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Selling the New Spirituality
Within the last decade, a number of authors have written books in which they share their personal "brush" with a new spirituality. Among these are James Redfield (The Celestine Prophecy, The Tenth Insight and The Secret of Shambhala), Carlos Castaneda (The Power of Silence, Magical Passes, et al) and Richard Behrens (The Lost Scrolls of King Solomon).
While the approach of these men can be interesting to the reader, and even enlightening, the problem arises when the author tries to "sell" their theories beyond the books. For instance, James Redfield offers a newsletter with a subscription price of $29.95 per year, based on his Celestine theories. Llewellyn, publisher of The Lost Scrolls of King Solomon, offers a talisman for sale that will protect the wearer, according to the storyline in the book. And the teachings of Don Juan Matus, recorded by Carlos Castaneda in his books, have been turned into a series of group workshops and further books by Victor Sanchez (The Teachings of Don Carlos).
In a way, this "selling" of spirituality becomes mere profiteering. It cheapens the entire value of the particular method being outlined in the books. The whole idea of writing about a certain spirituality is to share the wisdom with others, not to make money. If the author is solely bent on material gain, then the way he teaches is flawed by his own greed. These men should realize the true spiritual seeker will learn his or her own personal lesson from each book, and be satisfied with that "reward".
The books themselves, especially the Celestine series, leave a bit to be desired, steeped as they are in a "plot of danger" where the main character is always being chased by hostile forces. Castaneda's tales of Don Juan Matus are hard going. The Lost Scrolls of King Solomon is a mild take-off on the Celestine books, with a Jewish twist - the quest is for the coming messiah. All smack of the unrealistic, which increases the level of difficulty when one attempts to assimilate the respective author's ideas.
All humanity is on a learning journey. Those who "know" should willingly share with those who seek for, at some point, those who "know" will become seekers once again. There is no plateau of absolute knowledge; there is always more to learn, and each of us needs teachers at various times. Those who sell their spirituality have, in effect, sold their souls, and may well lag behind the ones who have given freely, because they actually remain enmeshed in the material, instead of transcending to the spiritual, as they claim to have done in print.
- Quill