hippies and the New Age

There is one energy within us which comes close in strength to our spirituality. That is the energy of procreation, sexual energy. In the 1960’s the contraceptive pill came into being and this little invention transformed human society. Before the contraceptive pill, it was difficult for a woman to avoid pregnancy and childbirth. It was possible, but it took a lot of determination. So, for most women, prior to the contraceptive pill, much of their energy was consumed with growing babies, bringing them into the world and rearing them. That changed in the 1960’s. With the pill women could have much more choice, much more control over whether or not they became pregnant, in a simple, practical way. For those women that chose to use the pill, it freed up energy for other things. For some that meant pursuing careers, but for others it allowed them to focus their energy on their spiritual journey.

With this shift in the female consciousness, men too felt liberation. Somehow now relationship, family, children no longer needed to be the centre of life. With this great liberation the hippie movement was born. Nowadays most of us do not hold the hippie movement in very high esteem. Yet, at the time it was radical, bold, a courageous exploration of alternative lifestyles involving everything from free love to environmentally friendly ways of living. For our spiritual exploration this was a great contribution of the hippie movement – the total disregard for the established way of doing things and the courage to try new things, try new ways. For our own personal spiritual journey it is essential to have this attitude. It is the only way to break free of conditioning that has been imposed upon us, and to live an authentic life, true to our own inner nature.

With time, the hippie movement slowly matured into New Age spirituality which is thriving to this day. In the New Age there is no attempt to organise spirituality, to make a religion. It gives a great space of freedom for each individual to find his own way, to find her own path. It is understood that we do not need to follow the same practices, or even have the same beliefs. We can find some way to live harmoniously with each other and with nature.

This great freedom for the individual is a wonderful contribution of the New Age movement. This form of spirituality puts the New Age movement at the leading edge of human consciousness, as we humans struggle to find ways to live sustainably on this little planet.