Spirituality & Psychology

The Naming of Our Mother-Lines by Cynthia Garrity-Bond

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

I am Cynthia, daughter of Pauline, daughter of Ellen, daughter of Mary. I first spoke this litany of names at a... more I am Cynthia, daughter of Pauline, daughter of Ellen, daughter of Mary. I first spoke this litany of names at a retreat given by Carol Christ.  As we entered the chapel, each woman was given a rose to place in the center of the circle after she recited her own mother line.  Simple but incredibly powerful, a beautiful reminder of our matriarchal inheritance.

The reflection of this ritual is all the more rich because today is my birthday. Especially since my mother’s death in 1990, March 9 is a day of reflection on our complicated mother-daughter relationship with all its highs and lows that marked our lives.  But what I really miss from her are the stories told around the kitchen table, starting with the uniqueness of each of our births.  With each one, the hope and expectation of both parents was for a daughter.  Not until the fourth birth did their plea to St. Jude, patron saint of lost causes (and our family’s most depended on saint), bring forth their highly anticipated girl.

Call for papers - La rivoluzione interiore (XVI e XVII secolo)

by Lo Sguardo - Rivista di Filosofia

Il numero X de Lo Sguardo ha come oggetto i secoli XVI e XVII. Il tema che si intende approfondire è quello dell'interiorizzazione del mondo e dello sviluppo di una interiorità individuale nel periodo compreso tra Rinascimento e prima età moderna. A questo scopo il numero esplorerà la psicologia cinque-seicentesca soffermandosi in particolare su alcune facoltà “ausiliari” dell'intelletto quali la memoria, l'immaginazione, la fantasia, in relazione al processo di apprehensio, alla pratica degli esercizi spirituali e all'ideale dell'homo faber sui.

Lingue accettate: Italiano, Inglese, Francese, Spagnolo, Tedesco.
Deadline: 10/09/2012

Per maggiori informazioni scrivere a: redazione@losguardo.net.

http://www.losguardo.net
http://www.losguardo.net/public/collabora/collabora.html

'Sense of presence' experiences in bereavement and their relationship to mental health: A critical examination of a continuing controversy

by Edith Steffen

A book chapter co-authored with Adrian Coyle. Published in 2012 in C. Murray (Ed.). Mental Health and Anomalous Experience. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, pp. 33-56.

ABSTRACT

The experience of sensing the presence of the deceased is a common occurrence following... more ABSTRACT

The experience of sensing the presence of the deceased is a common occurrence following bereavement. Although this experience tends to be reported as positive and meaningful by perceivers, for most of the twentieth century it has been described in pathologising terms in the bereavement literature. Recent decades have seen the publication of numerous studies that point to the normality of this experience and its potential benefits for the bereaved perceivers’ wellbeing. However, there is an ongoing debate within bereavement scholarship regarding the nature and healthiness of this experience. This chapter critically examines the extant literature concerning ‘sense of presence’ experiences and draws attention to the diversity of definitions and conceptualisations within which this experience can be interpreted. Research from a variety of perspectives, including attachment theory and the continuing bonds perspective, is discussed and emerging evidence is reported which suggests that those who can make sense of their experience within culturally-sanctioned (spiritual) conceptual frameworks enjoy greater benefits as a result. The discussion then focuses on meaning-making concerns with regard to this phenomenon and concludes with relevant practice recommendations.

Perception, The Buddha-Nature, and the Brain: A Challenge to Neurotheology on the Dynamics of Spiritual Meaning.

by Jonathan Weidenbaum

This is my talk for the conference: Towards A Science of Consciousness 2012; Tucson, Arizona.

It incorporates insights from my earlier publications and conference talks (including "Between Mysticism and Medical Materialism"), but it is expanded, more general, more up to date, and offers different conclusions.

Neurotheology, the discipline which explores correlations between religious experience and the nervous system, comes... more Neurotheology, the discipline which explores correlations between religious experience and the nervous system, comes in more than one form. While some neurotheologians aim to isolate a specific part of the brain as the foundation for spirituality (i.e. the temporal lobe), others argue for the importance of recognizing myriad components of the nervous system as working in tandem. While a few are anti-religion, others seek, on the contrary, to vouch for both the validity of mystical experience and the value of religious commitment. However, what many neurotheologians seem to have in common is a general interpretation of the nature of experience: namely one in which the brain, as the primary seat of significance, fashions sensory data into structures of meaning. According to many neurotheologians, mystics can therefore alter their reality by provoking the right transformations within the nervous system. The purpose of this essay is to argue that this interpretation of our perceptual and intuitive life fails to account for the felt-character of some of the most venerable types of experience labeled as religious. I do not deny that the nervous system is a necessary condition for all experience, religious or otherwise. I maintain that it is not a sufficient condition, and that the ecstatic feel of religious experiences involves configurations of meaning that are not reducible to a model in which the brain receives and shapes value-neutral bits of stimulation. I argue that this model can also be self-refuting. For instance, in describing how the brain creates reality, the authors of Why God Won't Go Away state that even science is a kind of mythology, a useful fiction (leaving us to wonder why we should accept their conclusions). Drawing upon key American and European thinkers, I suggest that the rich qualities of religious experience are better accounted for through a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between the nervous system, an active and mobile body, and the environment--and not through a concentration upon a priori mechanisms or "God-parts" of the brain. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of my position for the veridicality of different kinds of religious and mystical experience. I hope only to advance the conversation over neurotheology, and not to dismiss it.

The role of religion and spirituality on the quality of life of rare diseases patients

by Ioan Popoviciu

Salomea Popoviciu, Delia Birle, Serban Olah (2012). Review of Research and Social Intervention.

This study explored the relationship between religious beliefs and spiritual beliefs and the quality of life of... more This study explored the relationship between religious beliefs and spiritual beliefs and the quality of life of Romanian rare disease patients. Specifically, the study, firstly, analyzed the correlations between self-reported life satisfaction and
participants’ beliefs in heaven, afterlife and God. Secondly, correlations between self-reported optimism and participants’ belief in the role of spirituality and life meaning were studied. Thirdly, the relationship between self-reported health and
church attendance, importance of church and importance God for Romanian rare disease patients were examined. Implications for social workers, counselors and health providers were also discussed.

The role of religious beliefs and spirituality on the quality of life of rare diseases patients

by Salomea Popoviciu

Co-authored with Delia Birle, Ioan Popoviciu & Serban Olah

This study explored the relationship between religious beliefs and spiritual beliefs and the quality of life of... more This study explored the relationship between religious beliefs and spiritual beliefs and the quality of life of Romanian rare disease patients. Specifically, the study, firstly, analyzed the correlations between self-reported life satisfaction and participants’ beliefs in heaven, afterlife and God. Secondly, correlations between self-reported optimism and participants’ belief in the role of spirituality and life meaning were studied. Thirdly, the relationship between self-reported health and church attendance, importance of church and importance God for Romanian rare disease patients were examined. Implications for social workers, counselors and health providers were also discussed.

THEORIAS - Réseau international de chercheurs pour la théorisation transdisciplinaire de la spiritualité

by Jean Ehret

On February 18, 2012, an international network for the transdisciplinary theorization of spirituality was founded at... more On February 18, 2012, an international network for the transdisciplinary theorization of spirituality was founded at the Catholic University of Louvain. People interested may find the statutes in this document. For more information and for joining the group, please email me.

The Nature of Soul

by Author Sam Oliver

Soul

It is the nature of soul to grow, to heal, and to love. As we enter into the world, we emerge as a tiny child. We are... more It is the nature of soul to grow, to heal, and to love. As we enter into the world, we emerge as a tiny child. We are open. We do not have conditions placed on us by our parents or ourselves. We have not closed ourselves off from any possibility. It is though the world lay at our feet. We are a bundle of unconditioned purity.

As we age, conditions are placed on us to direct us along our paths intended to keep us from harm. Even if we manage to stay out of harms way, we move into a state of stimulus-response reactions toward life. This draws us further and further away from the natural state of pure being we came into the world with as an infant.

How can we return to our natural state of being? How can we call our soul back and gain a sense of spiritual well-being? The following are ways we can return to the wholeness and healing we seek as spiritual beings incarnated into the human race:

1. Do Something Creative.

Creativity engages our heart, our mind, and our imagination. These activities allow us to utilize our whole being. Our attention moves from outer expressions of the world and enters the inner dynamics of living giving rise to our heart and our imagination. When our heart and our imagination are given attention, we enter into the realm of insight. Insight is our ability to see from within just how sacred and magical our lives really are.

In the realm of soul, our humanity becomes sacred. Through creativity we are aware how life flows through us and not from us. The more we identify with these qualities of attention flowing through us, the more we are identifying with qualities residing in us that are whole and healing. It is our natural state.

2. Spend Time With A Child.

Children have a way of drawing our attention away from activities and responsibilities defining us as adults. All a child wants to do in this world is have fun. They seem to never tire of such activities. Children are constantly motivated by play.

As adults, we tend to think of play as wasted time. Adults who lose a sense of play and joy in their lives are in danger of losing self-motivation. The kind of self-motivation I am referring to involves the desire to have fun in life. This can lead to a depressive state lacking creativity, spontaneity, and the heart of a child.

Each of us has the heart of a child within us that never tires. It is the part of us fully participating in and with life. As our imagination and heart begin to guide us over the mind, we are in soul. In soul, our mind is in its proper perspective. This part of us is our inner awareness not bound by the pressures of the world. When we return to soul, the possibility of living whole and healed becomes a reality.

3. Become A Child.

The next time you look into a child's eyes try to feel their heart. Notice the difference and similarities of your heart and their heart. Is there a difference? Is this awareness a long or short distance from where you were as a child?

What happened to that little boy or little girl inside you? Since we cannot retrieve childhood physically, maybe we can from within. Remember your past as a child - the good times and the bad times. As you look at your life through the eyes of a child, recall how active your heart and imagination were. Embrace it. Let this inner vision penetrate your entire awareness. Let go of your adult interpretations of your childhood and view it with innocence and love.

Our true nature is to live in the world without being fully of it. Inside us are endless avenues that can move us toward the experience of joy. When we let go of our tendency to view the world as right or wrong, good or bad, we leave behind dualism and enter into Unity.

This Unity behind all appearances of diversity is a healing state of unconditional love. It is the part of us bringing all life into being, leading us through life, and what will lead us home. It is the force of nature giving us life. It is our soul.


Sam Oliver

The Ultimate Reality and Meaning of Samkhya

by Shiv Talwar

Published in the Journal of Ultimate Reality and Meaning, Vol. 24, No.1, March 2001.
Print a copy by visiting spiritualeducation.org.

It is in the nature of thinking and feeling minds to attempt to explain the totality of human experience. In the... more It is in the nature of thinking and feeling minds to attempt to explain the totality of human experience. In the absence of a plausible explanation, humanity attempts to improve its understanding until a reasonably satisfactory explanation is found that satisfies both the human head and the heart. Sages around the world have always searched for such explanations. In India, a school of thought known as the Samkhya philosophy is an outstanding example of this universal search for global truth.

Samkhya seems to understand the universe of sense perception as resulting from an unseen ultimate reality. Although this reality is totally imperceptible in itself, it is capable of being felt by the human heart and it underlies the entirety of perceptible universe.

Samkhya thinking regards the perceptible as a manifestation of the imperceptible underlying reality through some process of successive discretization. It enumerates the sequentially concrete and ephemeral principles emerging from the infinitely subtle and eternal ultimate reality. These principles together culminate in the universe of sense perception.

Yoga: Attainment of Ultimate Reality and Meaning

by Shiv Talwar

Piublished in the Journal of Ultimate Reality and Meaning, Vol. 27, No.1, March 2004.
Print a copy by visiting spiritualeducation.org.

Yoga is a serious system of contemplation with an integrated approach towards both the objective and transcendental... more Yoga is a serious system of contemplation with an integrated approach towards both the objective and transcendental knowledge. Yoga is a Sanskrit word, which is derived from the root yuj, meaning ‘to join’. Its purpose is first to unite the contemplative with the objective reality of the object of contemplation and then to enable unity with the realm transcending objectivity.

Yogic process begins with consciously stilling the mind to free it of its usual disturbances and fleetingness in order to develop an incisive focus of intellect to enable uninterrupted contemplation of one object. Eventually, even this one object fades and disappears from consciousness, which is left completely free of ordinary activity. The contemplative must want passionately to know the object of contemplation, or the effort needed for the contemplative union will not be possible. Any object of contemplation can enable the transcendence of objectivity, if the contemplative effort is uninterrupted.

Poster: Exploring the Impact of Spirituality, Hopelessness, Depression, and Anxiety on the Life Satisfaction of Individuals with a Terminal Illness

by Ryan Hale

Poster Presentation for my Thesis

A Personal Journey of Embodiment by Stacia Guzzo

by Feminism and Religion

originally published on the Feminism and Religion Project.

My struggle and fascination with the subject of embodiment began at a young age. Perhaps my first sense of the nuances... more My struggle and fascination with the subject of embodiment began at a young age. Perhaps my first sense of the nuances of being an embodied being began with the realization that my younger brother was considered “different” as a result of being born microcephalic (having an abnormally small head and brain) and therefore having lifelong developmental delay. I remember wondering: How is it that the body can work so perfectly sometimes and yet have so many complications other times? What had happened to make his development so starkly contrast my own? And why can’t it fix itself?

As a high school student, my struggle manifested in the forms of anorexia and bulimia. The anorexia came first, and began almost as if a switch had been thrown. I dieted severely and dropped 60 pounds in a little under 3 months, in the end making it a goal to lose a pound a day. My cheeks sunk in. I slept through lunch. I found little occasion to laugh. And still I could not see an ounce of beauty or satisfaction when I looked at my body. I poked at the jutting bones of my pelvis and wished my bones were smaller. I saw my body as a devious enemy. During my junior year, I became bulimic as a means of coping with increasing pressures by family and friends to eat.

Finally during my senior year in high school, everything came to a head. After beginning to consistently throw up blood, I secretly arranged a meeting with my pediatrician. She made me give her my word that I would put an end to my bulimia…and just as abruptly as I began, I stopped, true to my word.

In my freshman year of college I was sexually assaulted by a member of our social group. I told few people and silently cursed my femininity. College was a time when I neither loved nor hated my body; rather, I simply disconnected from it.

Continue reading: http://feminismandreligion.com/2012/01/10/a-personal-journey-of-embodiment-by-stacia-guzzo/#more-2112

When “Who am I?” becomes “When am I?”: Identity, Spirituality and Temporality in the Life Course

by Jason Danely

Delivered at 2009 American Anthropological Association, invited session

Self-identity is inseparable from the process of marking and being marked by time.  Not only do people judge... more Self-identity is inseparable from the process of marking and being marked by time.  Not only do people judge their life’s progression according to carefully timed cultural scripts, but their perception of time also changes with maturity, bringing with it different perspectives on one’s current place in time.  Life course models that follow a linear and progressive movement through successive stages cannot provide the conceptual tools to look at both of these orientations towards time because they do not allow for the fluid movement between past, present and future that attends the experiences of recollection and hope.  Some life course theorists, such as Erik Erikson, have emphasized this fluidity, framing later stages of life in terms of “potentialities,” and returns to earlier stages as potentially constructive rather than regressive.  In this perspective, the generational divide becomes much less clear, and the intergenerational linkages more pronounced.  Based on my work with older adults in Kyoto, Japan, I propose a model of the life course that blends Eriksonian psychosocial development with Japanese conceptions of time and the life course.  I argue that blending these two perspectives enriches the way that we view personhood and identity by recognizing the importance of incorporating past experiences and future hopes, or the life course, into our fundamental understanding of culture and society.  For many older Japanese adults, the life course is framed in terms of spiritual understandings of personhood, and these understandings impact intergenerational relationships, coping with loss, and the process of finding integrity and hope in late life. 

Training issues in spirituality and psychotherapy: A foundational approach.

by Louis Hoffman

Richard H. Cox, Betty Ervin-Cox, & Michael Mitchell, co-authors

Book chapter in R. H. Cox, B. Cox, & L. Hoffman (Eds.), Spirituality and psychological health. Book chapter in R. H. Cox, B. Cox, & L. Hoffman (Eds.), Spirituality and psychological health.

A 17-year longitudinal study of religion and mental health in a Mormon sample.

by Timothy B. Smith

Religiousness and depression: Evidence for a main effect and the moderating influence of stressful life events.

by Timothy B. Smith

Outcomes of religious and spiritual adaptations to psychotherapy: A meta-analytic review.

by Timothy B. Smith

Development and validation of the theistic spiritual outcome survey.

by Timothy B. Smith

Spiritual Interventions In Psychotherapy: Evaluations by Highly Religious Clients

by Timothy B. Smith

Parapsychology and the New Renaissance

by David Luke

Luke, D. (2010). Parapsychology and the new renaissance. In D. Lorimer and O. Robinson (Eds.). A new renaissance: Transforming science, spirit and society. (pp.137-144). Edinburgh: Floris Books.