One of the most prominent themes in the contemporary spiritual discourse, as well as in the general popular discourse, is that we are those who create our own world. This idea has various versions. For instance, the positive psychology version depicts how thoughts and expextations may create a reality through the change of behaviour; the science fiction version sees us as players in a virtual space that choose and shape their enviroment; the magical version teaches us to cast spells of reality; and more.
This research analyses the popular spiritual discourse on the creation of reality, and thereby reviels a few insights on the contemporary cultural tendencies, the cultural contradictions, and the emergence of a new ethic.
What if you slept?
And what if, in your sleep, you dreamed?
And what if, in your dream, you went to heaven and there plucked a strange and beautiful flower?
And what if, when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand?
(Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
This research was conducted in the framework of the postdoc position of Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro at the University of Haifa.
The article (about 6700 words) was published at JSRI, a journal of both the SCIRI (the Seminar for the Interdisciplinary Research of Religions and Ideologies) and the SACRI (the Academic Society for the Research of Religions and Ideologies).
The full title of the article, “‘It’s a Game Everybody’s Already Playing’ – Versions of the ‘Creating-Our-Reality’ Motif in the Discourse of Alternative Spiritualities”, contains a quote from the film eXistenZ. The protagonist of the film, Allegra Geller, a Virtual Reality games designer, implies that our lives are conducted in a space in which the rules are unclear and directed by forces we can’t understand – just like in the game realms that she creates.
Another article by Marianna Ruah-Midbar Shapiro was published in this jpurnal. For the article’s page – click here.
Article
The Creating-Our-Reality motif is one of the most central in contemporary Western popular spiritual discourse.
The article presents and demonstrates three different versions of it – magical, secularized and metaphysical. Nevertheless, despite the clear differentiation between the spiritualization (or re-enchantment) and secularization (or dis-enchantment) trends, there is an obvious tendency not to leave the motif in its “pure” state, but rather to blend both versions together. It seems that spiritual practitioners in the West do not wish to abandon Modern-scientific discourse, and yet continue to cling to magic at the same time. The melding of secular and spiritual/magical discourses is used as a catalyst for their likening, and for the readiness of those who perceive themselves as secular to buy into the legitimacy of magic. Thus, the attractiveness of spiritual discourse keeps growing, as its legitimization is established within the mainstream.
The article presents the characteristics of the Creating-Our-Reality motif in contemporary spiritual popular culture, while also discussing the theological-ethical-cultural implications embedded in its various designs (including the deification of the individual; the built-in paradoxes of individual and society, passiveness and proactivity; optimism ethics).
Language
English
Academic/Non-academic
Academic item
Bibliographical citation
Ruah-Midbar Shapiro, Marianna, “’It’s a Game Everybody’s Already Playing’ – Versions of the ‘Creating-Our-Reality’ Motif in the Discourse of Alternative Spiritualities”, in Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies 17.51 (Winter 2018): 115-133.
