That wickedly keen social observer David Brooks has this in the
Atlantic Monthly and it caught my attention

"The New Age quest is for those who have a bias toward self-discovery
techniques that are performed while barefoot. It suits men who believe
that everyday life is full of trivial distractions and who want to
discover inner joys and deep harmonies, which can then be used as fodder
for self-adoring monologues before captive dinner-party audiences. The
quest usually starts with a few afternoons in the spirituality section of
the local bookstore. Several months of journal keeping, bread making,
yoga classes, and suburban Buddhist epiphanies follow. Pretty soon Hermann
Hesse novels begin to seem intelligent; the garage has been transformed
into a pottery studio; the days start with chants to Eos, Goddess of the
Dawn; and it seems like a good idea to grow a ponytail on the back of your
head even though there's no hair left on top. This spiritual mid-life
crisis is the near exclusive province of a certain kind of soft-spoken,
upscale Democrat."

That's very nice, although I know some Republicans and a great many
Independents (as in the herd of independent minds) who fit the picture.