Most hippies’ belief systems fall somewhere between atheism and paganism, which leaves a lot of ground for exploration, and many hippies choose to mix and match their favorite parts of different faiths. My mother, who was raised Catholic, experimented with several spiritual leanings before settling on Buddhism. We once had a séance at our house attended by the Archangel Michael (he was nice). Mom also had flings with Transcendental Meditation, astrology, and reincarnation.
WHAT MY MOTHER LOOKED FOR ON THE ROAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT
- Something that would not require gathering with others at a specific location at regular intervals
- Something that would not be a “buzz kill”
- Guidance, rather than dogma
- Something that Mia Farrow had dabbled in
- Something that would not require giving money to a bearded man
- Cherry incense
- Chanting
- No (or very little) dancing
POPULAR HIPPIE BELIEF SYSTEMS
- Buddhism
- Taoism
- Hinduism
- Astrology
- Animism
- Transcendentalism
- I Ching
- New Ageism
- Ancient Judaism
- The Church of the Sub-Genius
- Native American spiritualism
- Cults
- Tarot
WHERE TO LOOK FOR ENLIGHTENMENT
- India
- Marin County, California
- The woods
- On-line
- Rock concerts