<p> Recent publications on the topic of safety, my observations of some church members' reluctance to be involved, and a serendipitous experience of added safety I had outside of the church coalesced to point me to lack of spiritual and emotional safety in my church as a possible cause of deficient personal spiritual growth in some members and of a resulting want for greater church efficiency. Emotional safety seems to be a core component of the ideals of love usually professed in the church. This indicated to me a possible need to focus on facilitating <i>practice</i> of emotional awareness and safety that would be experientially confirmed as conducive to personal growth in contrast to simply using the traditional methods of just preaching and teaching on these subjects. </p><p> The theological and biblical study specifically allowed me to describe the type of individual spiritual growth stemming from genuine personal awareness acquired through a sense of safety. I was able to legitimately equate such spiritual growth with the concept of personal stewardship or "sanctification" used in the Bible&mdash;in an understanding of it that encompasses the development of all of one's life as part of the spiritual endeavor. This involves all aspects of life and not just those commonly understood as "spiritual" in a narrower religious sense. Others have used the term "individuation" to describe this spiritual development. This is different from other understandings that associate "sanctification" with lists of concrete attitudes and behaviors which, in the mind of some outside observers, are "evidence" of spiritual growth, but may not always be reflective of such. </p><p> My assumption at the beginning of this project was that <i>practice </i> of emotional safety could enable increased awareness leading to spiritual growth. This foundational element, in my estimate, seemed to be the missing piece in the promotion of spiritual growth and organizational effectiveness in the church. However, my study revealed two more foundational levels of safety that must precede the practice of safety because they either enable it by their presence or foil it by their absence. <i>Practiced </i> safety is greatly impaired by a lack of structural safety (i.e., retained parts of organizational structures that enable lawful harm to some); and a lack of <i>structural</i> safety may be the outworking of a lack of <i>theological</i> safety&mdash;that is, retained personal and organizational elemental worldview, assumptions and beliefs about self, God, and the universe that generate unsafe space instead of a place of safety and trust. Lack of safety deters people from seeking awareness that can lead to growth, while the presence of safety can facilitate a fuller experience of awareness leading to satisfying and genuine spiritual growth. But such safety which enables awareness towards growth cannot occur without its foundational <i> theological, structural,</i> and <i>practiced</i> components being attended to, in this order. </p><p> Two circles of causes and effects are proposed to the consideration of the reader through this project. One is a circle of theological, structural and practiced safety which seems to facilitate individuals' willingness to engage in the pursuit of increased conscious awareness, resulting in greater spiritual growth and a safer world. The alternate circle is one which continues to perpetuate theological, structural and practiced dangers, thus apparently metastasizing individuals and organizations' inhibitions towards greater conscious awareness into regressive conformism and dangerous projections. </p><p> The process successfully used in this project at the Fox Valley Church in Neenah, Wisconsin, to increase a sense of safety conducive to conscious awareness and spiritual growth among project participants is proposed to all readers and entities willing to recognize a lack of safety as a reality to be addressed, and it may serve as a model to any such individual or organization to improve safety, with the ensuing increased spiritual growth and organizational efficiency, within their sphere of influence. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) </p>

<p>This qualitative study explored the subjective experience of mutual eye-gazing functioning as a pathway to unitive consciousness through shared awareness. Research on the unitive consciousness is primarily viewed as an individual experience, rather than as two individuals engaged in shared awareness. In addition, eye-gazing is primarily viewed as eye contact using the physical apparatus rather than eye-gazing as a transpersonal occurrence. The participants of this pioneer study consisted of 12 exemplar spiritual guides who were recruited to explore the experience: 7 men and 5 women from 50 to 70 years old; 9 were from the United States, 1 from Mexico, 1 from Canada, and 1 from the United Kingdom. Based on the heuristic method, data were collected via semistructured interviews to obtain participant&rsquo;s subjective experience of mutual eye-gazing. Qualitative thematic analysis was used for data analysis to identify common themes on mutual eye-gazing across the group of participants. Seven themes identified from the data set included (a) experience of shared awareness through eye-gazing, (b) interplay between thought and awareness, (c) hindrance of eye-gazing, (d) presence of divine nature, (e) dynamics of energy, (f) sensory experience, and (g) feeling of love. Results showed that mutual eye-gazing functioned as a vehicle for shared awareness, potentially leading to a higher state of consciousness in which the personal and Divine selves are realized as one. Transpersonal elements included transformational understanding of self and with other and reduced influence of the ego achieved by allowing for a broader perspective than a purely individual one. The most marked discovery was the emergence of a transpersonal movement towards unity that evolved into a 4-step process that could be used as a guideline for the realization of shared awareness. The shared process of mutual eye-gazing may be a useful spiritual application to anyone interested in psychological or spiritual well-being and transformation. </p>

<p> Annually, a significant number of clergy burn out, are forced out, or take on the leadership of a congregation that burned out or forced out the previous leader (Beebe, 2007; LaRue, 1996). Previous research has identified congregation types that can lead to conflict (Becker, 1999), congregational characteristics that can lead to congregants' conflict-related exit (Chou, 2008), and the impact of clergy's conflict management style on role termination (Works, 2008), emotional intelligence (Gambill, 2008), and interpersonal conflict (McKown, 2001). The aim of this mixed-method study was to determine (a) if correlations exist among five conflict management styles as exhibited by clergy and the constructs of life satisfaction and religious commitment, (b) if there are negative relationships between clergy who exhibit an avoidant conflict management style and their life satisfaction and religious commitment, and (c) if interviews with clergy who experience congregational conflict will suggest themes that potentially predict conflict between clergy and congregations. North American, Protestant clergy were solicited as the study population (N = 48) with a subsample participating (n = 9) in the qualitative interview. Five hypotheses were developed and investigated. Hypothesis 1 investigated the relationship between clergy's conflict management style and their life satisfaction and could not be supported. Hypothesis 2 investigated the relationship between clergy's conflict management style and their religious commitment and was partially supported. Hypothesis 3 investigated whether clergy who exhibit the avoidant conflict management style will experience lower levels of life satisfaction than clergy who exhibit other styles and was partially supported. Hypothesis 4 investigated whether clergy who exhibit the avoidant conflict style will experience lower levels of religious commitment than clergy who exhibit other styles and could not be supported. Hypothesis 5 investigated whether themes would emerge during interviews with clergy that might act as predictors for future congregational conflict and was supported.</p>

<p> This interdisciplinary, theoretical dissertation puts Meister Eckhart and psychoanalysis (in particular, the work of Jacques Lacan) in dialogue in order to examine the question of the self. It extends the success of recent Buddhist-psychoanalytic dialogues on the self into the neglected area of Christian mysticism. The author reviews the extant literature on psychoanalysis and mysticism, summarizes Freud and Lacan's psychoanalytic theories of subjectivity, and examines the existing literature on Meister Eckhart and the self. Then, the author undertakes a commentary of an especially significant passage in one of Eckhart's sermons using an interpretive method which brings together "radical hermeneutics," a form of hermeneutics developed by the American philosopher of religion John Caputo (1987, 2000) with <i>Lectio Divina</i> and centering prayer, two Christian contemplative practices. </p><p> Based on the commentary, the author presents a fresh understanding of Eckhart's view of the self which emphasizes the unity between the soul and God in the process of God's birth in the soul (<i>Gottesgeburt</i>). Then, some of the key themes of Eckhart's sermons are put in dialogue with key Lacanian concepts &ndash; e.g., properties (<i>eigenschaften</i>) with symptoms, detachment (<i>abegescheidenheit</i>) with castration, and living without why (<i>ohne Warum</i>) with jouissance &ndash; in order to explore the significance of Eckhart's view of the self for psychoanalytic theories of subjectivity. Additionally, the discussion includes clinical vignettes in order to suggest implications for the practice of psychotherapy. The dissertation concludes that psychoanalysis and mysticism are guided by a similar logic and structure, as they are both oriented around processes of change.</p>

<p> This qualitative case study of a meditation group known as the Process Group examines the group's collaboration on practices that foster spiritual maturation following spiritual opening into the first phase of enlightenment. Twenty-one participant accounts provide an intimate portrait of stabilizing and integrating Unity consciousness, maintaining a co-creative relationship with the Divine, and actively expressing this in the world, especially through creative altruism. Using the hermeneutical research method known as intuitive inquiry, analysis of the data employed traditional and non-traditional approaches that were supported with member validity checks. Findings generated a clear picture of optimal group functioning in higher stages of consciousness, practices that lead to and sustain nondual awareness in day-to-day interaction, and conditions that generate creative altruism. Findings are distilled into lenses that can be operationalized into training programs for teams interested in altruistic activity. The Process Group demonstrates that peak spiritual experiences can be supported with group practices that deepen the spiritual opening process and the mutually affecting relationship with the Divine over time, increasing relational intelligence and creative expression. Findings also demonstrated that spiritual maturation can increase individuation and communion simultaneously and interactively. This is a portrait of spiritual practice that facilitates fully embodied enlightenment, active incarnation in the world, presenting the healed versions of what is possible in the clearest human interaction, and maturation that proceeds in cooperation with the Divine. </p>

<p> In learning to be a yoga teacher, the focus is largely on <i>what </i> is being taught, in other words, the physical techniques such as <i> asana</i> (posture) and <i>pranayama</i> (breath). There is substantially less focus on who teachers are as individuals despite research from neuroscience which suggests that <i>who</i> teachers are may be far more important to students' learning than what they are teaching. This thesis dives into the question of who yoga teachers are as individuals through the lens of authenticity. Drawing on transformative learning theory, Jung's theory of individuation, and the stories of eight teachers who have wrestled deeply with this question, this thesis explores the process of developing authenticity in the context of teaching yoga. This study finds that authenticity results from one's journey of individuation, which although personal in nature is supported by relationship to self, Self and other (mentor, teacher, therapist). </p>