Uncovers how alternative spiritualties became widespread in American life

Yoga. Humanistic Psychology. Meditation. Holistic Healing. These practices are commonplace today. Yet before the early 1960s they were atypical options for most people outside of the upper class or small groups of educated spiritual seekers.
Esalen Institute, a retreat for spiritual and personal growth in Big Sur, California, played a pioneering role in popularizing quests for self-transformation and personalized spirituality. This “soul rush” spread quickly throughout the United States as the Institute made ordinary people aware of hundreds of ways to select, combine, and revise their beliefs about the sacred and to explore diverse mystical experiences. Millions of Americans now identify themselves as spiritual, not religious, because Esalen paved the way for them to explore spirituality without affiliating with established denominations
The American Soul Rush explores the concept of spiritual privilege and Esalen’s foundational influence on the growth and spread of diverse spiritual practices that affirm individuals’ self-worth and possibilities for positive personal change. The book also describes the people, narratives, and relationships at the Institute that produced persistent, almost accidental inequalities in order to illuminate the ways that gender is central to religion and spirituality in most contexts.

"With a particular focus on the exclusion of women and working-class participants, Goldman successfully illuminates the gap between the Esalen ideal and the actuality of spiritual democracy. Resisting the urge to romanticize or caustically dismiss Esalen and its inclusive bricolage spirituality, Goldman has produced a meticulously researched and accessible text that is recommended for classes on American religion, sociology of religion, and new religious movements." - Religious Studies Review

"Goldman's study is the first book to take a hard look at how issues of social class and male chauvinism have influenced the governance and direction of this seminal institution....Goldman's greatest contribution in The American Soul Rush is to remind us that it is not a coincidence that wealthy enclaves like Marin County have become meccas for seekers interested in Buddhist meditation and other techniques designed to foster 'higher consciousness." - San Francisco Chronicle

"This book is a useful introduction to these issues and to the work of Walter Truett Anderson, who created archival resources on which Goldman depends...Recommended [for] lower-division undergraduates and above, [and] general readers." - CHOICE

"Goldman conducted in-depth interviews with former Esalen participants and founders.." - Publishers Weekly