By Erin Kirsten Stein
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 23, 1997

Dawning of a New Age

Arizona Daily Wildcat Erin Kirsten Stein

Welcome to the New Age.

The New Age of healing, Tarot, Reiki, angels, astrology, numerology, messages from Mary, crystals, channeling, spirit guide portraits, past lives, aromatherapy, ear coning, herbalism, mysticism, dolphin energy and rolfing (which does not involve eight shots of tequila on an empty stomach).

What is all this stuff? Many dismiss New Age pursuits as frivolous fun for fruitcakes.

Well, folks, I'm here to tell you it isn't.

The New Age movement is a fast-growing phenomenon many people are embracing as an alternative to organized religion. But it does not make these people any less religious. And New Age is not really a religion; devout Christians can engage in New Age practices.

It's really about seeking spiritual truth.

People involved in healing, channeling, crystals and herbalism are really seeking ways to help themselves and humanity. It is a quest for the truth within themselves and the higher truth of the universe.

But these are general terms, let's get more specific.

New Age is really an umbrella term covering many practices and disciplines.

It does not refer to a religion or any particular belief system, but instead serves as a sort of 'miscellaneous' category for nontraditional practices. But most of these practices are rooted in ancient traditions and not 'new' at all.

Healing is a large subdivision. There are many methods of healing, including Reiki, Light Align/Light Aware and Therapeutic Touch (which is used by many nurses). These three particular disciplines all require training and/or certification - not anyone can say, "I'm a healer!"

But all methods serve the same purpose - to heal people.

This is not Steve Martin's "Leap of Faith" here, in fact many 'healers' would tell you not to expect immediate results, or any results physically.

Healers work on many levels: the physical, the emotional and the spiritual levels.

Here's an illustration to explain it a little:

Suzy Q is feeling under the weather. So she goes to get a healing. She figures it will cure her in a jiffy. She has a plane flight back to school in two days and doesn't want to be sick for traveling.

The Healer is a nice, average-looking woman. She takes Suzy into a room set up for the healing. There is a massage table in the center of the room and pictures of angels on the wall. Suzy feels peaceful in the room.

The Healer lights some candles, puts on some New Age music that is relaxing (think Enya). Suzy lies on the table and the Healer places some crystals around her body.

For the next hour or so Suzy will doze while the Healer works over her.

What exactly she does is a mystery, but it could be said she channels healing energy from a higher source to Suzy, acting as a conduit.

Suzy feels things during the healing. Once she is moved to tears for no reason. She starts to think about going to school and realizes she doesn't want to go back. She's dreading it, in fact.

When it's over Suzy feels a little woozy and is told to drink water and get lots of sleep.

Suzy's cold doesn't disappear, but she realizes that she likes school as well and tries to think about it more positively.

So what does all this mean?

Healing functions largely on the principle that emotional/spiritual health leads to physical health. So the Healer would probably say that Suzy's cold was a reaction to her distress about returning to school.

The healing didn't cure the cold because it worked on Suzy's emotional state and her negative thoughts about school.

I have had healings and they were wonderful experiences. I always felt better about things and much more peaceful afterward.

That is what New Age is about at its best - peace and love.

At its worst, it is about money.

There are many quacks and charlatans out there trying to make a quick buck.

There are also entertainment values at work. Astrology and numerology are amusing and fun things to dabble in, but even astrologers would tell you they are not road maps for your life. Some people become psychic junkies and rely on channeling for all their decisions. This is unhealthy and not the intent of most practitioners.

As with anything else, New Age stuff must be taken with a grain of sea salt and approached with some savvy. Do a little reading before you try anything and getting references is always a good idea.

But for every fake psychic, there is a person honestly exploring themselves and their spirituality.

Do not condemn these people. It is scary to lay down prejudice and traditional belief systems to experience New Age practices.

It requires an incredibly open mind and faith in humanity.

Honor that faith with some tolerance.

And during midterms, carry around a calcite crystal; it enhances memory.

Erin Kirsten Stein is a senior majoring in creative writing, journalism and general fine arts studies.