The new age got a strong hold over me in the mid 1980's - long before many of todays cocky upstarts were even born. My experience can serve as a guide to avoid the same traps.
I first ingested magic mushrooms at 15: a wild and disturbing ride that radically changed my view of life. Later I began assimilating "ancient wisdom," eagerly devouring books by Carlos Castaneda, Vera Stanley Alder and Dr. Paul Brunton. I read the copious writings of Theosophists HP Blavatsky, Ouspensky, Annie Besant, Rudolf Steiner and Alice A. Bailey. An acquaintance informed me of a weekly evening "Satsang" near where I lived. They were for contemplating and expressing experiences of Prem Rawat (Maharaji's) "Knowledge" meditation techniques. . . .
Totally enthused, at age 18 I got into meditation. My ardor initially drew some friends to learning the techniques, but they soon turned back to the ways of the world, settling into the usual lifestyles and materialistic pursuits. Being so high-minded I resented the reasoning because it blinded their spirit. Most of the folks I mixed with couldn't relate to my beliefs and affectionately called me "weird" 😕 I was known by some around town (Bolton) as Cosmic Daz.
Undeterred I continued to follow my "truth." The 1990's brought dramatically shifting paradigms stimulated by far-out authors such as David Icke, Jose Argüelles, James Redfield, Solara Antara Amaa-Ra, Shirley MacLaine and Ken Carey to name but a few. I couldn't get enough: I gave myself a crash course in new age spirituality, my long coffee table was covered 2 or 3 new age books deep. I was led to believe a Golden Age of Enlightenment was near. We're all GOD was the cry: *"if you seek to be one of the chosen, simply choose yourself."* HEADY STUFF!
I attended 11:11 and Ascension workshops and for a time saw myself as a ANGEL incarnate on planet earth: inwardly seeing (or lucidly imagining) my astral arm holding high a flaming sword, a golden sun disc spinning in my heart and spiraling magenta energy emanating from my third eye. There were loads of channeling tapes circulating; I listened intently to the respected mediums of the period channeling beings claiming to be Sananda (Jesus), various Ascended Masters, Archangels, legendary philosophers, Pleiadians and assorted Star-People such as Ashtar, Monka, Hilarion, Bashar and Kryon (of magnetic service 😀)
Feeling like a stranger in a strange world I was up for Cosmic Consciousness and believed the messages. I informed everyone of my stance and painstakingly typed out (before the internet) and printed many pages (thanks to access to a workplace printer) of lofty channeled material copied from books and giving them to anyone who seemed interested. I had the pilgrim urge, hitch-hiking around England giving copies to the drivers offering me a lift. Expecting cosmic downloads before downloads were a thing I hitched to stone circles, sacred sites and often to Glastonbury (I did 12 Glastonbury festivals) quickly making friends living in the town I could stay with.
The new age was dawning in Glastonbury! I climbed the famous Tor often and slept on it 3 or 4 times. I hitched to Glastonbury for summer solstices and sabbats. I meditated on the Tor, got stoned up there and endured 2 wild acid trips bustling with crazy earth entities - the vast surrounding landscape clearly pulsating with occult symbols. All in all as thoroughly absorbing the "Avalonian Air Waves" as anyone could. The channeled beings were in unison, reporting the imminent Ascension of the earth and all humanity. AMAZING STUFF!
The *Science* of Ascension was revealed to us in quantum detail; it all seemed plausible, inevitable and very exciting. . . Earth Ascension would occur in three waves they said, the first wave (144,000 of 'em) returning to show everyone how it's done. I asked my mother not to be worried if I went missing 'cos I would've ASCENDED (via the first wave) to the FIFTH DIMENSION 😀
Crazy eh! IT GETS WORSE! Back in '94 a spiritual friend relayed a channeling stating that the Ashtar Command would appear on t.v. on a certain day and time in the evening, and there we were waiting like dorks for somethin' that wasn't gonna happen. Decades later I’m still here & the new age isn’t, looking around at the world I'm certain of that: people are still the same, they just got more advanced tech.
I eventually stopped believing in channelings & got deep into enlightened neo-vedantic hinduism. Now I see things in a different LIGHT (John 8:12) Ascension outside of JESUS is *dangerous* folks. Rising to 5D consciousness still prevails in many highly suggestible minds/lucid imaginations. The beings I used to heed remain highly active in the ancient business of DECEIT & DELUSION