Crossing spiritual boundaries: encountering, articulating and representing otherworlds

There is a growing critical social science literature around contemporary expressions of alternative spirituality. However, this literature appears to have overlooked a core feature of these spiritual experiences. For many contemporary alternative spiritual practitioners, spirit plays an active and ever present role in their everyday lives and relationships. However, the critical social science discourse has failed to adequately engage with this. Instead the dominant approach has been to suggest spirituality today is about a personal journey to the divine within, usually sustained by the purchase of widely available protean commodities such as crystals, Buddhas and weekend retreats. In this discourse the ‘spirit’ at the heart of spirituality has effectively been killed. It is my belief that this is in part a reflection of the inability of social science to encounter, articulate and represent such otherworldliness. Based on my experiences of participatory fieldwork with individuals and groups engaged in a wide range of spiritual practices, I suggest critical social science needs to be able to engage with the enchanted worlds which arise out of many contemporary spiritual experiences with respect, sensitivity and a little creativity. These practitioners are actively seeking connections between ‘this’ world and ‘otherworlds’ and it is time for critical social science to acknowledge the ‘extra-geographies’ that arise out of this. In this paper I reflect upon the methodological implications of this, and present a conceptual framework which might help us to articulate and represent the spatialities of these very enchanted spiritualities

Health literacy and the framing of health messages in the gay community

An aim of current UK health policy is to ‘fully engage’ not only sick but also well people in pursuit of health (Wanless 2004). In this policy discourse, it is assumed that ‘health literacy’ is one of the vehicles for achieving that full engagement: namely, individuals must understand the best information about how to pursue health, not only have access to it. The present project focuses on three related issues: (1) how health information is ‘framed’, and (2) how that information is understood, evaluated and acted on by those who receive it and (3) in light of the results, what dimensions ‘health literacy’ must have if changes in health-related behaviour are to ensue. Our focus is men’s health. It is widely recognised that men are less likely to engage with their own health than women with theirs. We choose gay men as a critical case. We single out varieties of gay men in Manchester and specifically the health issues they share with other men

The impact of multiple sclerosis on the identity of mothers in Italy

Purpose: This paper reports on one of the themes that emerged from the analysis of the study, regarding the perceived influence of multiple sclerosis (MS) on the identity of mothers in the socio-cultural context of Italy. Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 women at various stages of MS, with follow up interviews with seven of the women. Phenomenology guided the methodology and the analysis was conducted using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Through the research the value of motherhood to the women who participated emerged. The findings illustrated how many strove to maintain controlof their MS, which led to some making comparisons of themselves and other mothers and feeling different. Some women described how they adjusted their roles and found strength in being mothers but others spoke of their feelings of loss. Most women described living in the moment, appreciating the present and living each day as it came. Another significant experience was fear of stigma, both realized in the form of “pity” from others, and the perceived and actual associated stigma for their families. This contributed to why some women were reluctant to disclose their condition. The mothers who took part in this study differed in how they perceived their disabled identity. Conclusion: Although this study was conducted in the socio-cultural setting of Italy, the findings have implications for professionals working with disabled mothers and women with MS in Italy and beyond; including recognizing the value associated with fully identifying oneself as a mother, rather than solely focusing on doingmothering tasks. • Implications for Rehabilitation • Professionals need to be mindful of the value of motherhood for women with multiple sclerosis. • Professionals should support women who feel like they are battling with maintaining control of their multiple sclerosis, who may be adjusting their identity as mothers; recognizing that they may be influenced by the stage of their multiple sclerosis and whether they were diagnosed before or after having their children. • Women can have feelings of loss related to their ability to fully participate in their children’s lives and professionals should work with women to help them identify the value of their mothering role not only in physically participating in activities but also in being emotionally and physically present as a mother

'That great dust-heap called history': recovering the multiple spaces of citizenship

Abstract not available

Mapping reflexive communities: visualising the geographies of emotion

Whereas 'simple modernity' was characterized by objective space, the grid of the map, and a removal of all subjective symbols or signs, 'reflexive modernity' is characterized by a re-subjectivization of space. Within this space 'reflexive communities' emerge to make sense of emotions and experiences, reflecting particular ways of behaving, thinking and being. As geographers one task facing us now is to visualize and map the spaces of reflexive modernization. This paper presents a means of visualizing the text of emotions uncovered in the research encounter--a way of 'mapping' reflexive communities--and shows how we can articulate, negotiate and represent, complex emotional landscapes. The 'maps'--which draw on spatial metaphors that permeate everyday emotions--such as 'distancing' ourselves, 'engaging', 'joining', 'feeling detached', 'embracing'--were developed initially through analysis of in-depth interviews with long-term sufferers of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). Although the key focus of the paper is the experience of long-term illness, the method of visualizing emotional geographies of everyday life could be applied in any number of fields. As such, it adds to the search across the social sciences for understanding the reflexive nature of contemporary space

Contours of coping: mapping the subject world of long-term illness

Medical geography has evolved from studying ‘dots on maps to embodied subjects’. Involving the acknowledgement of new territories and identities, this has taken place against a backdrop of wider shifts in understanding health and illness. This paper suggests geographers are well placed to develop their existing skills of spatial exploration in order to map out these new territories. Whilst ‘the map’ has recently suffered from bad press, as a selective, misleading representation, this paper demonstrates it can be resurrected as a less sinister tool to aid our understanding of situated health experiences

Everyday Spirituality: Social and Spatial Worlds of Enchantment

Spirituality is re-embracing the magical and otherworldly, and in this timely investigation Sara MacKian makes an important contribution to our understanding of the social science of contemporary spiritual evolution. Putting 'spirit' at the heart of spirituality, the author takes seriously the otherworldly experiences of everyday spiritual seekers, and through extensive fieldwork, establishes an exceptional view of the contemporary spiritual landscape. By exploring the everyday impacts of alternative spiritual beliefs and practices the book gets to the heart of what an enchanted spirituality looks like and how critical social science can map and understand it. Everyday Spirituality is an essential read for anyone with an interest in developing a deeper understanding of spiritual evolution in modern Western societies

Touched by spirit: sensing the material impacts of intangible encounters

Since time immemorial the human relationship with spirit, whether all-embracing or outright hostile, has been a key part of how people sense and make sense of what they perceive as their own personal realities. The archaeology of our social and physical worlds gives testament to the tangible imprint of spirit and spirituality through time. Spirit touches our world and leaves its mark, whether we believe in it or not. Based on empirical research with spiritual practitioners, this chapter explores a dual reading of spirit's touch in the modern world, as both physical contact and psychical connection

Me and ME: therapeutic landscapes in an unfamiliar world

This chapter, based on on-going research, explores the shifting worlds of long-term illness and the emergent landscapes, for people living with ME. There has been previous research on patient's constructions of ME (Guise et al., 2007), and their beliefs about the causes of their condition (Clements et al, 1997), but here I shift the emphasis and focus not on the construction of ME itself, but on the construction of the worlds people live in when living with ME. The landscapes that individuals experience, either physically or mentally, have a profound influence on their overall health and well-being (Williams, 1998: 1199), and there is therefore merit in exploring them as a possible means of developing supportive care environments for those living with long-term debilitating conditions