Steven Waldman and Valerie Reiss

It’s a Lohasian moment. The term for these 21st-century New Agers derives from an acronym created by marketers on the West Coast-LOHAS, as in Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. The movie “The Celestine Prophecy” is opening, based on the 1993 book. Next comes the film version of Dan Millman’s book “Way of the Peaceful Warrior,” about a lost young gymnast who is guided through a mystical transformation by a wise mentor. And Al Gore’s movie on global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth,” is bound to be popular with the ecologically minded Lohasians.

LOHAS consumers represent 17 per cent of the US population. One study said Lohasians are “dedicated to personal and planetary health.” Seventy-three per cent bought recycled paper goods, and 71 per cent bought natural or organic “personal care” products. They pay more to get food without pesticides and want their cars fuel-efficient.

Among the products and services offered at the Lohasian conference this year were detoxifying pine oil, organic body lotion, eco-friendly spas, and recycled-cashmere sweaters. They identify as “spiritual, not religious,” and many believe in “synchronicity” or “meaningful coincidences” that might be guided by a spirit world.

If you have a yoga mat and “singing bowls,” if

you chant or do polarity therapy or energy healing, if you consume goji berries or biodynamic organic wines, you just might be a Lohasian. — Beliefnet.com