David Spangler is a former leader of the Findhorn
community. He currently heads a group of his own, the Lorian Foundation. For
some reason, Spangler is sometimes considered to be the founder (!) of the New
Age. Christian fundamentalists consider him to be the Anti-Christ. Or one of
them? Spangler's soft and mushy form of spirituality isn't really my cup of
tea, but it's still a welcome contrast to the weird blend of earthly narcissism
and world-denying Gnosticism that plagues much New Age writing.
"An introduction to Incarnational Spirituality" is precisely what it claims to be, a basic introduction to Spangler's ideas. Spangler's basic idea is that we are supposed to be here. While humans are indeed immortal souls, we are not "trapped" in evil matter. Rather, our incarnation on Earth is a positive step in our evolution. We cannot or should not escape it. Instead, we must master our material incarnation and learn to live in harmony with each other, nature and Gaia herself (Gaia is also a kind of incarnated soul). Spangler believes that the human person is an emergent property of several different spirit-beings who work in tandem. (I admit that I didn't quite understand this part!) Apart from us, the world is inhabited by a wide variety of spirits, some of which humans can and should establish contact with. An important task for humans and spirits alike is "energy hygiene" and "subtle activism", which recharges our world with positive, healing energy. Spangler also believes that simply living our lives in a loving manner within the family or community is a positive form of spirituality itself. The book contains various exercises to enhance our Sovereignty, Self-Light and Grail Space. The emphasis is on positive self-affirmation together with others.
As I said, a bit too mushy for my taste, but what a contrast to many other "metaphysical" writers I tried to read lately...
Those who want even more of Spangler, could read "Subtle Worlds" and "Reflections on the Christ" after this one. For some overall context, you might also like Spangler's and Thompson's "Reimagination of the world".
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