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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Spiritual Discipline And Psychological Dream-Work: Some Distinctions, Philip Novak Mar 2016

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

Philip Novak

"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.''' …


America Without Violence By Michael Nagler, Philip Novak Mar 2016

America Without Violence By Michael Nagler, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

"Everyone one of us, by deciding and willing to do something within our own personal spheres, can begin to rid America, and the planet, of violence. Nagler's whole book is a gentle, yet uncompromising, prod to awaken us to this fact. Arguing against the social forces, collective illusions and individual myopia that blind us to the real possibility of zero violence, he argues for certain points of view, attitudes and even our effectiveness. He is convincing throughout; hopeful, but never unrealistically so." ~ from the article


Search For Nothing: The Life Of St. John Of The Cross By Richard P. Hardy, Philip Novak Mar 2016

Search For Nothing: The Life Of St. John Of The Cross By Richard P. Hardy, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

"A new biography of such a seminal figure could hardly be anything but welcome. Yet I can only recommend Hardy's book with reservations. Though written lovingly by a professor of spirituality who seems to share John of the Cross' contemplative sensibilities, and who, moreover, has done his homework, the book remains curiously one-dimensional. In a word it lacks, depth." ~ from the article


Search For Nothing: The Life Of St. John Of The Cross By Richard P. Hardy, Philip Novak Mar 2016

Search For Nothing: The Life Of St. John Of The Cross By Richard P. Hardy, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

"A new biography of such a seminal figure could hardly be anything but welcome. Yet I can only recommend Hardy's book with reservations. Though written lovingly by a professor of spirituality who seems to share John of the Cross' contemplative sensibilities, and who, moreover, has done his homework, the book remains curiously one-dimensional. In a word it lacks, depth." ~ from the article


America Without Violence By Michael Nagler, Philip Novak Mar 2016

America Without Violence By Michael Nagler, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

"Everyone one of us, by deciding and willing to do something within our own personal spheres, can begin to rid America, and the planet, of violence. Nagler's whole book is a gentle, yet uncompromising, prod to awaken us to this fact. Arguing against the social forces, collective illusions and individual myopia that blind us to the real possibility of zero violence, he argues for certain points of view, attitudes and even our effectiveness. He is convincing throughout; hopeful, but never unrealistically so." ~ from the article


Towards A New Mysticism By Ursula King, Philip Novak Mar 2016

Towards A New Mysticism By Ursula King, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

"Toward a New Mysticism is, in sum, a chronologically-oriented study of the development of Teilhard's new and evolutionist mysticism, with special attention given to surmises about the roles which Teilhard's years in the East and his readings in Asian philosophy and religion played in that development." ~ from the article


Fullness Of Life: Historical Foundations For A New Mysticism By Margaret R. Miles, Philip Novak Mar 2016

Fullness Of Life: Historical Foundations For A New Mysticism By Margaret R. Miles, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

"When in his poem 'Among School Children' W. B. Yeats spoke of that place where 'the body is not bruised to pleasure soul,' he unwittingly pointed to a task that has lately engaged the energies of a number of scholars of Christianity: how to revalorize the body in the Christian tradition and rescue it from its status as the spiritually detrimental half of human being. Margaret Miles, a professor of historical theology at Harvard Divinity School, has responded to this task with scholarship, style and insight." ~ from the article


Attention, Philip Novak Mar 2016

Attention, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

"The subject of attention has until recently been largely confined to the domain of experimental psychology. Researchers have sought to measure and explain such things as the selective capacity of attention, its range and span, the number of objects that it can appreciate simultaneously, and the muscle contractions associated with attentional efforts. Such work has been carried on amid considerable disagreement over basic definitions of the phenomenon of attention itself." ~ from the article


The Chun-Tzu, Philip Novak Feb 2016

The Chun-Tzu, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

The question of personal immortality-life after death-has haunted us ever since human beings realized a basic fact of existence: everything that lives is going to die. Filippo Liverziani considers evidence for life after death; from the out-of-body journeys of mystics to the near-death experiences of ordinary people who reached the threshhold of the other side and returned to tell the tale. Compelling reading for anyone who has asked that timeless question: What happens when I die?


The Practice Of Attention, Philip Novak Feb 2016

The Practice Of Attention, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

"Practices that strengthen the capacity for concentration or attention play a role in most great religious traditions. The importance of developing attention is most readily seen in the great traditions that arose in India, namely Hinduism and Buddhism." ~ from the article


Mysticism, Enlightenment, And Morality, Philip Novak Feb 2016

Mysticism, Enlightenment, And Morality, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

"Our outspoken anthropologist friend, Dr. A. Bharati, once remarked that if someone is a stinker before a mystical experience, he'll be a stinker afterwards .1 The swami's observation stemmed from years spent among the holy men of India and , no doubt, from considerable personal experience. It is an exaggeration , of course, but we cannot dismiss his crucial point: it is quite possible to be a mystic and a stinker. If we refuse to take Bharati's word for it, we need only to examine the numerous recent accounts of the oafish behavior displayed by acclaimed mystic-teachers. Or we …


Foreword, Philip Novak Feb 2016

Foreword, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

"When Mother India gave birth to Rabindranath Tagore in 1861, she endowed him, too, with the gift for seeing the One behind and within the many -- and much else besides. The scion of a wealth Calcutta family, Rabindranath showed signs even in childhood of the prodigious literary talent that would characterize his adult life." ~ from the book


Dynamics Of Attention In Spiritual Discipline, Philip Novak Feb 2016

Dynamics Of Attention In Spiritual Discipline, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

The volumes in the God: The Contemporary Discussion Series are indicative of this continuing pursuit and represent "stepping stones" designed to broaden the forum of the discussion. Many of the essays presented here also reflect the influence of the encounter on each individual contributor. A unique experience herein awaits the student of religion or philosophy, the seeker of knowledge of the Ultimate, the teacher of spiritual discipline, or anyone interested in emerging confluence of the religious traditions of the world.


Buddhism And The Problem Of Identity (Or: On The Virtue Of Not Knowing Who You Are), Philip Novak Feb 2016

Buddhism And The Problem Of Identity (Or: On The Virtue Of Not Knowing Who You Are), Philip Novak

Philip Novak

No abstract provided.


The Vision Of Nietzsche, Philip Novak Feb 2016

The Vision Of Nietzsche, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

God is dead, there are no universal truths, no morality. We stand alone in the universe ... Nietzsche conjured up nihilism, embraced it, then discovered that this philosophy was untenable. But out of his struggle emerged his great redemptive vision - the will to power of the Superman. This powerful book presents an introduction to Nietzsche's life, while carefully selected excerpts from his writings show the development of his thinking. Finally Novak compares Nietzsche's ideal of the Superman with Buddhism's tried and tested notion of the Bodhisattva.


Buddhism : A Concise Introduction, Huston Smith, Philip Novak Feb 2016

Buddhism : A Concise Introduction, Huston Smith, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

Smith and Novak cover the essential teachings, practices, and historical development of Buddhism in all its rich variety. Beginning with the life and legend of the Buddha, Buddhism explores core Buddhist doctrines such as the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, nirvana, and emptiness. The authors go on to discuss the split between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, the continued divisions of Mahayana into Pure Land, Zen, and Tibetan Buddhism, and the confluence of Hinduism and Buddhism in India. The second half of the book follows the global migration of Buddhism and its continuing diversification and development in the West, especially …


The World's Wisdom : Sacred Texts Of The World's Religions, Philip Novak Feb 2016

The World's Wisdom : Sacred Texts Of The World's Religions, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

This extraordinary book is an essential collection of the world's most profound and enlightening wisdom - a world Bible for our time - containing sacred readings from Buddhist, Hindu, Confucian, Taoist, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and primal religion sources. Like his mentor Huston Smith, gifted teacher and author Philip Novak sees religious traditions as the distilled wisdom of humankind. Here Novak has gathered the most powerful and elegant expressions of this global wisdom in a distinctive and accessible volume." "Selections for this unique anthology have been chosen for their inspirational power and instructional value. Authentic poetic translations of key texts are …


The Inner Journey : Views From The Buddhist Tradition, Philip Novak Feb 2016

The Inner Journey : Views From The Buddhist Tradition, Philip Novak

Philip Novak

With The Inner Journey, Philip Novak, editor of The World’s Wisdom and coauthor of Buddhism, a Concise Introduction, selects the best work from the Buddhist tradition to be found within Parabola’s 30 years of archives. The contributors, broad and experienced, range from H. H. the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman to Pema Chodran and Thict Nhat Hanh. Incisive interviews and cogent essays are informed by poetry and folklore. A lavish, full-color, 16-page set of plates brilliantly conveys the rich variety within the tradition. From full works of great intricacy to passages of pure insight, the collection spans the greatest trends …