Wisdom Responses To Troubled Times: Healing Through Contemplative And Somatic Approaches, David Smith, Thomas Falkenberg, Remy Y.S. Low, David Chang, Åsa Jarskog, Jason Brown, Randy Persad, Anna Rumjahn, Charles Scott, Heesoon Bai

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Humanity is facing troubled times, as witnessed by increased polarization and division that are exploding into various forms of violence. Collectively, we are facing unprecedented ecological and environmental disasters. On campuses throughout North America, and closer to home, student anxiety, depression and other mental health issues are increasingly prevalent. The academic fields of contemplative inquiry and somatic studies, which highlight holistic approaches to education, are responding to these troubled times by showing how we can accomplish presence of mind, promote healing, and embrace the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, and ecological dimensions of wellness.

Liquid Light: Ayahuasca Spirituality And The Santo Daime Tradition, Bonnie Glass-Coffin

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Liquid Light is an important addition to the growing number of published accounts that discuss the use of ayahuasca (known by the name, Daime), and its role within Santo Daime, a fundamentally Christian though highly syncretic new religious movement founded in 1930 in the Amazonian state of Acre by an Afro-Brazilian rubber tapper known to followers as Mestre Irineu. The text is a richly descriptive account of Barnard’s own evolution as a fardado (Santo Daime initiate) and includes first-hand accounts of his participation in many kinds and types of Santo Daime worship services in both the United States …

Exodus: The Cost Of Leaving High-Control Religion And Life After Breaking Free, Hannah-Kathryn Valles

Capstones

There are many names for those who leave their faith community—apostate, heretic, dissenter. While there is no singular path to parting with one’s religious beliefs, the experience can be fraught and intensely painful. For those in high-control religious environments, the price of leaving is even steeper.

When identity, social connections, finances, and family structures are dependent on conforming to strict religious and ideological norms, the decision to leave can have far-reaching consequences. For those who do make the bold decision to leave, it’s hardly the end of the road. In many ways, leaving is just the first step toward finding …

The Park Ridge Center Bulletin, 1999, N7, January/February, Advocate Aurora Health

Historical Documents - Combined

The Park Ridge Center, Park Ridge, IL: Issue of "The Park Ridge Center Bulletin", a bi-monthly publication from The Park Ridge Center - An Institute for the Study of Health, Faith, and Ethics, associated with Lutheran General Hospital. This issue has feature articles on spirituality in health care.

A Transcendental Phenomenological Investigation Of Perceived Spirituality And Persistence Of Jamaican Women Who Have Received A Tertiary Degree, Ashleigh Jacqueline Yearde

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to discover the perceived spirituality and persistence for Jamaican women who had received a tertiary degree at schools in Jamaica. At this stage in the research, a tertiary degree was generally defined as all formal post-secondary education, including public and private universities, colleges, technical training institutes, and vocational schools. The theory guiding this research was Lev Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory. Constructivists believe that knowledge was informed by perspective and shaped by values. The theoretical framework for the study was based on the positive foundation of social support in the learning process. Moustakas’s …

First Christian Voices: Practices Of The Apostolic Fathers, Michael T. Cooper

Sacred Roots Spiritual Classics

What were the most important practices in the early church? In this volume, Michael Cooper arranges the writings of the Apostolic Fathers into eight themes that provide deeper understanding about the subjects important to the disciples of the New Testament apostles.

First Christian Voices examines the written testimonies of the late first and second centuries to discover what animated the church in the face of internal and external struggles and growth as the gospel extended to the boundaries of the Roman Empire.

How Spirituality Intensifies Sustainability: A Case Study Of Ananda Valley In Northern Portugal, Mia Handler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The religious affiliations of citizens in the West are currently shifting away from the fundamentalist, traditional structures of the past towards more alternative spiritualities. Furthermore, as a result of the climate crisis, ecovillages are becoming increasingly popular. Ecovillages are intentional, “sustainable” communities that seek to reduce consumption, live in harmony with nature, and create strong social bonds. They are characterized by varying levels of spiritual involvement (Greenberg, 2014, p. 274). As such, the objective of this paper is to study the relationship between spirituality and environmentally-friendly practices and attitudes, using the ecovillage Ananda Valley – an Ananda Marga Master Unit …

Adverse Religious Experiences And Lgbtq+ Adults, Alex Fox

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The aim of this study is to explore the ways in which LGBTQ+ people are affected by adverse or traumatic experiences related to religion or spirituality. Many LGBTQ+ adults were reared in environments where negative, disaffirming beliefs or teachings about sexual orientation or gender identity were pervasive. This study utilized a mixed-methods approach to data collection and analysis. Participants responded to a brief online survey, the data from which was used for quantitative statistical analysis. Twelve participants were selected at random from a pool of survey volunteers and took part in in-depth interviews regarding adverse religious experiences (AREs). Results of …

Pentecostalism: A Comparative Study Of African And African American Churches In Springfield, Emmanuel Kumah

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis is a comparative ethnography of two forms of black Pentecostalism, an African American congregation and an African immigrant congregation. The goal of this project is to show the similarities and differences between these Pentecostal groups. By observing members and interviewing them about worship practices, glossolalic utterances, and gender, the project reveals that although these two groups historically have a common root, there are both real parallels and differences between them because they developed independently from each other. This fieldwork at the African American Deliverance Temple Ministries and the African immigrant Redeemed Christian Church of God revealed that women …

Singing And Sensing The Unknown: An Embodied History Of Hindu Practice In Ghana, Shobana Shankar

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Hinduism fits well into the “sound-filled” West African religious soundscape, which is a scene of competition and conflict. This article explores the soundscape of devotional singing, mantras, and prayers as a central part of the embodiment and embedment of Hinduism among Africans in Ghana, where the Indian diaspora has been relatively small and the indigenous movement of Hinduism entirely through African initiative. Using ethnographic and written sources to examine the Hindu Monastery of Africa, founded by the Ghanaian monk Swami Ghanananda in 1975, I examine how the oral and aural popular devotions crafted by the swami have shifted attention away …

The Association Of Spirituality And Well-Being In South African And Ugandan Samples, Alicia Jane Doman

Theses and Dissertations

Literature has shown a correlation between spirituality and well-being, but this has not been thoroughly studied outside North America, with very few studies conducted in Africa. This study compared data from two sub-Saharan African nations, Uganda and South Africa, that differ markedly in terms of multiple factors that affect well-being, such as mortality rates and access to healthcare, as well as educational and personal growth opportunities. Survey data were collected using the measures of The Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale and Ryff's Personal Well-Being Scale. There were four racial groups represented in the data: Black South Africans, Coloureds, White South …

My Mother On Dream Interpretation And The Lack Of Finality In Death, Liz Johnston

Comparative Woman

This is an interview with my mother, a dream interpreter. Here, we explore her practice of reading dreams and discuss her experiences in communicating with spirits.

Electronic Dance Music Events As Modern-Day Ritual, Audrey Redfield, Marie I. Thouin-Savard

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Electronic dance music (EDM) events may function as a ritual space for psycho-spiritual exploration and personal development, often linked to the occurrence of non-ordinary states of consciousness in participants. This paper reviews the literature addressing the spiritual, religious, and transpersonal facets of participants’ experiences at EDM events, with an emphasis on the subsequent integration of these experiences into daily life. Several empirical studies conducted in the past two decades, of which the most recent was conducted by the first author of the present paper (Redfield, 2017, this issue), provides grounds to argue that EDM events can be vectors for enhancing …

An Analysis Of The Experiences And Integration Of Transpersonal Phenomena Induced By Electronic Dance Music Events, Audrey Redfield

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Electronic dance music (EDM) events are attended by millions of people all over the world. While prior research uncovered the spiritual and religious elements as well as the transpersonal nature of EDM events, this preliminary study further explored the types of transpersonal phenomena that participants experience at EDM events and their subsequent integration of these experiences into daily life. A semi-structured, in-depth interview was used to explore this topic with 12 EDM participants. A thematic analysis was conducted on the data. Findings suggested that EDM events have the potential to foster interpersonal relationships with the numinous, spiritual beings, and human …

The Impact Of Spirituality And Trauma On Appraisals Of Psychotic-Like Experiences, Kathleen Isaac

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: A substantial portion of the general population (2.5% to 31.4% internationally) reports psychotic-like experiences, which are paranormal, psychic or bizarre perceptual experiences such as voice hearing, or holding strong beliefs (i.e. superstitions) that are neither experienced as pathological nor indicative of a psychotic disorder. Cognitive models of psychosis suggest that the cognitive appraisal (i.e. personal interpretation) of the experience may help distinguish non-clinical psychotic-like experiences from clinical psychotic symptoms. This dissertation attempted to add to cognitive models by assessing whether cultural and personal factors such as spirituality and trauma inform the appraisals of anomalous experiences. This study used a …

The Use Of Social Media By Contemporary Witchcraft Communities, Michael J. Haverty

COLA Research and Creativity Conference

This event will be a summarization of the theory and findings of my research project that looks at how self-identifying witches use social media. Witchcraft users have historically adapted to the changes in society like all other peoples. Witchcraft users have also historically only had contact with others of their spiritual practices during yearly gathering events or local covens. However, social media has created platforms for people from minority subcultures to interact in ways that were formerly limited. By digitally surveying and interviewing users of the social media platform Tumblr who self-identify as witches, this project attempts to look at …

Climbing A Ladder To Heaven. Gnostic Vision Of The World In Jacob's Ladder (1990), Fryderyk Kwiatkowski

Journal of Religion & Film

Contemporary film-makers quite willingly employ motifs typical of various gnostic trends. The author shows that ancient gnosticism is a treasury of motifs and a source of aesthetical and narrative strategies present in contemporary cinema. The article treats Jacob’s Ladder (1990, dir. Adrian Lyne) which is analyzed through Gnostic beliefs. In the author’s opinion, this film can be treated as a model where the gnostic thought has been presented in a coherent and systematic manner.

Demanding The Angels’ Share: Intellectual Property And Spiritual Organization In The Urantia Foundation, Andrew Ventimiglia

Studio for Law and Culture

This article explores the role that intellectual property plays as it shapes the circulation and use of ‘The Urantia Book,’ a divinely revealed text published in 1955 and embraced by a community of believers. For many modern spiritual communities – of which the Urantian community is a telling example – their coherence no longer lies in a centralized institution like the church but instead in a shared dedication to sacred texts and other religious media. Thus, intellectual property has become an effective means to administer the ephemeral beliefs and practices mediated by these texts. This article explores a number of …

Integral Review Vol 8 No 1 July 2012 Full Issue, Bahman Shirazi

Founders Symposium

The articles in this special issue of INTEGRAL REVIEW highlight selected contributions to the 2011 Symposium on Integral Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) (www.ciis.edu ). This annual symposium provides a forum for CIIS community members and friends to exchange and deepen their understanding of integral consciousness, its evolution, and its relationship to the current planetary challenges and transformational processes. Each year there are several themes covered in a variety of presentation formats: keynote and standard presentations, as well as a number of interactive sessions and workshops.

Amma's Daughters: A Transmodern Study Of Personal, Gender, Cultural, And Religious Identities Amongst Women In The Amma Community In United States, Bhavana Upadhyaya

Communication ETDs

Using a transmodern philosophical approach, this study illustrates the different ways in which women devotees and participants in the Amma Community in United States experience processes of personal and social identification and disidentification as they strive to follow a spiritual path. The study uses the framework of spirituality, which is defined as the journey of disidentification from personal and social identities to the state of connectedness, to highlight how spirituality works in particular and contextual ways amongst Amma's daughters in the community to enable alternative transmodern articulations of self and difference. The study focuses on four areas--personal, gender, cultural, and …

Teaching With Spirit: Freire, Dialogue, And Spirituality In The Composition Classroom, Justin Vidovic

Wayne State University Dissertations

This ethnographic study examines the role of spirituality in the composition teaching process and in Paolo Freire's dialogic education specifically. Work to acquire some aspects of spiritual "Discourse," as the term is defined by James Gee, is needed in order to make this spiritual foundation visible and practicable. Through a series of ethnographic narratives of a classroom, this study demonstrates the necessity of spiritual work on the part of the teacher to develop the mind frame and skill set necessary for dialogic pedagogy. A series of workshop activities based on Freire's spiritual prerequisites for dialogic education are proposed.

Shall Thou Reincarnate Or Not? A Quest For Spirituality Among Czech "Irreligious" People, Petr A. Činčala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Practice And Meaning Of Communitarian Spirituality In The Focolare Movement, Nori Henk

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore how individuals come to embrace the FM spirituality as radical, making the spiritually meaningful and plausible for social change through a communitarian lifestyle that affects their everyday life. Within the sociological tradition of studying religion and social movements, this study addresses how religiously-motivated, "non-elite" individuals can be collectively recruited and mobilized into life-long agents of change. My study is based on seventy-five interviews and fieldwork at three sites in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.

In the dissertation, I addressed the following research questions: 1. If a member is defined as one …

Julia Hills Johnson, 1783-1853 My Soul Rejoiced, Linda J. Thayne

Theses and Dissertations

Julia Hills Johnson, the 48-year-old wife of Ezekiel Johnson and mother of sixteen children, found spiritual fulfillment in the doctrines of a new religion called Mormonism. Her baptism in 1831 was a simple act that ultimately led her halfway across the American continent, and strained her marital relationship, yet filled her with a sense of spiritual contentment. Julia's commitment to her faith, her tenacity, self-determination and willingness to take risks to participate in this new religious movement sets her apart from other nineteenth-century farm women in New England and New York. Julia's religiosity was self-determined and tenacious. She chose to …

Race And Redemption: Racial And Ethnic Evolution In Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy, Peter Staudenmaier

History Faculty Research and Publications

With its origins in modern Theosophy, Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy is built around a racial view of human nature arranged in a hierarchical framework. This article examines the details of the Anthroposophical theory of cosmic and individual redemption and draws out the characteristic assumptions about racial and ethnic difference that underlie it. Particular attention is given to textual sources unavailable in English, which reveal the specific features of Steiner’s account of “race evolution” and “soul evolution.” Placing Steiner’s worldview in its historical and ideological context, the article highlights the contours of racial thinking within a prominent alternative spiritual movement and delineates …

Indoctrination, Diversity, And Teaching About Spirituality And Religion In The Workplace, Donald W. Mccormmick

Organization Management Journal

The author reflects on his experience and discusses problems in teaching a course about spirituality and religion in the workplace. Sometimes indoctrination happens when professors treat their own spiritual ideology as the truth, or they require students to engage in religious practices in class. Indoctrination is teaching people “to accept a system of thought uncritically.” The management education literature has little to say about indoctrination. Indoctrination can be avoided by (1) ensuring informed consent, (2) designing learning activities for students from all spiritual perspectives, (3) teaching about the topic (instead of taking the “how to” approach), (4) presenting diverse spiritual …

Religious Faith And Mental Health Outcomes, Thomas G. Plante, Naveen K. Sharma

Psychology

In this chapter we review recent research regarding the relationship between religious faith/spirituality and mental health outcomes, as well as provide directions for future research and discussion. The specific aspects of mental health and illness that we focus on include well-being, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and schizophrenia. We also briefly discuss research pertaining to religious faith and personality disorders, eating disorders, somatoform disorders, and bipolar disorder.

The Native, General Background Of Ignatius Of Loyola, Antonio T De Nicolas

Research Resources

First chaper of de Nicolas:

Powers of Imagining: Ignatius of Loyola : A Philosophical Hermeneutic of Imagining Through the Collected Works of Ignatius De Loyola With a Translation of These Works (Albany: SUNY Press, 1986)