Abstract

We live in an age of polarization and fundamentalism. There are fundamentalist religionists, psychologists, scientists, and even New Agers. What is needed today, in my opinion, is more synthesis and bridge building. My Project Demonstrating Excellence represents a modest step in that direction. ;My effort takes the form of a popular book that attempts to build bridges between the perennial philosophy, orthodox Christianity, esoteric Christianity, and so-called New Age thinking. Entitled Christianity For A New Age, the book is based on some of the best insights of spiritual psychology, especially the work of Roberto Assagioli. ;The book is divided into twenty-three chapters. Each chapter deals with the central question of how orthodoxy and the best of so-called New Age thinking can be bridged by the insights of spiritual psychology. This psychology, perennial in nature, has manifested itself in the past through mysticism, alchemy, esotericism, as well as the hermetic tradition. ;The popular book is accompanied by a contextual piece. The introduction to the contextual piece discusses the authors who have had the most impact on my work. This is followed by an important contribution that my work can make to the field: a precise definition of terms. Words like soul, spirit, higher power, and New Age are often thrown about rather loosely. This section attempts to specifically define what is meant by these terms. This, in turn, is followed by a section that sets the context for the discussion of what psychology, religion, and New Age thinking have in common. A final section proposes a synthetic vision of the human psyche based upon the best thinking in spiritual psychology