Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1994. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-144).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Fairleigh Dickinson University, 2003. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 64-02, Section: B, page: 0972. Chair: Neil A. Massoth. Available also in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union, 1977. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-121).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Counseling and Educational Psychology, 2005. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-08, Section: A, page: 2841. Adviser: Gary M. Ingersoll. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Oct. 5, 2006).

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union, 1977. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-121).

Shikantaza - erfarenheter av flow och rent medvetande i en zenbuddhistisk kontext (Shikantaza - experiences of flow and pure consciousness in a zen buddhist context) The zen buddhist meditation practice of Shikantaza (just sitting) is the core practice of the japanese soto-zen tradition. It is described as one of the simplest yet most subitle forms of meditation but also one of the most easily misunderstood. In this study the experience of Shikantaza meditation is investigated from a psychological point of view. Six in depth interviews are analysed with support from the theoretical framework provided by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Robert Forman. The result of the study suggests that the core experience of Shikantaza zazen can be identified as a pure consciousness event and that this experience, with continuous practice, can become permanent and brought in to the daily life of the practitioner. The study also shows that this experience, when it has become a part of the ordinary life, helps the practitioner to cultivate autotelic personality traits and as a result of this he or she can appreciate and enjoy the simple and small things in life.

Spirituality at work has received much interest in recent years, and a stream of research notes its benefits beyond a trend. Despite the topic’s growing recognition, the research community raised the need for the integration of spirituality at work with traditional areas of investigation (Giacalone & Jurkiewicz, 2003). A potentially fruitful first step towards this involves use of person-organisation (PO) fit theory (Ashforth & Pratt, 2003; Sheep, 2004, 2006; Singhal & Chatterjee, 2006; Singhal, 2007). The purpose of this study is to build upon initial attempts towards this integration and to promote further acknowledgement of the potential benefits of incorporating spirituality at work into wider organisational psychology frameworks. This was achieved by integrating both PO fit and transpersonal psychology, and subsequently developing a theoretical model that investigates three questions: a) what antecedents lead individuals and organisations to seek spirituality at work?, b) what are the perceived spiritual preferences (needs) of individuals and how are those preferences fulfilled through the context of the workplace (supplies)?, and c) what are the consequences of meeting spiritual preferences (needs), as perceived by individuals? Using constructivist grounded theory, analysis of interview data from thirty-four participants located in organisations (one spiritual and three non-spiritual) across The Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Portugal led to a theory in which I propose a core category of reconciling self as a critical factor of spirituality at work. Reconciling self captures the process whereby the self consistently attempts to maintain a congruent relationship with the ego and the environment, and this construct emerged as the primary concern for participants. Reconciling self was influenced largely by meaning and purpose and the need to connect to something larger than oneself, and through the organisation making a difference. The congruence or perceived fit within the workplace was captured through the action strategy conscious reconciling experiences; in the case where the immediacy of such expression was compromised, reconciling self was noted through the action strategy active adjustment. The action strategies were influenced through a set of intervening conditions that included a set of spirituality at work needs and supplies, through a context that emphasised attributes such as spiritual values, a culture that focused on openness and support, and relational leadership. The consequences of spirituality at work included benefits such as individual job satisfaction, positivity and self-realisation, and organisational outcomes as being a force for good and fostering employee commitment. The contribution of this study includes a new theoretical model concerning why, when, and how spirituality at work influences individual and organisational processes and outcomes. Such understanding contributes to better understanding of spirituality at work, and identifies ways in which PO fit occurs within a broader psychological context than that proposed in mainstream organisational psychology (i.e. through reconciling self influenced by meaning and purpose, the need to connect to something larger than oneself, and a set of spirituality at work needs). These findings reduce the PO fit gap. Implications of the study include the findings that spirituality at work creates positive outcomes, and insistence on the role of connecting to something larger than oneself implies individuals are always in the process of moving toward reconciling self. Organisations should consider their ability to harness latent human potential and transcendence by extending self-boundaries and developing the self. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

The subject of this thesis is to summarize and interpret Jung's relationship towards Christianity in its ambivalent manifestations. First, the very psychological concept of ambivalence is discussed, as it was relatively new in Jung's time. The starting points to the interpretation of Jung's relations toward Christianity are both his theoretical works and personal memories, most prominently from childhood, when his stance toward Christianity was formed. Presented material is then assessed on the psychological and theological-philosophical levels. It turns out that the psychological assessment cannot be, in Jung's case, clearly separated from his theoretical opinions, inasmuch some theorist conjecture that all the Jung's theory of the spiritual development is implicitly motivated by his psychological need to cope with his traumatic childhood. For this purpose, several distinct interpretations of Jung's memories from different psychological and religionistic-psychological stances are reviewed. Jung's ambivalent relationship toward Christianity appears to be based in his ambivalent relationship with his parents. On the theological-philosophical level, a tension between his high admirations of Christian tradition on one side, with simultaneous struggle to reform this tradition, often so radically that...

The present study contributes to the widening body of spirituality research by conceptualizing it as a state-trait construct. A new measure of spirituality, the State-Trait Spirituality Inventory (STSI), was created and validated according to psychometric methods of test construction. In its current form, the STSI contains seven state spirituality items and six trait spirituality items. A thorough review of the literature identified common themes in spirituality definitions and assisted in developing definitions of trait and state spirituality. Internal consistency for the trait scale was .88 and for the state scale, .68. Good test-retest reliability was found with coefficients of .84 for trait spirituality and .81 for state spirituality. Results from a preliminary undergraduate sample as well as from the validation sample yielded a two-factor solution. In general, items determined by expert panels as trait items loaded on one factor and items deemed to be state items loaded on the second factor. Multitrait multimethod analysis yielded mixed findings for convergent, divergent, and concurrent validity for the spirituality and religiosity traits. Methods consisted of paper-and-pencil cognitive and behavioral measures. Cognitive measures were more likely to support convergent/divergent validity than were behavioral measures. A major emphasis in the study was to determine whether state and/or trait spirituality were able to predict current health status and provide evidence for predictive validity. Positive relationships were identified between trait spirituality and the mental health measures of the Short Form-36® (SF-36). In contrast, it was negatively related to the Role-Physical scale. State spirituality was inversely related to the Physical Component scale. These findings are discussed within the context of minimal research using the SF-36 and spirituality measures. The MTMM analysis was limited by available spirituality and religiosity measures that contain only cognitive or behavioral items. Suggestions for future research are offered.

I present the development and initial validation a new measure designed to assess specific personal prayer content I used feedback from men and women, along with a review of the relevant literature, to identify specific prayer content for inclusion in the Personal Prayer Content Scale (PPCS) (Study 1) I administered the PPCS to a sample of participants from southeast Florida and southeast Michigan allowing for a cross-national investigation of the specific content of the thoughts that individuals privately direct towards a god, gods, or god-like entity (Study 2) I compared men’s and women’s responses (Study 3) and responses between Christians and non-Christians (Study 4) on the PPCS The results provide evidence for the reliability and discriminant validity of the PPCS by demonstrating that personal prayer content predicts aspects of religiosity and is equally valid for men and women and Christians and non-Christians A validated PPCS may be of theoretical, empirical, and practical value / Includes bibliography / Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection