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California spirituality
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California spirituality, a New Religious Movement of pluralist, panentheistic "Seekers" of religion and spirituality, that has its humble beginnings as recently as the 1960s in San Francisco , but which could also be traced back to the Ascona Commune in Switzerland during the early 20th century, often draws inspiration from Buddhism, Taoism, orthodox and gnostic Abrahamic beliefs, and East Asian religions such as Hinduism, with an emphasis on Esotericism, Gnosticism, and Theosophy . This New Religious Movement of "Seekers" is often associated with California, and thus the first person to document it in a scholarly way coined it as such, but it is, in practice, an aspect form of religious freedom. California Spirituality is not a religion in that there is no explicit dogma, as it was inspired by the idea that one needs not a priest to talk to their own God, but there does exist a cogent Dharma of Metaphysical Unity, the Karmic Cycle, and the tenants of Gaianism.. “The Seeker Generation,” as Clark has called them, began accepting tenants of religious beliefs, and semi-religious belief systems, beyond Christianity, such as Naturalism and Eastern Philosophy. This group of “Seekers” are mostly descendent from a generation rife with Post-World War II era disillusionment with horrors of modern society wherein people, according to Wade Clark Roof, where mainly seeking “personal meaning and social belonging.” Practitioners and believers of California Spirituality are often simply called Hippies, although that is not always an accurate description, a more appropriate term would be a " Seeker," a phrase also coined by Roof. History In fin de siècle Europe, from 1896-1908, a German youth movement known as Der Wandervogel began to grow as a countercultural reaction to the organized social and cultural clubs that centered on German folk music. In contrast to these formal clubs, Wandervogel emphasized amateur music and singing, creative dress, and communal outings involving hiking and camping . Inspired by the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Goethe, Hermann Hesse, and Eduard Baltzer, Wandervogel attracted thousands of young Germans who rejected the rapid trend toward urbanization and yearned for the pagan, "back-to-nature" spiritual life of their ancestors During the first several decades of the 20th century, these beliefs were introduced to the United States as Germans settled around the country, some opening the first health food stores. Many moved to Southern California where they could practice an alternative lifestyle in a warm climate. In turn, young Americans adopted the beliefs and practices of the new immigrants. One group, called the "Nature Boys", took to the California desert, raised organic food, and espoused a "back-to-nature" lifestyle. Eden Ahbez, a member of this group, wrote a hit song called Nature Boy, which was recorded in 1947 by Nat King Cole, popularizing the homegrown "back-to-nature" movement to mainstream America. Eventually, a few of these "Nature Boys," including the famous Gypsy Boots, made their way to Northern California in 1967, just in time for the Summer of Love in San Francisco . Common Practices Imagery of California Spirituality is prominent in many places around the world, but places surrounding few are as well known as San Francisco and its northern coastal areas, including the southern Oregon coast. These integrations of the some of the practices of the varied belief systems has created a unique culmination of practices that are now nearly characteristic of certain segments of society, most famously the Haight-Ashbury area in San Francisco and the small towns north of the Golden Gate Bridge, onto the southern Oregon fishing villages. The imagery conjured for those whom have been to such places include such social phenomenon as bumper stickers welcoming “seekers” permeating the visual landscape. In the Pacific Northwest the “bumper sticker religion,” as many of the non-Seekers have dubbed it, is omnipresent. Recognizable icons from East and the West, such as (“Aum,” or "Om"), the Lion of Judah, and Native American Prophecies, often appear together as to affirm that all of these are part of a single belief system. See Also
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