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Spiritual Discipline And Psychological Dream-Work: Some Distinctions, Philip Novak

Collected Faculty and Staff Scholarship

"The world's great religious traditions and spiritualities commonly contain two essential elements. The first doctrine, a distinction between the Real and the unreal; the second is method, a way for human consciousness to concentrate upon the Real. 'Prayer' and 'yoga' are probably the two most inclusive generic terms coming under what I here designate as method. they are ways that human beings, in their living consciousness, endeavor to lessen the existential 'distance' between themselves and ultimate Reality. For the purpose of this essay, let us group those psychotransformative strategies known to religious traditions under the common heading of 'contemplative discipline.''' …