I came of spiritual age at the height of the New Age — a time when postpsychedelic, open-minded seekers began their in-depth search for meaning and purpose within humanity’s collective awareness. As a Western seeker, I traveled up and down what I called the “dharma highway,” a network of spiritual roads, esoteric bookstores, visiting teachers, and upward climbs to spiritual retreats. Along the way, I attended workshops, channeling sessions, seances, book signings, satsangs, darshans, and meditations for peace.
It was 1987, and we were all abuzz about the Harmonic Convergence, the world’s first globally synchronized meditation event. The long-awaited crack in the cosmic egg had appeared, and from it, sprung as many modalities, mediums, and mysteries as anyone could wish for.
“Alternative wisdom,” a tiny phrase we mostly take for granted today, was the code word we looked for in deciding who we would listen to and how far we would travel to do so. Alternative wisdom meant that we did not have to accept the status quo of mainstream religion without first comparing it to our personal experience.