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The "Me Generation" and the Quest for Self Improvement and Spirituality

MyFinalRest

MyFinalRest

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_generation
So, certain authors such as Christopher Lasch have criticized Westerners intersest in New Age spirituality and yoga etc. as a means to perpetuate a tendency towards self-absorbtion and narcissism at the expense of social responsibility and consideration for others. On one hand, I agree, and on another, I think that Western exploration into Eastern culture and spirituality is an excellent thing.

But, the dilemma is this, is it narcisstic and somehow wrong to be on this quest for self improvement? If you see most yoga books and videos, it is advertised as a means not for spirituality, but for things like "flexibility, physical fitness, and relaxation." The interest in things like this could be good if it leads to an authentic understanding of the borrowed cultural and spiritual practices, but has just turned into a "me generation" distortion of a great and ancient thing? Are we missing some serious points when we practice things like yoga and meditation for personal well-being while skipping over the importance of philosophical and spiritual transcendence?

It's interesting to consider the amount of energy wasted at gyms just so we can look better (or feel better) when we could use that work to do something productive that can be shared with others...something that really helps others...
If you are going to burn calories and alot time to things, why not do it for something else other than selfish gain?
 
"Narcissism" implies that the self-directed behavior is deleterious towards everyone but the self. Thus not everything that is self-directed can ingenuously be described as "narcissistic."

The critics you address in your post only have a point if they can prove that "New Age," as vague and indecisive as the term may be, is at odds with holism.

Considering "Western exploration into Eastern culture" is a great example of holism, they have a tough case in front of them.
 
MyFinalRest said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_generation
So, certain authors such as Christopher Lasch have criticized Westerners intersest in New Age spirituality and yoga etc. as a means to perpetuate a tendency towards self-absorbtion and narcissism at the expense of social responsibility and consideration for others. On one hand, I agree, and on another, I think that Western exploration into Eastern culture and spirituality is an excellent thing.
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i don't know very much about eastern culture but i wouldn't be suprised if what is presented as eastern culture in the west is nothing like genuine eastern culture. more, cherry picked, dumbed down, pricetagged and made palatable to western consumers.

MyFinalRest said:
It's interesting to consider the amount of energy wasted at gyms just so we can look better (or feel better) when we could use that work to do something productive that can be shared with others...something that really helps others...
If you are going to burn calories and alot time to things, why not do it for something else other than selfish gain?
Click to expand...

how is sitting around meditating going to help others? so many people still need food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, not spirituality.
 
i against i said:
how is sitting around meditating going to help others? so many people still need food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, not spirituality.
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That is how monks have gained enlightenment and were able to direct others toward it. Perhaps with some quiet reflection, contemplation, and then the gained habit of lessened internal dialogue, you are then free to put more effort into helping others. I don't know...my brain is finished for the day and probably the rest of the week. I need to gather my wits about me before I get back into this one.
 
I think it's a bunch of nonsense that distracts people from both learning how things ACTUALLY work, and from exercising effectively
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Basically this, though the adjective 'New Age' is quite hard to succinctly define; and by my usage, it's typically pejorative. The etymology of the term is bizarre enough, to say nothing of the sheer diversity latent within its supposed legion of seekers and devotees.

As a general rule, I doubt that a little thoughtful contemplation and deep breathing exercises are helping to foster a culture of narcissistic inversion. But the minute you exit the realm of such quaint and arguably healthy practices as hatha yoga and traditional meditation and whatnot, you certainly do (IME) encounter a veritable jungle of exploitation and stupidity in which the only common denominators are $$$ and genuine self-obsession.
 
i desire and demand instant enlightenment, and am willing to pay $50.

erm...
what's quackery about yoga? stretching and breathing exercises are pretty awesome ime.

as for the gym, i spend only 60-90 mins in mine each week, which means 2-3 lunch breaks from work. i spend my other lunch hours going on long city walks. it's a de-stressor and i feel better and more capable to charge through all my other endeavours if i am in some semblance of "shape" or "fitness".
I would be hard pressed to be more productive during my lunchtimes than this, and this helps my productivity when not working out.

interesting thread, but things aren't so simple.
 
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There are some people who do yoga as an exercise/fitness routine without really understanding or attempting to use it for what it was actually designed for, which is to bring enlightenment.

Doing yoga is good for you spiritually, but it won't bring about enlightenment on it's own. You must be willing to go much further and this is what many westerners who do yoga ignore. But that is no more selfish than jogging.

As for new age spirituality, I used to study it and eventually became disillusioned with it and now I only study established religions with a long history, namely Christianity and Hinduism. These together provide me with many wonderful spiritual teachings and I find no need for anything else really. The Bible can be hard to understand sometimes and a bit lacking in clear instruction and that is why (if youre interested in Christianity) to also study the teachings of the saints and the early church fathers. Many wonderful people there who really "got it" and explain what the spiritual path is all about, not like the closed minded fundamentalist CHristians that have given CHristianity such a bad name.

But back to seflishness, spirituality can be selfish if you make it all about you "I want enlightenment, I want to improve myself, I want to master meditation, etc etc". However, if you look at what Jesus said he commanded us to give to the poor, heal the sick, clothe the naked, etc. He told us to deny ourselves and follow him. Basically, its about giving not taking. Being able to set aside your interests and your desires for the benefit of others is a great spiritual practice.

The point here is, its all in how you go about it. There are some Buddhist monks who sit around and meditate all the time focusing entirely on perfecting their own minds. The Catholic church argues that this IS selfish and that the real way to God is through the heart, kindness and compassion toward others and surrender of self. Of course that teaching exists in Buddhism too, so my point is that it is all about what YOU do and not spirituality or religion itself that casues selfishness.
 
burn out said:
Doing yoga is good for you spiritually, but it won't bring about enlightenment on it's own.
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I agree and disagree. I agree because nothing brings about anything on its own. I disagree because yoga is holistic. If you did "nothing" but practice yoga the rest of your life would gradually become holy. It did not happen on its own yet it did.

Parahamsa Yogananda essentially says Kriya Yoga will bring about enlightenment on its own.

The Bible can be hard to understand sometimes and a bit lacking in clear instruction and that is why (if youre interested in Christianity) to also study the teachings of the saints and the early church fathers. Many wonderful people there who really "got it" and explain what the spiritual path is all about, not like the closed minded fundamentalist CHristians that have given CHristianity such a bad name.
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What Saints would you suggest?

But back to seflishness, spirituality can be selfish if you make it all about you "I want enlightenment, I want to improve myself, I want to master meditation, etc etc".
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Any reason for going into spirituality is fine. The point is that because it is so holistic eventually you will detach yourself from the "point" that got you into it in the first place.
 
I think helping yourself is just one aspect of helping others; if you don't have a sound mind in a sound body, I don't think you can begin to help others. Sure, many stop at self-improvement, but nobody's perfect. As broadly as the OP defines it, would one say that any hobby is a distraction from helping the community?
 
Well, I strongly disagree. Infact it sounds like a bit of a cop out for someone who hasnt been into spirirtuality... Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental illness, there are people who claim disability on narcissism as they cannot 'deal' with people ei. cannot work due to a serious illness. On the other hand, spirituality is a means to connect with yourself/the universe and develop an ego less state. It's essentially about controlling your mind/emotions and not being controlled by them. While with narcissism you have a condition that limits your perception/understanding some what.
 
Some schools of Yoga like Advaita Vedanta are trying to actually seperate the consciousness from the body. It seems like the me generation was at first attracted to the spiritual benefits, but all that stuck was an enhanced consciousness of the body, and not a healthy one at that.

Enhanced sensory ability in the body is not a bad thing, but in the me generation it's sort of become hypochondriactic. Rather than improvement, it mostly translates into "more worries" about the self.

I hear a lot of talk about the self, a little about others. Self-help gurus always say this, "improve yourself and relationships with others will improve," but maybe you can't improve yourself without first improving your relationships with others. Lots of "cart before the horse" type thinking out there.

It was also disheartening at the time to see people dropping out and breaking off from civic culture and and mainstream society instead of improving it. It's like it was the ultimate in giving up in Western ideals and instead choosing to hide within oneself and do one's "own thing."
 
I think it's both yes and no. It is selfish to go down the path towards Enlightenment, however one can not be of the most use in the world until he/she knows who they are. Otherwise you're just pissing into the wind and taking your best shot at living and the result is what we currenly have, a total fucking mess. Now obviously not everyone involved in spirituality or yoga is looking for the ultimate answer.. there's a lot of narcissism and mental illness present, but the same can be seen in so called normal productive members of society so that point is moot really. At least those people are trying to do something, and least they've caught a whiff that something else is going on, as opposed to just conforming and pretending they're productive and justified like so called normal people.

At the end of the day modern society is a total fucking mess. It's a mad house. Being productive is stupid when we're currently led by total fucknuts and have no actual positive direction as a species. What's the point in being productive when all we're doing is killing the environment on which we depend and killing each other over stupid shit. Fuck that. Until we get some decent leadership and direction I reserve the right to be a self indulgent fuck who couldn't give a shit about being productive (in the traditional sense)
 
MyFinalRest said:
Some schools of Yoga like Advaita Vedanta are trying to actually seperate the consciousness from the body. It seems like the me generation was at first attracted to the spiritual benefits, but all that stuck was an enhanced consciousness of the body, and not a healthy one at that.

Enhanced sensory ability in the body is not a bad thing, but in the me generation it's sort of become hypochondriactic. Rather than improvement, it mostly translates into "more worries" about the self.

I hear a lot of talk about the self, a little about others. Self-help gurus always say this, "improve yourself and relationships with others will improve," but maybe you can't improve yourself without first improving your relationships with others. Lots of "cart before the horse" type thinking out there.

It was also disheartening at the time to see people dropping out and breaking off from civic culture and and mainstream society instead of improving it. It's like it was the ultimate in giving up in Western ideals and instead choosing to hide within oneself and do one's "own thing."
Click to expand...

it is also difficult to know how love someone else, until you love yourself.
 
Portillo said:
Modern society has replaced religion with science
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Fixed your post.

The answer to this topic is, like the answer to everything, to do it yourself. This forum sounds like a lot of theory and little action. Spirituality is discipline. It is something to be practiced every day. Every hour. Every minute.
 
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