What Is Metaphysics?
Is It A Religion?

What is Metaphysics? Metaphysics is the philosophical study of first cause principals. That's a fancy way of saying How the Universe got started. The word meta means higher and beyond. Metaphysics is a philosophy of physics that tries to solve the questions that material science cannot.Thus, it is the study of life beyond physics.   How did metaphysics get started? That's a long story, and we've tried to cover it in some detail in our Metaphysical History section. For now let's put it this way; some point to the earliest thinkers of spirituality and how life relates to the spirit. For that you should study the religious philosophies of the Egyptians and ancient Chinese. Others point to Plato and Aristotle, while others look at the writings of Homer, the traditions of the Incas, the Aztecs and so on and so on. From my perspective, metaphysics didn't start at one certain point in history. Rather it has always been present in many different societies throughout history, and from the beginning of time.   New Age Metaphysics The New Age is simply a period of time in history, like the Aquarian Age. We are in the New Age cycle at this time. This cycle period has been prophetized by famous psychics such as Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, Lazarus and others as the time of spiritual evolution. A time when the human consciousness is given the opportunity to rise up to the God consciousness. Many Christians would call this time period the second coming of Christ. New Age believers might refer to it as the awakening of the Jesus Consciousness.   New Age Metaphysics combines the concepts and theory of first principals (the science) and the New Age cycle ideals (the faith). It is a balance between what one can experience and prove and what one believes internally as their personal truth.   Pagan Metaphysics Pagan beliefs are built on a foundation of metaphysical principles. However, that's sort of a misnomer. Pagan beliefs existed long before the labels 'metaphysics' or 'pagan' or 'neo-pagan' were created. So if you can get past the creation of the labels, and focus on the ideals; this makes more sense. There is little difference between Pagan metaphysics and New Age metaphysics. The main diversion between the 2 paths, lie in the view of positive(good) and negative(bad) events, energy or associations. While New Agers focus on the positive, they very often don't even acknowledge the negative. Pagans, not only acknowledge the negative, they see it as being required to create balance in all things. Without it, there is an unknowing of what positive is or means. This doesn't mean they focus on negative actions. It merely means, they acknowledge it's existence.   Is Metaphysics A Religion? Because many religions today profess to be metaphysical in nature, many people understand the word Metaphysics to be a religious sect. This is incorrect. Metaphysics is a doctrine which underlies many religions, but it also underlies philosophies, some sciences and a much literature. In most dictionaries and encyclopedias metaphysics is listed as a philosophical doctrine that defines "all things are part of each other and searches to discover first cause principals".   Metaphysical religions however, go a little farther. They imply that God is the one main source of which we are all a collection of. Without you, there is no God; but you alone are not God. All energy (including yours) is a collective mass which defines God, including good and evil, abundance and suffering. There is order, a set of principals, and many types of rituals and worships. It's these things (order, principals, rituals and worship) that defines a religion.

Source: 1, b8, b12