A Rough Guide to
New Age Teachers
EnergyGrid Guide (Updated
21 Oct 05) |
| |
DIRECTORY |
| |
| This directory is not meant to be comprehensive or definitive. Its purpose is to encourage the reader to be more discerning with regards to spiritual teachers and teachings. Ultimately, we all have to walk the spiritual path ourselves — nobody can do it for us or even lead us by the hand. And a place to start is to seek out those teachers who encourage us to find the infinite within our own soul, rather than those who manipulate us into projecting our inner divinity onto themselves. Never allow the outer guru to eclipse the inner guru. Never! |
|
| |
| Listed Alphabetically
by Last name or Group Name |
| a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z |
| |
 |
|
Highly recommended |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
Stay clear |
|
| |
|
Brandon Bays  |
Facilitates workshops around a
modified timeline NLP technique called "The Journey".
Pros: Charismatic teacher with a useful
NLP technique that can help some people with certain
issues.
Cons: Bays is an personal development
teacher posing as a spiritual master. She runs expensive
abundance weekends, and even has the confidence to
give satsang.
Conclusion: Take an NLP workshop or
read timeline NLP books and you don't need to do Bays'
The Journey. |
| Website: www.thejourney.com |
| EG Article: Hijacking
Natural Enlightenment |
| |
Gregg Braden  |
Modern day prophet and author of
several books.
Pros: Seems to be well-meaning and
his heart appears to be in the right place. Can
be quite inspiring. His latest book The Divine Matrix is excellent. Cons: Just about all the "evidence" he
uses to justify his teachings is spurious, and the
fact that he seems to be largely unchallenged in this
only bears testimony to the gullibility and scientific
naïvety of the New Age community.
Conclusion: Treat his scientific
and scriptural "evidence" as fiction
and focus on his sentiments. It is a shame his
work is so sloppy and contrived as his heart is in the right place and he can be so inspirational. His very recent stuff (Divine Matrix) is better as it is more inspiration-type writing.) |
| Website: www.greggbraden.com |
| EG Article: What
Happened to Gregg Braden? |
| Link: www.skepticreport.com/mystics/braden-book.htm |
| |
Pema Chodron  |
Western Tibetan Buddhism teacher who heads a Buddhist
community Nova Scotia.
Pros: Extremely wise, insightful and
humble meditation teacher able to clearly and inspirationally
communicate her message. Has written some very good
books.
Cons: Very much a religious Buddhist
teaching a Buddhist path, which may not be to some
people's taste.
Conclusion: At least give some of
her books a read. This woman is extremely insightful
and her Western heritage means that she understands
contemporary psychology. |
| Website: www.pemachodron.com |
| |
Depak Chopra  |
Chopra is a medical doctor who
brought Indian philosophy and Ayurvedic medicine to
the New Age community.
Pros: Inspirational and very high
profile. As a doctor, much of his work relates to health
and well-being.
Cons: Seems to have fallen for the
Hollywood lifestyle and has become a guru for the rich
and famous.
Conclusion: His books are certainly
worth a read although Chopra himself is not quite the
teacher he used to be. That said, our experience of his most recent lectures is that he is back on track! |
| Website: www.chopra.com |
| |
Andrew Cohen  |
Another self-proclaimed enlightened
master.
Pros: Seems high-profile in alternative
spiritual circles and produces a great magazine What
is Enlightenment?
Cons: Is entirely self-obsessed and
narcissistic, and presents himself as an enlightened
guru. His spiritual lineage also seems to be contrived.
Conclusion: Some of what he teaches is good, but he never seems to stray far from the guru-disciple worldview (with himself as the master of course). He seems to have entirely fallen for his own delusion
of enlightenment. |
| Website: www.andrewcohen.org |
| Link: www.themotherofgod.com |
| Link: www.spiritualpassages.com/mother_of_god.htm |
| |
David Deida  |
Made his mark with books on relationships. His writings have sinced branched out and he gives workshops now.
Pros: One of the most insightful and provocative writers alive; Deida is one of the few who can describe and teach love in all its shades and colours.
Cons: Some may be unconformable with his honest and direct views on tantra and sex.
Conclusion: Deida has raised the bar of relationship teachers clean out of sight. It is an absolute pleasure to read someone who can speak and write from the heart. |
| Website: www.bluetruth.com |
| Website: www.deida.info |
| |
Wayne Dyer  |
Author and lecturer who churns
out loads of books.
Pros: Can always be relied upon to
come up with the goods — something that seems
pretty wise and practical.
Cons: Writes too much and is mainly
focused on personal development rather than genuine
spiritual unfolding. His material doesn't seem to have that spark or edge.
Conclusion: Dyer's books are worth
a read. They seem pretty wise, and yet have a certain
flatness about them. |
| Website: www.drwaynedyer.com |
| |
|
|
Chris Griscom  |
New Age teacher par excellence
who was an important teacher for Shirley MacLaine.
Pros: She really walks her talk. Griscom
is most definitely a fantastic spiritual teacher and
one that has been careful not to set herself up as
a guru.
Cons: Some might dislike her "Californian
New Agey" vibe.
Conclusion: Chris Griscom is a woman
with deep wisdom who knows what real spiritual growth
is. |
| Website: www.chrisgriscom.com |
| |
Thich Nhat Hanh  |
Buddhist teacher who has written
many books.
Pros: A true spiritual master with
great humility. Reading one of Thich Nhat Hanh's books
is probably pretty close to what it must have been
to personally hear the Buddha teach. An absolute inspiration!
Cons: Some may not like the fact that
he is Buddhist, but he is not dogmatic about it in
any way and always places people and open-heartedness
above his religion.
Conclusion: Thich Nhat Hanh is a fantastic
spiritual teacher. Look out for his classic, The
Miracle of Mindfulness. |
| Website: www.plumvillage.org |
| |
David Hawkins  |
Kinesiologist who has several books
on the calibration of truth using simple muscle testing.
Pros: Seems to give simple and pat
answers to life's complex questions and concerns. Hawkins
seems loving.
Cons: His teaching is just religious
fundamentalism dressed up as New Age spirituality,
and relies on the erroneous assumption that kinesiology
can be infallibly objective.
Conclusion: Not recommended. Hawkins'
pseudo-scientific fundamentalism is counterproductive
to spiritual evolution. |
| Website: www.veritaspub.com |
| EG Article: Dowsing
for God: A Critique of Power vs Force |
| Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_R_Hawkins |
| |
David Icke  |
Author, teacher and lecturer on
conspiracy theories, our collective human destiny and spirituality.
Pros: Digs up a lot of very interesting
and sometimes obscure information and presents it all in a single coherent and breath-taking paradigm. He is also a great champion of the ordinary person. More
recently, he has started to focus more on love than conspiracy. Has great humour, a very personable writing style and is not afraid to be out there. He is refreshingly vocal at challenging "the system".
Cons: He dwells
heavily on negative conspiracy such as
the UK Royal Family eating babies and the reptilian
infiltration of human society. He is a literalist with
little understanding of myth or symbolism. Some believe him to be anti-semitic because he questions Judaism (but he actually questions ALL religions). He has a slight Massiah-complex and his followers tend to put him on a pedestal. His spirituality seems overly conceptual.
Conclusion: Icke has grown up spiritually
in public and has courageously faced huge ridicule
for his beliefs. His latest book, Infinite Love is the Only Truth, shows that he has matured a great deal, and his irreverence
for outdated systems is inspiringly refreshing. However, energetically he still comes across more as a conspiracy monger than a spiritual teacher, but he certainly shakes things up! |
| Website: www.davidicke.com |
| |
Franklin Jones (Adi Da)  |
American self-proclaimed guru and
enlightened master living with his close disciples
in Fiji.
Pros: Jones' first book, The Knee
of Listening, is quite interesting in its description
of spiritual development.
Cons: They say that power corrupts,
and that is exactly what seems to have happened to
Jones, with stories of drug, drink and sexual abuse,
orgies, humiliation and temper tantrums being told
by ex-followers.
Conclusion: Stay
away from this dangerous madman. |
| Website: www.adidam.org |
| Link: www.adidaarchives.org |
| Link: www.rickross.com/groups/adida.html |
| |
Jack Kornfield  |
Spiritual teacher, psychologist,
meditation master and author of several books.
Pros: This man's humility and wisdom
shines from every word he says and every page he writes.
Kornfield sets himself up above nobody, and teaches
from the heart.
Cons: None… well there is one… his
first book, which is excellent, has a bit of a cheesy
title! lol
Conclusion: Kornfield is not trying
to convert anybody to any particular belief system,
but as all wise men and women do, he teaches only loving-kindness
and honesty. He is one of the very best teachers
around. |
| Website: www.spiritrock.org |
| |
|
Thomas Moore  |
Christian spiritual teacher who
lived as a Catholic monk for 12 years and has written
several books.
Pros: Moore is a wise man who has
faced his own dark nights of the soul and come out
the other side shining. This is also a man with great
humanity and humility.
Cons: We can't think of any except that some people might hold the fact that he is a Christian against him.
Conclusion: Read one of Moore's books
or go to one of his lectures. This is a man who all
of us can really learn from. |
| Website: www.careofthesoul.net |
|
| |
|
Ken Page  |
California-sytle New Age teacher
and author.
Pros: Insightful, challenging and
very warm teacher. Will take you to the "far side".
Cons: Some might find him too New
Agey in a "way out" sort of Californian way.
Conclusion: If you are looking for
a more New Agey type teacher, Ken Page is your man.
What we like about him is that his spirituality is
always evolving, and is not dogmatic. |
| Website: www.kenpage.com |
| |
|
Sondra Ray  |
One of the original developers
of rebirthing and founder of Loving
Relationships training.
Pros: Has really done the work on
herself and walks her talk. Does not compromise her
ideals.
Cons: At first glance can appear New
Agey, and some find her immortalist beliefs (from Leonard
Orr) a bit far fetched.
Conclusion: Ray has maintained her
humanity and integrity in the face of a high profile
in New Age circles. She is one of the few New Age teachers
embodying true devotion to God. |
| Website: www.sondraray.com |
| |
John de Ruiter  |
Self-proclaimed enlightened master
from Canada.
Pros: Some of his teaching appears
insightful and deep.
Cons: He has been swept away on the
enlightenment trip and although his teaching sounds
deep, if you listen to it carefully you find an unacceptable
amount of facile circular reasoning. He advocates "core-splitting
honesty" and yet denied having affairs which he
later tried to justify.
Conclusion: de Ruiter gives a good
impersonation of enlightenment, but that is about it. He is wholly sold
on the guru trip and actually has very little to offer. |
| Website: www.johnderuiter.com |
| EG Article: Two
Evenings with John de Ruiter |
| Link: www.rickross.com/reference/ruiter/ruiter2.html |
| Link: www.rickross.com/reference/ruiter/ruiter3.html |
| |
don Miguel Ruiz  |
A nagual from the Mexican Toltec
shamanic tradition and author of several books.
Pros: Ruiz gives about the best shamanic
teachings to come out of South America. Shamanism can
seem complex and chaotic to the Western mind but Ruiz
is able to lay down a solid and consistent
foundation.
Cons: Shamanism is not an armchair
philosophy, although Ruiz's books can still be very
helpful by themselves. You will need to spend
some time with an actual shaman to really grok what it is all about.
Conclusion: If shamanism is your path,
Ruiz is your man. He speaks with a wise, healing and
humble heart. |
| Website: www.miguelruiz.com |
|
| |
Eckhart Tolle  |
An inspiring spiritual teacher
and author, Tolle is one of the most unusual self-realized
Western masters.
Pros: Does not seem personally to
be attached to money, power and fame. He encourages
each of us to find our own enlightenment and shows
us how.
Cons: As Tolle gets more famous, there
is a danger that those around him will put him on a
pedestal and turn his whole teaching enterprise into
a lucrative business — which some say is happening already .
Conclusion: Tolle really seems an
enlightened individual and his books and lectures are
outstanding. |
| Website: www.eckharttolle.com |
| |
|
|
Ken Wilber  |
Ken Wilber has become THE New Age philosopher, with his books laying the foundation for the whole Kosmos.
Pros: A Brain with a capital B. Very very intelligent and argues with great insight. Also covers concepts such as God and spirit in his grand cosmology, subjects that few other modern philosophers are bold enough to.
Cons: His work can be dry and pedantic — doesn't seem to lead you anywhere except intellectually. Personally, he can come across a little cold and arrogant, and irritatingly describes himself as a "pandit" (Indian wise man).
Conclusion: If you want an intellectual understanding of modern New Age spirituality, then Wilber is your man. But if you want to actually walk the path, then you will need someone with much more viseral depth. |
| Website: www.kenwilber.com |
| Link: www.bluetruth.org |
| |
Stuart Wilde  |
Stuart Wilde is the popular maverick
of the New Age and personal development worlds.
Pros: A real character with a humorous,
outrageous and direct style of writing and speaking. His
books are uniquely enlightening and very direct.
Cons: As a "real character" he
can come across egotistical, opinionated and sometimes,
in person, downright rude. Some of his philosophy seems to be
right-wing politics masquerading as spiritual teaching.
He seems to be modeling himself on the Keanu Reeves
character in the film Constantine.
Conclusion: Wilde's teaching can be a bore, but he does have flashes of brilliance that are worth finding. In many ways, he is a spiritually-developed man, but his personality is so colorful that one can easily get distracted by that and overlook his actual teachings. You either love him or hate him. (We actually love him but realize that he is not for everyone — hence only 3 stars.) |
| Website: www.stuartwilde.com/SW_books.htm |
| |
Marianne Williamson  |
Inspirational speaker and writer,
and one of the main proponents for A Course in
Miracles.
Pros: A very open-hearted and beautiful
person. She is an angel and a fantastic
inspiration.
Cons: Almost exclusively focused on
A Course in Miracles as the sole fountain of truth
and wisdom. Her vernacular is too patriarchal
and Christian for many people.
Conclusion: If, like most, you find
A Course in Miracles long and tedious to read, go and
hear Williamson speak or read one of her excellent
books. She is inspirational! |
| Website: www.marianne.com |
|
|
|
| |