A Walk on the Weird Side: Part Three

Where have all the hippies gone…, long time passing?

Well, at least some of them are at the cult Center re-living the idiocies of their youths. The Boomer generation was well-represented among the clientele, although most of the women padding around the place seemed to be in their thirties and forties.

The center is very much into nonspecific and morally non-demanding spirituality. It’s a smorgasbord of new-age spiritual silliness. If you are into crystals they are for sale in the gift shop. You can have your “aura” photographed or your tarot read for a price. Wandering around the grounds I noted a plethora of shrines. At one point in its existence the place had been a Jesuit seminary and there are still Catholic remnants here and there. But a few dozen yards away you can find a shrine to Buddha, or Ganesh, or Krishna, or simply to the Earth [presumably a nod to the Gaia cult].












People not involved in the exercise regimen communed with spiritual essences in various ways. Most, like me, just strolled around the grounds and surrounding woods enjoying nature’s beauty. One guy sat alone in the forest with his flute and guitar making non-specific, non-structured, semi-musical noises. I suppose he found them meaningful -- I didn't. At one point I encountered a couple near the earth shrine who were expressing their love for each other in a more physical manner. Having lived in big cities for much of my life I knew the appropriate response – eyes straight ahead…, blinkers on…, I didn’t see anything…. I didn’t notice any Wicca stuff during my wandering, but it wouldn’t have surprised me to find some.

The old-timers say it wasn’t always that way. The center had once been spiritually pure and dedicated solely to yoga training. They also looked back with admiration on the Jesuits who once inhabited the place. Now, they note with disgust, all sorts of spiritual paths are represented and there are classes on aerobics, dance exercises, and other non-yoga subjects.

And here they are putting their finger on the essential change that has overtaken the center. It is now cultish, not cultic. It still proclaims its purpose in vague, new-agey, eco-friendly, multi-culti, anti-capitalist, terms, but it lacks any real conviction. As an idealistic youth portrayed in an advertisement for the center proclaims:

I know a thing or two about the world. I know pollution isn’t progress. I know there is strength in diversity, I know we are the leaders we’ve been waiting for…. I know I’m ready to make things change, starting with myself.

And that sums up the problem with the center, indeed with the new-age cultural imperative it represents. More than anything it, for all its spiritual and communalist pretensions, is all about intense egoism. At the center guests engage in communal activities, classes, dances, meals, exercises and so forth, but in practice each one of them is working determinedly on herself. Rather than submerging ego for the common good, the center exalts it. To change the world, it proclaims, you must begin with self-improvement. The new-agey spirituality is simply a mask for unbridled self-regard – rampant narcissism. The people may be seem to be dancing as a group, but each is actually dancing with herself.

And in a way that is sad. People who attend the center are expressing a deep dissatisfaction with themselves and their lives. They may want to change the world around them, but mostly they want to change themselves. After a couple of days “She Who Must Not Be Named”, normally an eminently sensible person, got into the spirit, dancing around our room exclaiming, “I ate like a pig for two days, and look how flat my tummy is!” I looked. Indeed it was flat, but to her mind not flat enough. She started to jabber on about “six-pack abs,” whatever those are.

The indoctrination process practiced at the Center and its affiliates is simple and effective – carefully graded stages of effort, clear goals, positive feedback from sympathetic instructors, accomplishment that leads to the setting of further goals, assurance that what you are doing is personally and socially beneficial, and a sense of moral superiority compared to those sluggards who aren’t with the program. It works; that sort of thing always has.

All of this, of course, costs a pretty penny – and that, ultimately, is what the Center is all about. It is a profit-generating enterprise that feeds on the insecurities and dissatisfactions of its customers. What started long ago as an anti-capitalist attempt to achieve spiritual purity has in recent years morphed into a blatant and exploitative manifestation of advanced capitalism. Already they are planning expansion into major cities with the possibility of franchising down the road. Rather than representing a retreat from the imperatives of modernity the Center has become an expression of them. That is what bothers the old-timers, but interests and gratifies me, unapologetic bourgeois capitalist pig that I am.

The operation of the Center is not unlike that of a cruise ship. In fact, one of the managers I spoke with had come from the cruise industry and was glad to discuss the similarities. What they are selling is an experience that they hope people will find gratifying. But, I would note, the experience is a bit like drug dealers giving you a “free taste” of their product.

Was “She” hooked? Not really. “She” enjoyed the experience, appreciates the health benefits of the exercises, and plans to spend a few hours each week doing them. That is to the good. But she also turned down an offer to get more involved – to take advanced training and become an instructor [she’s pretty good at the stuff]. On our way home to Pennsylvania we stopped for pizza.

What about me? I actually enjoyed my time at the Center. More than a few days would have been too much, but it was a restful and pleasant environment; an interesting break from my usual routine. “She” wants to know if I would like to return in the Spring.

Maybe.