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A Plea for Embodied Spirituality by Fraser Watts Pdf
The body is crucial to religious life, but there has been little practical attention given to how to make a helpful reality of this fact. Strong forms of philosophical dualism have been widely abandoned by post-war theologians in favour of a more integrated view of human nature, but guidance on the role of the body in Christian spirituality remains fragmentary. Focusing particularly on drawing out practical implications for religious life and ministry, this book surveys the many ways in which the body plays an important role in religious and spiritual life, drawing on scientific research, theology and philosophy.
Author : Michael Washburn Publisher : State University of New York Press Page : 248 pages File Size : 40,9 Mb Release : 2012-02-01 Category : Religion ISBN : 9780791486269
Spiritual Intelligence in Seven Steps by Mark Vernon Pdf
We live in an age of emergency, exacerbated by a collapse of meaning. Writer and psychotherapist Mark Vernon examines the type of intelligence that, whilst often dismissed and overlooked, is crucial to understand and cultivate if we are to survive and thrive in our times. Spiritual intelligence is the foundation of who we are and our particular type of consciousness. It is the perception identified across wisdom and religious traditions, and known by many names, which can be summarised as the awareness of awareness, and so of being itself. It is the foundation of peace, even in the face of death, as well as purpose and solidarity. The challenge today is to recover and live according to that knowledge. Examining themes from the nature of consciousness to the experience of time, the emergence of our species and the teaching of spiritual adepts, the book is an antidote to rampant AI and a complement to emotional intelligence. It is written without presuming religious commitments in readers and draws on a mix of sources and experience gained from the author's own practices. It advocates pilgrimage and improvisation, virtues over morality, and big histories that do not turn the story of our species into a bleak struggle for survival. The seven steps will help readers identify spiritual intelligence within themselves, unpack why it matters, and suggest how a wider trust in it may be revived.
Appropriating insights from empirical findings and theoretical constructs of 'embodied cognition', this study explores how theological understanding is accommodated to the bodily nature of human cognition. The principle of divine accommodation provides a theological framework for considering the human cognitive capacities that are accommodated by theological concepts and ecclesial practices. A rich portrait of the nature of human cognitive capacities is drawn from an emerging paradigm in cognitive science, embodied cognition, which proposes that cognition depends upon bodily sensorimotor systems to ground concepts and to draw upon environmental resources. Embodied cognition's hypothesis that human concepts are grounded in sensorimotor states poses a theological quandary for God-concepts, since identifying God with sensorimotor content risks idolatry. The incarnation resolves this problem in theological epistemology by grounding God-concepts in bodily understanding, while avoiding idolatry. Thus, the incarnation represents an accommodation to human conceptual capacities. Embodied cognition further hypothesises that cognition relies on sensorimotor engagement with the world rather than internal mental representations. Subsequently, in addition to the brain, bodily states and environmental artefacts 'scaffold' cognitive processes. A scaffolded view of cognition highlights the cognitive import of embodied religious practices, which choregraph the body and curate material culture. Tobias Tanton applies dozens of studies identifying mechanisms by which bodily or environmental factors influence cognition to the embodied and material dimensions Christian practices. On account of their inherent cognitive effects, practices are theorised to have intrinsic 'embodied' meanings alongside 'symbolic' ones established by conventions. Consequently, liturgy is seen as a bearer of theological content rather than merely an expression of it; a locus of religious experience; and a crucial determinate of religious and ethical formation. Again, the embodied nature of Christian liturgy is understood in terms of accommodation. Embodied cognition research helpfully illuminates the details of human embodiment to which theological understanding must be accommodated.
The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality by Lisa J. Miller Pdf
This updated edition of The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality codifies the leading empirical evidence in the support and application of postmaterial psychological science. Lisa J. Miller has gathered together a group of ground-breaking scholars to showcase their work of many decades that has come further to fruition in the past ten years with the collective momentum of a Spiritual Renaissance in Psychological Science. With new and updated chapters from leading scholars in psychology, medicine, physics, and biology, the Handbook is an interdisciplinary reference for a rapidly emerging approach to contemporary science. Highlighting fresh ideas and supporting science, this overarching work provides both a foundation and a roadmap for what is truly a new ideological age.
A lively and challenging exploration of things the contemporary Church needs to learn from monastic communities, things it has lost and needs to rediscover.
Embodied Awakeness by Allegiance To Truth,Fion A Pdf
Embodied Awakeness is a concrete, experiential guide to spiritual awakening and embodiment. With a profound directness it presents the underlying mechanics, orienting descriptions, and core principles that are essential in the process of waking up to the truth of our being beyond familiar notions of self and bringing that into daily life as a lived experience. "This is not a book that lays out theories and speculations or goes into useless debates and irrelevant mind-based discussions, nor is it about heightened, mystical, trippy states of consciousness. In addition, the words written here are not meant to be taken as some absolute truth, rather, they serve as an invitation, as strategic pointers or sign posts towards 'taking spirituality all the way' into embodiment. All the way back to life's rightful custody, to the One river, to the One whole, where true peace and belongingness is found." May this book serve as an insightful companion on your journey to discovering another way of operating in this world, touching upon that pocket of divine unification, and engaging with life from a space of alignment and wholeness. "When the mind is done trying to ascend, trying to transcend, Spirit is then finally allowed to descend, for it desires to be embodied. The movement of spirit to be grounded in the world of form."
Enduring Heart, The: Spirituality for the Long Haul by Wilkie Au Pdf
A guidebook for traveling the road of middle age that acts as a type of "spiritual Triple-A Club," providing both a map for middle life's journey and roadside assistance for those who find themselves stuck along the way.
Sufi Women, Embodiment, and the ‘Self’ by Jamila Rodrigues Pdf
This book is an ethnographic case study of Sufi ritual practice and embodied experience amongst female members of the Naqshbandi community. Drawing on fieldwork in Cape Town, South Africa, and Lefke, Cyprus (2013/2014), the author examines women’s experiences within a particular performance of Sufi tradition. The focus is on the ritual named hadra, involving the recital of sacred texts, music, and body movement, where the goal is for the individual to reach a state of intimacy with God. The volume considers Sufi practice as a form of embodied cultural behavior, religious identity, and selfhood construction. It explains how Muslim women’s participation in hadra ritual life reflects religious and cultural ideas about the body, the body’s movement, and embodied selfhood expression within the ritual experience. Sufi Women, Ritual Embodiment and the ‘Self’ engages with studies in Sufism, symbolic anthropology, ethnography, dance, and somatic studies. Contributing to discussions of religion, gender, and the body, the book will be of interest to scholars from anthropology, sociology, religious ritual studies, Sufism and gender studies, and performance studies.
More Than Bollywood by Gregory D. Booth,Bradley Shope Pdf
This is the first book to tackle the diverse styles and multiple histories of popular musics in India. It brings together fourteen of the world's leading scholars on Indian popular music to contribute chapters on a range of topics from the classic songs of Bollywood to contemporary remixes, summarized by a reflective afterword by popular music scholar Timothy Taylor. The chapters in this volume address the impact of media and technology on contemporary music, the variety of industrial developments and contexts for Indian popular music, and historical trends in popular music development both before and after the Indian Independence in 1947. The book identifies new ways of engaging popular music in India beyond the Bollywood musical canon, and offers several case studies of local and regional styles of music. The contributors address the subcontinent's historical relationships with colonialism, the transnational market economies, local governmental factors, international conventions, and a host of other circumstances to shed light on the development of popular music throughout India. To illustrate each chapter author's points, and to make available music not easily accessible in North America, the book features an Oxford web music companion website of audio and video tracks.
In Embodied Enlightenment, contemporary spiritual teacher Amoda Maa Jeevan dispels the outdated view of a transcendent enlightenment and instead presents a new, feminine expression of awakened consciousness for all--one that is felt and known through what our everyday lives are made of: our emotions, bodies, intimate relationships, work, and life's purpose. This book is a direct invitation to awaken in a profound, embodied way, and to participate in a collective evolution that can create a new world. When many of us think of enlightenment, we may envision a life of seclusion and contemplation, transcending the body and worldly attachments, or the achievement of karmic perfection. But what if, rather than something reserved for the mountaintop meditator or sage, the call to awaken is meant for us all? And how can we consciously live that awakening in the midst of our complex, messy, modern lives? Speaking from her own awakened experience, Amoda Maa Jeevan offers a timeless wisdom, busting some of the common myths about enlightenment and addressing topics often excluded from more traditional spiritual conversations--from the connection between consciousness and the body to relationships to planetary health. In addition, she covers the unfamiliar territory of what happens after enlightenment, delving into awakened action, creative expression, and more. There's an urgency today to evolve beyond humanity's current ego-based paradigm, and along with it, a unique expression of enlightenment is emerging. With clarity, passion, and grace, Embodied Enlightenment invites you on an exploration of consciousness that embraces both the messiness of your earthly experience and the non-duality of pure awareness, offering guidance on how your daily life can bring you into alignment with a divine destiny of individual and collective awakening.
Moral and Spiritual Leadership in an Age of Plural Moralities by Hans Alma,Ina ter Avest Pdf
In crisis situations, such as terror attacks or societal tensions caused by migration, people tend to look for explicit moral and spiritual leadership and are often inclined to vote for so-called 'strong leaders'. Is there a way to resist the temptation of the simplistic solutions that these ‘strong leader’ offer, and instead encourage constructive engagement with the complex demands of our times? This volume utilises relational and dialogical perspectives to examine and address many of the issues surrounding the moral and spiritual guidance articulated in globalizing Western societies. The essays in this collection focus on the concept of plural moralities, understood as divergent visions on what is a 'good life', both in an ethical, aesthetical, existential, and spiritual sense. They explore the political-cultural context and consequences of plural moralities as well as discussing challenges, possibilities, risks, and dangers from the perspective of two promising relational theories: social constructionism and dialogical self theory. The overarching argument is that it is possible to constructively put in nuanced moral and spiritual guidance into complex, plural societies. By choosing a clear theoretical focus on relational approaches to societal challenges, this interdisciplinary book provides both a broad scope and a coherent argument. It will be of great interest to scholars of social and political psychology, leadership and organization, religious studies, and pedagogy.
Spiritual Transformation examines the subtle and complex nature of addictions and poly-addictions—alcohol, drugs, pornography, shopping, eating, work, etc., the myths and traps that defeat recovery from them, the structure and intent of each of the twelve steps, the related roles of psychology, therapy, medicine, the underlying spiritual philosophy of each of those steps, what ‘being recovered’ actually means, the over-riding importance of the five spiritual principles, and much more. It is written for anyone in any twelve-step program, for family and friends of addicts of all stripes, for educators, for professionals who work with addicts and alcoholics, and anyone who wishes to understand the intricate workings of addiction. Richard Clark has presented this material in various formats since 1986 to over ninety thousand people.
Doctrine and Experience by Christopher Charles Zito Pdf
Should evangelical spirituality be grounded in doctrine, experience, neither, or both? If in one, which, and why not the other? If in both, how might the two co-exist without cancelling out each other's distinctives? If in neither, then what practical value does either have for the Christian life? In this book, the author has combined critical research, pastoral awareness, and thoughtful reflection to show how the radicalizations of doctrine and experience have not only polarized contemporary evangelicalism into two nearly irreconcilable camps, but also has opened the door for a subtle but potent form of idolatry to creep into our midst. In an attempt to purge these idols and bridge the gap, this book contextualizes the biblical teachings and practices of our original spiritual instructors, asking the double-edged question of what it means for us today that the Word of God is normative and that the Spirit is Lord. The author concludes that evangelicals should seek an incarnate, cross-centered spirituality that is informed by meticulous attention and obedience to sound doctrine, but only as it is lived out in a deeply felt faith that is made perfect as we experience God daily in any number of ways.
The twenty-first century could well be Jung's century, just as the twentieth century was Freud's. Jung predicted the demise of secular humanism and claimed we would search for alternatives to science, atheism and reason. We would experience a new and even unfashionable appetite for the sacred. Educated people, however, would not return to unreconstructed religions, because these do not express the life of the spirit as discerned by modern consciousness. The sacred has developed a darker hue, and worshipping symbols of light and goodness no longer satisfies the longings of the soul. The new sacred cannot be contained by the formulas of the past, but nor can we live without a sense of the sacred. We stand in a difficult place: between traditional religions we have outgrown and a pervasive materialism we can no longer embrace. These changes in our culture have come sooner than Jung might have imagined. In his time Jung struck many as eccentric or unscientific. But his works speak to our time since we have experienced the full gamut of Jungian transformations: the unsettlement of Judeo-Christian culture, the rise of the feminine, the onslaught of the dark side, the critique of modernism and positivism, and the recognition that the Western ego is neither the pinnacle of evolution nor the lord of creation. A new life is needed beyond the ego, but we do not yet know what it will look like. The outbreak of strong religion and terrorism are signs of the times, but these are expressions of a distorted and repressed spirit, and not, one hopes, genuine pointers to the future. What the future holds is uncertain, but Jung's prophetic vision helps to prepare us for what is to come, and this will be of great interest to analytical psychologists and psychoanalysts, as well as to theologians, futurists, sociologists, and the general reader.