Post by Dauxo on Nov 17, 2002 21:33:25 GMT -5
Hello, I just discovered this site and am pleasantly surprised. I read "Illusions" as a teenager in the 1980's, and it is still my favorite RB book.
At the time I was just getting interested in spiritual subjects. I discovered Kahlil Gibran and Edgar Cayce at about the same time, and wondered if there was some connection between them, that maybe all "mystics" (whatever that might be) shared.
So finally I get to ask somebody, what do we know about RB's spiritual orientation? Can we pin any labels onto it that might help us to understand it better, contextualize it?
Perhaps somebody remembers what religion if any RB was raised as. Alhough this would not necessarily have sunk in or determined much of his future course, it still should have had some influence. And do we know of any later affiliations?
Drawing connections on the basis of similarities is hazardous, I admit. For example, as a teenager I recall noticing that RB's "vampire" concept in "Illusions" is substantially the same as that of Anton Szandor LaVey in "The Satanic Bible." (At the time I was not only a spiritual seeker, but also something of a head-banger!) Now RB as devil-worshipper isn't a very persuasive image ;D but on the other hand RB was obviously interested in and a part of the New Age movement.
"You create your own reality" is an idea we associate with the popular New Age movement of the 1980's, but it has an earlier history with Christian Science and the New Thought movement. (New Thought churches would include Religious Science and the Unity School of Christianity.) Today CS is kind of hidebound and dull, but a century ago it was cutting-edge and radical--like the New Age of recent years. It also inspired a number of spin-offs, including the Course In Miracles books. Meanwhile New Thought has allowed itself to become New Age-ified (not a difficult jump at all) and has never been as exclusive as CS. In fact many people left CS for New Thought for this very reason.
The basic insight behind CS is that God, being completely good, could never create evil. This implies that evil is illusory. CS believers even avoid medical treatment out of this conviction. New Thought emphasizes more the role of mind over matter. It does not generally reject the existence of evil (such as sickness, or poverty) but stresses that by changing consciousness, you can change your world.
Some New Thought authors even accepted reincarnation. Many (perhaps most) New Thought churches accept that Eastern religions have much wisdom, though many (perhaps most) prefer to emphasize Christ and the Bible in their own practice.
The idea of "thought forms" has an origin in Theosophy, and before that in Bulwer-Lytton's Rosicrucian novel "Zanoni." Often these were malevolent--demonic, really, anticipating RB's more cartoonish vampire figure.
"Infinite, Radiant Is" sounds very much like New Thought language.
So, what do you think? Comments?
Incidentally, in "One" and most recently, "Out of My Mind," RB gives us a spiritual interpretation of alternate history / parallel universes. It's a wonderful idea, and I wonder what inspired this idea which is found in physics, economics, historical novels, military strategy, and of course popular culture (comics and movies).
At the time I was just getting interested in spiritual subjects. I discovered Kahlil Gibran and Edgar Cayce at about the same time, and wondered if there was some connection between them, that maybe all "mystics" (whatever that might be) shared.
So finally I get to ask somebody, what do we know about RB's spiritual orientation? Can we pin any labels onto it that might help us to understand it better, contextualize it?
Perhaps somebody remembers what religion if any RB was raised as. Alhough this would not necessarily have sunk in or determined much of his future course, it still should have had some influence. And do we know of any later affiliations?
Drawing connections on the basis of similarities is hazardous, I admit. For example, as a teenager I recall noticing that RB's "vampire" concept in "Illusions" is substantially the same as that of Anton Szandor LaVey in "The Satanic Bible." (At the time I was not only a spiritual seeker, but also something of a head-banger!) Now RB as devil-worshipper isn't a very persuasive image ;D but on the other hand RB was obviously interested in and a part of the New Age movement.
"You create your own reality" is an idea we associate with the popular New Age movement of the 1980's, but it has an earlier history with Christian Science and the New Thought movement. (New Thought churches would include Religious Science and the Unity School of Christianity.) Today CS is kind of hidebound and dull, but a century ago it was cutting-edge and radical--like the New Age of recent years. It also inspired a number of spin-offs, including the Course In Miracles books. Meanwhile New Thought has allowed itself to become New Age-ified (not a difficult jump at all) and has never been as exclusive as CS. In fact many people left CS for New Thought for this very reason.
The basic insight behind CS is that God, being completely good, could never create evil. This implies that evil is illusory. CS believers even avoid medical treatment out of this conviction. New Thought emphasizes more the role of mind over matter. It does not generally reject the existence of evil (such as sickness, or poverty) but stresses that by changing consciousness, you can change your world.
Some New Thought authors even accepted reincarnation. Many (perhaps most) New Thought churches accept that Eastern religions have much wisdom, though many (perhaps most) prefer to emphasize Christ and the Bible in their own practice.
The idea of "thought forms" has an origin in Theosophy, and before that in Bulwer-Lytton's Rosicrucian novel "Zanoni." Often these were malevolent--demonic, really, anticipating RB's more cartoonish vampire figure.
"Infinite, Radiant Is" sounds very much like New Thought language.
So, what do you think? Comments?
Incidentally, in "One" and most recently, "Out of My Mind," RB gives us a spiritual interpretation of alternate history / parallel universes. It's a wonderful idea, and I wonder what inspired this idea which is found in physics, economics, historical novels, military strategy, and of course popular culture (comics and movies).