Psychological well-being has a number of known benefits and is important for the quality of life of the elderly in particular. South Africa can be considered a religious country with the majority of citizens identifying with some religious orientation. The elderly are considered to be a more religious segment of the population, leading to a quantitative exploratory study being undertaken in order to ascertain whether a correlation exists between psychological well-being and religiosity/spirituality in the elderly institutionalised population of South Africa. The General Psychological Well-Being Scale and ASPIRES was administered to a convenience sample of 336 participants in the Eastern Cape Province. A significant but weak positive correlation was found between the variables of psychological well-being and religiosity. A difference was also found between White and African participants’ level of psychological well-being. An ANOVA was performed on the demographic information collected from participants. It was found that higher levels of education and access to private medical care were associated with higher levels of psychological well-being. A regression analysis was also performed on the data. It was found that although religiosity/spirituality does account for some of the variance, there were still a large number of other factors that influence psychological well-being in the elderly that were not captured in this study. Limitations of the study are that the results can’t be generalised to elderly residing at home. All of the participants also lived in urban areas and so differences may be found with rural elderly. Some further directions for research are discussed.

This thesis studied transfonnational experiences of 'spiritual awakening' from a psychological perspective, using a phenomenological qualitative approach (specifically, Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis). The aim was to study the phenomenology of individuals who claim to have had this experience. Purposive sampling was used to find a group of individuals who felt that they had undergone the experience of 'spiritual awakening.' Twenty-five participants made contact, primarily through the author's website, which focuses on issues relating to psychology and spirituality. Given this approach, the sample represented a subset of those who may have experienced spiritual awakening in broader contexts. The participants were interviewed using a semi-structured format. The transcripts were coded, then the main themes of the twenty-five interviews were elicited. Twenty-five major codes were identified. These were ranked in tenns of the number of participants who shared them. All twenty-five participants reported a shift into a new psychological state, with a new sense of identity, new modes of cognition and perception, a new relationship to their surroundings and to other human beings (including increased authenticity and compassion) and new values (including a less materialistic attitude and increased altruism, in some cases leading to a change in career). In this respect, the study found that much of the phenomenology of their experiences was similar to the characteristics of 'spiritual awakening' as expressed by spiritual traditions and also by transpersonal psychologists. However, a significant number of participants also reported initial and ongoing difficulties and fluctuations in their state, including psychological disturbances, cognitive problems, difficulty dealing with practical and organisational tasks, confusion, and physical problems such as sleeplessness and ongoing pain. In this sense, the study confirmed the close relationship between spiritual experience and psychopathology, as noted by Grof (2000), Clark (2010), Lucas (2011) and others. The study discussed possible causes of the different aspects of the participants' experiences, and also the possibility that the phenomenology of their experiences may have been at least in part the result of narrative construction (especially in the aftermath of intensely traumatic experiences), in relation to the need to reconstruct their identity and establish a conceptual framework to make sense of their experiences. Although it was beyond the scope of this thesis to offer firm conclusions on this matter, further research which may be productive in this area was suggested. This study found that it may be misleading to conceive of the psychological shift interpreted by the participants as 'spiritual awakening' as a purely positive state, without attendant difficulties. It is perhaps more accurate to think in terms of a 'spiritual opening' - a psychological shift which can bring a more intense and expanded awareness, but which can create instability and disturbance.

The distinction between explicit and implicit psychological performance is held to arise as a consequence of differences in self-related processing. In the former, outputs from sensory and memory activity gain ready access to a model of self, referred to here as 'I'. Implicit performance comes about when activity is isolated from 'I' for pathological, or other, reasons. Under normal, explicit circumstances the model of 'I' constructed at a given time is stored in association with representations of concurrent thoughts or percepts. This memory model of' I' is referred to as an 'T'-tag, and is hypothesised to function in subsequent recall. Evidence for the above is drawn from neuropsychological data relating to the implicit/explicit distinction in terms of differential brain systems, and from introspective data concerning the characteristics of conscious processes. Studies of a variety of brain-damaged patients suggest a distinction between decrements in direct stimulus- or motor-related processing and compromised availability of material to consciousness. It is argued here that the latter are consequent on problems in the interpretations of direct processing, specifically those normally involving 'I' as the putative receiver of impressions, controller of memory recollection, and instigator of actions. The Buddhist philosophy of mind analyses the nature of self and details the stages operating in processes of thought and perception. In particular, the notion of'l' implied in the foregoing description is stated to be illusory. The alternative view, that'!' arises as a conditioned association and is without substantive continuity, is supportive of the 'I'-tag concept. The 'I'-tag theory is further developed through an analysis of the stages of perception as detailed in Buddhist thought. Finally, the theory is employed to advance a possible psychological interpretation of a strand of Jewish mysticism in which an artificial anthropoid the golem-was said to be created through linguistic techniques.

The central aim of my thesis is to examine the processes by which individuals from a Western background enter the International Society for Krishna Consciousnes (ISKCON), a transnational religious movement with its roots in Chaitanya Vaishnavism, a Hindu tradition originating in India. The central argument of my research is that extant models of conversion do not do justice to the process by which individuals enter ISKCON and assimilate its values, beliefs, and practices. This thesis thus critically examines conversion models/theories and seeks to refine our understanding of conversion, especially in relation to groups in which everyday ritual practice plays a central role. My research is based on the analysis of in-depth interviews with ISKCON entrants and engagement with theories on ritual and literature on conversion. The tradition’s essential practices involve chanting God’s holy names: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare and making food offerings to the Hindu deity Krishna (these are referred to as prasadam rites). Ritual is both a doorway for coming in contact with ISKCON and a crucial practice for entrants to make progress from the status of neophyte to novice and to qualify for successive initiation rituals. I draw mainly upon Catherine Bell’s theory of ritualisation to explore entry into ISKCON in relation to ritual practices. Ritualisation, in the ISKCON context, is a strategy that facilitates the internalisation of ISKCON’s central values and worldviews. This is made possible through the entrant’s initial exposure to its rituals, his/her search for the meaning behind these rituals, gradual acceptance of ISKCON’s 5 schemes of ritualisation, and, over the long-term, acquisition of ritual mastery. From a sociological perspective, entry into ISKCON is a three-staged process involving separation, transition, and incorporation. The stage of separation is a phase of accepting sets of oppositions concerned with polarities of purity and pollution, causing alienation from previous social circles and encouraging group-integration within ISKCON. The transitional stage is characterized by the internalisation of beliefs, worldviews and values. The stage of incorporation is marked by successive stages of seekership (searching for, and finding, meaning using ISKCON frameworks) and commitment (not just to ISKCON’s values and ritual practices, but also to its missionary agenda). To determine how ritual practice constructs power relationships and creates boundaries for the development of active agency and passivity, I look at four dimensions of ritualisation. These are (following Bell): (1) the effects of ritual practice on socialisation and vice versa; (2) the role of ritual specialists; (3) the forms of misrecognition and blindness resulting from ritual practice; and (4) the influence of ritualisation on the agency of entrants. My work demonstrates that “conversion” in the ISKCON context is marked by three crucial features. First, it is a process of gradual “drifting” into ISKCON’s fold, not a sudden change. Second, conversion to ISKCON’s belief system is facilitated by the adoption of the ritual practices central to ISKCON. Hence belief and practice are closely intertwined in the conversion process, with ritual practice serving, in most cases, as the entry point. And finally, my work demonstrates that this “conversion” does not entail a radical break with previously held religious beliefs and values. Instead, “converts” to ISKCON continue to profess their former faith, but now filter this through the lens of ISKCON’s Vaishnava devotionalism.

<p> This qualitative study involved the creation and assessment of a seven-week heart-focused psycho-spiritual inquiry program, Map of the Heart. The program&rsquo;s curriculum was comprised of heart-based practices and theories designed to develop heart-centered awareness. The purpose of this investigation was to reveal and understand the personal experience and expression of heart intelligence and to define it and its personal meaning while illuminating the clinical relevance of Map of the Heart curriculum in the field of counseling psychology. </p><p> The curriculum was organized into six weekly themes based upon core heart feelings associated with the Four Immeasurable Truths, Buddhist virtues, and practices for cultivating the heart. Informed by East-West psychology, the curriculum highlighted perennial philosophy from both Eastern and Western religions and indigenous and psychological traditions, integrating spiritual discipline with Western neuroscience research and psychotherapy practices. </p><p> The research design used heuristic phenomenology and co-operative inquiry to explicate the individual and group experience of heart intelligence. Data analysis was primarily derived from a series of one-on-one semi-structured interviews and group dialogue sessions with nine state-registered psychotherapists. </p><p> Research findings indicated that Map of the Heart may support psycho-spiritual and clinical skills development and may encourage personal and interpersonal conflict resolution. Co-researchers reported increased experiential awareness of their own heart center and a defined ability to connect internally, reinforcing therapeutic intuition, perception, and sensitivity, subsequently strengthening the therapeutic alliance. Increases in therapeutic presence, empathic listening, attunement, and accurate mirroring were also reported. Co-researchers reported a greater ability to work more effectively with difficult clients and complex mental health issues. As a result, transformative changes in the client were observed. Co-researchers indicated that they were able to effectively use aspects of the curriculum for therapeutic intervention and clinical directives, where the heart became a focal point of the session. For example, the client focused on their own heart center by implementing heart breathing and other heart-related exercises to facilitate self-inquiry and emotional self-regulation. </p><p> Map of the Heart offers the beginnings of a theoretical template and experiential basis upon which psychotherapists, psychologists, and mental health care and other professionals can access and integrate the spiritual, psychological, and physiological terrain of the heart for therapeutic process and intervention. Further investigation is necessary to determine a more comprehensive psychology and theoretical orientation of the heart.</p><p>

No description available.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Western Seminary, Portland, OR, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [166]-172).

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, N.Y., 2002. / Abstract. Microfiche copy lacks title page. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 38-39).

In 1914, James Leuba surveyed the eminent psychologists of the United States with regard to their belief in God and immortality (Leuba, 1916). In 1933, he replicated the survey (Leuba, 1934). His results affirmed, he stated, "that, in general, the greater the ability of the psychologist as a psychologist [sic], the more difficult it become [sic] for him to believe in the continuation of individual life after bodily death" (1921a, p. 279). He concluded that eminent behavioral scientists were least likely of all scientists to believe, and that psychological learning made belief in an "interventionist God... almost impossible" (1934, p. 294). He further stated, "If knowledge is, as it seems, a cause of the decline of the traditional beliefs, that decline will presumably continue as long as the increase in knowledge" (1934, p. 300). In 1958, Mayer (1959) replicated Leuba's survey. The results of the initial survey and the two replications of the survey were consistent with Leuba's hypotheses. However, no one had replicated that survey of eminent psychology scholars in almost fifty years (from 1958-2006)--until now. The current study replicated Leuba's original survey, as well as collecting additional qualitative data via questionnaires and interviews. The response rate was over 61%. Not one of the respondents expressed a belief in immortality, and only one person expressed a belief in God--and then only with this caveat: "when desperate." As a matter of fact, of all the groups that have been surveyed using this questionnaire during the last 93 years, this is the first time that 0% of the respondents in a group expressed a belief in immortality. Only very few of the respondents indicated they engaged in activities that could be deemed in some way religious, spiritual, or contemplative. Suggested further research would question whether or not substantial nonverbal differences exist between religious people and scientists. Also, although psychology rests on the presumption that the individual human being exists, this study's respondents found defining the individual to be a complex or impossible task.

This study examined the relationship between masculine and feminine God images and psychological well-being. Based on the results of past research, it was hypothesized that people with more feminine images of God would have higher psychological well-being compared to those with more masculine images of God. Participants were 232 college students. A factor analysis indicated that God images did not fall into primarily masculine or feminine factors. Rather, three factors were found, which were labeled Loving Father, Controlling God, and Mother God. Although the God image factors were not found to be significant predictors of psychological well-being when intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest religiosity were controlled, the results suggested that the relationship between God images and psychological well-being may be mediated by intrinsic religiosity. It was concluded that development of more psychometrically sound measures of God images is needed to enhance future research on this topic. / Department of Psychological Science