Spirituality’s challenge in the “New Age” is authentic acceptance

Like many Americans, I’m horrified with how this country is being led, and by the signs that citizens and humanity as a whole are threatened by a growing risk of many types of destruction and suffering.  I’ve kept my eyes, ears, and mind open and decided a couple of months ago the best way to deal with the persistent and outrageous negativity and harm with the reversal of Obama Care, environmental restoration and social responsibility by our present government was to balance the negativity with positive living.

For decades there has been a “New Age” movement of spiritual awareness and accountability with the purpose of ending chaos by bringing order to society through peace, love, joy, and abundance with a mindset of genuine empathy and compassion for everyone on the planet.  Studying the writings, watching videos and listening to podcasts from many “guru” types have been uplifting for me and useful in finding methods like meditation that calms my fears and enables me to be more effective in everything I do including supporting the causes I believe will preserve our civilization.

The other day I was listening to a recording of a conversation between Deepak Chopra and Dr. Wayne Dyer, both highly respected men in the area of spirituality and the New Age movement.  This recording was on the subject of the existence of God and universal spirituality. It was recorded a couple of years ago – Dr. Wayne Dyer passed away in 2015.  As I listened to the interesting views from both Deepak and Wayne Dyer, the conversation turned to the topic of nonbelievers and the proof that God exists, and Dr. Dyer stated that Bill Maher was an idiot for not believing in God and Deepak agreed and went into strong criticism of Bill Maher.  This point in the conversation threw me off because these two men condemning Bill Maher for his views are the same two men who passionately advocate acceptance, compassion, understanding, and forgiveness as essentials for living a life of peace, joy, love, and fulfillment. Here’s my ah-ha moment… I accept that even esteemed experts that millions of people put on a pedestal are still humans who fall off occasionally.

I like Bill Maher and watch his show on HBO, “Real Time.”  Perhaps I even put him into my category of “guru” because I see him as a genuine leader and entertainer.  He invites guests of vastly different backgrounds and beliefs to discuss the topical issues with him on his show.  It’s a civilized forum and an example of how free speech works.  The discussions often become heated and hilariously sarcastic, but the opposing sides get a chance to express themselves and the studio and TV audience benefits by hearing these diverse views. It’s not a show for soft subjects with a “feel good” format.  Bill Maher delivers his views and messages with an in-your-face, comedic approach which makes it “real” and entertaining.  Being an atheist does not prevent him from being a person of compassion with a real concern for the well-being of humanity.  In my quest for balance and grounding in my life, I look to a variety of inspirational specialists, which includes Bill Maher, to motivate me. I’m going to accept that influential people don’t fit a prescribed mold. Even Bill Maher can take it too far and offend people with an impulsive remark. The discussions often become heated and hilariously sarcastic, but the opposing sides get a chance to express themselves and the studio and TV audience benefits by hearing these diverse views. It’s not a show for soft subjects with a “feel good” format.  Bill Maher delivers his views and messages with an in-your-face, comedic approach which makes it “real” and entertaining.  Being an atheist does not prevent him from being a person of compassion with a real concern for the well-being of humanity.  In my quest for balance and grounding in my life, I look to a variety of inspirational specialists, which includes Bill Maher, to motivate me. I’m going to accept that influential people don’t fit a prescribed mold.

Take a look at this video excerpt from a recent episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher.” Atheist or not, Bill appeals to the world as a whole to focus on reversing global warming and save the Earth.  I call this preaching the word.

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