The New Age Movement and the Roots of Energy Meditation: A Reading of Contemporary Pagan Philosophies

Contemporary reports indicate that approximately five hundred million people worldwide practice various forms of meditation, reflecting the rapid spread of what is known as the New Age movement—an intellectual current that has promoted practices derived from East Asian paganism under bright and attractive titles.

These practices—such as yoga, energy meditation, and breathing exercises—hide behind a veil of relaxation, self-development, raising awareness, and mental health. However, a careful examination of the roots of these practices reveals that they are not neutral or healthy practices as marketed, but rather an ancient spiritual philosophy that originated in purely pagan environments.

The Connection to Shamanism and Spiritual Sorcery

Energy meditation is originally linked to the rituals of Shamanism and spiritual sorcery, where the practitioner intentionally disables conscious thinking and enters altered states of consciousness through specific rituals, claiming to reach healing or metaphysical knowledge.

Shamanism is a spiritual practice in which the practitioner interacts with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as a trance, for the purpose of healing, divination, or providing aid to humans.

Source: Researcher Manvir Singh in his study (Shamanism: The Timeless Religion)

This infiltration of Eastern philosophies into contemporary societies necessitates caution against slipping behind psychological terms that package pagan doctrines which conflict with Monotheism (Tawhid) and the sound scientific method.