Relational Spirituality, Part 1 Paradise Unbound: Cosmic Hybridity and Spiritual Narcissism in the “One Truth” of New Age Transpersonalism
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2010 DOI: 10.24972/ijts.2010.29.1.31 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Transcendence philosophy Creolization Spirituality Narcissism Aesthetics Spiritualism Literature Religious studies Psychoanalysis Anthropology Epistemology Jungian analytical psychology |
| Citations | 21 |
| Key points | Argues that popular New Age transpersonalism breeds a self-serving, Self-as-everything form of spiritual narcissism, and proposes a more relational spirituality as an intervention. |
Abstract
Cosmological hybridization, a process in which spiritual paradises are bound together, is highly active in American religious culture. Beginning with an early Christianized version of the Buddha, this religious Creolization gathered speed after WWII and peaked during the Vietnam War, leading to a complex spiritual revolution in which transcendence became an all important orientation. This revolution set the scene for the emergence of a non-relational transpersonal psychology in which Americanized nondualism gained ascendency. It is argued here that popular New Age transpersonalism traps the spirit, breeding a self-serving, Selfas-everything form of spiritual narcissism. Given that some are calling the New Age the religion of global capitalism, a more relational spirituality may be a vital intervention into transpersonalism's self-centeredness and a salve for a world in Creolization.
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Psychedelic Communitas: Intersubjective Experience During Psychedelic Group Sessions Predicts Enduring Changes in Psychological Wellbeing and Social Connectedness. Frontiers in Pharmacology March 25, 2021
- Relational Spirituality, Part 2 The Belief in Others as a Hindrance to Enlightenment: Narcissism and the Denigration of Relationship within Transpersonal Psychology and the New Age International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2010
- African-Centered Transpersonal Self in Diaspora and Psychospiritual Wellness: A Sankofa Perspective International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2016
- An illustration of cooperative inquiry design: Finding our way to precious knowledge, together. March 18, 2022
- Psychedelics and New Materialism: Challenging the Science–Spirituality Binary and the Onto-Epistemological Order of Modernity Religions July 22, 2025
and 2 more in the library
Cites 3
- Relational Spirituality, Part 2 The Belief in Others as a Hindrance to Enlightenment: Narcissism and the Denigration of Relationship within Transpersonal Psychology and the New Age International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2010
- Secreting Religion Journal for the Academic Study of Religion October 27, 2009
- New Age Religion and Western Culture November 20, 1997