer to home.
Before I go further, if you’ve made such a conversion and found your path with Jesus, I am genuinely happy for you.
I have always wanted to have one path and one teacher, but have leaned spiritually polyamorous—savoring the intimacy of God transmitted in wisdom traditions east and west.
I write this not to prove “right or wrong”, but to share my background and connect with other interfaith seekers who have felt unease witnessing this trend occur.
My Spiritual Journey
I was born again on 1/6/15—not as a Christian, but as a Child of God. It is said that “Christ makes all things new.” In this (Sober) experience, every bad habit fell away: alcohol, drugs, porn—I haven’t touched them since. It was like God had washed me clean. Christian’s talk of being “saved”- that’s how I felt.
The only problem was that I had this experience without a tradition or mentors to ground it. It was all new, and I equated anything spiritual with “good and in integrity.” This made me naive AF, and I found myself in circles I would never partake in now—other-dimension channelers, mysterious energy healers, and funky manifestation practices.
A quality I didn’t have at the time was discernment. I was too in awe of the realization that OMG, literally, God does exist and there are forces beyond what we can see. I was a kid taking in anything I could find.
In 2015, an Abraham Hicks meditation led me to an experience where I felt possessed by something, which led me to jump on a plane to meet someone who didn’t want to meet and insisted he was to be my mentor. After the police were called, I left and started to make sense of what happened. Alone in my room, I felt this energy begin leaving my body through my throat, like something was pulling it out.
I have no idea what that was—if that was some exorcism-light, but when I hear someone mention Abraham Hicks, I recommend not going down that rabbit hole because you might fuck around and find out.
It’s this and other experiences in breathwork and plant medicine where I’ve come to understand the potential danger of spiritual practices. Not because I think they are demonic, but because the Spirit and Psyche are like fire. And kids shouldn’t play with fire.
It was years later that I came to understand the terms “Spiritual Emergence” and “Spiritual Emergency”, coined by Stanislov Grof.
Spiritual Emergence is the gradual, natural opening of spiritual awareness that unfolds at a pace you can integrate into everyday life.
Spiritual Emergency is when that opening happens too fast or too intensely to integrate, overwhelming the psyche and destabilizing your ability to function.
With that context, I can see how much my early days bordered on spiritual emergency. By the grace of God, I made it through and eventually found my footing.
Religious Roots
I was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic church. On Christmas, before my born-again experience, I was at Mass, doubting whether any of it was real or just some money-making scheme.
After my awakening, I had a whole new appreciation and love for my Catholic tradition.
I eventually became a yoga & meditation teacher. I had no awareness of the “Yoga = Demonic” belief.
I loved listening to Christian Music—Third Day, Will Reagan, Penny and Sparrow—just as I loved listening to Hindu mantras and devotional chants. If you’re singing to God, I’m all for it.
At Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, the Meditation hall is an old church, and on the way in is a stained-glass image of Jesus. On retreats, I bow to him before entering my sit, just as I would bow to the Buddha once inside.
(I have a dream of a Buddhist-like silent meditation retreat based on Christian teachings.)
I hate the term "New Age" because it means something different to everybody.
I am an interfaith, nondual contemplative, and I revere the great masters, saints, and sages from various religions and native cultures.
This has been, and still is, my experience.
However, since hearing people’s born-again conversions, and the rhetoric that accompanies them, It’s implanted a fear that used to never be there.
Now when I sit in ceremony or go to a Yoga class, there is a new part of my psyche I call the “Evangelical part” that starts implanting anxious thoughts.
“Am I being deceived?”
“Does sage really call in bad spirits?”
“Is this occult?”
I’ve prayed and asked Jesus that if I really am being deceived, show me.
I hear the teaching, “You will know them by their fruits.”
The Bible talks of the Fruits of the Spirit:
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control
I asked myself, Has my spiritual path led to more of these in my life?
For me, unequivocally yes. (Although of course, I have my jealousies and selfish moments.)
If yours is not doing that—if it causes more anxiety, or an inflated sense of self-importance (which the New Age can do), I understand how a more fundamental Christianity can be the answer.
If I had to assess it, the hodgepodge spirituality termed “New Age” falls short because it’s not rooted in a culture or lineage.
Even while trusting the fruits of my path, my “Evangelical part” lingers, sure to get triggered by the next Instagram testimony that pops in my feed.
That’s been my biggest struggle. All this fear comes from outside of me. If Instagram and YouTube didn’t exist, I would not be impacted like this.
The Mystery of Faith
Thomas Merton, the Catholic mystic, writes:
“What about the men who paint signs that say “Jesus Saves” or “Prepare to Meet God?” I wonder what goes on in their minds. Strangely, their signs do not make me think of Jesus, but of them.”
This post may be me trying to confirm my biases to keep my worldview intact—that’s what we humans do.
I share this not as the knower, but as someone willing to be in the mystery and admit I don’t know.
The more I mature, the more I see doubt, not belief, as the hallmark of true faith.
As St. Thomas Aquinas said:
“The highest form of the knowledge of God is to know God as unknown.”
Or more simply, by St. Augustine:
“If you understand it, it is not God”
One thing I’ve found solace in during this time is stories of Near-Death Experiences. While some see Jesus, many others see prophets or deities related to their culture. All seem to be embraced by unconditional love, and many times, a life review.
I never heard someone report God say:
“Oops, you didn’t accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Hell it is for you!”
It’s never about what they believed.
It’s always about how well they loved and how they treated others.
A spiritual path should make us more human.
I hope that, whatever faith or lineage we believe, we can, if nothing else, put Jesus’ greatest teaching into practice.
Love God with all our hearts.
Love each other as ourselves.