A correspondent from ABC News recently asked us to define "New Age."  Dan Harris had been doing some research on Sedona and was bewildered by the 80 or so "spiritual" businesses in town, offering everything from "dolphin energy healing" to a Doctoral Degree in Metaphysics.  We've seen it happen to many others.  Our town is so full of alternative explanations that many who come here seeking answers leave more lost and confused than when they arrived.  Hopefully, our response will provide some insight for all those who feel called to Sedona.

New Age spirituality is fundamentally different from religion in that it has no sacred tests, no founding fathers, no dogma, no centralized organization and no clergy.  It is characterized by an individual approach to spiritual practice and the rejection of religious dogma.

Humanity has struggled with the most basic and fundamental questions since the invention of language.  What is the nature of reality?  What is the meaning of life?  Who am I?  Why are we here?  Over the millenia we have turned to various prophets, sages,  philosphers and scientists to provide us with the answers. 

Whether we like it or not, we are now living in a new age where breakthroughs in science are challenging long held ideas about the true nature of reality, and much of the scientific evidence conflicts with tradtional mainstream theology.  Because our religions were founded on texts thousands of years old, they have not be able to shift with the new understanding that science has produced, and continue to adhere to beliefs that have been disproven.  At the same time we now have more information about spiritual traditions from around the world -- more than even the most academic experts had just a century ago.  All of this is forcing   people worldwide to take another look at their belief systems.  

Of course, some simply stick their heads into the sand and retreat into the familiar safety of fundamentalism. 

At SpiritQuest we have come to believe the major religions of the world share certain essential truths, and in these truths they are all pointing toward the same Divine source.  During our retreats we feel completely free to draw from Christianity, Bhuddism, Hinduism and Native America when discussing Universal Truth, and in this sense we are New Age.  What about the differences between them?  Doesn't someone have be right and the others wrong?  We believe these differences to be the expression of purely ethnic ideas, or attempts to fill in gaps in understanding with the inadequate information that was available at the time.  The ancients can be forgiven for being less than perfect.  Looking back from our modern perspective, it is far more amazing how much they got right. As much as we understand today, some of it will turn out to be wrong in the future.

We also have great respect for the power of science, and believe that new insights in quantum physics, psychology and brain science are pointing in the same direction.  This holds out the promise that the long-standing rift between science and religion may eventually be healed.  It is in this sense that SpiritQuest can be called a non-denomenational New Age retreat.  Our staff at wholeheartedly endorses the individual approach to spituality.  We believe the private one-on-one journey with a highly developed spiritual teacher is the most effective and transformative.

ABC News also asked us about all the psychics and the channelers in Sedona, and how we felt about The Secret and the Law of Attraction. 

If you think about it, two very different ideas are being postulated here.  Psychics claim your life is predestined, that THEY have the ability to foretell your future, and they are happy to tell you what IS going to happen -- for the right price, of course.  "The Secret" suggests that you have the unlimited ability to create your own reality, and therefore you can use the Law of Attraction to change your future into anything YOU desire -- once you've gone through a few of their training seminars.

We do not claim to know the full potential of the human mind. It seems to us there is a part of reality that you can control.  This is particularly true in the social realm.  Having a positive attitude and surrounding yourself with successful people clearly enhances your earning ability.  At SpiritQuest we believe there is an intuitive realm where individuals can make amazing things happen through intention.  But there is also another side of reality that is outside of our control... a side that must be surrendered to.

So life is a paradox between destiny and free will.  This is exactly the paradox Forest Gump speaks of at the end of the movie!  Thus it has always been, and perhaps always will be.  In accepting that we have the power to change our own lives through choice and intention, while at the same time surrenduring to that which is beyond our control, Katherine and I have found not only complete freedom but a profound joy as well.

Finally they asked, "How does one tell the true teachers from the fakes in the self-help industry?"  It's easy:  the true teacher wants you to finally get it.  They want you to graduate!  From that point forward LIFE becomes your teacher.  They do not seek followers or encouage attachment to anything other than Univeral Truth.  Mostly they accomplish their mission by asking questions and allowing you to discover the answer for yourself.  It's an individual journey to Universal Truth, in which even the wrong turns and scam artists can play an essential role by helping the seeker develop discernment.

To all our friends and family,

Namaste