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A Rough Guide to New Age Teachers

EnergyGrid Guide

(Updated 21 Oct 05)

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

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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

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