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This Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation Has Been Downloaded from Explore Bristol Research This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Corrywright, Dominic Fraser Title: Theoretical and empirical investigations into New Age spiritualities : with special reference to the south west of England. General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO NEW AGE SPIRITUALITIES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE SOUTH WEST OF ENGLAND DOMINIC FRASER CORRYWRIGHT A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts. Departmentof Theology and ReligiousStudies. March 2001. Word Count: 78,920 ABSTRACT This thesis provides a detailed examination of theoretical and empirical approaches to New Age spiritualities. Examples are taken from the specific context of the South West of England. It defines a sophisticated hermeneutic for research into New Age spiritualities which is carried out through an empirical investigation. The empirical study focuses on two network hubs based in the South West, The Spark, a free newspaper, and Psychology of Vision, an organisation offering psychological courses on human potential. Research into these networks has been carried out on three levels: analysis of their material dimension and functions; a questionnaire survey; and in-depth interviews. Social research and ethnography inform the qualitative methodology and methods. The first section deals with theoretical perspectives on New Age spiritualities. Analysis of current descriptions of the field shows that many typologies of the thought and practices of those within the New Age have not reflected the actual experiences and beliefs of those they seek to describe. A new theoretical model is proposed with foundations in the epistemological discourses of Foucault, Kuhn and feminist spirituality. The second section provides a detailed methodological framework for the research using the idea of a weblike network to represent the practices and beliefs of those within New Age spiritualities. The empirical investigations are then explored to refine and to provide ideographic evidence for the web model. The final section re-evaluates theoretical constructions of spiritualities in the New Age. The research shows that the eclectic, diverse and dynamic nature of New Age spiritualities requires methods of research that highlight plurality. Furthermore, the multiple webs of individuals within New Age spiritualities should be defined primarily in terms of praxis. The conclusions of this research will be valid beyond the field of New Age spiritualities. The web-form of social and intellectual interaction informs a broader perspective of knowledge and experience in a plural, postmodern world. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DEDICATION I wish to acknowledge with grateful thanks the support of the University of Bristol for the financial aid of a three-year studentship. I am especially grateful for the extraordinary support and guidance of my supervisor, Professor Ursula King. I also wish to extend my thanks to the department of Theology and Religious Studies at Bristol for their friendship and frequent help. I would like to acknowledge the considerable debt I owe to the people who run and work for The Spark and Psychology of Vision, for allowing me access to their organisations. I am equally grateful to all the, respondents of the Survey of Spirituality and to those who agreed to be interviewed. I dedicatethis work to my mother,for broadeningmy understanding,and to my wife, Suzanne,for openingmy heart. AUTHOR'S DECLARATION I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the Regulations of the University of Bristol. The work is original except where indicated by special reference in the text and no part of the dissertation has been submitted for any other degree. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University of Bristol. The dissertation has not been presented to any other University for examination either in the United Kingdom or overseas. ýýa-v SIGNED: DATE: ` CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION PART I: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES 15 1. DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW AGE SPIRITUALITIES 16 1.1 Critique of existing descriptive models 16 1.2 A note on epistemology 18 1.3 Typologies of the New Age 23 1.4 Two further models of the New Age 34 1.5 Towards a new discourse 40 2. BRINGING NEW AGE SPIRITUALITIES INTO FOCUS 48 2.1 Theoretical signposts and paradigms 48 2.2 Power and paradigms 53 2.2.1 Foucault's critique of discourse 53 2.2.2 Kuhn's paradigm shifts 62 2.3 Feminism: a method of involvement 68 2.3.1 Critique of past and present religious practices 71 2.3.2 Recovery of women's spirituality 74 2.3.3 A feminist methodology 75 2.3.4 Creative new visions 77 PART II: METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS 81 3. METHODOLOGY: THE WEB AS A MODEL 82 3.1 The language of the web 82 3.2 The web model 88 3.2.1 Features of the model 88 3.2.2 Capra's theory of the web 94 3.2.3 Transpersonal models and the web 98 3.2.4 "Family resemblances" and SPINS 102 3.2.5 Webs as 'thick descriptions' 105 4. METHOD: SOCIAL RESEARCH STYLES IN THIS STUDY 109 4.1 Research strategy: an ethnographic perspective 109 4.1.1 Purpose and hypotheses 109 4.1.2 Ethnomethodological praxis 117 4.2 Research process: inside the web 127 4.2.1 Sources 127 4.2.2 Evidence 133 4.2.3 Analysis 139 Page PART III: EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATIONS 143 5. HOW THE WEBS ARE WOVEN 144 5.1 Topline results 144 5.1.1 Surveys and typologies 144 5.1.2 Gender issues 147 5.1.3 Age issues 152 5.1.4 Financial issues 157 5.2 Questionnaire analysis 159 5.2.1 The nature of New Age spiritualities 159 5.2.2 The practice of spirituality 172 5.2.3 The webs of practice 180 6. NODES IN THE WEB: THE SPARK 185 6.1 The Spark 185 6.1.1 Communicationand "sharing" 185 6.1.2 Periodicals and the web 188 6.1.3 The Spark- distribution and function 190 6.1.4 The Spark as node in the web 199 6.2 Readers of The Spark 205 6.2.1 Individual pathways in the web 205 6.2.2 Personal spiritualities 211 7. PSYCHOLOGY OF VISION 222 7.1 The principles of Psychology of Vision 222 7.1.1 Foundations of PoV 222 7.1.2 PoV's Model of Psychology and Counselling 226 7.1.3 Analysis of PoV principles 233 7.2 Psychology of Vision products and placement in the web 242 7.2.1 PoV training courses 242 7.2.2 PoV products 247 7.2.3 Informal webs of PoV 251 7.3 Individual webs of PoV practitioners 253 7.3.1 "Spreading the word" 253 7.3.2 Differing complexities of the webs 255 Page PART IV: CONCEPTUAL EVALUATIONS 259 B. RE-EVALUATION OF SPIRITUALITIES IN THE NEW AGE 260 8.1. Perspectives on the New Age 260 8.1.1 Where webs dissipate 260 8.1.2 Narcissism and consumerism 265 8.1.3 Success criteria of psychotechnologies 272 8.1.4 Responses to the spiritualities of the New Age 275 8:2. Praxis prior to doctrine 280 8.2.1 Practicaland experientialspiritualities 280 8.2.2 Web thinking and New Age spiritualities 286 CONCLUSION 294 APPENDICES . A. Questionnaire: survey of spirituality 305 B. Important influences on the sample 308 C. Spiritual beliefs and ideals 311 BIBLIOGRAPHY 314 LIST OF TABLES Page Figure 1 Gender Balance of New Agers 148 Figure 2 Age Profiles 153 Figure 3 Income Levels 157 Figure 4 How Individuals Pursue Spiritual Paths 180 Figure 5A Typology:Religious Experience and Its Parallel Manifestations 288 INTRODUCTION We may be seeing the beginnings of the reintegration of our culture, a new possibility of the unity of Such integration be based consciousness. ... a new will on the rejection of all univocal understandings of reality, of all identifications of reality with reality itself. It will human It recognise the multiplicity of the spirit ... will recognise that in both scientific and religious culture all we have finally are symbols, but that there is an enormous difference between the dead letter and the living word. (Robert Bellah, 1970: 246) Spirituality is fundamental because it's at the core of my being. It is the whole and the part, it is the universe in me. I don't think it can be taught but it can be talked about.
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