The permeable self: how alternative spiritual practices reshape the body and self-perception

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article contributes to sociological and anthropological discussions of contemporary religious forms and lifestyles within a globalised market-driven society, examining how alternative spirituality reconfigures the Self through embodied practices and heightened sensitivity. It argues that the Self in alternative spirituality is reconfigured as permeable—challenging Taylor’s notion of the buffered Self—as it opens both vertically (to transcendent agencies) and horizontally (to the energetic and affective influences of the world). Through a case study of contemporary shamanism, the article investigates how practices like healing and ‘Otherworld’ journeys gradually reshape self-perception and foster a heightened sensitivity to the surrounding world—be it people, places or objects. These changes are not only processed discursively, socially or intellectually; they become part of a new embodied knowledge that redefines self-understanding and transforms one’s habitus. As individuals cultivate these new experiences, they begin to perceive the world as filled with meaningful omens and influential energies, both positive and negative, giving rise to practices of ritual purity. Moreover, the body becomes a navigator in everyday decision-making and a mediator of the sacred—a natural link to the divine that ultimately positions itself as an arbiter of truth and authenticity across the proliferating offers of consumer spirituality.