The younger generation, in particular Generation Z, definitely appears to view the world very differently from the older generations. With all the tremendous and comprehensive social, cultural, and religious, as well as massive technological and mobility changes, the world they deal with is truly a bit different from the worlds of the older generations – especially as most psychologist emphasize in the addition of social media which brings and over-abundance of information and communications with it. The question the younger generation asks is: What makes spirituality relevant? The extensive 2018 Barna study of the beliefs of the younger generation toward religion and spirituality revealed that of the young people who did not attend church, a major reason for this is because they did not find religion or spirituality “relevant.” Another set of eyes or a fresh approach can often bring a new perspective or different approaches. I feel the younger generation actually brings up an excellent question which deserves a decent response of some sort.
For me, partly in the way my writing evolved and the focus developed, the question which the younger generation asks has been something of a "calling" for me, as it were. So, early on I latched on to that question. Everything I have been writing for the last year or so has pretty much all been directed at explaining how "spirituality is relevant." I found it interesting that, before that report came out, while discussing the question of exactly what the cause(s) of the sudden drop in religious affiliation of the younger generation is, I did venture the thought or idea that the younger generation might not find religion "relevant." I must say, a bit tongue-in-cheek, though, that while thinking about the audiences for my writing, the thought did cross my mind that of all the possible audiences, the younger audience, in that the younger generation believe 'spirituality is not relevant' would, ironically, very likely prove to be the very least interested of all the people, as it were.
The major focus of my writing has been that, as Carl Jung stated, ‘Spirit gives life meaning!’ That is, in psychological terms, "spiritual processes create meaning" and a “sense of reality.” It is unusual to find five ‘great thinkers’ who agree on any idea or theory, but in this case, Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, William James, Clifford Geertz, and Emile Durkheim are all on the same page and agree that spiritual processes create meaning and generate a sense of reality. There is, also, some consensus that spiritual processes are involved, historically, as well as ‘ordinary’ thinking, in social and religious ideals such as compassion (a vital concept found in every single major religion), justice, equality, as well as caring for the ’widowed, the orphaned, the poor and oppressed.’ I should comment that, to my knowledge, you will not find the synthesis of Frankl's, Jung's, Durkheim's, James', and Geertz's ideas into the argument that "spiritual processes create meaning and a sense of reality" in ‘Psychology of Religion’ books (at least none of the five or six 'Psychology of Religion' textbooks that I do have).
The lives and actions of social and civic activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Tolstoy, and others would also indicate that spiritual processes would most likely be deeply involved in "motivation" as well – along with the trait of endurance. Viktor Frankl was a Jew who survived internment in Nazi concentration camps. Frankl observed that it was not the robust or physically fit prisoners who survived but the prisoners who seemed to have some ‘spiritual’ corner in their mind into which to retreat. In that historically, the survival, emergence, and ‘evolution’ of the human species from shamanism to modern society, was clearly shaped to a large degree by spiritual processes, it would seem highly likely that [unconscious] spiritual processes are definitely connected with our ‘survival instincts.”
A Pivotal Issue - the Materialist Bias in Psychology
Most ordinary people have the impression that 'Psychology' has been objective in their analyses of religious beliefs and spirituality. However, most people, also, have not heard of “materialism” or that 'Psychology' has a materialist bias. The reality of it is that many psychologists and spiritual leaders have spoken at length about the “materialist bias” in psychology - including psychologists Baruss, Mossbridge (as well as many other psychologists), the maverick scientist Sheldrake, as well as NIH Director and author Francis Collins. Most psychologists speak about the "materialist bias" in generalities. From some substantial research I have found several specific issue in psychology I feel should be addressed. It would seem rather evident that “spirituality” is a problem and issue in Psychology, when you review "The Story of Psychology," which is a 700 plus page comprehensive 'History of Psychology' textbook, written by Morton Hall, a well-known and prolific author on the subject of psychology (Anchor Books, 2007), and, while there are a few references to soul (mostly archaic) I did not find a single reference to either meaning, spirit, spirituality, or even religion.
From my research, the best analyses of spirituality and religious beliefs were done by William James, Viktor Frankl, Emile Durkheim, as well as Carl Jung. The author of The Story of Psychology written by Morton Hall omitted Viktor Frankl totally, marginalized Carl Jung, and left out William James' work on spirituality and religious beliefs. On top of that, Morton Hall completely eliminated all of positive and existential psychology altogether. It is really a true waste. The existential and positive psychologists’ studies of meaning convincingly demonstrate that meaning in peoples’ lives contributes not only to their sense of well-being as well as their mental and physical health. They also did substantial research into the importance and role of spirituality. Throwing out all that important research and knowledge obtained by existential and positive psychology is really such an incredible waste.
After reviewing Morton Halls’ ‘History of Psychology,’ the thought crossed my mind that, perhaps, it was just Morton Hall. So, I got out a couple of very comprehensive handbooks – the Social Psychology Handbook of Basic Principles, edited by Higgins and Kruglanski, and The Handbook of Self and Identity, edited by Mark R. Leary and June Price Tangney. Neither of these "comprehensive" 700 plus page reference manuals had even one single reference of spirit, spirituality, or religion. the Self and Identity Handbook, nor the Social Psychology Handbook, both of which are very extensive, and both of which were 700 plus pages, had even one single reference to either spirit, or spirituality.
Furthermore, from research into the 'Psychology of Religion,' it is apparent there are some problems and omissions in Psychology of Religion books. For instance, in the ‘Psychology of Religion books that I personally possess, I did not find what I would call an adequate treatment of the "teachings" of the major religions. It would stand to reason that failing to properly address the "teachings of religion, such as compassion, justice, righteousness and so forth, would, right off the bat, be somewhat misleading as to the raison d'etre for religious beliefs. Another important point is that the ‘Psychology of Religion’ textbooks, to my knowledge (at least the ones I have), do not properly identify the “function of spiritual processes.” The 'Psychology of Religion textbooks I have seem to focus, for most part, in the context of Durkheim’s theory of religion, on function of morality and religious structure - as opposed to the function of spiritual processes and religious beliefs.
In general, materialism – which is often associated with “reductionism,” which breaks the 'whole' down into its constituent parts - also tends to focus on then possibility and ability to “quantify” phenomena. For instance, social psychology has taken the concepts of "ideals" and described ideals as "higher order goals." Unfortunately. much of human consciousness deals with concepts beyond the scope of ordinary science. Carl Jung stated that “creativity” is beyond the science of psychology. Einstein pointed out that good and evil is beyond scientific method and measurement. William James, probably for the same reason actually did not believe that psychology is truly a “science” at all.
That being said, many psychologists, especially Jungians, logotherapists (based on Frankl) as well as existential and positive psychologists advocate spirituality. Now, from talking to psychology professors, a psychology major, and briefly over-viewing curriculum at Maryland Universities, my impression is that Maryland Universities, in general, do seem to reflect to a large degree the “materialist bias” of “mainstream psychology. For instance, in talking with an extremely intelligent psychology major at Towson University, I discovered she had never heard of a Need for Meaning which is advocated by many of the “greats” such as Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, Clifford Geertz, Paul Wong as well as many or most existential and positive psychologists. Strict “materialism” excludes “meaning” presumably because the ultimate purpose of humanity is beyond the scope of science. I gave the psychology major a brief essay about the Need for Meaning, which she thought was well done and which she appreciated.
I should at least offer my personal observation that, in my view, it seems very clear that the 'materialist' pendulum, has swung way too far. I can only say – only partly tongue-in-cheek - that we must bring "balance" to the force! (or better yet, “spirit”) The materialist pendulum does appear to be swinging the other way - back toward spirituality. My mother, who has been reading about spirituality and meaning in medical publications, journals, and magazines as well as books by medical doctors remarked that it is strange now, many 'scientists' have gone from putting down and degrading spirit and spirituality are now finding that – in fact - what spiritual leaders taught about human characteristics, drives, and needs, about such things as compassion and forgiveness turn out to have been 'scientifically' correct and 'wise' after all.
Many medical doctors now advocate that spiritual beliefs do benefit and provide positive reinforcement for physical health and well-being. Dr. Koenig, a researcher and author from Duke University, and Dr. Sood of the Mayo clinic, both advocate the benefits of spirituality for physical health and well-being. Dr. Koenig, who writes about research into the health benefits of spirituality, stated that half of the medical universities in the U.S. have at least one course in spirituality. Unfortunately, from my overview of Maryland Universities, it appears that Maryland Universities, at the moment, do not offer any courses in spirituality. On FB a psychiatric nurse mentioned briefly the ‘need’ for spirituality training-education in psychiatry, especially as concerns suicide. Unfortunately, from my research, it appears that 'psychology' is not as quick on the uptake on the beneficial aspects of spirituality. That being said, I should point out that, I have spoken to psychology professors at UMBC and Towson University who are aware of the writing about spirituality and meaning by existential and positive psychologists. However, the college students I speak to have no real understanding of what existential and positive psychologists are focused on.
A confounding factor at work in the ‘science of psychology’ would be what I refer to as Frankl's Disconnect. Viktor Frankl, observed, back in the 1940’s, “The pictures by which the individual sciences depict reality have become so disparate, so different from each other, that it has become more and more difficult to obtain a fusion of the different pictures.” (p. 7 will) That is, the different disciplines and schools of thought in science, and it seems especially in psychology, effectively become largely separate and disconnected entities!
In my research it is readily apparent that psychology leaves out social psychology's concepts and research (i.e. the Need to belong) and vice-versa There are somewhere between 40 to 50 different schools of thought in psychology and it often appears as if they all might as well be from different planets. What I have found from personal experience is that, because "mainstream psychology" has sidelined and marginalized Viktor Frankl, William James, Carl Jung, as well as Emile Durkheim, especially in relation to the concept that spiritual processes create meaning a sense of reality, that, for all practical purposes that makes these 'greats' actually worthless, in a way. That is, when I talk to 'ordinary' people, students or even some psychology majors, generally, the people I talk have absolutely no idea what I am talking about because they have never heard of any of these psychologists most times. And at times, people seem to think if they were actually important after all they would have heard of them - which is a major reason why many of the younger generation believe that spirituality is not relevant.
Personally, if I read the 'Psychology of Religion' "as it is currently presented," I would also think that religious beliefs and spirituality is not relevant, as well. I haven't seen any evident or over-riding presentation of any "raison d'etre" for religious beliefs or spirituality. In fact, it is psychology that has successfully attached the "superstitious stigma" to spirituality - mostly due to the fact that the idea of a 'Supernatural God' having been labeled as "superstition" by science and psychology. Spirituality as "superstitious nonsense" is something I have encountered time and time again in discussion and conversations. While I do address the "transcendental spirituality" question in my writing, my perception is that "meaning and sense of reality" are the fruit of spiritual processes and transcendental spiritual experiences are the 'flower' as it were.
Any objective view of contemporary society would likely describe the current human environment as, without question, the most challenging, fragmented, stressful, and very divided environment in human history – even if you take the effect and demands of social media alone. Now, is the time when people need the unifying and integrative concepts that materialist psychology largely bypasses and ignores. Suicide has risen by roughly 30 % since 1999 according to a recent very extensive CDC study. There is a study which shows a correlation between countries who are not affiliated with religion and higher suicide rates. Because suicide in America appears top cross generational lines and the older generation would likely believe in God, I might suggest that it is the rise of "materialist psychology' with its clear repression of spirituality as well as its clear predisposition to emphasize the "material" aspect such as physiological functions versus the metaphysical characteristics of human consciousness (as Jung pointed out long ago) may well be an underlying cause of the higher suicide rate.
The lack of any proper education or training of the psychology major I spoke with specifically in the context of the Need for Meaning, to me, is especially disconcerting. In my FB posting, I frequently run across people who say how Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning, has been helpful to them in understanding themselves - and others. I spoke with an old high school classmate, who happens to be bipolar, she said that Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning, quite literally saved her life. Many people I run across say the same thing. It would be an oxymoron to say "A life without meaning would make life meaningless!" When Frankl started up logotherapy (psychoanalysis based on Frankl's psychology) in Vienna after World War II, which is based on Frankl's central concept of man's "Will to meaning," suicide disappeared in Vienna. Of all the psychologists who advocate spirituality, Viktor Frankl appears to be bypassed more than any others, and most 'ordinary' people I talk to appear to have never heard of Frankl.
Many psychologists, besides Frankl, advocate the Need for Meaning as a pivotal need and drive in humanity - including Carl Jung, Roy Baumeister, Paul Wong, Clifford Geertz as well as most existential and positive psychologists. There should be, in my mind, a course in the Need for Meaning - which not only in every institute of Higher Education but in high school as well. Understanding how the meaning processes work in the human mind would seem beneficial for everyone and would likely facilitate the functioning of those processes.
Everyone I talk to, very ironically, of course, has heard of Freud - whose rather twisted Oedi[pal complex for all practical purposes undermined any positive or fruitful characteristics of religious beliefs and spirituality. Positivists point out is entirely interpretation and a complete fabrication. Recently the Unconscious school of thought psychologist Bargh emphasizes how Freud "demonized" unconscious emotions, drives, and needs. Bargh emphasizes that Freud portrayed the unconscious drives and emotions as "maladaptive" and dysfunctional - which would, of course, seriously warp peoples' understanding of the unconscious. In 'Psychology of Religion books, Frankl, for all practical purposes, is largely ignored - for some reason which I don't entirely understand because Frankl, James, and Jung were, from my research the three best analyses of religious beliefs and spirituality.
Spiritual Experiences and Transcendental Spiritual-Psychic Experiences
I have always felt the 'transcendental characteristic of spiritual experiences is often 'over-blown,' as it were. Perhaps that is because when I had my own personal 'major' spiritual experience, there was no blinding flash of light, nor did the cloud up and angels descend from heaven. For me it took a long time to sort things out to be perfectly honest. The "greats", such as, Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, and William James, who each had transcendental spiritual experiences themselves - and who also, in my view, had the best and most on-target analyses of religious beliefs and spirituality focused on "meaning creation and sense of reality" - like me, by coincidence. It's gratifying to know that all these greats agree with you - even though they are no longer with you. It's also very salient - as well as, interesting - in my view that Christ in one of his "Mustard Seed" parables compared the Kingdom of Heaven [Transcendental Spirit] to a "seed" - as opposed to the "end" or 'final product.'
Actually, a recent review of the "numerous" surveys-studies of people who have spiritual experiences by Park and Paloutzian in their comprehensive Handbook of Religion and Spirituality, they state that survey-studies show that somewhere between one third and one half of people interviewed have spiritual experiences - something up to now pretty much ignored by "social science." I feel people should be aware that spiritual experiences do happen and have a "normalcy" - as Park and Paloutzian state categorically. Lastly, I would emphasize that Park and Paloutzian also state emphatically that none of these survey-studies make any determination of the underlying "causes" of 'spiritual-psychic experiences. The existential psychologists Pargament and Mahoney clearly state that much of the research and theories about religious beliefs and spirituality are quite literally based on "surveys." It seems a bit ironic that in a country, which, publicly, prides itself on being "Christian" has spent millions and millions - if not billions - on Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Entanglement, yet has not yet done a proper study - which, a proper study had been done would have at least made some tenuous arguments as to the underlying cause of these spiritual experiences. I can't help but comment that without the necessary funds for proper research, it isn't really possible to be truly objective in a real scientific sense.
Brief Sketch of Some of the Aspects of Life as a Generation Z Individual
Many of the 'Generation Z' young people (age 15 to 21) are more engaged in political activism this year, though not many who were polled in 2018 before the election indicated they would actually vote. National problems and issues such as "gun violence, sexual assault claims and immigration dominate the 2018 news cycle" and play a pivotal role in the apparently raised stress levels of young people. The prominent psychologist, Arthur Evans, observed that, "It's clear that social media is an enormous part of Gen Zs' lives, and for more than half of them (55%), it provides a feeling of support." However, the article states that "social media also plays a negative role, the report claims; 45% said they feel judged on the social platforms, and 38% reported feeling bad about themselves due to the use of social media." ( https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/30/health/generation-z-stress-report-trnd/index.html )
An article by Andrea Diaz, of CNN quotes a young Generation Z female: “Some adults like to call us Generation Z,” says Simone. “You can call us what you like but we know what makes us different to others. When we became teenagers, the online world was growing so fast the adults couldn’t keep up. We had no choice but to teach ourselves.” Simone goes on to say, “When I first became inspired by her [movie idol], I joined Instagram,” says Simone. This was when she found accounts by other people who were inspired by her too – a whole new online experience. “It’s like you can find people who think exactly the same,” says Simone. “Joining Instagram was like joining a universe of fandoms. It was like tumbling down the rabbit hole.” The other fans she met online were predominantly between 14 and 16 years old: young people perhaps looking for community because, in their real lives, they felt slightly on the outside. Social media gave Simone and the people she met a new kind of freedom. “There was no one who knew you apart from how you wanted to portray yourself,” she says. However, the article also emphasizes that "Cyber bullying was rife. People would take videos of each other and post them online. ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1Vpg4WdvVpx8YZdsg4T4Tzn/generation-z-we-taught-ourselves-h...)
My 'Read" of situation of Generation Z young people is that their world and lives are shaped and determined by the, somewhat overwhelming, digital world much more than older generations, and that social media as many psychologists note, including Jonathan Haidt, plays a dominating role. That is, they deal with much more data - and stimuli - than older generations. Also, social media carries information about the growing mass shootings including schools which drives the point home, has added a very serious burden of additional stress to deal with. So, in this fast moving - in your face - very stressful and challenging environment dominated by the digital world and addictive social media, the question of "What makes spirituality relevant" is a very natural outgrowth of their environment. Fuirthermore, in light of the fact - which I detail later - that psychology has largely sidelined and marginalized the psychologists like Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, and William James who advocate spirituality makes the relevance question for all practical purposes, inevitable. The younger generations definitely have to learn to cope and adapt with a challenging and difficult environment. The problem they face, from my perspective, is a problem not yet faced by 'humanity.
That being said, prehistoric man, for instance the prehistoric 'society' from twenty or thirty thousand years ago in the prehistoric caves of France and Spain also had a very challenging and difficult environment to which they had to adopt. As evidenced in the amazing and wonderful vividly painted cave paintings that prehistoric culture grasped and adapted to their world by creating a spiritual shamanistic culture-religion. It would seem rather self-evident that spirituality and spiritual processes were vital in adapting to an environment of unknowns that appeared on the face of it to be 'supernatural' (an inevitable product in light of the fact that at that time there was no "natural" forces known). That is, the Creativity and Imagination engaged by spiritual processes (i.e. prehistoric cave paintings; Ancient Greek religious myths and art). As Karen Armstrong astutely observed, the cave paintings, especially the paintings that were evidently depictions of shamans, were the first evidence of a human ideology.
As Gautama Buddha unequivocally stated, “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.” That is, consciousness creates Reality - and the world! Or, as Max Planck, the physicist who pioneered quantum mechanics and nobel laureate, “I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.” Similar to the observations of the physicist Eugene Wigner, RC Henry, a renowned professor of physics and astronomy, in a 2005 essay concludes, "A fundamental conclusion of the new physics also acknowledges that the observer creates the reality. As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe is a “mental” construction" So, at the dawn of civilization, as now, it was-is the spiritual processes that create the Reality (as William James pointed out) - a reality which enables and facilitates coping and provides people the opportunity to thrive in the world. It would seem readily apparent that, now, more than ever, creativity and imagination are needed to 'reinvent' a world and adapt to the new very challenging digital, fast moving, high stress and incredibly diverse world.
A Brief Word about "Religion"
I must say I have split feelings about religion. Personally, I was extremely offended and honestly outraged, by "republicans" chanting "Send them back" at a Trump rally directed at four duly elected AMERICAN Congresswoman. In fact, historically speaking that mirrors perfectly Adolf Hitler's well known and despicable tactic of "scapegoating." Hitler gained popularity with his "nationalism" platform which of course triggered strong instinctual "patriotic emotional responses. Also, Trump's narcissism, which is well known, matches perfectly Hitler's narcissism. Trump's homophobic anti-gay and anti-transgender matches Hitler's well known homophobia. Furthermore, Hitler's apposition of "internationalism" matches perfectly Trump's antagonism to "globalism" recently espoused in a speech at the U.N - and Trump advocates "nationalism" which historically has demonstrated itself to be aggressive, inflexible, and often very violent.
So, politically Trump is a clone of Hitler's politics of hatred and aggression. Statistics and facts support the argument that Trump's hate speech has incited, encouraged, and increased right wing extremist violence - that's a hard fact. While I personally know a couple of Evangelicals, one of whom has had a transcendental spiritual experience, and who also happens to be very anti-Trump. However, it is crystal clear that many Evangelical leaders support Trump, and there are even, rather unbelievably, a couple of "Christian" websites which promote Trump as a 'messenger of God' as it were. There is NOTHING even remotely "Christian," Patriotic, or close to being anything like "American" as any true American would believe, in chanting hate slogans at duly elected AMERICAN Congresswomen - NOTHING! It is sick! The Truth of it is that Trump is, in fact a Racist Nazi. I find any Christian support for Trump absolutely revolting. Time and Time again Christ stated that one should judge something by its "fruitfulness" - Trump's "fruit" has been hatred, violence, and ignorance. So, Christians can, at times be quite ignorant and destructive.
That being said, on the other hand, my wife, Kathi, has gained a lot of strength and integrity from her Lutheran upbringing, and I do think she is a wonderful person (are you reading this, Kathi???--huh, huh, huh???). Kathi takes Christ's commandment "to love" very seriously and she is a very committed and dedicated pacifist - a trait gained from being a Lutheran. As a Baptist woman once said, "Religion is of Man! Spirit is of God" Kathi is a very spiritual woman and a committed pacifist, who has been nurtured by the Lutheran Church.
I'll talk to anybody, anytime about spirituality
As many people have said, you don't need to believe in God to be spiritual. That is true. However it seems clear that psychologically speaking everyone has [unconscious] spiritual processes at work in their mind. A study that Fraser Watts highlighted revealed that of the people surveyed who had spiritual experiences 24% of the people were atheists. After tens of thousands of years of human beings believing in spirit and spirituality, it would seem possible that then human mind would be void of spiritual 'software' as one neuroscientist put it. The only thing I would say to an atheist or agnostic would be - "If you got it (spiritual processes built into your mind), you might as well use it." At times spiritual processes work really well.
Personally, I will talk to anybody, anytime, anywhere of any faith , no-faith, attending church, or not-attending church, atheist, agnostic, and so on. In fact, I will talk about spirituality for hours and hours, if people will let me. I should comment that large numbers of people are now categorized as 'spiritual" but not religious. Park and Paloutzian observe that there has been a, "persistent finding that about 25 to 30% of individuals in Western cultures identify themselves as spiritual but not religious," and that studies indicate "that this minority is likely to be vociferously anti-religious...." though not necessarily "indicative of atheism." (p. 424 Handbook) As many people on FB have mentioned to me: "You don't need to believe in God to be spiritual!"
The article, Religious ‘nones’ are gaining ground in America, and they’re worried about the e …, dated November 16, 2017 stated that, "Thirty-four percent of Americans surveyed said they were atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular,” according to the .. Taken together, this makes the unaffiliated the largest religious group in the study..." ( https://religionnews.com/2017/11/16/religious-nones-are-gaining-ground-in-america-and-theyre-worried... ) Another article about the recent dramatic rise of "nones" in America did point out that, at the present time, "nones" are, by far, very under-represented in American political government. In general, Americans have tended to have higher rates of religious affiliation than Europeans, perhaps because large numbers of Americans are descendants of people who immigrated precisely to find and obtain "religious freedom" not present in European culture at the time.
Content Copyrighted Charles E Peck Jr. Copyright ©
References and Footnotes
Profile of Dr. James Doty: https://profiles.stanford.edu/james-doty
The Center for Compassion And Altruism Research And Education: http://ccare.stanford.edu/
American Psychological Association: https://www.apa.org/
Association for Psychological Science: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/about/links.cfm
Albert Einstein comprehensive website: http://alberteinsteinsite.com/
Albert Einstein Biography: https://www.biography.com/people/albert-einstein-9285408
Godel’s Theorem of Incompleteness: https://www.jamesrmeyer.com/ffgit/godels_theorem.html
John Bargh, PhD: http://bargh.socialpsychology.org/
https://www.rogerdooley.com/john-bargh-priming
http://www.psych.nyu.edu/bargh/index.html
Rupert Sheldrake: https://www.sheldrake.org/
Viktor Frankl: http://www.viktor-frankl.com/
Viktor Frankl: http://www.viktorfrankl.org/
Dr. Harold Koenig: https://spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu/index.php/harold-g-koenig-m-d
Dr. Harold Koenig: https://medicine.duke.edu/faculty/harold-g-koenig-m-d
Roy Baumeister: http://www.roybaumeister.com/
Roy Baumeister: https://psy.fsu.edu/faculty/baumeisterr/baumeister.dp.php
Dr. Paul Wong: http://www.drpaulwong.com/
Dr. Paul Wong: https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/paul-wong-biography/
Clifford Geertz: https://www.biography.com/people/clifford-geertz-9308224
Carl Jung: https://www.biography.com/people/carl-jung-9359134
Carl Jung: https://www.psychologistworld.com/cognitive/carl-jung-analytical-psychology
12 common Archetypes: http://www.soulcraft.co/essays/the_12_common_archetypes.html
Emile Durkheim: http://durkheim.uchicago.edu/
Emile Durkheim: http://faculty.rsu.edu/users/f/felwell/www/Theorists/Durkheim/index2.htm
William James: https://www.biography.com/people/william-james-9352726
William James: https://study.com/academy/lesson/william-james-psychology-theories-lesson-quiz.html
Tania Singer references: http://cultureofempathy.com/References/Experts/Tania-Singer.htm
https://charterforcompassion.org/discovering-empathy/dr-tania-singer-and-the-neuroscience-of-empathy
Dr Amit Sood Mindfulness: https://www.mindfulleader.org/amit-sood
Dr. Harold Koenig Director, Center for Spirituality,
Theology and Health: https://spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu/index.php/harold-g-koenig-m-d
Dr. Koenig on what spirituality can do for you: https://www.beliefnet.com/wellness/health/2006/05/what-religion-can-do-for-your-health.aspx
Keith Karren – Body, Mind, Spirit:
http://pgrpdf.abhappybooks.com/mind-body-health-keith-j-karren-ph-d-pdf-5716009.pdf
E O Wilson Biodiversity: https://eowilsonfoundation.org/
E O Wilson - PBS on Ants: http://www.pbs.org/program/eo-wilson/
Anthropologist Malinowski: http://anthrotheory.wikia.com/wiki/Bronislaw_
MalinowskiSocial Anthropology - Malinowski: http://scihi.org/bronislaw-malinowski-social-anthropology/
St. Augustine (Catholic source): https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=418
St. Augustine: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine
Konrad Lorenz: https://www.age-of-the-sage.org/scientist/konrad_lorenz.html
Konrad Lorenz: http://www.famouspsychologists.org/konrad-lorenz/
St. Gregory of Nyssa (Franciscan): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-gregory-of-nyssa/
St. Gregory of Nyssa (wikiorg): https://orthodoxwiki.org/Gregory_of_Nyssa
Neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene: https://www.edge.org/memberbio/stanislas_dehaene
Imants Barušs, psychologist and parapsychologist: http://www.baruss.ca/
Julia Mossbridge, psychologist and parapsychologist: https://noetic.org/profile/julia-mossbridge
https://sharingthesearch.com/tag/j-mossbridge/
https://www.closertotruth.com/contributor/julia-mossbridge/profile
Friedrich Nietzsche: http://nietzschecircle.com/
Nietzsche biography: https://www.biography.com/people/friedrich-nietzsche-9423452
Abraham Joshua Heschel: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/abraham-joshua-heschel-a-prophets-prophet/
Iroquois:
http://www.ushistory.org/us/1d.asp
Greek Mythology: Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi
https://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Apollo/apollo.html
https://www.thoughtco.com/apollo-greek-god-sun-music-prophecy-111902
http://greek-gods.info/greek-gods/apollo/
https://www.coastal.edu/intranet/ashes2art/delphi2/misc-essays/oracle_of_delphi.html
https://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/background/7_p1.html
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/pythia-oracle-delphi-001641
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/pythia-oracle-delphi-001641