The research question for this thesis arose from the author's desire to find ways to integrate into her sense of Self her personal experience as woman and mother and to be empowered by that. She sought a source of empowerment that affirmed the life honouring, spiritual and ecological values that were being highlighted by the mothering experience. The connection is deepened further by the recognition of a time when these values were incorporated into the earliest of human creation stories, from watching the creative cycles of the seasons, and the bodies of women in the gestating creation cycles. The body which forms the presentation of this thesis is in two media, text and the visual arts. It is expressed and interpreted in three parts: through the texts of the book, 'The wheel of the year : seasons of the soul in quilts' and the research document, and through the visual medium of artquilts in exhibition which symbolise the Old European and Celtic seasonal celebration. The process for construction of this research has been to piece together the fabrics of two women's research groups' life experiences, and the author's own personal reflections on her life and theirs, through the creative process of mothering, patchwork quilting and participating in seasonal ritual / Master of Social Ecology (Hons)

The outward form of the text in which the spiritual search is housed is 'performance-ritual', that is, performed 'ritual'. This genre has its 'performance' roots in the dance pioneers and its 'ritual' roots in the Christian church. The contents of this performed text is influenced by an emerging ecofeminist consciousness. In this way, the thesis has a grassroots inspiration as well as crossing academic areas of performance studies, ritual studies, and feminist spirituality. The project begins by an examination of 20th Century feminist and ecofeminist writing on spirituality, which evokes the subjective, embodied and historically contextualised, with particular focus on body and nature. Additional concepts of place, holding and letting go are introduced. Particular performance-rituals are introduced under the overall heading 'the spiralling journey of exorcism and ecstacy'. They include earlier work, as well as work performed specifically for this thesis, Centre of the Storm. The study re-situates 'ritual' as a subjective, embodied and contextualised performed event. It challenges ritual discourse to incorporate 'spirit', and feminist spirituality to incorporate the material world, through 'place', 'family', and the ritual actions of 'holding' and 'letting go'. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study was undertaken to investigate and to propose a solution to the pastoral dilemma that faced the Catholic Church in Australia the 1990’s. The pastoral dilemma contrasted two opposing pastoral responses to the significant changes in Catholic life since the Second Vatican Council. One response reacted to the changes by interpreting them as “crises of faith”. This response determined that the decline in mass attendance, the fewer vocations to the priesthood and religious life and the disregard of the teaching authority of the Church was the result of a loss of faith. Consequently, it prescribed a return to previous values and behaviour. The other response was more difficult to determine and has been the principle work of this thesis. The second pastoral response was identified in the search for the sacred in the daily lives of the people. This search linked the changes in Catholic life to the ongoing journey of faith that has taken place. A pastoral response based on this understanding of the changes in Catholic life was seen to provide an opportunity for “all who invoked the name of Christ” to enter a deeper relationship with him and each other. This response embraced the spirit of renewal proposed by the Council. A review of religious literature published in Australia since the Council was conducted to provide an overview of the journey of Catholic life. It identified four categories of literature that displayed the most interest in the changes. Whilst the review had a particular focus on Catholics, it included other traditions. Of the four categories initially sociology of religion which attracted most interest, followed later by theological reflections and interpretations, and ultimately an interest in spirituality, or the “spirituality revolution”. The historical and biographical studies reviewed recounted the changes in Church life and remained at a lesser, but constant expression of interest. An examination of the research of sociology of religion in Australia established that the changes in religious belief and practice were influenced by environmental factors and, for Catholics, the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The methods of sociology identified the significant areas of change, but their limited explanations of the changes did little to assist church authorities to resolve the tensions and difficulties. The limitations of statistical information about religion contributed to the pastoral dilemma. The findings of sociology increased interest in theological reflection about the influence of the changing context of society on Catholic life. These reflections endeavoured to explain the reforms of the Council, the relationship to the changes to the reforms and led to “contextual” theology which was embraced by the “Discovery of an Australian Theology”. Spirituality by the 1990s had become a popular response that purported to take the place of “organised religion” in the community. The interest in spirituality also became the key factor in the Catholic search for deeper values, and inspired a renewed sense of the spiritual in ordinary everyday life. The popular interest in spirituality was located in the tradition of Christian spirituality, and the thesis concluded that this tradition embraced the personal experience of God, as expressed in the lives of Catholics in Australia. Such personal experiences were identified and discerned to benefit of the individual and through dialogue transformed the community. The transformation, thus begun, continued in further dialogue, engaged the community, and inspired others beyond the community of the Church to believe. Therefore, the personal experience of the spiritual was authenticated by its place in the developing tradition of the Church. The Council called for individuals and communities in the Church to identify the “signs of the times” as the opportunities for renewal, and personal renewal was closely linked to communal renewal. The “search for a soul” expressed an Australian “sign of the times”. The search provided the opportunity for many people to embark on a journey that led to personal and communal renewal or transformation. Consequently, pastoral responses to renewal based on rule and regulation, or expectations of the past, lacked the personal spiritual dimension. Thus, the title of the thesis figuratively describes the spiritual journey of Catholics from a devotional religious experience to one that seeks to find the sacred in the core values and experiences of life.

The hierarchy of the Catholic Church has stated that formation of lay teachers is essential for the personal sanctification of the teacher and the apostolic mission of the Church (CCE, 1982, #65) and that “formation must be broadened and kept up to date, on the same level as, and in harmony with, human formation as a whole (CCE, 1982, #62). The research reported in this thesis: (1) explores Catholic Church documents and other literature in order to gain insights into the spirituality of teachers who teach in Catholic schools; (2) identifies experiences of teachers’ daily work in Catholic high schools that nurture and sustain teacher spirituality; (3) explores how the insights revealed can inform the practices of formation for lay teachers in Catholic schools. The demonstrated success of a teacher formation known as The Courage to Teach invited exploration to gain understanding of the principles and practices of formation that could prove helpful for developing formation practices within Australian Catholic Education. The research reported in this thesis included teachers reflecting upon their daily experiences of work and identifying, what one called, “moments of grace” that nourished and sustain teachers’ spirits. These experiences were identified as teachers’ experiences of community and their experiences of making a difference. For Catholic schools to continue to have authenticity, the ongoing formation of lay teachers is essential. This does not mean, as others have said, “adding more water to an already overfull cup” by including formation as one more thing for teachers to do. It means making space and providing the opportunity for teachers to discover the ‘moments of grace’ that providentially fill their day. In conversation with Catholic Scripture and Tradition, these moments of grace will nurture and sustain the vocations of lay teachers in Catholic schools, so that lay teachers will both flourish and “teach with authority” (Mk. 1:22).

Prayer is a central element of all religions (Coleman, 1999; Engebretson, 1999). Alongside the sense of the theological importance of prayer there has been increased recognition of the psychological function and personal benefit of prayer for adults (Pargament, 1997). This thesis reports on research that investigated the theological and psychological perceptions of prayer held by children, shown through their understanding of the meaning and function of prayer. This thesis contributes to the research field of children’s spirituality. As there is little existing research literature on children and prayer, the findings of this study provide valuable new understanding and propose new aspects of theory with implication for professionals involved in the education and the welfare of children. The research reported in this thesis represents the first Australian research on children’s perception of the meaning and function of prayer. The choice of participants reflects the diverse philosophical and religious traditions found in the Australian, multifaith society. Semi-structured interviews were video-recorded with 60 participants from primary school Year Five (10-12 years). Five male and five female participants were selected from each of six different schools in the Melbourne metropolitan area. These were: the Catholic, Independent (Christian), Christian (Parent-Controlled or Community School), Jewish, Islamic and the Government schools. Students completed a drawing exercise and a written sentence completion exercise as part of the interview, and the three sources of data were analysed qualitatively using the method of Grounded Theory. The data was interpreted in the light of a detailed literature review on the nature and function of prayer as part of children’s spirituality. The review also examined relevant sections of the literature of religious education and literature on contemporary Australian life. This study has provided Australian data on the meaning and function of prayer for children as part of children’s spirituality. Considerable agreement has been observed through the data, between children educated in a variety of school systems which embraced different philosophical and faith traditions. In the multicultural Australian community said to be secularized, prayer for these children has been shown as a valued aspect of life. The personal experiences of prayer for many were seen to be associated with the community of faith to which the participants belonged, and for others, prayer was learnt eclectically and practised in a private individualistic manner. All participants indicated that they had prayed and all contributed ideas about prayer through the interviews. All participants perceived prayer to function as an aid in life. Prayer was used by participants at significant moments in their life, and the words or thoughts in prayer helped to clarify and articulate deep feelings. Eight elements of theory (in accord with the literature on Grounded Theory ) have been generated through this research which are presented as recommendations for professionals engaged in religious education and student welfare.

[No Abstract]

Views on the valuing and revitalization of textiles education in secondary schools in New South Wales (NSW) vary widely. NSW is unique in that it is the only state in Australia to have a discrete textiles related subject offered for their senior secondary qualifications. The introduction of a new syllabus for the upper secondary schools in 1999 saw the Higher School Certificate (HSC) subject of Textiles and Design become the fastest growing HSC subject from 2000 - 2004. The fact that the subject survived the review of the New HSC was a testimony to the support it received from all sectors of textiles education from secondary to tertiary level and from the professional associations representing the textiles industry. The main concern expressed by the teachers in the secondary schools was the ageing of the current teaching population and the inadequacy of the training institutions to train teachers in sufficient quantity and quality to replace those who are antici pated to retire over the next five years. The study aimed to identify the perceived value of textiles education as a means of supporting the promotion of the subject and to uncover any negative perceptions of the subject and its future so strategies could be developed to overcome any barriers to the revival and maintenance of the subject beyond 2010. Of particular interest was the value of textiles education in bridging a cultural divide between migrant students and the schools and its importance to students of all abilities for its development and expression of creativity. The negative aspects of the cost of resources and perception of low status as an academic subject in schools are addressed. The significance of the study is based in the inclusive nature of the participants represented in the study that include head teachers, secondary textiles teachers, student teachers and secondary textiles students. The diversity of perspectives gave richness to the data and provides some wonderful insights into the dynamic relationships that affect the effective presentation of textiles curriculum in secondary schools. Using models to analyse the historical influences on current perceptions of textiles, the study found evidence of the resilience and drive of new young teachers who are often not given the encouragement to develop their skills in preparation to support the future of textiles education in NSW.

This study explores therapists' spiritual experience, personally and within the therapeutic relationship. It focuses on the lived experience of therapists and the different meanings made of what is experienced. The purpose of this research is to bring into the light spiritual experiences of therapists and how they are experienced in the therapeutic process. It contributes to current debate about spiritual experience in the day- to- day practice of psychotherapy. The methodology of phenomenological hermeneutics is chosen as it provides the means to study therapists' lived experience. The study is guided by the philosophical thinking of Heidegger, Gadamer and Van Manen.The findings of this study reveal different types of spiritual experience. These include non-ordinary states of consciousness where there is a feeling sense of being beyond the boundaries of linear time and space. Experiences involve noticing subtle body feelings before they manifest in everyday consciousness. They include hearing and seeing phenomena that may normally be overlooked or disavowed in psychotherapy. The findings show therapists' ability to notice, explore and utilize subtle body phenomena was a combination of their own capabilities, their spiritual practice, and years of experience as therapists. The therapist's body appeared to be like a doorway into experiences that had transformative effects on both therapists and clients. The meanings made of experiences reflected therapists' spiritual and cultural beliefs. These beliefs meant that therapists are attuned to something bigger than everyday identity that gave meaning and purpose to the work and was a rich source of wisdom and guidance, comfort and a sense of being held in the work. Specific attitudes and qualities of presence are revealed that reflect therapists' spiritual beliefs. Participants described experiences that emerged out of the context of the therapeutic relationship but could not be explained clinically. The findings show therapists' world views, their spiritual and cultural beliefs and capacity to experience the unknown, bring a richness and diversity of meanings to the therapeutic relationship that includes the wider contexts of culture and the environment. This study explores current thinking about spiritual experience in psychotherapy and its effects on the therapist. It raises issues for further discussion relating to the role of therapists' spiritual experience in contemporary psychotherapy.

This edition and translation of some of the mystical discourse of the eighth-century Nestorian monk John of Dalyatha is an attempt to fill part of the gap that exists in our knowledge of Syrian Christian mysticism.

<p><strong>Aim</strong>: The purpose of this study was to highlight in what forms and manifestations spirituality emerges in medical patients whether they consider themselves believers or not. The other aim was to analyse spiritual ideas of nursing scientists – authors of the patients’ oriented studies to come to the better understanding of the situation with spirituality in caring. <strong>Method</strong>: Descriptive meta-synthesis was chosen, in which 12 nursing studies were analyzed and compiled in a new integrity. <strong>Results</strong>: The analysis shows that caregivers must be ready to meet and confirm the spiritual dimension consisting of Faith, Meaning, Relationship and Questions without answers in the various forms and expressions they emerge in patient’s experience. Nursing scientists showed ideas broad enough to confirm patients’ experience. <strong>Relevance for clinical practice</strong>: By include spirituality only to religion and culture the dimension are easily forgotten, it can also in those forms mean that caregivers doesn’t see it as theirs to confirm. Nursing science do not with hold that small view of spirituality, instead the science presents a broad spectra of forms in which patients spirituality can appear. Newinsights about patients’ spirituality can be used by health care professionals to improve the care of patients as multidimensional human beings.</p>