The 'New Age' encompasses many spiritualities, philosophies and alternative religions, such as Spiritualism, Wicca, Paganism and Theosophy, to name a few. Its cultural and ancestral threads, prior to the emergence of the contemporary New Age Movement in the early 1970s, is acknowledged by examining some prominent groups and individuals throughout history. Many comments on the New Age Movement, in the 1970s, 80s and 90s were dismissive. Through a survey done in 2007 amongst New Agers, for this thesis, those early judgements are examined to determine their relationship to the New Zealand experience. There was found to be divergence from international analysis where New Agers' age was concerned, their presumed connection to the 1960s counterculture, the assumptions that the New Age Movement is exclusively white, that science is a necessary part of belief and that New Age beliefs exist in opposition to cummunity needs. The focus is on the New Agers' within community, not their separation from it, for separation is a claim some overseas academics promoted as proof that the New Age is anti-community because of its individualism in belief seeking. Through this thesis the New Zealand New Ager is placed in relationship to the global New Age Movement by an academic who is 'of' the movement, not an academic 'outside looking in'. The experience of belief is looked at through the survey participants' eyes with the aim of claiming those experiences as 'mysticism'. This is approached by examining their 'contact' with the Divine/Godhead,through descriptions of altered/abstract realities. Any exclusivity the major religions have on mysticism is essentially 'removed' and given to the community as a concept attainable by those outside 'religion'; for example, the New Age Movement. The New Ager is seen both in the everydaty reality helping to create community, and although it is impossible to prove/examine coherantly, possibly in an altered/abstract reality/realities.

This creative thesis attempts to bring academic and New Age discourses into conversation by combining the writing voice of the author’s academic identity—the scholar—with the writing voice of the author’s New Age identity—the wayseer. While researching academic discourses on the use of reflective writing, the author also participated in a New Age self development course called the Life Mastery program and facilitated by the Modern Day Mystery School located in Wilton Manors, Florida. The author uses the knowledge she acquired in her New Age studies to reconsider what she learned about writing as a student as well as to construct an identity as a member of both academic and New Age cultural communities. The work exemplifies what composition scholar Patricia Bizzell calls “hybrid” discourse. By mixing conventional components of research reports with language features from the genres of creative nonfiction and memoir, the resulting hybrid discourse explores as it demonstrates the value of reflective writing for academic objectives, of New Age practices for teaching writing and reflection, and of writing as a tool of identity construction and negotiation. Reflecting on topics ranging from the challenges of teaching first-year college students to the objectives of writing assignments received from Archangelic realms, the author portrays a writer’s path to know herself.

The main purpose of the work is to theologically reflect a relationship between christianity and the selected phenomenons of alternative spirituality. Partial goal of this dissertation paper is a theological reflection of this relationship. Human being and its theological- anthropological base is a fundamental connection to this relationship. A uniting component is human dignity which structures an essential princip arising from revelation. The thesis reflects roots of human dignity and its relationship with Trinitarian God and christianity - and life without this bindings. For this purpose an interdisciplinary overlap to communication psychology is used - due to fact, that this model can be applied to revelation. Thanks to this communication model a proces of creating self-approach of person can be outlined and it opens a way to understand empirical perspective of alternativly spiritual followers. Using the model is good to understand the structure and its formation between christianity and alternative spirituality as well. This perspective can be helpful to gain a better view of inner structure of relationship of these phenomenons and its opportunities.

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This thesis aims to present society of Universalia which first appears in era of the First republic and uses it's journal Logos in attempt to prove whether Universalia is society of alternative spirituality. Thesis is also interested in some authors of spiritual articles in this periodical and tries to describe impact of these authors on the community of Universalia. The introduction of this thesis describes society of Universalia and its purpose. Another chapter mentions many traditions which Universalia follows-up. Ensuing is the presentation of Logos journal, which serves as communication stream for its members and other societies. Focus point of the thesis lies in analysis of spiritual articles in Logos journal. Forty-two specific articles have been chosen to introduce its authors and try to derive from their contents, whether they aim to create comprehensive picture of spiritual live. The attachments bring some of to this day unpublished research instruments, such as complete bibliography of Logos journal or list of texts published by Universalia.

This thesis addresses non-traditional angelic spirituality experienced outside of traditional churches. This spirituality is specific for its everyday communication and contact with angelic beings. The present research examines contemporary angelic spirituality using a lens of relational ontology and semiotic analysis, focusing on how recurrent communication acts allow the emergence of specific subjectivities and identifies the main processes behind this phenomenon - recognition, interpretation and reaction. Research documents specific techniques allowing the formation of angelic subjectivities and redefinition of human subjectivities; prayer, reading cards, guided meditation, different types of clairvoyance and interpretation of signs. Deliberately using these techniques leads to re/definition of subjectivity of a practitioner (through clairvoyant insights into the past lives) and transforms him into human/incarnated soul. These communication acts further form a subjectivity of deceased souls, with which practitioners of angelic spirituality are often in contact, together with the subjectivity of dark beings, which cannot interact with a person without invitation it first and a subjectivity of angelic beings, which are defined by their unconditional support of their charges. Emergent "ecology of...