The thesis studies two groups of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order. One is in Tripoli, north Lebanon, and has a loose membership of about 60 people. The other is based in London and has about 100 members, most of whom are Western Muslim converts. Sufism is Islamic mysticism. Sufis claim to emulate the mYbtical practices of the Prophet Muhammad which they believe were transmitted in their complete form to his first and fourth Caliphs. Sufi Orderb were first formalibed in the 9th c e n t u r ya . do and by -the- I-3th c en tu ryh-ad- gained an l.J ne a 5 y acceptance by orthodox Islam. They rapidly became an integral part of the Muslim world. The Naqshbandi Order c I a j m 5 tot r ace its des c e n t tot he fir s t Ca lip h and re g a r d s itself as the premier Sufi Order. The pro c e s se s 0 f model insation and industrial is ation led to drastic reduction in the influence of the Orders. Associated with this was the growing domination of a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam which denied the orthodoxy of Sufism and today dominates Muslim religious expression. The thesis examines the contemporary role of a branch of a Sufi Order in the West and the East. The discrepancy between the values of Sufism and those of the modern world are considered, as is the influence of politics on the survival of the Sufi Orders in the Middle East. Both groups contain elements of Mahdism which is a type of Muslim millenarianism. This is considered as well as the different ways in which the two groups interpret and react to these beliefs. Throughout the thesis attention is paid to the internal logic of Sufism's beliefs and practices.

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In this thesis I argue that architecture can sometimes evoke a sense of the numinous, or a sense of God. In volume one, beginning with Christopher Alexander I set out his theory of centres, and his argument that ‘the Blazing One’ can be known in and through building. I then turn to my own account of this experience, which draws especially on the Neo-Platonic tradition. In the second chapter I set out the aspects of architecture which seem to me to make possible a sense of the numinous in the building, and I illustrate how this might be achieved in buildings of my own. Chapters three and four are analyses of four great buildings, two sacred and two secular, which in my view evoke the numinous or mystical. The fifth and last chapter proposes a Temple for the ‘Universal Order’, a group interested in Neo Platonism. In the submitted plans and sketches for this, I hope, show how a sense of the numinous could be achieved. Since an architect’s language is through drawing, a large part of this thesis comprises drawings and illustrations. In volume two, these, with commentary, will support my argument that architecture can in itself, speak of God.

It is the main purpose of this thesis to ascertain just to what extent Emerson's writing do contain mystical elements.

Thesis advisor: Roberto S. Goizueta / Thesis advisor: Orfilio Valiente / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / This study investigated the early lives of certain mystics from a psychologist standpoint, assuming that mysticism is subject to the same type of forces and factors as any other human behavior. (For the purposes of the dissertation, a mystic is defined as one who centers his life on God and strives for "union" with him.) Questions of theology and philosophy were excluded from the study, and focus was made on the experience of the mystics. Biographies and, where available, autobiographies of the mystics were analyzed and rated using the categories developed by Henry A. Murray et al., known as the "need-press" theory. Only those elements susceptible to analysis using extant psychological methods and techniques were considered. The mystics were limited to those from Western Christendom. Because of the subjectivity involved in the classification of the biographical material, a second rater independently rated the same material. The two raters agreed on more than three-fourths of the classifications; Pearson correlations ranged from .86 to .97 [TRUNCATED]

This dissertation is structured around five Australian mystical poets: Ada Cambridge, John Shaw Neilson, Francis Webb, Judith Wright and Kevin Hart. It examines the varieties of Western Christian mysticism upon which these poets draw, or with which they exhibit affinities. A short prelude section to each chapter considers the thematic parallels of their contemporaries, while the final chapter critically investigates constructions of Indigeneity in Australian mystical poetry and the renegotiated mystical poetics of Indigenous poets and theologians. The central argument of this dissertation is that an understanding of Western Christian mysticism is essential to the study of Australian poetry. There are three sub-arguments: firstly, that Australian literary criticism regarding the mystical largely avoids the concept of mysticism as a shifting notion both historically and in the present; secondly, that what passes for mysticism is recurringly subject to poorly defined constructions of mysticism as well as individual poets’ use of the mystical for personal, creative or ideological purposes; thirdly, that in avoiding the concept of a shifting notion critics have ignored the increasing contribution of Australian poets to national and international discourses of mysticism.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Marquette University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 447-478). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-99). Also available on the Internet