Abstract

In this Conversational, we will explore spiritual self-agency and the related topic of power dynamics in contemporary spirituality. The approach is a warp and weft exploration of both inner and outer processes in three aspects: positionality, psychology, and embodiment.

The session will draw out themes from relevant literature and research, as well as introduce some of the presenter’s own work on what she calls ‘spiritual pathfinding’, which denotes the proactive and consistent engagement with psychospiritual processes to guide the individualised spiritual path. In shared self-inquiry we will further discern how the themes and complexities show up in our own lived experience.

Through the embodied understanding of how we ourselves recognise authenticity in choice and meaning making, we can recognise spirituality as a tool to navigate a fracturing world amidst contrasting truth claims and opposing worldviews. 

About the speaker Ellis Linders, Ph.D.

Ellis Linders is a member of core-faculty with the ALEF Trust UK (www.aleftrust.org), where she is a lecturer in contemporary spirituality, transpersonal psychology and integrative practice.

Her particular interest in the areas of spiritual self-agency and embodiment are born from her personal experiences, specifically after undergoing an extended period of spiritual emergency in her mid-thirties.

Her principal inquiry both in relation to research and in her teaching-approach concerns the complexities involved in finding a meaningful spirituality that meet the unique needs of the individual whilst being relevant and in service to the Collective.

Central to this inquiry is how we might evaluate spiritual pathways which are outside the norm or possibly newly emerging, and whether our understanding of what spirituality means and what purpose it serves is changing, or needs to change, to meet the challenges of our life and world.