integration of holistic healing, alternative spirituality, esotericism, environmental sensitivity, alternative life-styles, awareness of other dimensions of existence, and attunement to the cosmos. What is bad about the New Age (and how to avoid the pitfalls) Unfortunately, as with all such movements, the New Age has fallen prey to all manner of fakes and charlatans and rip-off merchants. These can fortunately be avoided by a simple rule of thumb. i.e.: if anyone asks you for money before giving you a mantra, cleansing your aura, raising your vibration, awakening your kundalini, taking you on a vision quest, initiating you into hermetics, or anything else, they are a fake and to be avoided like the plague. . . . note regarding clairvoyants: there are many psychics and clairvoyants who ask for money for aura readings etc. Although this may seem like a fair service, remember that these people are psychics, they are not spiritual. They have an awakening into the etheric and astral (lower psychic) planes. They do not necessarily (or even) have a spiritual awakening. This is a simple fact: a true spiritual teacher never asks for money. Once you have this simple fact at hand, you may explore the weird and wonderful world of the New Age (or what insignificant amount there is of left of it once the profit-mongers and greed merchants are eliminated) at your leisure! What else is bad about the New Age Another problem that characterises the New Age is an absolute lack of critical thinking. People