Emerging Influence of Transmodernism and Transpersonal Psychology Reflected in Rising Popularity of Transformational Festivals

Abstract

The broad cultural themes of modernism and postmodernism have played crucial roles in intra-, inter-, and transpersonal growth, particularly in economically mature societies. Today, the tendrils of transmodernism appear to have captured the attention of many young adults eager to find meaning in a wake of postmodernism’s reductionist, nihilist, and existential impulses. Evidence of this shift away from postmodernism is the emergence of transformational festivals—countercultural and co-created gatherings that may offer an anecdote for modern life’s anomie, anxiety, and depression. Elements of transpersonal psychology and psychosynthesis appear to be reflected in each festival’s design and implementation. Intense communal activities work synergistically with sacred and contemplative activities to promote relational, introspective, and transcendent growth that resembles interdisciplinary psychotherapy. Guided by an ethos of radical acceptance and mutual support, the social and solitary limbs create a safe container in which participants may dissect, test, and reassemble aspects of psyche while remaining receptive to enhanced appreciation of the transcendent world. Participants routinely express a greater sense of wholeness and self-possession with reduced negative affect. Parallels between the broad cultural theme of transmodernism and immersive psychosocial events like the Burning Man art and music festival suggest a mutually beneficial and symbiotic relationship.