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Seekers in the 21st century

Licensed psychologist | Stockholm | EDIV

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A site about mental health and spirituality in general and contemporary (New Age, Western esoteric, holistic, etc) spirituality in particular. Something that is usually summed up as "new spirituality". Existential, misc.

Consultations, supervision, training assignments.

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Stefan Hellsten
Licensed Psychologist

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I have an interest in psychology and spirituality. An overview: Psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychology originated with Sigmund Freud. At the beginning of the 1900th century, he developed psychoanalysis in theory and clinic. Others have further developed his ideas: Donald Winnicott, Wilfred Bion, Melanie Klein and others. Humanistic psychology emerged partly as a counterforce. To instead focus on "the healthy": Abraham Maslow. The next step was transpersonal psychology, which to an even greater degree (as far as I understood) was open to higher aspects in man: Stanislav Grof, experimenting with drugs for personal development and psychic healing. Integral psychology has even emerged from this. Ken Wilber. Positive psychology: Míhály Csíkszentmihályi. Religion has always existed. Therapeutic: Soul care, Christian deep meditation. In the 60s and early 70s, what we today call new spirituality and the New Age arose. Inspired by Eastern spiritual practice and theology – yoga and meditation, reincarnation and karma, gurus and disciples. And theosophy, including: Madame Blavatsky. Important names in this context: Jiddu Krishnamurti, who was raised by theosophists Annie Besant and Charles Webster Leadbeater and predicted to be the new World Teacher. He dropped out in his thirties. In connection with this, the Theosophical Society underwent a crisis. Rudolf Steiner dropped out and founded the Anthroposophical Society, which we know through Walldorf pedagogy, biodynamic cultivation, Vidarkliniken, etc. A Scandinavian in the same genre: Martinus Thomsen, "Martinus", whose teaching is usually called Martinus' cosmology. At the intersection between new spirituality and psychology/therapy we have phenomena such as: Pre/trans fallacy (Wilber), spiritual bypass/bypassing (John Welwood). Even what are usually called "therapeutic sects". It is not clear who should be included here: Scientology by L Ron Hubbard, etc. This should probably also include various spiritual gurus/inspirers/teachings/systems that focus on personal/spiritual development: Byron Katie, Deepak Chopra, The Secret, Mirakelkursen - A Course in Miracles. Many things that fit within holistic spirituality have also gained great acceptance among the general public. Interest in yoga, meditation, astrology, etc. Also reincarnation and karma. In several surveys, it has been shown that as many as 25% of people in the West embrace the belief that one is reborn, living life after life. There is also an anti-cult movement, more or less agitated. Many with their own experiences, so-called defectors, or affected relatives, but also psychologists, psychotherapists, etc. who are interested in this area. In Sweden, among others: Håkan Järvå, Helena Löfgren, Anette Nyman, Clas Svahn. In that context, the religious skeptic, Sigmund Freud should be highlighted, of course. Magical thinking in all its forms. In recent years, the concept of Conspirituality has begun to be used. A mix of New Age Spirituality and Conspiracy theories. Not least in the wake of Donald Trump and the conspiracy culture that has flourished around him. QAnon. Things like Chem trails, notions about the danger of vaccines for Covid-19, 5G, Illuminati, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, etc. are also absorbed here.

Latest posts

  • Pioneer psychology
    In 1-This & that
    I was reminded of something I have sometimes thought about myself. Not very profound. If you want something like that, you can read these columns by the psychoanalyst Per-Magnus Johansson in GP. Seem [...]
  • Spiritual in different ways
    In 1-This & that
    In parallel with the fact that I was working on the degree work to become a psychologist, I also tried to make a "model" that would summarize central aspects of the whole thing. This work [...]
  • To wake up
    In 1-This & that
    Every spiritual tradition seems to have or advocate its own version of "waking up". Saved or Enlightened. With great similarities, it seems to a layman. A revolutionary, pervasive [...]
  • “Oh my god… Humanity, please come in!”
    In 1-This & that
    Interesting documentary about the actor Cary Grant. "Becoming Cary Grant" from 2017. (In Swedish: "Cary Grant - A world star is born". I thought people had stopped inventing [...]
  • The spiritual 80s
    In 1-This & that
    A couple of program sheets from Cafe Pan, the "new age temple" that was located on Götgatan in Stockholm, during some intense years in the 80s. A lecture I myself gave there. That I was deemed qualified [...]
  • Among Gnomes and Trolls
    In 1-This & that
    You see pictures like this more and more, I think? Guess it's AI. And often it is just old-fashioned photos. Probably more convincing that way. We have learned to distrust modern images, [...]
  • Obsession
    In 1-This & that
    "Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying Statistical Mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to [...]
  • Ingratitude is the reward of the world
    In 1-This & that
    This illustration has stayed with me since my teenage years. Originally it was in one of Sture Emby's study letters. I think he had taken it from the spiritualists' magazine "Utan Gräns". Comes [...]
  • Pop Freud
    In 1-This & that
    Some reflections on how Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and his psychoanalysis were used in the world of strips, cartoons and comics. Incomplete and certainly not fully representative. Yet. And one as well [...]
  • Intrepid pioneers
    In 1-This & that
    "Since Adventists advocate a vegetarian diet, the community has also operated health food industries in Sweden since the 1920s, until Hälsans Kök and AB Svenska Nutana were sold in 2006." [...]

Popular posts

  • The Waldorf debate borders on moral panic

Categories in "Miscellaneous"

  • 1-This & that (339)
  • 3-Recorded (16)
  • 5-A study on new spirituality/new age (57)
  • 6-The remainder of the study (207)
  • 8-Old texts (4)

Labels in “Miscellaneous”

ABC academically alternative therapy spiritual development defector Barbro Westerholm Carl Gustav Jung Clas Svahn animal rights death Film tip research Wonder God image of god guru gurus humor James W Fowler Jiddu Krishnamurti conspiracy spirituality conspiracy theories Martin's cosmology Martinus Thomsen mindfulness My own journey modeling new age new spirituality Olav Hammer Pehr Granqvist personal development psychiatry psychoanalysis psychotherapy reincarnation psychology of religion Rudolf Steiner Sects Sigmund Freud zeitgeist TV essay developmental psychology western esotericism

Dela:

stefan.hellsten@protonmail.com
+ 46 (0) 76-190 63 63
Stockholm
Sweden

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