International Journal of Group Psychotherapy
October 1, 2001
V L Schermer
Mysticism is a heightened awareness facilitating intuitive knowledge of group realities. In contrast to logical positivism, in which scientific knowledge consists of logic applied to a set of observations, the author holds that mystical awareness is pertinent to the conduct of therapy groups. The work of Bion, and also so-called "structuralist" theories, postulate pre-given templates that...
September 1, 2001
M. Spezio
What are the biological bases of religious experience? Are there biological constraints upon or determinants of religious narratives and practices? How does understanding the biology of religious experience inform the ongoing reconstruction of religious rituals and myths? In The Mystical Mind, Eugene d’Aquili and Andrew Newberg address these central questions and others from a distinct...
Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science
September 1, 2001
K. Peters
8 citations
Eugene d’Aquili and Andrew B. Newberg in their book The Mystical Mind suggest that their neurotheology is both a metatheology and a megatheology. In this commentary I question whether neurotheology is comprehensive enough and suggest that it needs to and possibly can take into account the moral and social dimensions of religion. I then propose an alternative metatheology and megatheology:...
Fortschritte der Neurologie · Psychiatrie
August 1, 2001
J Schlimme, D Rada, Udo Schneider
Cannabis consumption is a social and cultural phenomenon. It has a specific place in each society, therefore psychotropic effects are judged differently. In medieval Islam cannabis consumption showed connections with religious and mystic events and was basically formed through consuming sufis. The main risk of cannabis use was especially the induction of "madness" or psychotic states in case of...
Religion
2001
Leon Schlamm
13 citations
I identify two problematic strands of Ken Wilber's transpersonal theory. First, I question Wilber's claim that his spectrum model is supported by the materials of all the world's major mystical traditions. I argue that his integral, hierarchical perspective privileges some traditions but distorts others. Drawing heavily upon Andrew Rawlinson's recent, taxonomic study of mystical traditions,...
2001
Cynthia Bourgeault
At a time when people are yearning for good news, Cynthia Bourgeault's new book invites us to find our way to the hope that does not disappoint or fail. In our usual way of looking at things, hope is tied to outcome: “I hope I get this job” or “I hope my mother gets well.” The Bible introduces us to a different kind of hope that has its source not in events but in the mercy of God, a lifeblood...
Philosophy East and West
2001
James E. Miller
Reviewed by: Wandering at Ease in the Zhuangzi James Miller Wandering at Ease in the Zhuangzi. Edited by Roger T. Ames. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998. Pp. viii + 239. "Good grief!" exclaimed the reviewer as he greedily tore open the package from Philosophy East and West. "Not another book on Zhuangzi!" As it turns out, Wandering at Ease in the Zhuangzi, edited by Roger T....
Consciousness and Cognition
December 1, 2000
Rense Lange, M A Thalbourne, James Houran et al.
The concept of transliminality ("a hypothesized tendency for psychological material to cross thresholds into or out of consciousness") was anticipated by William James (1902/1982), but it was only recently given an empirical definition by Thalbourne in terms of a 29-item Transliminality Scale. This article presents the 17-item Revised Transliminality Scale (or RTS) that corrects age and gender...
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
September 1, 2000
G Milstein, E Midlarsky, B G Link et al.
36 citations
This study measured distinctions made by a sample of clergy and mental health professionals in response to three categories of presenting problems with religious content: mental disorder, religious or spiritual problem, and "pure" religious problem. A national, random sample of rabbis (N = 111) and clinical psychologists (N = 90) provided evaluations of three vignettes: schizophrenia, mystical...
History of psychology
August 1, 2000
G Jahoda
Levy-Bruhl exerted a powerful influence, seldom considered, on Piaget. The Levy-Bruhlian thesis of a "pre-logical mentality" characterized by "mystical participation" is outlined, together with its initial reception. The first evidence of Piaget's interest in it dates from 1920, and when he began his studies of children's thinking he compared it with that of 'primitives," also adopting...