Preserving traditions, particularly in rural areas, can be regarded as a safety mechanism for those who can trace their roots to the respective regions. This entails the certainty of belonging to a specific social group. Therefore, in order to remain unchanged, customs and traditions need to be cultivated in the hearts of the younger generations as true spiritual values.

Authenticity has become one of the key ethics in contemporary society and culture. This research analyses the present ideals of authenticity in work-life, building on theories on post-secularization and new spiritualities, neoliberalism, and the concept of ideal worker deriving from organizational studies. Corporate mindfulness is looked at as a topical example of authenticity practices in current work-life. The research utilizes interview data was produced in a knowledge work organization that had launched its own mindfulness program and become part of the (...) wider workplace spirituality movement. The research question focused on what kind of discourses on authenticity are born when the organization simultaneously discourages full expressions of one’s personality as not being professional or adequate in work-life context, and roots for mindfulness, which hails for recognizing reality as it is, accepting oneself and finding authentic self. Using discourse analysis, four themes were found in data, each revealing a different discourse on authenticity. (shrink)

Journal of Human Values, Volume 28, Issue 3, Page 181-199, September 2022. The study addresses the challenging crisis of sustainable consumption. It explores the philosophy of Samkhya, which is based on nature and spirit, also found in Vedantic knowledge, and synthesizes it with the knowledge of spiritual well-being found in modern literature to conceptualize the roles of the direct, mediating and moderated mediation relationships of different Vedantic personality types, spiritual well-being and family structure with consciousness for sustainable consumption and its (...) three dimensions of environment, society and economy. Based on the conceptualized roles, different models have been proposed. (shrink)

Wesley Wildman's and Kate Stockly's book Spirit Tech - The Brave New World of Consciousness Hacking and Enlightenment Engineering is an interesting compilation and analysis of current research on technologies of spiritual experience. The book offers the latest in neuroscience, very bold predictions about the development of spirituality technology, and very far-reaching conclusions about the development of religion. The authors take an interdisciplinary approach to their work, touching on neuroscience, medical engineering, psychology, religion, and ethics. They do not shy (...) away from the big philosophical, psychological, and ethical questions, and they specifically focus on questions of authenticity, meaning, safety, and social responsibility arising from the marriage of technology and spirituality. Modern neuroscience along with engineering has already created new areas of science-faith and technology-faith relationships. Technological substitutes for spirituality are also increasingly becoming a new challenge to traditional spirituality and to religion. (shrink)

In 2020, Amy-Jill Levine challenged the Society of Christian Ethics to take Christian privilege seriously. But Christian ethicists generally neglect Christian privilege as a distinct type. One site for Christian privilege is the ideal of authenticity, which grew from the idea that Christianity represents love, interiority, and spirituality (spirit), while Judaism represents legalism, exteriority, and materiality (letter). By prioritizing “spirit” over “letter,” an isolated ethic of authenticity can detach moral identity from history, race, community, land, and other seemingly extrinsic (...) factors. I draw on Willie James Jennings and Daniel Boyarin to illustrate authenticity’s exclusionary potential and Moses Mendelssohn to construct a more inclusive ideal. (shrink)

Robert C. Neville, Dean of Theology and Professor of Philosophy, Boston University, in his comments on Chuang-Tzu for Spiritual Transformation for the State University of New York press: ‘The present outstanding volume by Robert Allinson ... initiates a new direction ... His new direction for understanding Chuang-Tzu is his comprehensive and detailed argument that Chuang Tzu was advocating an ideal of sageliness. Whereas many interpreters have claimed that Chuang Tzu used his metaphorical language to defend a relativism, Allinson shows with (...) convincing mastery that Chuang Tzu had a position, namely, the importance of achieving the ideal of sageliness ... he brings the discussion of Chuang Tzu into the heart of contemporary Western philosophy. Professor Allinson’s book, like his many articles, contributes to the growing body of literature that is creating an effective dialogue between Chinese and Western philosophy. The sophistication of this book demonstrates that the dialogue has worked and that we are in a new era of substantive comparative philosophy ... he also makes a substantial contribution to the philosophy of religion. Currently in its 8th impression, "Chuang-Tzu for Spiritual Transformation: An Analysis of the Inner Chapters" has been translated into Chinese and Korean. This book offers a fundamentally new interpretation of the philosophy of the Chuang-Tzu. It is the first full-length work of its kind which argues that a deep level cognitive structure exists beneath an otherwise random collection of literary anecdotes, cryptic sayings, and dark allusions. The author carefully analyzes myths, legends, monstrous characters, paradoxes, parables and linguistic puzzles as strategically placed techniques for systematically tapping and channeling the spiritual dimensions of the mind. Allinson takes issue with commentators who have treated the Chuang-Tzu as a minor foray into relativism. Chapter titles are re-translated, textual fragments are relocated, and inauthentic, outer miscellaneous chapters are carefully separated from the transformatory message of the authentic, inner chapters. Each of the inner chapters is shown to be a building block to the next so that they can only be understood as forming a developmental sequence. In the end, the reader is presented with a clear, consistent and coherent view of the Chuang-Tzu that is more in accord with its stature as a major philosophical work. (shrink)

In the age of technology, when our daily lives are occupied by the unwanted attacks of useless information, when we are helpless in achieving an authentic communication with our close environment, there appears a more pressing need for genuine spirituality as a means of communication. Zeki Sarıtoprak has explored the potentiality of Islamic spirituality in this book. In the first part, he attempts to discover the roots of Islamic spirituality in the Quran as well as in (...) the life of the prophet and he successfully covers it. He names the first part as "theological foundation." In the second part, he exemplifies Islamic spirituality in the life of some great personalities, two of them contemporary, namely, Said Nursi... (shrink)

A Spirituality of Resistance addresses the challenges of creating a spiritual life in the midst of unprecedented environmental crisis. In the end, Gottlieb finds that only through striving to protect the earth and all its inhabitants can one find authentic personal and spiritual peace.

Holiness in the Christian tradition has often been understood in a way that devalues embodiment and practical engagement with the world of one's time. The latter understanding, for example, led to Marx's critique and repudiation of Christianity. Both interpretations of holiness can be understood as mistaken efforts to express the dynamism for authenticity in contextualised human subjectivity. Vatican 2 opposed both views by addressing itself to all people of good will, declaring that everyone was called to holiness, and that (...) class='Hi'>authentic Christian identity involved solidarity with the world of one's time, especially those who are poor. Vatican 2, therefore, provided an authoritative faith foundation for holiness expressed through social commitment and for viewing social commitment on the part of people of good will in whatever state of life as a form of holiness. This vision was also the conviction of leading spirituality writers of the period, like Thomas Merton, and inspired liberation theologians and the Latin American Catholic bishops at their conference in Medellín a few years after the Council. The argument of this article is that the emergence and development of a non-dualist Christian spirituality is grounded methodologically in the correct appropriation of the common innate dynamism for authenticity in concrete human persons and lived spiritual experiences consistent with and capable of enhancing this dynamism. (shrink)

Law enforcement poses a difficult work environment. Employees’ wellbeing is uniquely taxed in coping with daily violent, aggressive and hostile encounters. These challenges are compounded for women, because law enforcement remains to be a male-dominated occupational context. Yet, many women in law enforcement display resilience and succeed in maintaining a satisfying career. This study explores the experience of being authentic from a best-self perspective, for women with successful careers in the South African police and traffic law enforcement services. Authenticity (...) research substantiates a clear link between feeling authentic and experiencing psychological wellbeing. The theoretical assumption on which the study is based holds that being authentic relates to a sense of best-self and enables constructive coping and adjustment in a challenging work environment. A qualitative study was conducted on a purposive sample of 12 women, comprising 6 police officers and 6 traffic officers from the Western Cape province in South Africa. Data were gathered through narrative interviews focussing on experiences of best-self and were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. During the interviews, participants predominantly described feeling authentic in response to work-related events of a conflictual and challenging nature. Four themes were constructed from the data to describe authenticity from a best-self perspective for women in the study. These themes denote that the participating women in law enforcement, express feeling authentic when they present with a mature sense of self, feel spiritually congruent and grounded, experience self-actualisation in the work–role and realign to a positive way of being. Women should be empowered towards authenticity in their world of work, by helping them to acquire the best-self characteristics needed for developing authenticity. (shrink)

In the 60 years since IRAS was founded, and the 50 years since Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science started, science has developed enormously. More important, though less obvious, the character of religion has changed, at least in Western countries. Church membership has gone down considerably. This is not due to arguments, for example, about science and atheism, but reflects a change in sources of authority. Rather than the traditional and communal authority, an individualism that emphasizes “authenticity” characterizes religion and (...) spirituality in our time. Less extensive but similar is the loss of authority with respect to science. As a consequence, “religion and science” might seek to provide attractive constructive proposals for visions that integrate an ethos and a worldview. IRAS might contribute by providing a platform for information and the exchange of proposals for a particular audience, while Zygon serves a global and diverse audience with well-researched articles. (shrink)

This essay proposes an ethics of spirituality as a post-secular question by tracing the legacy of Schleiermacher in Charles Taylor’s account. Given the recent interest in spirituality as a matter of each individual’s perspective and orientation, it is important to explore whether spirituality involves an ethics of spirituality. This question resonates with the ethics of belief in James-Clifford debates and its recent discussions on the non-propositional aspect of belief and its ethical implications for oneself and others. (...) The paper addresses how Schleiermacher and Taylor suggest the ethics of spirituality that demands authentic spirituality and reciprocal communication and recognition, while revealing differences concerning interactions with the institutional church, civil religion, and the civic-cultural frame of rationality and utility. (shrink)

Embrace your authentic self and let your soul's light shine forth with guidance from 150 lessons meant to inspire, motivate, and teach. This empowering book helps you shed what is false and come to know, accept, and express your true self. With essays to uplift and engage you through personal stories, meditations, exercises, affirmations, and question prompts, Discover Your Authentic Self shows you how to live according to your passions and purpose. Explore a range of topics for self-discovery, (...) including intuition, spirit animals, recognizing personal abilities as related to archetypes, living your purpose, spirit essence and energy (chakras and auras), and more. With this remarkable book, you'll unlock your truth and set yourself free. (shrink)

The evident remoteness between the religious postulates and the secular activity has led us to spiritual disorder and the oblivion of the authentic needs and aspirations of the human being. The current mentality and practice, towards what is considered merely useful or verifiable, has led us to this antinomy of polarized extremes, either towards an anthropocentrism that survives in a paradoxical happiness, disproportionate in the search for the strictly tangible, or towards an economic or ecological discourse that forgets the (...) ontological idea, and the authentic value and meaning of the human being. From a positive and normative analysis, this study aims to emphasize the importance of the so-called 'Integral Training’, taught by some university centers, as a promoter of the psychological and spiritual well-being, as well as the attitudes of sustainable entrepreneurship, in an ethical way and responsible. (shrink)

This study is an exploration of the Hagar narrative from the perspective of African Womanist Theology. The article focuses on the spirituality of Hagar before and after her captivity (Gn 16). The research takes an Afrocentric perspective and uses a postcolonial lens to comment on the preceding text as well as consider how this story is captured in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. At the core of the article is an attempt at reclaiming the African in Hagar who is largely (...) portrayed in the stories of Sarah and Abraham within a Hebrew perspective which itself is arguably imperial. The aim is to inspire modern African women (and in the diaspora) to reclaim their African spirituality within their stories and experiences. Summarily, the article is a critique of the colonial project, slavery and its legacies in dehumanising and disenfranchising people and African knowledge systems. The article is structured as follows: firstly, it introduces the Hagar and/or Hajar traditions from the perspectives of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Secondly, it takes a step back to consider Hagar’s identity as an Egyptian princess before she encountered Sarah and Abraham. The article also discusses how Hagar’s past in Egypt had a bearing on her spiritual encounters when she and her son Ishmael and/or Ismail were exiled. Finally, the article concludes with a recommendation for continued reflection on an African spirituality narrative of the Hagar traditions alongside the predominant narratives from Abrahamic religions.Contribution: This article demonstrates that the religious scriptures must be read from liberation perspectives such as the postcolonial paradigm to inspire the recovery of authentic experiences of the oppressed and displaced, and it is an inspiration to African women to reclaim their true identity and spirituality. (shrink)

The article focuses on those paragraphs of the famous text Spiritual Situation of our Time by Karl Jaspers in which he approaches the problem of time from the perspective of philosophical anthropology. This text was published in 1931 and saw multiple editions, including the reprint in 1947, which followed the lecture The Question of Guilt. We surmise from this juxtaposition of texts in the new publication that Jaspers believed in the necessity to revisit the problem of the spiritual situation, but (...) he also regarded his conceptualization of temporality viable in the new context and applicable to analyzing this new situation. We corroborate this hypothesis by close reading of the version of the 1947 text. As there exists a wealth of studies of Jasperss philosophy, we aim to explicate his interpretation of personal historicity and to find a reply to the question why it seems necessary to emphasize the appropriation of time. We demonstrate that the existentialist approach Jaspers offers is a universal model for living in the spiritual situation and for appropriating time. The need to appropriate time is inherent in human nature but the capacity to make sense of it and unravel the potential for authentic existence is not. Human beings are often unaware of their choice of certain time appropriation; moreover, human beings lack consistency in constructing the context of their own historicity. We elaborate in greater detail on the meaning of such concepts as spiritual situation, knowledge of the totality, philosophical life. (shrink)

In this paper, we outline some of the connections between the literatures of organizational storytelling, spirituality in the workplace, organizational culture, and authentic leadership. We suggest that leader storytelling that integrates a moral and spiritual component can transform an organizational culture so members of the organization begin to feel connected to a larger community and a higher purpose. We specifically discuss how leader role modeling in authentic storytelling is essential in developing an ethically and spiritually based organizational (...) culture. However, we also acknowledge a potential dark side to leader storytelling. Implications for authentic storytelling research and practice are discussed. (shrink)

This chapter examines aspects of the Pythagorean tradition from the perspective of “spiritual guidance”. The only traces that remain of the initial period of Pythagoreanism are the acousmata and a handful of authentic fragments of Philolaus of Croton. The chapter focuses on the Golden Verses, a short poem dating back to the Hellenistic period that constitutes the most complete and impressive illustration of spiritual guidance in a Pythagorean milieu. The chapter analyzes that despite the chronological distance that separates the (...) Golden Verses from the acousmata, what is at issue in both cases is the practice of the Pythagorean way of life, that gives guidance all its meaning. What emerges from the testimonies dealing with the Pythagoreans is that their way of life was practiced in a community, or the Pythagorean society or sect. (shrink)

This Chapter sketches a pluralist account of spiritual exemplarity. Starting from recent work by Linda Zagzebski, three main kinds of spiritual exemplarity are described, distinguished by their underlying aspiration. I name these the aspirations to allegiance, enlightened insight, and emulation, illustrated with examples from the Western and South and East Asian spiritual dispensations. The Chapter concludes by warning against tendencies either to occlude this plurality or to illicitly privilege one of these aspirations by nominating it alone as the 'authentic' (...) form of spiritual life. (shrink)

Creating android and humanoid robots to furnish companionship in the nursing care of older people continues to attract substantial development capital and research. Some people object, though, that machines of this kind furnish human–robot interaction characterized by inauthentic relationships. In particular, robotic and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have been charged with substituting mindless mimicry of human behaviour for the real presence of conscious caring offered by human nurses. When thus viewed as deceptive, the robots also have prompted corresponding concerns regarding (...) their potential psychological, moral, and spiritual implications for people who will be interacting socially with these machines. The foregoing objections and concerns can be assessed quite differently, depending upon ambient religious beliefs or metaphysical presuppositions. The complaints may be set aside as unnecessary, for example, within religious traditions for which even current robots can be viewed as presenting spiritual aspects. Elsewhere, technological cultures may reject the complaints as expression of outdated superstition, holding that the machines eventually will enjoy a consciousness described entirely in materialist and behaviourist terms. While recognizing such assessments, the authors of this essay propose that the heart of the foregoing objections and concerns may be evaluated, in part, scientifically – albeit with a conclusion recommending fundamental revisions in AI modelling of human mental life. Specifically, considerations now favour introduction of AI models using interactive classical and quantum computation. Without this change, the answer to the essay's title question arguably is ‘no’ – with it, the answer plausibly becomes ‘maybe’. Either outcome holds very interesting implications for nurses. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Commentary on “Spiritual Experience and Psychopathology”Anthony Storr (bio)Many psychiatrists, including myself, are deeply dissatisfied with current psychiatric taxonomy. Grossly abnormal people like multiple murderers are often deemed sane in law, because they do not happen to exhibit the symptoms of recognized mental illnesses like schizophrenia or manic-depressive psychosis. In contrast, some of those who do exhibit such symptoms, and who therefore risk being labeled psychotic, cannot be considered to (...) be “ill,” and are in fact mentally robust. There is considerable overlap between experiences which psychiatrists call psychotic, and experiences which are generally called spiritual by those who have them.In order to illustrate this overlap, the authors quote three cases of people describing a variety of delusions and hallucinations which would certainly prompt the diagnosis of psychosis—usually some variety of schizophrenia—were it not for the fact that all three claimed that their experiences had been of considerable benefit to them.It is noteworthy that, in each case, the psychotic/spiritual experiences followed a period of stress. The first subject was threatened by legal action; the second had surmounted an episode of depression, but was questioning whether she could continue her career in business; the third was unemployed, in debt, and suspected that he had multiple sclerosis. The first subject developed both grandiose and religious delusions; but the revelations which he claimed were a sign of God’s special grace toward him enabled him to win his law case and set up a charitable institution. The second heard the voice of Jesus summoning her to work for him. She became convinced that she was specially gifted in various parapsychological fields, and became a religious counselor. As the authors point out, “Her experiences, if delusional and hallucinatory, were overwhelmingly positive in their content and fruits.” The third subject also experienced hallucinatory voices which were intensely reassuring, gave him new insight into the nature of reality, and guided his further progress. As a result, he believed that he had such support that “nothing in this world can worry me.” In each case, the psychotic experience proved to be a solution to the subject’s problem, rather than a breakdown ending in admission to a mental hospital. This raises a variety of intellectual problems.The authors suggest that psychotic phenomena may be good or bad, and label the good phenomena “spiritual” and the bad phenomena “pathological.” According to this point of view, psychotic experience need not be considered pathological, especially if consideration is given to the structure of values and beliefs professed by the individual concerned. [End Page 83]I am not happy with this distinction. I entirely agree that psychotic experience may be a solution to a subject’s problems; but whether it is considered spiritual or pathological depends partly upon the nature of the experience, and even more upon the social setting in which it occurs. A grandiose delusion that one is especially selected and addressed by God may cure the depression of someone who has so far considered himself a nonentity if it is accepted by others. In my study of gurus, Feet of Clay (1996), I make the point that a guru seeks disciples because they reinforce his delusions and may, in some instances, keep him out of hospital. Of the three cases described in this paper, the first told “various friends and ministers about them.” The second confided in her priest and was told that her experiences were authentic within their shared Christian belief system. The third did not apparently share his hallucinatory experience with friends; but, when he responded to the invitation to write to the Alister Hardy Research Centre, wrote, “It is fascinating to find I’m not on my own in this. I have naturally queried my own sanity, and generally don’t discuss it....”Medical diagnosis and psychiatric diagnosis are not strictly comparable. If I as a doctor find that X is suffering from diabetes, I can treat X as an isolated entity displaying symptoms and signs of a well-known disease. I cannot do this when X is displaying “psychotic” symptoms; for whether or not those symptoms are regarded as pathological depends upon the social setting in which they... (shrink)

Taylor’s landmark work, A Secular Age, tells a complex story about the fate of religion in the West over the past 500 years. Taking issue with an overly-simplistic secularization theory, Taylor portrays a cultural landscape that, rather than speeding the withering of religion, has instead proliferated a dizzying array of spiritual options. This pluralistic reality places “cross-pressure” on those who inhabit these spiritual positions, fragilizing them through exposure to other lived possibilities. The widely adopted modern value of authenticity increases this (...) pressure, encouraging people to carve out their own unique spiritual path and to eschew traditional, ‘spoon-fed’ answers to life’s existential questions. Yet what remains throughout these modern challenges to religion, says Taylor, is the quintessentially human quest for meaning, and the struggle against a modern nihilism that threatens to deny it. In this contested space, he suggests, humanity’s religious past is being called into an as yet unimagined future. (shrink)

While there is much writing on the nation as the subject of linear history, considerably less attention has been paid to the dimension of the nation as the always identifiable, unchanging subject of history. This unchanging subject is necessitated by the ascendancy of the conception of linear time in capitalism in which change is viewed not only as accelerating, but can no longer be framed by an ultimate source of meaning such as God. Ostensibly, linear history is the falling of (...) events into the "river of time," but national history also posits a continuous subject to gather these changes. Such a subject is recognizable only by the spiritual qualities of authenticity, purity, and sacrality. The nation-state and nationalists stake their claim to sovereign authority, in part, as custodians of this authenticity.A range of figures, human and non-human, come to symbolize a regime of authenticity manipulable to some extent by nationalists and state-builders. This essay focuses on the instance of women in early twentieth-century China. Nationalists and cultural essentialists tended to depict women as embodying the eternal Chinese civilizational virtues of self-sacrifice and loyalty and to elevate them as national exemplars. The essay also examines cases of how women themselves may have perceived this role as exemplars and concludes that while there was considerable subversion in their enunciation of this role , there was sufficient reference to the prescriptive code of authenticity in their self-formation to sustain the regime of authenticity. The essay ends with some thoughts about the changing relationship between authenticity and intensifying globalization in the contemporary world. (shrink)

Is Paul's vision of life in the Spirit still relevant for the digital age, or was it an experience of Jesus’ power unique to Paul and his ministry? A critical analysis of the spirituality that Paul practiced will help answer this question. A brief introduction to the true nature of “spirituality” is followed by an examination of the routine spiritual practices Paul engaged in that fostered the power of the Spirit in his life and ministry. This article concludes (...) with a reassessment of the relationship between experience and praxis in an authentic Pauline spirituality. (shrink)

The area where literature, art, music, religion, spirituality, and philosophy split off from, run parallel to each other, and merge again is like a delta. This essay explores the complex interrelations between art and spirituality on three levels. First on the level of spiritual experience, exemplified by experiences of the art of still life (the painter Morandi, the poet Kopland). On the second level, several questions about meaning are analyzed, beginning with the question of meaning posed by the (...) work of art itself. Both art and spirituality presuppose an open and receptive attitude. In philosophical reflections on the meaning of art, some aim primarily at its relevance for our insight into the reality of things, people, and animals, while others are more concerned with its significance for human action. Thirdly, some problems on the level of research are discussed. Research invites us to come to a critical relativization of what we have seen, heard, or read and also allows us to see that the often presupposed ‘immediacy’ of our experience is in fact mediated by pre-given schemes and habits. Three reasons are given to answer the question why it is meaningful to research these mediations and to search for the authentic meanings of art works (in particular works of literature) themselves. (shrink)

We investigate the extent to which perceptions of the authenticity of supervisor’s personal integrity and character (ASPIRE) moderate the relationship between people’s love of money (LOM) and propensity to engage in unethical behavior (PUB) among 266 part-time employees who were also business students in a five-wave panel study. We found that a high level of ASPIRE perceptions was related to high love-of-money orientation, high self-esteem, but low unethical behavior intention (PUB). Unethical behavior intention (PUB) was significantly correlated with their high (...) Machiavellianism, low self-esteem, and low intrinsic religiosity. Our counterintuitive results revealed that the main effect of LOM on PUB was not significant, but the main effect of ASPIRE on PUB was significant. Further, the significant interaction effect between LOM and ASPIRE on unethical behavior intention provided profoundly interesting findings: High LOM was related to high unethical behavior intention for people with low ASPIRE, but was related to low unethical intention for those with high ASPIRE. People with high LOM and low ASPIRE had the highest unethical behavior intention; whereas those with high LOM and high ASPIRE had the lowest. We discuss results in light of individual differences, ethical environment, and perceived demand characteristics. (shrink)

Science has been dazzlingly successful in explaining nature. Scientific advances also have led to certain undesirable, though unintended, side effects, one of which is alienation from the spiritual. Revelation comes from the Divine. But what is the status of authenticity of a particular piece claimed to be revelation? What is its historical validity and current state of preservation? This essay proposes to develop a list of rational criteria, in consultation with all stakeholders, for addressing the subject. The aim is to (...) bring objectivity into this discourse by placing it more on the turf of reason rather than basing it on considerations of faith and prior allegiance. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Trungpa's Barbarians and Merton's Titan:Resuming a Dialogue on Spiritual EgotismSteven R. ShippeeA Dialogue Begun: The Meeting of Chögyam Trungpa and Thomas MertonMuch of the dialogue on the spiritual life between Buddhists and Christians has centered on two locations in the United States. The first is Naropa Institute (now University) in Boulder, Colorado. This institution was founded in 1974 by Chögyam Trungpa, a Tibetan master and lineage holder of both (...) the Nyingma and Kagyü traditions, two of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Under Trungpa's guidance, Naropa hosted an important series of Buddhist-Christian contemplative dialogues in the 1980s.1 A second significant place is Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky, the Trappist monastery that became home to Thomas Merton in 1941. Since 1996, and through the efforts of several of the same people who had worked on the Naropa dialogues, the abbey has hosted three interreligious "encounters" sponsored by the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue.2An important link between these dialogues, as well as the initial inspiration for the first of them,3 is the meeting of the two men most famously associated with each of the hosting institutions, Trungpa and Merton. As many of their respective readers know, the two men met in Calcutta on 19 October 1968, and spent several days together.4 This contact was very stimulating to them both and seemed the beginning of a deep friendship. Merton was so impressed with Trungpa that he immediately determined to visit Trungpa's new monastery in Scotland. Trungpa later said, "Meeting Thomas Merton was wonderful,"5 and that he felt he "was meeting an old friend, a genuine friend."6 Despite the brevity of their relationship, during his last talk on 10 December, Merton said he likewise considered Trungpa "a good friend."7 Later that same day, their friendship and dialogue were terminated by Merton's death. Not two months had passed since the meeting in Calcutta. Trungpa called Merton's death "a tremendous loss, to me personally and to the world of genuine spirituality."8Judith Simmer-Brown has provided the fullest picture thus far of the relationship between Trungpa and Merton.9 One of the facts that most intrigues Trungpa's [End Page 109] followers is his own recollection, shared with participants at the third Naropa dialogue, that the two discussed what he called "spiritual materialism" (his most common phrase for spirituality co-opted by ego) at some length over dinner and drinks.10 This article picks up where that recollection leaves off. While we do not know more about the specific content of that discussion, we do have a body of writings from each man on topics relating to the quest and pitfalls of authentic spirituality. A comparative analysis of these proves worthwhile, as further elucidation of what made possible their meeting of the minds and the immediate affection they felt for each other, and certainly as wisdom that still has the power to deepen our spiritual experience today by exposing the manipulations and deceptions to which ego11 subjects even our noblest spiritual aspirations.The challenges to authentic spiritual life were major concerns for both Trungpa and Merton, a leitmotif that characterized almost all of their respective teachings and written works.12 As an extensive examination of these is not possible here, I have set side by side one symbol from each: Trungpa's modification of the traditional Tibetan teachings on the Lalos (kla.klo, literally "barbarians"), which he translated as the "Three Lords of Materialism," and Merton's reflections on the tragic Titan Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods. These two symbols, while certainly not exhaustive of their insights, nonetheless effectively crystallize their respective thoughts on the matter, and thereby allow us to see that Trungpa and Merton shared very striking insights both about the malady of spiritual egotism and about its necessary antidotes.Chögyam Trungpa on Spiritual MaterialismIn talks given from 1970 to 1973, Trungpa gave teachings to his students on "the Three Lords of Materialism," symbolic personifications of the trap to which he referred as spiritual materialism.13 Believing that most of his students were sincere about the spiritual path, he... (shrink)

While searching for manuscripts of the writings of Robert Grosseteste, S.H. Thomson examined British Library MS Royal 11 B III and ascribed a short work on poverty to Grosseteste probably since it was found together with the authentic work De decem mandatis and had been copied by the same scribe. Upon closer examination it is concluded that the work is unlikely to have been written by Grosseteste. Nevertheless, the work is of interest as a highly structured anthology of sources (...) regarding poverty, drawn from both Scripture and tradition. The authors examine the message of the text and analyse its structure. Finally, a first edition of the text is presented. (shrink)

This primer on authentic education explores how mind and heart can work together in the learning process. Moving beyond the bankruptcy of our current model of education, Parker Palmer finds the soul of education through a lifelong cultivation of the wisdom each of us possesses and can share to benefit others.

Regarded as one of the great spiritual teachers of the twentieth century, Krishnamurti delivered his radical insights with a disarming simplicity. Here, in records of talks and dialogues in London, Paris, Amsterdam and Saanen, Switzerland, he speaks on freedom, fragmentation, radical change and more. Chapter titles include: Freedom, Fragmentation, Meditation, Can Man Change?, Why Can’t We Live at Peace?, The Wholeness of Life, Fear, The Transcendental, On Violence, On Radical Change, The Art of Seeing, On Penetrating the Unknown.

Prayer, meditation and contemplation have long been established as essentials in human life all over the world. Yet, even by a religious devotee, they are regarded in one way or another as insignificant and secondary: what is taken into accounts is just getting things done. Thus, prayer sounds simply as ‘saying words’, and meditation is an obscure and complicated practice not easily understood. Even if there is any advantage, it is recognised and perceived as totally detached from the life of (...) average people. Contemplative life is indeed sometimes seen as something sceptical. The article challenges the perspective and saying that the absolute principle of prayer is intensifying intimate accomplishment in love, the awareness of God. The authentic goal of meditation is the search and discovery of advanced dimensions in freedom, illumination and love, in intensifying our awareness of our life in God. Besides, people usually consider contemplative life as the opposite of active life and prefer to contemplative life. Using one of the greatest Catholic mystic’s perspective, the article shows that contemplative life is not better than active and not vice versa. Both are necessary. In this case, the article also put into a dialogue with Islamic spirituality. Contribution: This article enriches the current debate on contemplation and action; it also shatters the complains that mysticism, instructs and guides abandonment from worldly interests and introduces what we can called a new mysticism, that is, an ‘activist mysticism of dynamised silence’. (shrink)

American men experience worse outcomes on a wide range of health and well-being variables compared to women, including disease, educational problems, violence, addiction, suicide, unemployment, and life expectancy. Because of this, organizations have created programs that focus on helping men both psychologically and spiritually; however, it is important to assess the effectiveness of these programs. The Crucible Project, founded in 2002, attempts to facilitate the development of integrity, courage, and grace in men using a weekend retreat format. The purpose of (...) this pilot study was to explore the effect of the weekend retreat on participants’ authenticity, assertiveness, and willingness to forgive. Participants completed measures before the weekend retreat, immediately after the weekend retreat, and at a 1-month follow-up. Results indicate that weekend retreat participants demonstrated a significant increase in scores on measures of authenticity and willingness to forgive and a trend toward increased scores on the measure of assertiveness over time. We conclude by discussing limitations of the study, areas for future research, and implications for spiritual and character development. (shrink)

If Christian ethics is to have an authentic connection to Jesus Christ, it is crucial to establish pedagogical objectives and best practices that are transformative. In this article, I examine how integrating Christian sexual ethics with Ignatian spirituality has fostered many students’ holistic growth and commitment to justice.

In a secular age that offers a buffet of spiritualities focused on the self and on personal transformation, leading practical theologian Andrew Root shows the difference between these reigning mysticisms and an authentic Christian view of transformation.

This essay examines the persistent engagement with cosmopolitan inclusivity through the endorsement of indigenous sacredness in works of ethnographic fiction. I focus on Ursula K. Le Guin’s Always Coming Home, James Cameron’s Avatar, and Taiwanese writer Ming-yi Wu’s science fiction The Man with the Compound Eyes, three iconic environmental representations of indigenous knowledge. These texts illustrate how indigenous thinking has very often been transformed from place-bound, locally-embedded cultural traditions to an embodiment of Euro-American eco-spirituality that overturns both national boundaries (...) and the humannature divide at the turn of the twenty-first century. In settler environmental narratives, the insistence on the ethnographic mode strengthens the desire for authenticity and intimacy. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Buddhist-Christian Studies 22 (2002) 234-236 [Access article in PDF] Book Review Dreaming Me: An African American Woman's Spiritual Journey Dreaming Me: An African American Woman's Spiritual Journey. By Jan Willis. New York: Riverhead Books, 2001. 321 pp. This book invites comparison with Diana Eck's Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras(Boston: Beacon Press, 1993). Both are by prominent women scholars, both have "spiritual journey" in the subtitle, (...) and both are about Christians who come to terms with a non-Christian religion—Hinduism in Eck's case, Buddhism in Willis's case. But as soon as one gets past the titles, it is the differences that strike one. Where Eck maintains an Olympian poise, hobnobbing with Hindus but remaining a Christian and an objective scholar, interpreting and analyzing as she goes, Willis plunges into Buddhism without rejecting her family's Baptist tradition, becoming a fully participant observer so as to ask how her own history and the history of her fellow African Americans can be healed by an intensely personal internal dialogue. Eck gives us theology. Willis gives us herself. Recognized as "one of the first American scholar-practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism" (294), her students ask her if she practices meditation as well as teaching it. She gives a carefully crafted answer that unifies the practice of Buddhism with the practice of academic teaching as an authentically human activity within the Humanities.The book has the form of a Hindu epic, incidents from Willis's life interrupting the frame story, the dreaming of the title. This dream (whether actual or metaphorical, we are not told) moves with considerable dramatic power from the terror of being pursued by lions to the dreamer's transformation into a lioness who roars the Dharma like Queen Shrimala. Its five parts are called Birth, Odyssey, Choices, Becoming, and Return, taking us from her childhood as a Baptist in Docena, Alabama, to Cornell University, to India and Nepal, and back to Docena, as a self-described Baptist-Buddhist (310).Willis's journey is intimately bound up with her search for self-acceptance as a "white gal"—a noticeably light-complexioned black woman in the Jim Crow South —and for the nobility of African Americans as fully human beings. Her early experiences [End Page 234] were not encouraging. Blacks were not only physically segregated in Docena, they were electronically expunged from television shows by spurious technical difficulties ("trouble along the cable"), and she endured an attack by the Ku Klux Klan on her family's home. The customary but thoroughly illegal suffrage examination administered to her father included such questions as "How many words are there in the U.S. Constitution?" (58, italics in original). He had been specially prepared for such absurdities, and he passed. Midway in her pilgrimage Willis searches for her roots (or "kin," as she says, using the Southern word) in county and federal records, and her initial excitement turns to humiliation as the white historian tells her, with disdainful triumph, that her intelligence must have come from the white slave owner who "everybody says" was her "granddaddy's daddy" (251). A black woman was presumed to be lacking in native intelligence, and Willis's intellectual powers suffered insult not only from whites but from her own mother, who, perhaps having internalized the white folks' contempt, regarded being smart as somehow evil (25). As a student at Cornell, Willis discovered black power and participated in Black Student Alliance (BSA) demonstrations, sometimes involving guns, but she came to believe that direct political action was not for her. She was, she decided, a teacher at heart, and after much soul searching she opted for the "peaceful transformation" (129) that she hoped would come from the study and practice of Buddhism.Although her skin color was a puzzlement to some Indians, who wondered about her caste, her Tibetan teachers in Nepal accepted her as a student who was at least the equal of the white students, and even, perhaps, superior to them. A spot of blonde in her hair was interpreted as the... (shrink)

This article seeks to explore the spiritual guidance of Saint Ignatius of Loyola as a worthy spiritual guide for our time as we consider some ways that we might seek to more clearly understand and authentically live out the call of Christ in our life journey. In this context of considering the work of Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises as a viable tool for such interior conversion, it is necessary for the work of this article to take a closer look at some (...) highlights of Ignatius’ own life journey in order to appropriately consider the significance of key sections of his Spiritual Exercises and the dynamics for Christian formation and transformation inherent in these selected texts. I seek to argue that any assessment of our spiritual maturity in Christ finds clear context in our everyday life experiences as Saint Ignatius so aptly demonstrates. (shrink)

We are at the dawn of something spectacular: cutting-edge discoveries are rewriting the boundaries between modern science and ancient spirituality. There is a clear convergence that demonstrates spiritual abilities and the divine are Real. Ancient teachers and yogis millennia ago taught us the art of living in the present moment; connecting with our higher selves; feeling the interconnectedness of the whole universe; bonding with all people; and developing stillness and mindfulness to heal our body and spirit. Today, all these (...) skills have proven beneficial to millions of people. Moreover, ancient philosophical parallels with modern discoveries in consciousness studies, quantum non-locality, and inseparability have been known since the seventies. Now, after two decades of pioneering discoveries in science, breathtaking and observable parallels with our world and universe are also emerging. This makes sense. If the ancients genuinely experienced the philosophy, they should also have known our world and universe, too. And here's the amazing evidence. An extraordinary new porthole into their ancient beliefs has opened. They are not generalized, stretched, or speculative. They are specific and objective. Anyone - theist, agnostic, skeptic, and atheist - all can easily verify. And you don't require a background in science to do so. The findings are meticulous and many have appeared in mainstream, peer-reviewed scientific journals. Also remarkable, new studies reveal a possible ancient connection between Yoga and the Bible. Genesis can be seen in a whole new light. Patel demonstrates how it leads to a magnificent, 100 percent solution to each of its Seven Days and Noah's Flood. The harmonious findings resolve many major criticisms of spiritual beliefs. They also nurture peace and mutual respect between science and the world's faiths. These amazing discoveries are yet more evidence that there is a path to harmony. A path to one. Consciousness is universal. Everything is intertwined. The Divine is Real. www.SanjayCPatel.com Reviews: "REALLY LIKED IT. AUTHENTIC." - Prof. P.S. Joshi. Scientific writer for the prestigious THE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Journal. Fields: general relativity, cosmology, stellar evolution, naked singularities, black holes. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Zen/Ch’an-Catholic Dialogue Explores the Path to Spiritual MaturationFrancis V. TisoThe second in a four year series of dialogues between Catholics and Buddhists on the West Coast was held at Mercy Center, Burlingame, California, on the topic “Abiding in Christ; Taking Refuge in the Buddha: Then What?” The January 28–February 2, 2008, meeting was cochaired by Rev. Heng Sure of the Institute for World Religions, Berkeley, California, and John C. (...) Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, Utah.In his keynote, Bishop Wester observed that one year previous (January 24–27, 2007) at the City of the Ten Thousand Buddhas, the dialogue considered the topic “Abiding in Christ; Taking Refuge in the Buddha.” The participants explored the Buddhist “Refuge” practice, entailing “taking refuge in, or relying upon, the Buddha, his Teachings, and the enlightening Community” (the “Three Jewels” of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha). This was compared with the Catholic sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist). Both practices constitute the basis for entry into the spiritual life for both communities, and both continue to impact the integration of faith with daily life. “Abiding in Christ” and “Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels” are prerequisites for serious engagement with the spiritual and ethical values of Catholic Christianity and Zen/Ch’an and Vajrayana Buddhism. Since these “initiatic” practices involve personal commitment and free choice, they illuminate the heart of our previous four years of dialogue: “Walking the Bodhisattva Path / Walking the Christ Path” (2003), “Transformation of Hearts and Minds: Approaches to Precepts” (2004), “Practice: Means Toward Transformation” (2005), and “Meeting on the Path” (2006).Although the topic under consideration in 2007 might have been considered “basic material” for the way people enter the spiritual life, the dialogue was rich in the range of topics discussed. The participants in 2007 revisited some of the great dyads of the spiritual life, such as the distinction between cataphatic and apophatic spirituality, between the active life and the contemplative life, between attainment of wisdom and the practice of compassion, between verbalization and ineffability, between experience and that which transcends even the category of experience. Moreover, the group expressed a great interest in exploring more deeply the subject of ethical responsibility in transmitting these teachings to students and communities. Transmitting [End Page 145] the teachings involves both accumulating a substantial body of knowledge and also having a personal commitment to the transformative process.Giving emphasis to this dialogue’s long-term commitment to transformation, this year’s theme builds upon previous efforts to understand “abiding and refuge.” It is therefore in this light that the discussion raises the question: “Then what?” What does a Christian do, what does a Buddhist do with his or her life, once initiation has been completed? In order to answer this question, the dialogue took a step forward from last year’s discussion of Christian and Buddhist initiation into the terrain of spiritual progress, maturation, mentoring, and guidance. In order to bring an experiential dimension into the work of dialogue, there was a willingness to take the risk of introducing two afternoons of experiential contemplative practice. In this way, the methods available to Buddhist practitioners and the Christian faithful can be seen from the perspective of lived experience and commitment.The group quickly raised questions directed towards making sense of what is called “spiritual progress” or “transformation.” What do these terms actually mean in real human lives? How do the participants embody these processes? How do they discern the authenticity—or lack thereof—in both practices and practitioners? How do they hand the practices, and the knowledge about spiritual growth, to others? How also do they and their communities train those whose ministry it will be to lead and guide others?Resonating with the insightful comments (Osservatore Romano, December 15, 2007) of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, this year’s dialogue pursued an “exchange of our own spiritual experiences.” One participant emphasized: “Sharing each others’ religious practices really is the heart of this dialogue for me; this is where I experience our underlying unity.” Two practical strategies were employed in order to facilitate this exchange. The first strategy was... (shrink)

While searching for manuscripts of the writings of Robert Grosseteste, S.H. Thomson examined British Library MS Royal 11 B III and ascribed a short work on poverty to Grosseteste probably since it was found together with the authentic work De decem mandatis and had been copied by the same scribe. Upon closer examination it is concluded that the work is unlikely to have been written by Grosseteste. Nevertheless, the work is of interest as a highly structured anthology of sources (...) regarding poverty, drawn from both Scripture and tradition. The authors examine the message of the text and analyse its structure. Finally, a first edition of the text is presented. (shrink)

The present study focuses on furthering the theoretical foundations of the field of spirituality and religiosity in the workplace by providing a parsimonious definition, and multi-dimensional model for the construct of spirituality grounded in a pluralistic and historically authentic framework using the Sophia Perennis or Perennial Philosophy. In this process, the study addresses the dilemma of religiosity versus spirituality faced by researchers in this area, 175). It also addresses concerns regarding the potential conflicts related to (...) class='Hi'>spirituality and religiosity that could arise in a secular workplace, which emphasizes inclusiveness and equality. A three factor model of spirituality is developed using the grounded theory approach, 3–21) and is corroborated by factor analysis of multiple samples, and participants representing three major world faith traditions. (shrink)