Exploring the transpersonal phenomena of spiritual love relations: A naturalistic observation study of soulmate experiences shared in a New Age Facebook group
Christian Stokke
Journal for the Study of Spirituality July 3, 2021 DOI: 10.1080/20440243.2021.1955454 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 140 |
| Population | Members of a New Age-themed Facebook group who responded about their soulmate relationships |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Respondents in soulmate relationships reported transpersonal phenomena including instant recognition and immediate bonding, synchronicities, telepathy, peak experiences, kundalini awakening, dark nights of the soul, psychological transformation, and merging of opposite archetypes. The author argues that spiritual love relations overlap with romantic love but take many physical forms, including friendships, family relations, and relations with animals. |
Abstract
This paper explores varieties of spiritual experiences and transpersonal phenomena that empirically occur in spiritual love relations, which respondents define as soulmates. Soulmate mythologies exist in many traditions and are popular in contemporary spiritual communities and New Age literature. So far, few empirical studies exist of soulmates. Analyzing a convenience sample of 140 responses collected by naturalistic observation on a New Age-themed Facebook group, I explore transpersonal experiences reported by individuals in encounters and relationships with their soulmates. Theoretically, this study draws on spiritual awakening literature in transpersonal psychology, particularly Grof’s varieties of spiritual emergency. Findings show that, besides instant recognition and immediate bonding, respondents report phenomena including synchronicities, telepathy, peak experiences, kundalini awakening, dark nights of the soul, psychological transformation, and merging of opposite archetypes. While spiritual love relations overlap with romantic love, they take many physical forms, including friendships, family relations, and relations with animals.