The New Age Spiritual Life Narrative: New Wine in Old Wineskins?
Anglica Wratislaviensia December 19, 2024 DOI: 10.19195/0301-7966.62.2.4 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractNew Age spiritual memoirs differ structurally from Christian spiritual memoirs by featuring multiple turning points—several "awakenings"—rather than a single conversion experience. The plots are driven by spiritual seekership, with common turning points including psychedelic-induced awakenings, non-dual awakenings, and energy-like somatic experiences. These patterns are illustrated through brief overviews of memoirs by Stanislav Grof, Richard Alpert/Ram Dass, Tony Parsons, Richard Sylvester, and Suzanne Segal.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Memoir Narrative Dual grammatical number Psychoanalysis Turning point |
| Key finding | Argues that the major structural difference between New Age and Christian spiritual memoirs is the number of turning points, with New Age memoirs containing several "awakenings" compared to Christian memoirs' single conversion experience. |
Abstract
This article sets out to discuss the structure of New Age spiritual memoir as distinct from the Christian spiritual memoir. I look at the notion of spiritual seekership which drives the plots of New Age spiritual memoirs, and the various patterns of seekership that have been identified. Seeing that the major structural difference between New Age and Christian spiritual memoirs lies in the number of turning points (several “awakenings” vs one conversion experience, respectively), I present the most common types of turning points featured in the studied texts (psychedelic-induced and non-dual awakenings, as well as energy-like somatic experiences). The above are illustrated by brief overviews of selected memoirs (by Stanislav Grof, Richard Alpert/Ram Dass, Tony Parsons, Richard Sylvester, and Suzanne Segal).