Americans are witnessing a third Great Awakening, an explosion of interest in esoteric and mystical religious experience. Often referred to as New Age or pop psychology -- especially by its detractors -- this third Great Awakening is profoundly psychological, stressing the alteration of consciousness, the integration of mind and body, and the connection between physical and mental health. Its practitioners comprise a shadow culture of seekers, whose experiences are best understood in the context of three centuries of the American search for the sacred.