James Parker reviews Manvir Singh’s new book Shamanism: The Timeless Religion for The Atlantic: Singh is less interested in the specific contents of trance states, or in a psychic map of shamanic otherness, than in shamanism as a world-historical phenomenon, popping up all over, almost a function of human consciousness. It starts, for him, in … Read more“Return of the Shaman”
Advocate for soul, renegade psychologist, men’s coach, artist, musician, cultural activist and host of the Howl in the Wilderness podcast Brian James writes on Poetic Faith, the recent anthology Poetic Faiths: New Religions and Rituals as Works of Living Art and his own development of Archetypal Shamanism: Both Coleridge’s Poetic Faith and Keats’ Negative Capability … Read more“Finding my Religion: Poetic Faith and DIY Shamanism”
Freddie Sayers hosts John Vervaeke and Alex O’Connor, formerly known as Cosmic Skeptic, to explore the deep question of meaning in an increasingly secular world. They discuss the historical role of religion in providing purpose and narrative, the modern challenges of finding meaning, and the rise of non-propositional forms of knowledge and practice. O’Connor and … Read more“Beyond Atheism: Finding Meaning in the Secular Age”
According to The Monastic Academy for the Preservation of Life on Earth: If compassionate and wise beings don’t create the religion of this age, others will. In recent years, religion has evolved more quickly than any other force on Earth. Powerful leaders are now publicly claiming things that would have seemed absurd ten years ago, … Read more“Cyborgs Need a Trustworthy Religion”
In Sound of My Voice, amateur documentarists Peter (Christopher Denham) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius) go undercover to investigate a secretive cult led by the enigmatic Maggie (Britt Marling, who also co-wrote the story), who claims to have traveled back in time from the year 2054. According to co-writer/director Zal Batmanglij: We were interested in fringe … Read more“The Sound of My Voice” (2012)
Rémi Sussan’s 2014 article for Tryangle (here translated from French into English) explores many avenues and possibilities of CultPunk/Poetic Faith: The creation of mythological pantheons is therefore the first step towards a true DIY religion. But it is very rare to encounter entirely original pantheons, with no link to the past. In general, it is … Read more“Tutorial: How to Create Your Own Religion?”
Arthur C. Brooks writes for The Atlantic, pointing out that spiritual practice is at least as important as feeling and faith; perhaps no more so than for the growing demographic of those who profess to be “spiritual but not religious”. The right approach is to start practicing, notwithstanding your current state of belief and feeling. … Read more“How to Find Your Faith: the key to transcendence starts with a practice, not your feelings”
Brian Klaas writes for The Atlantic on a perspective foreign to most analysts and pundits: Anthropologists note that nonrational, magical, or superstitious beliefs appear in nearly all human societies, helping to make sense of a world in which individual lives can feel like the playthings of larger, unseen forces or, sometimes, random chance. When, say, … Read more“Political Analysis Needs More Witchcraft”
As suggested on the BackRow.com movie blog: The Electrical Life of Lous Wain conjures the same sort of exhilaration that documentaries Jodorowsky’s Dune and Beauty is Embarrassing bring their viewers; the wildly ecstatic high of one man’s vision striking those around him like a lightning bolt, leaving the permanent marks of what was and will … Read more“Make ‘The Electrical Life of Louis Wain’ Your New Religion”