No description available.

This novel is about Jess, a left wing trade unionist and student lawyer who, caught up in a fast-paced Sydney inner city life, goes to a hypnotist in an effort to drink less and instead has an experience of God. Her conscious self cannot cope with this and she represses it, but it still exists in a deeper part of her and the novel tracks the path by which she finally hauls and hacks her way back to it. The novel is divided into four parts, David, Jane, Padma and Jess. The first three parts tell of her emotionally dependencies on other people, and in the last section she finally finds a kind of hard-won peace and self-acceptance, and a love of God that is rooted in the small joys of her daily life. / Master of Arts (Hons) (Creative Writing)

Este estudo busca questionar algumas das bases epistemológicas da psicologia clínica em relação à espiritualidade e à mística. Partindo da discussão entre Freud e o escritor Francês Romain Rolland a respeito do sentimento oceânico (baseado na correspondência entre eles no período de 1927 a 1931), abordaremos a compreensão da natureza ontológica da experiência de união com o universo (como descrito por Rolland) em um duplo vértice: tanto como um subproduto de dinâmicas psicológicas (inerentemente patológicas ou não) ou como uma experiência ontológica de alteridade, mais bem compreendida através de uma abordagem não psicológica que possa investigar seu significado em consonância ao registro da condição humana em si. Nessa última perspectiva, estaremos acompanhados da obra de Gilberto Safra, que em seus escritos evidencia uma preocupação com a busca de uma concepção antropológica que aborde o ser humano em toda sua complexidade, evitando o possível reducionismo psicológico de temas e áreas que possam se relacionar a outras categorias de experiência, como a religiosidade e a espiritualidade. Como eixo central dessa discussão, utilizaremos a vida do místico Indiano Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886) para ilustrar esses diferentes modos de se abordar a experiência espiritual. Ramakrishna foi uma das principais fontes das construções de Rolland acerca da religiosidade, levando o autor francês a escrever uma de suas principais biografias (A vida de Ramakrishna, 1929), que teve um importante impacto na recepção ocidental de concepções espirituais orientais. Contemplando exemplos da vida de Ramakrishna, através de uma leitura fenomenológica-hermenêutica da obra de Rolland (que abarcam desde sua infância até seu período como um famoso mestre espiritual na Índia), será apresentado, em cada um desses períodos, diferentes perspectivas de autores que consideram Ramakrishna tanto em uma chave psicológica-psicopatológica quanto em uma abordagem que inclua um registro espiritual não redutível a dinâmicas psíquicas em sua vida. Dentro desse estudo, nós percebemos que há uma limitação inerente às leituras exclusivamente psicológicas das experiências místicas, assim como uma há uma limitação das leituras exclusivamente espiritualistas. Assim, ao apresentar tal discussão nós pretendemos repensar a posição que a espiritualidade e a mística ocupam na prática clínica, tanto para reformular sua compreensão em psicoterapia quanto para expandir as concepções éticas e antropológicas subjacentes ao entendimento clínico da condição humana / This study aims at questioning some of the epistemological basis of clinical psychology concerning mystical experience and spirituality. Focusing on the discussion between Freud and French author Romain Rolland regarding the oceanic feeling (based on their letters exchange from 1927 to 1931), we will question the comprehension of the ontological nature of the feeling of union with the universe (as described by Rolland) through a twofold bias: either as a by-product of psychological dynamics (inherently pathological or not) or as an ontological experience of alterity, better comprehended through a non-psychological approach that investigates its inner meaning regarding the human condition as such. In the latter perspective, we will be accompanied by the work of Brazilian author Gilberto Safra, whose clinical writings are concerned with an anthropological conception that approaches the human being in its own complexity, avoiding possible psychological reductionism of themes and issues that relate to other areas of experience, such as religiosity and spirituality. As the main axis of this discussion, we will utilize the life of Indian mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886) to illustrate these two different ways of approaching spiritual experience. Ramakrishna has been himself one of the main sources of Rollands constructions on religiosity, leading the French author to write one of his main biographies (The life of Ramakrishna, 1929), which had an important impact on Western reception of Eastern spiritual conceptions. Contemplating examples from Ramakrishnas life through a phenomenological-hermeneutical reading of Rollands work (that range from his childhood to his period as a famous spiritual master in India), we will present, in each situation, different perspectives from authors that either consider Ramakrishna exclusively on a psychological-psychopathological note or through a perception of a spiritual dimension non-reducible to psychical dynamics inherent to his life and teachings. Within this framework, we have come to realize that there are inherent limitations on a solely psychological reading of mystical experience, as well as a limitation on an exclusively spiritual approach. Therefore, by presenting such discussion we intend to rethink the position mysticism and spirituality occupy in clinical practice, both to reformulate their understanding in psychotherapy and as a way of enlarging the anthropological conceptions inherent to clinical understanding of the human condition

We outline a theory of bounded affinity between religious experiences and beliefs and paranormalism, which emphasizes that religious and paranormal experiences and beliefs share inherent physiological, psychological, and ontological similarities. Despite these parallels, organized religious groups typically delineate a narrow subset of experiences and explanatory frames as acceptable and True, banishing others as either false or demonic. Accordingly, the theory provides a revised definition of the “paranormal” as beliefs and experiences explicitly rejected by science and organized religions. To demonstrate the utility of the theory, we show that, after controlling for levels of conventional religious practice, there is a strong, positive relationship between claiming Christian-based religious experiences and believing in, pursuing, and experiencing the paranormal, particularly among individuals not strongly tethered to organized religion. Bounded affinity theory makes sense of recent non-linear and complex moderation findings in the empirical literature and reiterates the importance of the paranormal for studies of religion.

Historians of antebellum America have focused on shifting social patterns caused by trends such as democratization and proto-industrialization to explain the rise of new religious communities. These studies, however, have overlooked the ways that the members of these new groups and their visionary leaders understood their goals--in particular their desire to develop new ethical systems from the religious experiences of their founders. My study combines more traditional historical understandings of community formation in antebellum American with methods employed by scholars of religion to provide a clearer picture of the development of unique groups during this era of increased religious diversity. In particular, I argue that scholars must employ both Ann Taves' and William James' methods to study visions and revelations to comprehend how communities addressed the problem of religious experiences' interiority through communal processes of evaluation. To that end, I investigate Elias Hicks, founder of Hicksite Quakerism, and Ellen G. White, the founder of Seventh-day Adventism. My work on Hicks and White focuses on the processes by which their visionary ethics were transmitted into and practiced by their communities over time. Taken together, their ministries demonstrate that the visions of founders typically spoke to ethical issues--broadly and narrowly construed. Both leaders addressed personal, interpersonal, and social ills, and they each presented themselves as the model of obedience to their own visions and revelations in their autobiographies. Yet they faced different issues in convincing people of the truth of their visions for their communities. All Quakers expected their ministers to receive revelations during worship, so Hicks only had to persuade them that following revelation over scripture represented true Quaker orthodoxy. Sabbatarian Adventists, however, came from a wide variety of denominational backgrounds, so White had to persuade some of them not only to accept her teachings, but the existence of visions in the first place. Ultimately, their different views of the trajectory of history influenced their lasting legacies to their communities: eventually Hicks' specific teachings fell out of favor among Hicksites who maintained only his commitment to continuing, progressive revelation. White's teachings, however, remain both influential and hotly contested, because her reputation as prophet is bound up in Adventists' belief in the end of days. / text

Este estudo busca questionar algumas das bases epistemológicas da psicologia clínica em relação à espiritualidade e à mística. Partindo da discussão entre Freud e o escritor Francês Romain Rolland a respeito do sentimento oceânico (baseado na correspondência entre eles no período de 1927 a 1931), abordaremos a compreensão da natureza ontológica da experiência de união com o universo (como descrito por Rolland) em um duplo vértice: tanto como um subproduto de dinâmicas psicológicas (inerentemente patológicas ou não) ou como uma experiência ontológica de alteridade, mais bem compreendida através de uma abordagem não psicológica que possa investigar seu significado em consonância ao registro da condição humana em si. Nessa última perspectiva, estaremos acompanhados da obra de Gilberto Safra, que em seus escritos evidencia uma preocupação com a busca de uma concepção antropológica que aborde o ser humano em toda sua complexidade, evitando o possível reducionismo psicológico de temas e áreas que possam se relacionar a outras categorias de experiência, como a religiosidade e a espiritualidade. Como eixo central dessa discussão, utilizaremos a vida do místico Indiano Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886) para ilustrar esses diferentes modos de se abordar a experiência espiritual. Ramakrishna foi uma das principais fontes das construções de Rolland acerca da religiosidade, levando o autor francês a escrever uma de suas principais biografias (A vida de Ramakrishna, 1929), que teve um importante impacto na recepção ocidental de concepções espirituais orientais. Contemplando exemplos da vida de Ramakrishna, através de uma leitura fenomenológica-hermenêutica da obra de Rolland (que abarcam desde sua infância até seu período como um famoso mestre espiritual na Índia), será apresentado, em cada um desses períodos, diferentes perspectivas de autores que consideram Ramakrishna tanto em uma chave psicológica-psicopatológica quanto em uma abordagem que inclua um registro espiritual não redutível a dinâmicas psíquicas em sua vida. Dentro desse estudo, nós percebemos que há uma limitação inerente às leituras exclusivamente psicológicas das experiências místicas, assim como uma há uma limitação das leituras exclusivamente espiritualistas. Assim, ao apresentar tal discussão nós pretendemos repensar a posição que a espiritualidade e a mística ocupam na prática clínica, tanto para reformular sua compreensão em psicoterapia quanto para expandir as concepções éticas e antropológicas subjacentes ao entendimento clínico da condição humana / This study aims at questioning some of the epistemological basis of clinical psychology concerning mystical experience and spirituality. Focusing on the discussion between Freud and French author Romain Rolland regarding the oceanic feeling (based on their letters exchange from 1927 to 1931), we will question the comprehension of the ontological nature of the feeling of union with the universe (as described by Rolland) through a twofold bias: either as a by-product of psychological dynamics (inherently pathological or not) or as an ontological experience of alterity, better comprehended through a non-psychological approach that investigates its inner meaning regarding the human condition as such. In the latter perspective, we will be accompanied by the work of Brazilian author Gilberto Safra, whose clinical writings are concerned with an anthropological conception that approaches the human being in its own complexity, avoiding possible psychological reductionism of themes and issues that relate to other areas of experience, such as religiosity and spirituality. As the main axis of this discussion, we will utilize the life of Indian mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886) to illustrate these two different ways of approaching spiritual experience. Ramakrishna has been himself one of the main sources of Rollands constructions on religiosity, leading the French author to write one of his main biographies (The life of Ramakrishna, 1929), which had an important impact on Western reception of Eastern spiritual conceptions. Contemplating examples from Ramakrishnas life through a phenomenological-hermeneutical reading of Rollands work (that range from his childhood to his period as a famous spiritual master in India), we will present, in each situation, different perspectives from authors that either consider Ramakrishna exclusively on a psychological-psychopathological note or through a perception of a spiritual dimension non-reducible to psychical dynamics inherent to his life and teachings. Within this framework, we have come to realize that there are inherent limitations on a solely psychological reading of mystical experience, as well as a limitation on an exclusively spiritual approach. Therefore, by presenting such discussion we intend to rethink the position mysticism and spirituality occupy in clinical practice, both to reformulate their understanding in psychotherapy and as a way of enlarging the anthropological conceptions inherent to clinical understanding of the human condition

Belief in angels and their intervention in the material world is prevalent in the United States. Theoretically, the concept of folk religion offers an instructive lens into the popularity of these beliefs, which exist inside, outside, and across official religious doctrines, and are therefore able to transcend the boundaries of specific religious traditions by appealing to a diverse array of believers. Empirical analyses from a recent national survey support the application of the concept of folk religion, demonstrating that these beliefs are present in substantial proportions across disparate subgroups. Belief in angelic intervention is prevalent among conservative and "mainline" Protestants, Catholics, those with high levels of conventional religious practice, biblical literalists, and even those who strongly believe in "paranormal" phenomena such as Bigfoot and ESP. Belief in angels and claims of angelic protection provide compelling and flexible narratives, ready cognitive attributions, and emotional comfort. Consequently, these views have strong memetic appeal and are transposable into multifarious subcultures.

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O presente trabalho apresenta o comportamento consumidor como uma das manifestações contemporâneas da religiosidade, e procura demonstrar como algumas marcas possuem características semelhantes às religiões ao proporcionarem aos seus consumidores sentido existencial. A pesquisa parte de uma breve descrição da capacidade simbólica dos seres humanos, como fonte das idéias e comportamentos religiosos, e responsável pela universalidade de tal fenômeno. Em seguida, o processo de secularização da sociedade judaico-cristã ocidental é apresentado como resultando entre outras conseqüências, em uma crise de plausabilidade das instituições religiosas e das explicações de ordem religiosas do universo, que caíram em descrédito, gerando o que Weber (1919) chamou de desencantamento do mundo. Se por um lado, com os grandes avanços científicos, as revoluções democráticas e o desenvolvimento industrial e econômico do mundo, entre os séculos 16 e 19, as perspectivas quanto aos avanços da sociedade eram as melhores possíveis, a chegada do século 20 não confirmou as expectativas. Pelo contrário, eventos como as duas grandes guerras, as crises econômicas e o surgimento de regimes ditatoriais totalitários, levaram o ser humano a perceber que, tal qual a religião, a ciência não dera conta de explicar e transformar o mundo e a sociedade. Assim, a contemporaneidade vivencia um resgate da religiosidade, uma espécie de reencantamento do mundo, que assume diferentes formas e conteúdos a partir da última fase da modernidade. O comportamento consumidor torna-se uma das manifestações contemporâneas da religiosidade, a relação com as marcas adquiri características semelhantes a da relação dos indivíduos com as religiões ao proporcionarem aos seus consumidores sentido existencial. Este fenômeno é exemplificado através do estudo de duas marcas, a Apple Computers, e o Sport Club Corinthians Paulista. A primeira parte da análise consistiu em uma identificação de conteúdos religiosos na estrutura, história e relação dos adeptos com as marcas, dentro do modelo de fenômeno religioso criado para este fim. Depois disso, para cada marca foram analisadas três entrevistas com adeptos das mesmas, e em seguida, feita uma análise de cada entrevista individualmente, que identificou características religiosas nas mesmas. Por fim, estas características identificadas e enfatizadas no discurso dos adeptos, foram analisadas à luz da noção de busca de sentido de Viktor Frankl / This paper presents the consumer behavior as a contemporary manifestation of religiouness, and seeks to demonstrate how some brands have similar characteristics to the religions, and provide existencial meaning to their consumers. The research starts with a brief description of the symbolic capacity of human beings as a source of religious ideas and behavior, being responsible for the universality of this phenomenon. Then, the process of secularization of the Judeo-Christian Western society is presented as resulting, among other consequences, in a plausibility crisis of the religious institutions and religious explanations for the universe. This situation brought forth what Weber (1919) called the disenchantment of the world. On the other hand the great scientific advances, as well as the democratic revolutions and the industrial and economic development of the world between the 16th and 19th centuries created the expectation that the advances of society were the best possible, but the arrival of the 20th century did not confirm the expectations, however, events such as the two world wars, economic crises and the rise of totalitarian dictatorships, led human beings to realize that, like religion, science would not be able to explain and transform the world and the society. Thus, the contemporary experiences a rescue of religiousness, a kind of re-enchantment of the world, which assumes different forms and contents from the last phase of modernity. The consumer behavior becomes a contemporary manifestations of religiosity and the relationship with the brands acquired characteristics similar to the relationship between individuals and religions, providing to their consumers existential meaning. This phenomenon is exemplified through the study of two brands, Apple Computers, and Sport Club Corinthians Paulista. The first part of the analysis consisted of a religious content identification in the structure and history of the brands.Thereafter, for each brand were analyzed three interviews with supporters of the same, and then an analysis of each individual interview, which identified the same religious characteristics. Finally, these features identified and emphasized in the speech of supporters, were analyzed under the light of Viktor Frankls search for meaning theory

O presente trabalho apresenta o comportamento consumidor como uma das manifestações contemporâneas da religiosidade, e procura demonstrar como algumas marcas possuem características semelhantes às religiões ao proporcionarem aos seus consumidores sentido existencial. A pesquisa parte de uma breve descrição da capacidade simbólica dos seres humanos, como fonte das idéias e comportamentos religiosos, e responsável pela universalidade de tal fenômeno. Em seguida, o processo de secularização da sociedade judaico-cristã ocidental é apresentado como resultando entre outras conseqüências, em uma crise de plausabilidade das instituições religiosas e das explicações de ordem religiosas do universo, que caíram em descrédito, gerando o que Weber (1919) chamou de desencantamento do mundo. Se por um lado, com os grandes avanços científicos, as revoluções democráticas e o desenvolvimento industrial e econômico do mundo, entre os séculos 16 e 19, as perspectivas quanto aos avanços da sociedade eram as melhores possíveis, a chegada do século 20 não confirmou as expectativas. Pelo contrário, eventos como as duas grandes guerras, as crises econômicas e o surgimento de regimes ditatoriais totalitários, levaram o ser humano a perceber que, tal qual a religião, a ciência não dera conta de explicar e transformar o mundo e a sociedade. Assim, a contemporaneidade vivencia um resgate da religiosidade, uma espécie de reencantamento do mundo, que assume diferentes formas e conteúdos a partir da última fase da modernidade. O comportamento consumidor torna-se uma das manifestações contemporâneas da religiosidade, a relação com as marcas adquiri características semelhantes a da relação dos indivíduos com as religiões ao proporcionarem aos seus consumidores sentido existencial. Este fenômeno é exemplificado através do estudo de duas marcas, a Apple Computers, e o Sport Club Corinthians Paulista. A primeira parte da análise consistiu em uma identificação de conteúdos religiosos na estrutura, história e relação dos adeptos com as marcas, dentro do modelo de fenômeno religioso criado para este fim. Depois disso, para cada marca foram analisadas três entrevistas com adeptos das mesmas, e em seguida, feita uma análise de cada entrevista individualmente, que identificou características religiosas nas mesmas. Por fim, estas características identificadas e enfatizadas no discurso dos adeptos, foram analisadas à luz da noção de busca de sentido de Viktor Frankl / This paper presents the consumer behavior as a contemporary manifestation of religiouness, and seeks to demonstrate how some brands have similar characteristics to the religions, and provide existencial meaning to their consumers. The research starts with a brief description of the symbolic capacity of human beings as a source of religious ideas and behavior, being responsible for the universality of this phenomenon. Then, the process of secularization of the Judeo-Christian Western society is presented as resulting, among other consequences, in a plausibility crisis of the religious institutions and religious explanations for the universe. This situation brought forth what Weber (1919) called the disenchantment of the world. On the other hand the great scientific advances, as well as the democratic revolutions and the industrial and economic development of the world between the 16th and 19th centuries created the expectation that the advances of society were the best possible, but the arrival of the 20th century did not confirm the expectations, however, events such as the two world wars, economic crises and the rise of totalitarian dictatorships, led human beings to realize that, like religion, science would not be able to explain and transform the world and the society. Thus, the contemporary experiences a rescue of religiousness, a kind of re-enchantment of the world, which assumes different forms and contents from the last phase of modernity. The consumer behavior becomes a contemporary manifestations of religiosity and the relationship with the brands acquired characteristics similar to the relationship between individuals and religions, providing to their consumers existential meaning. This phenomenon is exemplified through the study of two brands, Apple Computers, and Sport Club Corinthians Paulista. The first part of the analysis consisted of a religious content identification in the structure and history of the brands.Thereafter, for each brand were analyzed three interviews with supporters of the same, and then an analysis of each individual interview, which identified the same religious characteristics. Finally, these features identified and emphasized in the speech of supporters, were analyzed under the light of Viktor Frankls search for meaning theory