Relational Spirituality, Part 1 Paradise Unbound: Cosmic Hybridity and Spiritual Narcissism in the “One Truth” of New Age Transpersonalism

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

“…This paper continues the points made in "Relational Spirituality, Part 1: Paradise Unbound: Cosmic Hybridity, and Spiritual Narcissism in the 'One Truth' of New Age-Transpersonalism" (Lahood, 2010, in this issue), demonstrating how a relational approach can surmount many of the difficulties that inure to New Age-transpersonalism. Ironically, Martin Buber's relational ethos was also present in both the humanist and transpersonal movements in the form of Gestalt therapy which had assimilated Buber's ideas to its canon (although Buber argued that true mutuality could not be achieved in the therapeutic relationship).…”

“…Yet Advita Vedanta has a history going back beyond Vivekananda to Emerson and the New England Transcendentalists (see Lahood, 2010 Vietnam (1963Vietnam ( -1974, a timing that is vastly important to the cultural shaping of ACIM. Helen Schucman received the messages and William Thetford scribed them.…”

“…The apparent rationale for this statement Lahood was that this relating embodied world is simply maya (illusion). Psychologically this posture functioned as a massive psychological defense parading as high spirituality, based on the notion that the relating world is not really here-exemplifying the casual, crazy-making indifference and superiority of the nirvanic defense (see Lahood, 2010).…”

“…The blending of the American Transcendentalist trinity (Christianity, Buddhism, and Advaita; Lahood, 2010-this issue) in the psychedelic imagination, coupled with humanistic psychology, brought transpersonal psychology into being-which in turn gave rise to a Wilberian paradise to which the movement was bound for at least 20 years (Lahood, 2008(Lahood, , 2010. Indeed, a close look at the early transpersonal movement's commitments shows that they were not particularly relational, but tended instead to overtly devalue relationship.…”

Covenant Attachment: A Constructivist Grounded Theory of Christian Couples and God

“…Mahoney () specifically focused on how relational spirituality affects the “formation, maintenance, and transformation of family relationships” (p. 805) with a focus on family bonds with each other, the sacred and the community.Faver () described relational spirituality as a constructive process as one develops connection outside the self. Lahood () expanded on this construction focusing on the development of relational spirituality through cocreation of spiritual experiences through shared participation. Butler and Harper () used the term the divine triangle to describe a couple's relationship with God, demonstrating each person's movement toward God reflects a movement toward each other with a triangle.…”