This study examines the dynamics between charismatic leadership and the Mandate of Heaven (tianming, 天命) in the Boxer Uprising (1899–1901), analyzing how religious authority was constructed, exercised, and ultimately collapsed. Drawing on Max Weber’s theory of charismatic authority and the historical genealogy of tianming discourse, the research develops an integrative “Sacred Mobilization...
Schizophrenia rehabilitation aims to support the mental recovery of individuals who have undergone clinical treatment by promoting psychological stability, social functioning, and meaning-making. Consistent with the body–mind–spirit paradigm, recovery is understood as a holistic process involving interconnected biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions. However, Although...
Phenomenological epistemologies of moral and religious experience face a small number of characteristic logical pitfalls whose consequences, when they are not avoided, ramify through an entire programme. Three such pitfalls are examined in this paper through their systematic exemplification in the work of Anthony J. Steinbock, whose programme spanning Moral Emotions (2014), Phenomenology and...
In the contemporary Mpika District of Zambia, Bemba Catholics have continued to maintain their belief in and practice of the mystical powers of the indigenous Bemba cosmology and spirituality. This is despite a century of evangelisation and condemnation of the mystical beliefs and practices. To understand the enduring nature of this belief and the reasons for its endurance, a descriptive case...
This article offers a comparative ontological hermeneutics of being by placing the yogic discipline of prāṇāyāma (breath control) in dialogue with Meister Eckhart’s mystical theology, especially his notions of Abgeschiedenheit (detachment) and Gelassenheit (releasement). Through a trinitarian ontological lens (not the Christian dogma), it argues that both traditions—though rooted in different...
Abstract This chapter examines the relationship between delusions and conspiracy theories through the lens of hinge epistemology. While delusions may be understood as irrational acceptances that conflict with de facto or de jure hinges, conspiracy beliefs—such as flat-earth or COVID-19 anti-vaccination theories—share certain features with delusions, including steadfastness in the face of...
It is generally accepted that Lucien Levy-Bruhl not only developed James Frazer’s idea of two laws of sympathetic magic by combining them into the law of participation, but also, in opposition to the evolutionary anthropological concept of phylogenetic intellectual development, formulated a sociological concept of a collective drive to seek animistic causality (mystical mentality), which...
Abstract This chapter explores Jewish spirituality through stories and teachings that show holiness emerging in ordinary compassion, prayer, learning, and ethical conduct. It defines prayer as heartfelt service that is shaped by kavvana, examines debates over its efficacy, and traces the formation of liturgy, including the Shema and the Amida. The chapter discusses attitudes in prayer, the...
Clinical trials investigating psychedelic compounds for depression and anxiety-related disorders are yielding promising preliminary results. Psychedelics produce profound alterations in brain function—such as suppression of the default mode network and thalamocortical dysregulation—leading to intense subjective experiences including ego dissolution and mystical-type states. While often...
This article explores the phenomenon of spiritual experience as the core of human spirituality, which is often considered beyond the capacity of language to express it (ineffable). Through a multidisciplinary approach involving psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, this study aims to dissect the mechanisms of formation, sensation, and interpretation of mystical experiences. This paper...