Selling Spirituality

Selling Spirituality shows how spirituality today functions as a powerful commodity in the global marketplace, promising to soothe away the ills of modern life whilst functioning as a silent form of economic, cultural and political restraint.

From Feng Shui to holistic medicine, from aromatherapy candles to yoga weekends, spirituality is big business. It promises to soothe away the angst of modern living and to offer an antidote to shallow materialism. Selling Spirituality is a short, sharp, attack on this fallacy. It shows how spirituality has in fact become a powerful commodity in the global marketplace - a cultural addiction that reflects orthodox politics, curbs self-expression and colonizes Eastern beliefs. Exposing how spirituality has today come to embody the privatization of religion in the modern West, Jeremy Carrette and Richard King reveal the people and brands who profit from this corporate hijack, and explore how spirituality can be reclaimed as a means of resistance to capitalism and its deceptions.

The way we are governed is changing; so is our economy. Government has less and less power to influence how we live our lives, while the private sector has more power than ever to control what we do and what we think. Yet the business pages of the newspapers still come as a supplement, while the activities of governments dominate the front pages and the headlines. To understand the new world in which we are living, we need to learn to challenge long-held assumptions about the nature of power in society; The Silent Takeover is an essential guide to that new understanding as we progress through the 21st century: a time in which we can no longer rely on politicians - of whatever stripe - to meet our needs; a time in which business, rather than political parties, offers the way forward; a time in which we can make more of an impact through our pockets than we have ever done through the ballot box. In the wake of an economic recession, Hertz's eye-opening book reveals much about early 21st century politics and its effects on society.

Premodern and early modern yoga comprise techniques with a wide range of aims, from turning inward in quest of the true self, to turning outward for divine union, to channeling bodily energy in pursuit of sexual pleasure. Early modern yoga also encompassed countercultural beliefs and practices. In contrast, today, modern yoga aims at the enhancement of the mind-body complex but does so according to contemporary dominant metaphysical, health, and fitness paradigms. Consequently, yoga is now a part of popular culture. In Selling Yoga, Andrea R. Jain explores the popularization of yoga in the context of late-twentieth-century consumer culture. She departs from conventional approaches by undermining essentialist definitions of yoga as well as assumptions that yoga underwent a linear trajectory of increasing popularization. While some studies trivialize popularized yoga systems by reducing them to the mere commodification or corruption of what is perceived as an otherwise fixed, authentic system, Jain suggests that this dichotomy oversimplifies the history of yoga as well as its meanings for contemporary practitioners. By discussing a wide array of modern yoga types, from Iyengar Yoga to Bikram Yoga, Jain argues that popularized yoga cannot be dismissed--that it has a variety of religious meanings and functions. Yoga brands destabilize the basic utility of yoga commodities and assign to them new meanings that represent the fulfillment of self-developmental needs often deemed sacred in contemporary consumer culture.

This book speaks to the fashion industry, but it is not about collections, trends, or seasons. The message of this book centers around the human aspect of the industry, the awareness of the self, and the spirituality and self-development that comes with it.

For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris’s latest New York Times bestseller is a guide to meditation as a rational practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From Sam Harris, neuroscientist and author of numerous New York Times bestselling books, Waking Up is for the twenty percent of Americans who follow no religion but who suspect that important truths can be found in the experiences of such figures as Jesus, the Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history. Throughout this book, Harris argues that there is more to understanding reality than science and secular culture generally allow, and that how we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the quality of our lives. Waking Up is part memoir and part exploration of the scientific underpinnings of spirituality. No other book marries contemplative wisdom and modern science in this way, and no author other than Sam Harris—a scientist, philosopher, and famous skeptic—could write it.

The "Handbook of New Age" is a comprehensive survey of alternative spiritualities: their history, their global impact, their cultural influence and how they are understood by scholars. Chapters by many of the leading scholars of the movement give the latest analysis of contemporary spiritual trends, and present up-to-date observations of the interaction between the New Age movement and many different fields of knowledge and research.

Praise for spiritual selling "This is the only book I have ever read that seamlessly combines spiritual laws and sales. It shows you how to make internal changes that will impact your outside world. For my money, this is the best book out there for entrepreneurs and salespeople." --Dr. Joe Vitale, author of The Attractor Factor and Zero Limits "Nunziata has discovered the secret to success and abundance: that it comes from within and is created by your thoughts and feelings. His techniques are easy to follow and essential in helping you attain your true business potential. He knows that being successful is not about how many hours you work, but how you see yourself on your most basic level."?? ?? --Susan Kerr, spiritual counselor and author of The System for Soul Memory "Nunziata is the real deal when it comes to creating more sales. He has gone deep in his own life to learn his invisible blocks and is the master at teaching others how to do the same. He has an effective process to help salespeople and entrepreneurs move those blocks with ease-like they're children's block toys! As the creator of the Selling-Without-Selling program, I share his philosophy and know you will learn so much about yourself and what blocks your way. If you're serious about selling from your heart and soul and feeling really great about yourself and about selling, this book is a must!" --Dr. Terri Levine, Master Certified Coach and author of The Successful Coach, Work Yourself Happy, and Stop Managing, Start Coaching "If you're?tired of the push and pull that comes with traditional methods of selling, Spiritual Selling is a must-have. The principles Nunziata teaches are based on attraction rather than force. His approach is not some pie-in-the-sky theory. Rather, he skillfully shows how you can begin attracting business to you rather than chasing after it-more business than you dreamed possible. Regardless of what you sell, this book will enlighten you in ways you never imagined." --Kathleen Gage, author of The Law of Achievement