Julian Walker wrote this excellent overview of New Age flakiness, and gives some corrective measures.
via Elephant Journal:
I am passionate about the relationships between three things:
> inquiry-based practices (yoga, meditation, bodywork and ecstatic dance happen to be my favorites)
> critical thinking (also called “viveka” in yogic parlance, or discriminating wisdom)
> and shadow work (after Jung – the psychological idea that we have a “shadow” that is where we hide the emotions, experiences, thoughts and aspects of self that we would rather not face. Shadow work then is the process of courageously turning inward to bring honest awareness and compassionate attention to this place.)
Having been a yoga teacher for the last 18 years, and having spent my adult life swimming in the waters of popular spirituality, my sense is that more often than not these three elements are missing both in theory and practice. My sense is that this comes down to one revelatory observation.
The results support yoga as a powerful therapy, but more broadly, reinforce the fact that our very genes are affected by our activities and moods. 
The Pentagon and peace: not two words you see in the same sentence too often. 
In this episode we go on location to talk about Reiki and Yoga with Janet Watkins from 
We learn about Russian healer, prophet, and monk Grigori Rasputin in A Corner in the Occult. Rasputin was the adviser to the Russian royal family during the turn of the 20th century which was an unusual position of power for someone who wasn’t born of Russian Nobility and it would be this position that would eventually lead to his elaborate and trial some death in 1916. He is often argued by some to have contributed greatly to the fall of the Romanov Dynasty in 1917, which was the last dynasty to rule over Russian.
