The Plurality of Religions and the Spirit of Pluralism: A Participatory Vision of the Future of Religion

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

“…It is my belief that relational spirituality is the key to undoing the associated spiritual narcissism that plagues contemporary Western spiritual culture (cf. Ferrer 2002Ferrer , 2009). …”

“…159-162): the way religious traditions, groups, or creeds subtly belittle one-another by placing their aspired ultimate states above others. According to Ferrer (2009), the elevation of "one's favored tradition or spiritual choice as superior" is itself a form of "spiritual narcissism" (p. 140) and which appears to be inculcated into religious cultures as ethnocentrism (a cultural version of egocentrism). Americanized One-Truthism was/is cherished by hippies, transpersonalists, New Agers, and contemporary, grass-roots Western Buddhists alike because it was also seen as a simple solution to spiritual competition and one-up-manship (cf.…”

An exploration of spiritual superiority: The paradox of self‐enhancement

“…The term “spiritual narcissism” has been used in several books (e.g., May, 1987) and papers, both scientific (Ferrer, 2009; Lahood, 2010) and journalistic (Colier, 2014; Lurie, 2011; Todd, 2015), but none of this work has empirically examined the relationship between spiritual development and self‐enhancement. The primary goal of our studies was to develop a measure of subjective spiritual superiority and to examine its relationship with conceptually related variables such as self‐esteem.…”

Editorial Introduction to Special Topic Section: Transpersonal Feminism

“…Indeed, Brooks notes that both transpersonal and feminist thought focus on the role of individual agency in personal and social transformation, emphasizing the acceptance of subjective experience as the starting point of inquiry that aims to elucidate the experience of many within larger collective contexts. Within this epistemological vein, Ferrer's (2002Ferrer's ( , 2009) participatory philosophy is presented as a possible theoretical starting point for the envisioned feminist and transpersonal worldview, as the participatory turn values and takes account of the multiple perspectives on spirituality that are recognized today by those sensitive to feminist views and diverse transpersonal experiences.…”