Association for Transpersonal Psychology

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Association for Transpersonal Psychology Volume 51 Association for PSYCHOLOGY TRANSPERSONAL OF THE JOURNAL Number 1, 2019 Transpersonal Psychology Membership Includes: One-year subscription to The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology (two issues) ATP Newsletter Editor’s Note v Professional Members Listing A Memorial Tribute to Ralph Metzner: Scholar, Listings of Schools and Programs Teacher, Shaman (18 May 1936 to 14 March 2019) David E. Presti 1 * Membership Dues: Regular—$75 per year Scientism and Empiricism in Transpersonal Psychology Paul Cunningham 6 Professional—$95 per year Vaccination with Kambo Against Bad Influences: Jan M. Keppel Student—$55 per year Processes of Symbolic Healing and Ecotherapy Hesselink, Michael Supporting—$175 per year Winkelman 28 The Meaning of an Initiation Ritual in a Giovanna Calabrese, Further Information: Descriptive brochure and Psychotherapy Training Course Giulio Rotonda, Pier membership forms available Luigi Lattuada 49 upon request Transcending “Transpersonal”: Time to Join the World Jenny Wade 70 Religious or Spiritual Problem? The Clinical Association for Transpersonal Psychology Relevance of Identifying and Measuring Spiritual Kylie P. Harris, Adam J. P.O. Box 50187 Emergency 89 VOLUME 51 VOLUME Rock, Gavin I. Clark Palo Alto, California 94303 This Association is a Division of the Transpersonal Institute, Book Reviews a Non-Profit Tax-Exempt Organization. The Sacred Path of the Therapist: Modern Healing, Ancient 119 Wisdom, and Client Transformation. Irene R. Siegel Irene Lazarus The Red Book Hours: Discovering C.G. Jung’s Art Mediums Visit the ATP and Journal Web page 124 NUMBER 1 and Creative Process. Jill Mellick Janice Geller at Psychology Without Spirit: The Freudian Quandary. Samuel 127 www.atpweb.org Bendeck Sotillos Binita Mehta Books Our Editors Are Reading: A Retrospective The website has more detailed information and ordering forms * View The second decade (1980-1989) 132 for membership (including international), subscriptions, JTP CD Archive, ATP’s other publications, 2019 and a chronological list of Journal articles, 1969 to the current volume. ISSN: 0022-524X notice to The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology is published subscribers semi-annually beginning with Volume 1, Number 1, 1969 Current year subscriptions—Volume 51, 2019 To individuals: Per year: $ 35 (U.S.); $44 (Canada/Mexico); $50 (Other countries) To libraries and institutions: Per year: $80 (U.S.); $90 (Canada/Mexico); $95 (Other countries) Overseas airmail: Add $ 20 per volume Post Office: Please address corrections to: P.O. Box 50187, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Back Volumes: Back volumes are available in the JTP Online Archive Collection. This Online Collection is priced at $95 for members, $225 for non-members, and $385 for libraries/institutions. Free access to soft-copy archives of every Journal of Transpersonal Psychology article since its inception in 1969 is available online digitally (PDF) to Members of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology. Please submit subscription orders and remittances to: The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, P.O. Box 50187, Palo Alto, CA 94303 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology is indexed in Psychological Abstracts and listed in: Chicorel Health Sciences Indexes International Bibliography of Periodical Literature International Bibliography of Book Reviews Mental Health Abstract Psychological Reader’s Guide, and beginning in 1982, Current Contents/ Social and Behavioral Sciences Social Science Citation Index Contenta Religionum instructions All manuscripts (10,000 words maximum including references) to authors and an abstract of not more than 150 words can be submitted electronically to Marcie Boucouvalas, JTP Editor at [email protected]. Include a separate page with manuscript title, name (s) of author (s), and contact information (postal and e-mail addresses, phone, fax). Author identification should not appear on the manuscript itself. Upon submission, manuscript should be complete with references and tables (if any), following APA style (7th edition) as closely as possible. books for Send to Lauren Bracciodieta, JTP Book Review Editor review 2635 Miller Ave #5 Mountain View, CA 94040 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology and the Association for Transpersonal Psychology are divisions of the Transpersonal Institute, a non-profit organization. The views and opinions presented by authors and reviewers in the Journal do not necessarily represent those of the Editors or the Transpersonal Institute. Copyright © 2019 Transpersonal Institute EDITOR Marcie Boucouvalas ASSOCIATE Douglas A. MacDonald (Research) EDITORS Irene Sheiner Lazarus (Clinical) ASSISTANT Laurie Bolster EDITOR EDITORIAL Aimee Palladino ASSISTANT BOOK REVIEW Lauren Bracciodieta EDITOR BOARD OF Rosemarie Anderson, Palo Alto, California EDITORS Paul Clemens, Nevada City, California Jack Engler, Schiff Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts James Fadiman, Menlo Park, California Jorge Ferrer, California Institute of Integral Studies Daniel Goleman, Williamstown, Massachusetts Stanislav Grof, Mill Valley, California Tobin Hart, State University of West Georgia Michael Hutton, Victoria, British Columbia Stanley Krippner, San Francisco, California Irene Lazarus, Raleigh, North Carolina Lawrence LeShan, New York, New York Francis G. Lu, San Francisco, California David Lukoff, Petaluma, California Michael Murphy, San Rafael, California Peter L. Nelson, Avoca Beach, NSW, Australia Kaisa Puhakka, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico William A. Richards, Johns Hopkins University Thomas B. Roberts, Northern Illinois University Tonu˜ Soidla, Institute of Cytology, St. Petersburg, Russia Charles T. Tart, Berkeley, California Miles Vich, Palo Alto, California Jenny Wade, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Roger Walsh, University of California at Irvine Michael Washburn, Indiana University Kaisa Puhakka, 1999–2001 PRIOR EDITORS Miles Vich, 1975–1999 Anthony J. Sutich, founding editor, 1969–1976 (1907–1976) Roberto Assagiolo (1888–1974) Arthur Koestler (1905–1983) Hubert Bonner (1901–1970) John L. Levy (1921–2015) BOARD MEMBERS Medard Boss (1903–1990) Michael Mahoney (1946–2006) IN MEMORIAM Alister Brass (1937–1987) Gabriel Margulies (1931–1981) Jim F. Bugental (1915–2008) Sonja Margulies (1931–2013) Charlotte Buhler (1893–1974) Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) Viktor Frankl (1905–1997) Walter N. Pahnke (1931–1971) Alyce Green (1907–1994) Huston Smith (1919–2016) Elmer E. Green (1917–2017) Chogyam Trungpa (1939–1987) Herbert Guenther (1917–2006) Frances E. Vaughan (1935–2017) Robert Hartman (1910–1973) Alan Watts (1915–1973) Arthur Hastings (1935–2014) John Welwood (1943-2019) Sidney M. Jourard (1926–1974) VOLUME 51, NUMBER 1, 2019 THE JOURNAL OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY Editor’s Note v TABLE OF A Memorial Tribute to Ralph Metzner: Scholar, Teacher, CONTENTS Shaman (18 May 1936 to 14 March 2019) 1 DAVID E. PRESTI Scientism and Empiricism in Transpersonal Psychology 6 PAUL CUNNINGHAM Vaccination with Kambo Against Bad Influences: Processes of Symbolic Healing and Ecotherapy 28 JAN M. KEPPEL HESSELINK,MICHAEL WINKELMAN The Meaning of an Initiation Ritual in a Psychotherapy Training Course 49 GIOVANNA CALABRESE,GIULIO ROTONDA,PIER LUIGI LATTUADA Transcending "Transpersonal": Time to Join the World 70 JENNY WADE Religious or Spiritual Problem? The Clinical Relevance of Identifying and Measuring Spiritual Emergency 89 KYLIE P. HARRIS,ADAM J. ROCK,GAVIN I. CLARK Book Reviews The Sacred Path of the Therapist: Modern IRENE LAZARUS 119 Healing, Ancient Wisdom, and Client Transformation. Irene R. Siegel The Red Book Hours: Discovering C.G. Jung’s JANICE GELLER 124 Art Mediums and Creative Process. Jill Mellick Psychology Without Spirit: The Freudian BINITA MEHTA 127 Quandary. Samuel Bendeck Sotillos Books Our Editors Are Reading: A Retrospective View The second decade (1980-1989) 132 Editor’s Note Our 50th Anniversary issue of the Journal, celebrated during 2018, included an array of reflections by founding pioneers as well as projections into the future. We now launch our first issue of Volume 51 and during 2019 will turn our attention to the next 50 years. Recently, we have witnessed the passing of an array of key pioneers in the transpersonal movement. Each was honored with a meaningful In Memoriam from a colleague who knew the individual well. Just over the past several years examples include Frances Vaughan, September 2017 (honored by Roger Walsh), Elmer E. Green, March 2017 (by Miles A. Vich), Huston Smith, December 2016 (by William A. Richards), John Levy, January 2015 (by his wife Adele Schwartz and JTP Editorial staff), Christian Grof, June 2014 (by Karey Pohn), Arthur Hastings, April 2014 (by Genie Palmer), Sonja Margulies, April 2013 (by Miles A. Vich), Arthur Deikman, September 2013, published in 2016 (by Charles Tart), William Braud, May 2012 (by Jay Dufrechou), James F.T. Bugental September 2008, published in 2011 (two reviews: one by G. Kenneth Bradford and one by Myrtle Heery). In addition, the passing of long time British transpersonalist John Rowan (May 2018) was memorialized in the editorial column of Volume 50(1), 2018. A living legacy article had been written by Keith Silvester in Volume 49(1), 2017. Accordingly and very befittingly, with heartfelt remembrance, David E. Presti opens the first issue of 2019 by tuning our antennae to the legacy of pioneer Ralph Metzner, who passed on during March 2019. He remembers and honors Metzner as ‘‘visionary alchemical explorer, rigorous academic scholar, and uniquely gifted shamanic teacher.’’ As the field continues to mature and we navigate
Recommended publications
  • A Seth, Elias Comparative Overview by Paul M
    A Seth, Elias Comparative Overview by Paul M. Helfrich, Ph.D. www.paulhelfrich.com [email protected] 1 This eBook may only be used for private study, scholarship, or research. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Building the Conceptual Bridge Between Seth and Elias What About Seth’s and Elias’ Odd Speech Mannerisms? What are some Differences between Seth and Elias? Four Major Conceptual Areas that Build Upon the Seth Material Additional Similarities Similarities and Differences: Coincidence, Ripoff, or Evidence of a Larger Principle at Work? Closing Thoughts Tip: feel free to skip around if a particular section doesn’t float your boat. You can always come back later. Acknowledgments This essay is dedicated to the memory of Stan Ulkowski and his partner, Lynda Dahl. Without their hard work and dedication in creating Seth Network International – the group that brought so many Seth readers together from all parts of the world in the 1990’s – this essay would not exist in its present form. Kudos, love, and high-fives go out to all my compatriots and teachers on the Sethnet email list at Yahoo! Groups, the NewWorldView Discussion Forums, and the Elias forum. Thanks for helping me to experience and ponder the rich subtext within Seth’s and Elias’ ideas and also providing challenging and creative public forums in which to immerse myself. There are also many additional people whose creative efforts and diligent pursuit of excellence helped to inspire and refine this essay. Heart-felt thanks go out to Gail Becker, Rob Butts, Ron Churchman, Rodney Davidson, Laurel Davies, Mary Dillman, Elias, Mary Ennis, Kaan & Aysegul Erdal, Norm & Reta Farb, Joe Fenstermacher, Jene Fielder, Gerhard & Elisabeth Fuchs, Mary Jane Gilcrease, Frieda Glica, Bobbi Houle, Dave Kaplan, Bill Ingle, Jeremy Key, Carter © 2001 Paul M.
    [Show full text]
  • Outline of Sufism: the Essentials of Islamic Spirituality Appears As One of Our Selections in the Perennial Philosophy Series
    World Wisdom The Library of Perennial Philosophy The Library of Perennial Philosophy is dedicated to the exposition of the timeless Truth underlying the diverse reli- gions. This Truth, often referred to as the Sophia Perennis— or Perennial Wisdom—finds its expression in the revealed Scriptures as well as in the writings of the great sages and the artistic creations of the traditional worlds. Outline of Sufism: The Essentials of Islamic Spirituality appears as one of our selections in the Perennial Philosophy series. The Perennial Philosophy Series In the beginning of the twentieth century, a school of thought arose which has focused on the enunciation and expla- nation of the Perennial Philosophy. Deeply rooted in the sense of the sacred, the writings of its leading exponents establish an indispensable foundation for understanding the timeless Truth and spiritual practices which live in the heart of all religions. Some of these titles are companion volumes to the Treasures of the World’s Religions series, which allows a comparison of the writings of the great sages of the past with the perennialist authors of our time. Other WOrks by William stOddart What Does Islam Mean in Today’s World? What Do the Religions Say about Each Other? Christian Attitudes towards Islam, Islamic Attitudes towards Christianity Invincible Wisdom: Quotations from the Scriptures, Saints, and Sages of All Times and Places Remembering in a World of Forgetting: Thoughts on Tradition and Postmodernism Outline of Buddhism Outline of Hinduism Outline of Sufism The Essentials of Islamic Spirituality William Stoddart Foreword by R.W. J. Austin Outline of Sufism: The Essentials of Islamic Spirituality ©2012 World Wisdom, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • A Newworldoverview (PDF)
    A NewWorldOverView By Paul M. Helfrich, Ph.D. www.paulhelfrich.com [email protected] 1 Contents How do we know that we are Divine? What is the Perennial Philosophy? Why are the terms “traditional, modern, and postmodern” important? How did modernity react to traditional perennial wisdom? What is the difference between postmodern spirituality and religion? What is the Seth Material? What are other perennial themes found in the Seth Material? What is channeling and how is it different than mediumship? Is channeling a developmental intelligence we all possess? Who and what is Seth? What is the Integral Approach? What is Integral Conscious Creation? How does Integral Conscious Creation compare to Integral Spirituality? What about Creationism? What about Creation Spirituality and Christianity? Who are Elias, Kris, and Rose? So What? Endnotes (A free two hour video and Powerpoint presentation that covers all the above is available here!) How do we know that we are Divine? People have had a variety of deeply intuitive or spiritual experiences for thousands of years. They provide personal testimony that we all have a direct subjective connection with the Divine, which goes by many names including Source, Spirit, Consciousness, God, or All-That-Is. We, too, can better understand our connection with the Divine – not just have faith in it – through our own direct experience. Methods to do so and opportunities to share personal experiences are provided here on NewWorldView (in our Toolbox). Most religious traditions – including the ones we were raised in – contain practices that consist of shallow or translative beliefs, rituals, and rules. They provide useful ways to help us to cope with the vicissitudes of life – illness, birth, death, marriage, jobs, and the like.
    [Show full text]
  • A Hora E O Lugar Das Ordens Sufis Na Tradição Islâmica
    A hora e o lugar das Ordens Sufis na tradição islâmica The Time and Place of the Sufi Orders in the Islamic Tradition Mateus Soares de Azevedo1 Investigador independiente (Brasil) Recibido: 25-01-19 Aprobado: 28-02-19 Resumo O que é o Sufismo? Em que ele acredita? O que ele pratica? É ele uma vertente mística do Islã para alguns poucos, ou uma via aberta a muitos? O que são as confrarias ou ordens sufis? Qual a sua natureza e sua razão de ser? Qual a sua origem e seu desenvolvimento histórico? São elas “iniciáticas’’ e destinadas a uma elite espiritual, ou “populares’’ e acessíveis em princípio a todos os fieis? Estas são algumas das questões que este ensaio busca responder. Palavras-chave: Sufismo, Espiritualidade, Pacto da Árvore, Gnosticismo, Esoterismo. Abstract What is Sufism? In what does it believe? What are its main practices? Is it a mystical strand of Islam for a few, or a way open to many? What are the Sufi orders? What are their nature and reason for being? What are their origin and historical development? Are they “initiatic” and aimed at a spiritual elite, or are the Sufi Orders “popular” and accessible in principle to all believers? These are some of the questions that this essay seeks to answer. Key-words: Sufism, Spirituality, Tree Pact, Gnosticism, Esotericism. 1 ([email protected]) Islamólogo e esoterismólogo brasileiro de trânsito internacional, autor de Men of a Single Book: fundamentalism in Islam, Christianity, and modern thought (EUA, 2010); A Inteligência da Fé; Cristianismo, Islã, Judaísmo (Rio de Janeiro, 2006); e Mística Islâmica (Petrópolis, 2002), entre outros livros.
    [Show full text]
  • Ayout 1 7/8/11 07:42 Page 1
    Guild 306 text pages:Layout 1 7/8/11 07:42 Page 1 wDasava ihdighly Horoiginlat l Jungian thinker. He was born into a Liverpool Shipping family in 1926. After war service on Atlantic and Russian convoys in 1944, and in the Pacific in 1945, he read Modern History at Oxford, with the study of St. Augustine his special subject. Following on eleven years in book and newspaper publishing, he graduated from the C.G.Jung Institute in Zurich (1962-1966) with a thesis on ‘Persona and Actor’. From 1971 to 1982 he taught and supervised at the Westminster Pastoral Foundation, where he introduced the Counselling and Ontology course. He led the interdisciplinary theatrical weekends on Jung and Hermeneutics at Hawkwood College in Gloucestershire, from 1978 – 1991. His rendering of Wall in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is particularly remembered. He was passionately interested in the work of the Guild of Pastoral Psychology, Chair in 1970 and from 1988 – 1992 he was Chair of the C.G.Jung Analytical Psychology Club in London. He died on Easter Sunday, 2002. His thinking about the importance of the Guild is well-recorded both in the pamphlet Idolatry and Work in Psychology, in the 1970 Annual report (also published in the format of a Guild pamphlet) and in the 1990 History of the Guild by Ann Shearer and Michael Anderton. David resigned after one year but his apparent ‘failure’ can be seen partially 1 Guild 306 text pages:Layout 1 7/8/11 07:42 Page 2 as a ‘success’ since the Council moved from being a self-appointing oligarchy to a body at least partially elected by the membership.
    [Show full text]
  • The Problem of Seth's Origin: a Case Study of the Trance-Possession Mediumship of Jane Roberts Paul Cunningham Rivier College
    Running head: THE PROBLEM OF SETH'S ORIGIN The Problem of Seth's Origin: A Case Study of the Trance-Possession Mediumship of Jane Roberts Paul Cunningham Rivier College Author Note Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Paul Cunningham, Department of Psychology, Rivier College, Nashua, NH 03055. E-mail: [email protected] Running head: THE PROBLEM OF SETH'S ORIGIN 2 Abstract Jane Roberts channeled the purported discarnate entity called "Seth" from 1963 through 1984. The purposes of this paper are to (a) discuss the question of whether the content of a mediumistic communication can aid in determining the source of that communication, (b) address a gap in the literature by presenting an outer history of the trance-possession mediumship of Jane Roberts, and (c) examine eight explanations for Seth's origin in light of the published evidence of the case, including fraud, cryptomnesia, hypnotic self-suggestion, incipient schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder, high creativity, psi functioning, basic source Aspect, and energy personality essence. Either Seth is or is not a production of Jane Roberts' psyche. In either case, we are led to the possibility that human personality may have a greater reality and greater awareness than is generally supposed. Keywords: case study, mediums, mediumship, possession, trance, survival of consciousness, discarnate communication, content analysis. Running head: THE PROBLEM OF SETH'S ORIGIN 3 The Problem of Seth's Origin: A Case Study of the Trance-Possession Mediumship of Jane Roberts On December 8, 1963 an entity that called himself Seth emerged under the auspices of a ouija board to take possession of the body of a woman named Jane Roberts of Elmira, New York with the expressed purpose of dictating information about the nature of reality beyond the five senses in a trance-possession mediumship that lasted for 21 years.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography of Occult and Fantastic Beliefs Vol.4: S - Z
    Bruno Antonio Buike, editor / undercover-collective „Paul Smith“, alias University of Melbourne, Australia Bibliography of Occult and Fantastic Beliefs vol.4: S - Z © Neuss / Germany: Bruno Buike 2017 Buike Music and Science [email protected] BBWV E30 Bruno Antonio Buike, editor / undercover-collective „Paul Smith“, alias University of Melbourne, Australia Bibliography of Occult and Fantastic Beliefs - vol.4: S - Z Neuss: Bruno Buike 2017 CONTENT Vol. 1 A-D 273 p. Vol. 2 E-K 271 p. Vol. 3 L-R 263 p. Vol. 4 S-Z 239 p. Appr. 21.000 title entries - total 1046 p. ---xxx--- 1. Dies ist ein wissenschaftliches Projekt ohne kommerzielle Interessen. 2. Wer finanzielle Forderungen gegen dieses Projekt erhebt, dessen Beitrag und Name werden in der nächsten Auflage gelöscht. 3. Das Projekt wurde gefördert von der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Sozialamt Neuss. 4. Rechtschreibfehler zu unterlassen, konnte ich meinem Computer trotz jahrelanger Versuche nicht beibringen. Im Gegenteil: Das Biest fügt immer wieder neue Fehler ein, wo vorher keine waren! 1. This is a scientific project without commercial interests, that is not in bookstores, but free in Internet. 2. Financial and legal claims against this project, will result in the contribution and the name of contributor in the next edition canceled. 3. This project has been sponsored by the Federal Republic of Germany, Department for Social Benefits, city of Neuss. 4. Correct spelling and orthography is subject of a constant fight between me and my computer – AND THE SOFTWARE in use – and normally the other side is the winning party! Editor`s note – Vorwort des Herausgebers preface 1 ENGLISH SHORT PREFACE „Paul Smith“ is a FAKE-IDENTY behind which very probably is a COLLCETIVE of writers and researchers, using a more RATIONAL and SOBER approach towards the complex of Rennes-le-Chateau and to related complex of „Priory of Sion“ (Prieure de Sion of Pierre Plantard, Geradrd de Sede, Phlippe de Cherisey, Jean-Luc Chaumeil and others).
    [Show full text]
  • The Matheson Trust Frithjof Schuon and Sri Ramana Maharshi: A
    The Matheson Trust Frithjof Schuon and Sri Ramana Maharshi: A survey of the spiritual masters of the 20th century by Mateus Soares de Azevedo This essay was first published in the journal, Sacred Web (www.sacredweb.com),and is reproduced here with the kind permission of Sacred Web Publishing. Among the most important pillars of spiritual wisdom in the 20th century, Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998) and Sri Râmana Maharshi (1879-1950) clearly occupy a prominent place. Both were “universalists”, that is, they believed in and, in the case of Schuon, explicitly taught, the “transcendent unity of the religions”; both expounded the purest (and also the most intrinsically orthodox) form of perennial gnosis, but each in his own way; both attracted admirers from all the major religions. Schuon in fact was a sage in the double capacity of a pure metaphysician—in the lineage of Shankara, Pythagoras, and Plato—and of an “extra- confessional”, sapiential spiritual guide, with a profound love for all authentic religions, but without attachment to their more “formalistic” and “nationalistic” aspects. Schuon was a teacher of the Uncolored Truth, of the Truth beyond form.1 There are of course distinctions to be made in the scope, completeness, and universality of the metaphysical doctrines which Schuon and the Maharshi expounded, and in the methods of spiritual realization which they advocated. We shall consider these distinctions in what follows. In selecting the German “philosopher” (in the original sense of “lover of wisdom”)—who was also an inspired poet and painter, as his productions in these fields richly show—and the Hindu sage as the main objects of this study, we do not forget the immense importance (especially in the domain of traditional metaphysics, religious symbolism, and the critique of the modern deviation in all its aspects) of the remarkable French metaphysician and esoterist René Guénon (1886-1951).
    [Show full text]
  • Book Reviews
    BOOK REVIEWS HERLIHY,JOHN. (2011). Wisdom of the senses: The untold story of their inner life. San Rafael, CA: Sophia Perennis. 208 pp. ISBN 9781597311274. Paperback, $18.95. Reviewed by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos. The eye by which I see God is the same as the eye by which God sees me. My eye and God’s eye are one and the same. (Herlihy, p. 40). — Meister Eckhart How often does one hear vague references made to the idea of—‘common sense’—without any reflection as to its underlying meaning? However, an interesting point regarding the notion of a shared world of the senses is that it is all-too-often reduced to what can be empirically verified solely by the five senses, excluding a whole dimension that has been not only acknowledged but also inseparably connected to the function of the senses since time immemorial.1 The Sufi mystical poet and metaphysician Rumi gracefully outlines the indispensable role of this mystical dimension: ‘‘Your head is but a lamp with six wicks: Without that spark, would any remain alight?’’ (p. 3) This volume penned by prolific author John Herlihy2 brings a double-edge to the material at hand. While he moves freely between the diverse spiritual traditions, he is also a committed practitioner of one of them. Readers will be drawn-in by the poetic prose, intermingled with illumined wisdom taken from the world’s religions, together with firsthand encounters with traditional peoples often allowing the reader rare glimpses into unknown worlds as if he or she were actually travelling along.
    [Show full text]
  • The Psychological Search for a Science of Religion (1896-1937)
    Theorizing experience: the psychological search for a science of religion (1896-1937) Matei George Iagher University College London PhD History of Medicine 2016 1 DECLARATION I, Matei George Iagher, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signed:.................................................................................................................... Date:........................................................................................................................ 2 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the central projects for a psychology of religion put forward in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It argues that the proponents of this sub- discipline were attempting to set up a new science of religion, one which they thought was radically different from the science(s) of religion(s) that had been created in the second half of the nineteenth century by thinkers such as Max Müller, C.P.Tiele, E.B. Tylor, or Albert Réville. The novelty of the psychology of religion was thought to reside in its identification of a primarily affective and pre-intellectual religious experience as the essence of religion and in the development of tools (e.g. questionnaires) and concepts (e.g. conversion, mysticism) with which to probe that experience. After a period of efflorescence in the first two decades of the twentieth century, the psychology of religion began declining in the 1930s. I argue that this decline was, in part, the result of an inability to maintain the theoretical integrity of the psychology of religion's topic of study, such that the discipline either became dissolved into general psychology or it became a private theology in its own right.
    [Show full text]
  • Extraordinary Encounters: an Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrials and Otherworldly Beings
    EXTRAORDINARY ENCOUNTERS EXTRAORDINARY ENCOUNTERS An Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrials and Otherworldly Beings Jerome Clark B Santa Barbara, California Denver, Colorado Oxford, England Copyright © 2000 by Jerome Clark All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Clark, Jerome. Extraordinary encounters : an encyclopedia of extraterrestrials and otherworldly beings / Jerome Clark. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-57607-249-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN 1-57607-379-3 (e-book) 1. Human-alien encounters—Encyclopedias. I. Title. BF2050.C57 2000 001.942'03—dc21 00-011350 CIP 0605040302010010987654321 ABC-CLIO, Inc. 130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911 This book is printed on acid-free paper I. Manufactured in the United States of America. To Dakota Dave Hull and John Sherman, for the many years of friendship, laughs, and—always—good music Contents Introduction, xi EXTRAORDINARY ENCOUNTERS: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EXTRATERRESTRIALS AND OTHERWORLDLY BEINGS A, 1 Angel of the Dark, 22 Abductions by UFOs, 1 Angelucci, Orfeo (1912–1993), 22 Abraham, 7 Anoah, 23 Abram, 7 Anthon, 24 Adama, 7 Antron, 24 Adamski, George (1891–1965), 8 Anunnaki, 24 Aenstrians, 10 Apol, Mr., 25
    [Show full text]
  • Splendor of the TRUE
    INTRODUCTION Few religious writers of recent times have had as polarizing an effect on those acquainted with their work as Frithjof Schuon. A first group of readers have competed to see who can praise him in the grandest terms. One of them tells us that Schuon’s books offer “com- pletely new perspectives in every aspect of religious thought,”1 while another asserts that “à propos religion, equally in depth and breadth,” he was “the paragon of our time.”2 Yet a third prolific and highly respected scholar has elevated his own superlatives to the level of the superhuman, comparing Schuon to “the cosmic Intellect itself.”3 It is important to note that these are not the words of marginal thinkers or cultish sycophants. On the contrary they represent the considered judgment of several of the academy’s most prestigious and influential names. Schuon—who was at once a philosopher, an authority on the world’s religions, a spiritual guide, and a gifted poet and painter—seemed to many of his most learned readers not just a man but a providential phenomenon, a many-sided genius with a God-given spiritual role for our age. At the same time, however, his work has been severely criticized— when not simply ignored—by a second and admittedly much larger group, and this includes academics who might have otherwise been expected to benefit most from his insights: philosophers of religion, authorities on mysti- cism and spirituality, and comparative religionists. In fact scholarly dismissals began many years ago when a prominent reviewer of one of this author’s first books complained that “Schuon glories in his contempt for human reason” and that his writings are little more than “a disconnected series of 1.
    [Show full text]