Beyond the Bubble of Self

Publication information:

Zinzendorf, Johannes. 2026. “Beyond the Bubble of Self.” in Belonging: Practices of Inclusion in Spiritual Communities, the Academy, and Society. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.

Abstract

We are living in a time of a transformational paradigm shift, away from our bubbles of self-centeredness that confine our identity to the discrete and separate, and moves towards the realization that we are part of the earth, like the facets of a jewel. This change is reshaping our understanding of ourselves and "the other," in which we realize, on a fundamental level, that we are the other and much as it is us. Nurturing this association can give humans an identity as gardeners of a planetary garden, nurturing wholeness, union and beauty. 

Presenter Biography

Johannes Zinzendorf is a founding member of the Hermitage, a Harmonist spiritual center in Pennsylvania. He is affiliated with the Communal Studies Association. He has written extensively about evolving spirituality, the history and folk crafts and art of his Pennsylvania German region, queer spirituality, and a variety of fiction.