New Age / Occult Temptation

Not all that long ago, I was sure that the new age and occult was something I’d left behind completely.  Then came a night when I couldn't sleep.  

And for some reason, I decided to turn to a guided “brain wave meditation” for comfort. This was a meditation I was very familiar with. One that had lulled me to sleep many times when I was deeply involved in the new age.

The meditation itself was expertly produced and there was a seductiveness to it that I welcomed. I listened to it three times over before I fell asleep.

The next day, however, I didn't really feel rested - instead I felt down and kind of off. So I decided to listen to some other meditations on the same YouTube channel. All of which were produced by the same “brain wave” company). Just to see if there was something I had missed.

As I listened to these meditations, I noticed that many of the vibrations and background tracks were unusually deep in pitch. And, underneath the pleasant voice over, I sensed an underlying darkness. It felt malevolent.

I unsubscribed from the "brain wave meditation" YouTube channel and began to think about what had happened. The more I thought about it the more certain I felt. The meditations were dark and I had embraced it.

The fact that this had happened to someone who was well acquainted with the spiritual dangers of the new age – was sobering. And it gave me a new appreciation of the threat this stuff can pose.

And there is a lot of this kind of content.  On YouTube and elsewhere.

New Age and the Occult in the Mainstream

Sometimes it seems like the new age and occult is everywhere.  Here are a few examples.

• A professional organization to which I belong, the American Holistic Nurses Association, promotes numerous new age modalities. 
• The first tier of meditations on my FitBit app are by Deepak Chopra. 
• Popular health and wellness resources focus on new age, Eastern and even occult practices.  
• YouTube searches for wellness or relaxation or related topics almost always return a host of new age results. 

So it’s no surprise really that people consume new age and occult content. Unfortunately, for some this content will serve as a gateway to even deeper involvement in the occult.

I know this because I was of those people. And – as it turns out – still have the protentional to repeat the same mistake.

Even though I know that the new age and occult doesn’t actually offer anything. Even though I know that its guidance is circular, its peace is an illusion, and its tenants are false.

The Good News

The good news is that there are Catholic and Catholic friendly alternatives to everything the new age  offers.  And - unlike new age and occult practices -  these alternatives actually work.

I've realized that this is important and that I want to keep posting on this topic here and on YouTube.  

I'll be posting all of my old (and new) videos here (and on my BarbaraGraver.com site) but you can also check them out on my YouTube channel too at YouTube.com/c/BarbaraGraver).

And if you can please subscribe!  

I've been having some studio issues this week but I hope to get my first video up by the weekend!