Defense of New Age

Nowhere in the pages of my book (“The Aquarian Conspiracy”) will you find the term New Age. I was indeed describing a long-anticipated turning point, a new perception, a shift from materialistic ambitions to more interpersonal and spiritual values. But I did not want this benign conspiracy to be lumped under the broad heading of New Age, which was already somewhat loose and commercial.

However, I have to take exception to the New Age bashing that characterized the “skeptics convergence” Sipchen covered. The tone of the conference seems to have been as hysterical as that of a recent cover story in the Humanist edited by conference organizer Paul Kurtz, which starts off by proclaiming healers “the vermin of the Earth.”

Like all self-appointed thought police Kurtz and the members of CSICOPS (Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal) seem to oppose the right of individuals to interpret their own experiences. This is the worst kind of slander, hype and censorship.

MARILYN FERGUSON

Los Angeles