They were revered as pioneers among the flower people of San Francisco ten years later. Yet the yearning for new life that drove them to these extremes is still with us today. Besides drugs, others means were tried too, like meditation, ancient or modern rituals of group life, escape to life in a commune, absorption in the various creative and expressive arts, varieties of sexual experience, explorations of alternative religions, crystals, taro cards, astrology, tea leaves, all kinds of fortune telling, alterative therapies, and who knows what. Much of it has been caught up in what is known broadly as the New Age movement, which includes a great deal of nonsense and provides an income for a good many people who are able to appeal to the superstition and credulity of a population that is hungry for spiritual things. Having given up the church and traditional religion people seek alternatives to satisfy their hunger.
Book shops are full of alternatives.
Even where there is an interest in Christian traditions, the most fanciful, even ridiculous, constructions of the life of Christ sell very much better than straight forward accounts. Perhaps it is because while the real thing offers more it also demands more, and in our consumer society people want everything at the lowest possible price. The New Age movement does at least have the merit that it recognizes the spiritual nature of human beings. In that respect it is not far removed from the ancient or primitive religions it has sometimes sought to revive. If only people today would lay aside their prejudice and be prepared to learn from the Bible and Christian tradition they would find there great riches.