<p> This narrative research ministry project sought to enhance the spiritual life of Calvary Baptist Church in Morristown, New Jersey by strengthening the congregation&rsquo;s commitment to witnessing. Calvary&rsquo;s stated mission is <i>to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ through our commitment to Worship, Word and Witness.</i> While some members may dedicate time to private devotions, the church gathers corporately for a few hours each week to worship the Lord and study the Word of God. Daily, members of the church scatter into the world, which is chock full of opportunities to witness. </p><p> Pre-project congregational interviews and surveys revealed similarities to most 21st Century Christians. The majority of Calvary members were spiritually committed to the concept of witnessing. Yet, very few were actively engaged in the practice of sharing their faith with people they knew. </p><p> Through experiential adult education, Church School students were equipped with tools and techniques that would enable them to effectively witness to friends, relatives, associates and neighbors within their circles of influence. The work described herein represents that part of the effort that could be accomplished during the project implementation phase.</p>

<p> Common principles, or threads, are studied that are readily found in both spiritual traditions (including religion) and in the field of sustainability. Oneness, Living Simply, Purity, and Care and Heart are examined at length, while Awakening, Awe and Wonder, and Preservation of Life are covered briefly. Opposite principles&mdash;for example, Oneness versus Fracturedness, and Purity versus Pollution&mdash;are analyzed as well. Principles <i>and</i> their opposites are found to have both high and low modes. Each polarity has life-supporting and life-degrading forms. </p><p> Spiritual and religious traditions are grouped into five broad categories. While three of the categories consist of world religions (traditions of Indian origin, Abrahamic traditions, and East Asian traditions), also included are indigenous traditions, alchemy and Hermeticism, and modern spiritual teachings. Sustainability is organized into three categories: ecological science, activism, and sustainable business. </p><p> The common threads between sustainability and spirituality are most reliably found in the segments of world religions that tend toward mysticism, and within teachings that emphasize the cultivation of a greater capacity for just awareness, or presence itself, such as Eckhart Tolle&rsquo;s works. Indigenous traditions shine as examples of societies that have embodied, and in some cases, continue to embody life-supporting principles far more explicitly and fully than cultures that have lost intimacy with their local ecosystems. </p><p> The conclusions drawn based on findings is that wisdom traditions corroborate the idea that the outer world is a reflection of the inner world, and that improving the state of the planet therefore requires personal transformation as a prerequisite to outer improvements. A higher order of intelligence, or nous, referenced in multiple mystical traditions, is indispensable to sustainability work. This and other spiritual principles directly inform sustainability efforts, but to be fully employed they require first-hand, personal experience of spiritual realities. Those who would work toward a genuinely sustainable society are urged to pursue mystical or presence-based spiritual training and experience as a matter of urgency, including direct interaction with nature to facilitate rebuilding intimacy with ecosystems, combined with deepening understanding of ecologically sophisticated indigenous lifeways. </p>

<p> This qualitative research study aims to explore and provide a comprehensive descriptive record of the significant experiences of Pranahuti Aided Meditation (PAM) practice and transformation by eight practitioners from the San Francisco Bay Area. It investigates the linkage between their meditation experiences and transformations to better understand this new phenomenon.</p><p> PAM, also known as Sri Ramchandra&rsquo;s Raja Yoga or Natural Path, is a new spiritual practice invented by Sri Ramchandra of Shajahanpur, U.P., India in the 1940&rsquo;s. It utilizes the technique of Pranahuti (<i> Yogic Transmission or Transmission of Life Force</i> i.e. <i>Prana </i>) to aid individual&rsquo;s meditation practice and facilitate the process of consciousness transformation. Academic research on PAM has been scant so far. This is the first study using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to systematically explore the experiences of PAM practitioners with 1 to 10 years of practice experience.</p><p> The first major finding of this study was that this group of participants experienced a large number of positive non-ordinary states, of which more than 95% occurred during Pranahuti. Some altered states were somatic in nature, and some psychological, noetic, and mystical; still some were particularly exquisite and profound. The first major conclusion that can be drawn from this is Pranahuti resulted in positive non-ordinary states experienced by the participants during meditation.</p><p> The second major finding was that participants experienced many positive changes such as acquisition of positive qualities, values and principles, psychological balance, and sense of wellbeing. They had progressed into what in PAM is known as the realm of upper, or altruistic, consciousness to a significant extent, and most had further development in the realm of divine consciousness. The study found a very close correlation between participants&rsquo; meditation experiences and the transformations unfolding in daily lives. The second conclusion to be drawn from this is that PAM practice had enabled all participants move from the lower to the upper plane of consciousness to a significant extent. It also enabled many to move further into the realm of divine consciousness, resulting in various significant transformations including shifting of perspectives, and gaining positive qualities and attitudes in life.</p>

<p> What if it was possible to attain enlightenment, or union with God, in the physical body? What if instead of using meditation or prayer to merely transcend embodied existence, practitioners were to transform the experience of their body in order to bring a sense of transcendence into their very physicality and the world itself? These questions are timely. There is much dialogue around the relationship of enlightenment, or union with God, and the body. Using a hermeneutic methodology, this study first explores 8 spiritual concepts (in 8 different spiritual traditions) that refer to subtle spiritual phenomena occurring in the body. These phenomena are alternatively described as a liquid, oil, nectar, or water that penetrates the body, and hypothesized to relate to consciousness as experienced through somatic awareness or awareness occupying the body. These concepts and traditions are as follows: <i>amata</i> (and rapture and pleasure) in Theravada Buddhism, <i>amr&dotbelow;ita </i> in Vajray&amacr;na Buddhism according to the Nyingma and Geluk school, <i> amr&dotbelow;ita</i> in Hinduism according to Hat&dotbelow;ha Yoga, <i> amr&dotbelow;ita</i> in neo-Advaita Ved&amacr;nta, "the descending force" in &Sacute;ri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga, the "water of life" in Christianity according to St. Teresa of Avila, <i>shefa</i> in Judaism according to the <i>Zohar,</i> and "presence" in A. H. Almaas' Diamond Approach. The first part of the study uses canonical texts and authoritative commentaries for hermeneutical analysis. Subsequently, by adopting a comparative methodological approach, the second part compares and contrasts the findings to understand the differences, similarities, and role of the experiences to which these 8 concepts refer in relation to the body and enlightenment, or union with God, as these spiritual goals are understood by each tradition.</p><p>

<p> The one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church faces a crisis: a postmodern world has taken away our Lord. As seeker-sensitive mega-churches retreat after a desperate bid for relevancy, traditional congregations see their demise as part of a more widespread collapse. Yet, who knows? Perhaps God has called all churches, regardless of worship style, for such a time as this. </p><p> The mostly-retired members of <i>Asbury United Methodist Church </i> wonder how much longer the congregation will survive on the corner of DuPont Highway and Basin Road. Yet while young families have left the church, the <i>Asbury Child Care</i> welcomes fifty children each week. The money the Child Care pays the church for rent keeps the church afloat. We wondered what would happen to the relationship between the congregation and child care family if the church became host instead of landlord. </p><p> Since we were gifted at making and serving food (to each other and to our hungry neighbors), we decided to invite our child care family to a series of suppers on Wednesday nights during Lent. We trained our members to serve as Table Hosts. We welcomed children by offering them the freedom of unstructured play after supper as well as an invitation to join in stories, songs, and activities celebrating the special place of children in God's realm. </p><p> In the course of the suppers, we discovered Christ's presence in the gap between our congregation and our neighbors. As we celebrate our Seventieth anniversary, we see God's grace as an abundant gift to all, rather than a dwindling resource. Christ's calling to host our neighbors in love invites us to discover the body of Christ in our neighbors. In this new millennium, Jesus Christ calls the one, holy catholic, and apostolic church to a Pentecostal Pilgrimage from our pews to a feast of love and grace with our neighbors. And if we need help, the little children will show us the way.</p>

<p> The purpose of this dissertation is to answer the question: 'What does a spiritual formation model for the members of a missional church entail so that members of a church are transformed into missional Christians?' Community Life Church Cherrybrook (CLCC) in Sydney Australia is a twenty three year old established church that, generally speaking, has been engaging in an attractional paradigm. Over the last few years the church has slowly been moving towards a missional paradigm that affirms the biblical view of the church as a group of God's people sent into the world to be on mission with him. The author has become convinced that a primary way for the church to further engage with the missional paradigm is for its members to adopt a spiritual formation model in order for new practices to be learnt which will form people into missionaries within their context. By correctly viewing the church essentially as a body of people who are 'sent into' the world on God's mission, the church can once again regain its purpose to be a light in our world and an active witness to the kingdom of God. </p><p> The ministry project will therefore identify formational missional spirituality practices emerging from a missional theology that a sample of people from CLCC can engage in, so that transformation from a non-missional expression of Christianity to a more missional expression can occur. </p><p> An analysis of the biblical and theological material will show that there is support for a missional spiritual formation model of the church. A preliminary review of the literature on the missional church and practices will also reveal that support for a missional spirituality exists. Based on this, a model for the spiritual formation of a missional church will be formed according to an approach which seeks to produce missional formation through a series of practices and subsequent reflection on those actions. Finally, an assessment will be used to gauge at the final stages of the project the extent to which the participants have moved from non-missional expression of Christianity to a more missional paradigm.</p>

<p> Exploring the symbolism of the eye alongside the ancient religious concept of the omniscient Eye of God, this dissertation engages in a depth psychological analysis of consciousness, the God-image, and postmodern notions of the apocalypse. By considering all aspects of the eye as represented throughout mythology and religious texts, this study addresses everything from blindness to the comprehensive sight of mystical union. The one-eyed Cyclops, the Eye of Horus, the figure of the many-eyed Argus, and the third eye of the Buddha are examples that elucidate the range of eye types addressed. </p><p> The penetrating image of the eye as it emerges within the unconscious in dreams and visions is given ample consideration through the work of Carl Jung and other prominent depth psychologists. Theories regarding the archetypal dimension of the eye are discussed including Jung&rsquo;s contention that the eye acts as a regulating principle, or <i>yantra</i> within the psyche, restoring balance in times of psychological chaos, upheaval, and transition. As the nucleus of a psychic mandala, the eye serves as a centering force while simultaneously making its numinous presence clear and felt to the individual ego. Edward Edinger&rsquo;s contention that the eye marks the ego&rsquo;s encounter with an overwhelming other is given credence while the difference between a feeling-tone of judgment versus equanimity perceived by the observed is weighed.</p><p> Connecting eye symbolism to the God-image, this dissertation embarks upon an exegesis of the eye in religious texts and challenges the omniscient Eye of God in its traditional projected, sky-bound sense. Arguing for personal responsibility in relation to the God-image, this study advocates for a reengagement with <i>anima mundi</i> or the world soul through the advancement of consciousness on a personal level. The recognition of the immanence of divinity and the need for an earth-based religiosity is emphasized. This study points out that eye symbolism is cropping up with increasing regularity in our current, apocalyptically entranced culture in an effort to jolt us from an unconscious slumber and provide the necessary psychic objectivity required to survive a planetary transformation.</p><p> Keywords: Apocalypse, Consciousness, Depth Psychology, Eye, God-Image, Mythology, Objectivity, Postmodern, Self, Witness</p>

<p> While the field of leadership can trace its roots to Plato, Sun Tzu and Machiavelli among many others, it has become a focus of contemporary academic studies in the last 50 to 75 years. And while spirituality can trace its origins to Muhammad, Jesus and Buddha, the exploration of the nexus of leadership and spirituality is much more recent and as a result, a limited body of knowledge exists and thus, is ripe for study.</p><p> Many challenges exist, including the fact that the study of leadership is a multidisciplinary academic field that includes a myriad of topics from a vast array of disciplines and spirituality, too, is extraordinarily diverse. This study explored a set of theories and tools to enable leaders to develop and support qualities in themselves and in those with whom they work and interact. Specifically, this work is a qualitative study exploring the nexus of leadership and spirituality, which addresses the gap in the literature that considers this intersection, as evidenced by the Venn diagram that includes leadership, spirituality, and thinking and behavioral attributes.</p><p> While a qualitative study, the quantitative element used is Emergenetics, a 30-year-old psychometric tool that looks at the four thinking attributes of analytical, structural, conceptual and social and the three behaviors of expressiveness, assertiveness and flexibility. With more than 630,000 profiles completed in 21 languages by people around the world, the universe for this study consisted of 14 one-to-one interviews and two focus groups of 14 people each, one in person and one online. The myriad of faith traditions with which the participants identified in their youth is provided in Table 2. With regard to the tradition with which participants identify today, of the 42 participants, 24 identify as Science of Mind/Religious Science and 18 identify with other faith traditions or no faith tradition.</p><p> The primary question was does spirituality influence leaders' thinking and behaviors. The secondary questions included an exploration around in what ways spirituality influences thinking and behaviors. It also explored the questions as to if spirituality informs the ways leaders challenge things in their organizations and if acknowledging one's spirituality publically helps or hinders building effective teams.</p><p> The highlights of the research include the finding that spirituality does indeed influence everything a leader does and is, whether thinking and behavior attributes and how a leader questions things. As well, while publicly acknowledging one's spirituality is thought to be positive, there are some confounding circumstances and those ideas are also presented.</p><p> The study also includes the group Emergenetics profiles for the two focus groups and all of the individual interviews as one profile, respectively, with an explanation as to how that informed the research.</p><p> Finally, the implications of this research to the study of leadership, the study of spirituality and leadership and the use of the Emergenetics tool in such work is explored.</p>

<p> This study conducts a close literary analysis of a variety of Talmudic-era prayers in order to develop a method of interpretation, called the "literary-intertext" method. Drawing on literary theory and the work of intertextuality in biblical and midrashic fields, this method offers a literary reading of prayer texts based on the juxtaposition with biblical intertexts. The method can be described as follows: </p><p> Step 1: Approach the liturgical text from a standpoint of exegesis, in which allusions abound and the surface rendering is never satisfactory. </p><p> Step 2: Using the tools of philology and academic inquiry, establish as many parallels to the liturgical text as one can to point more clearly to the identification of the intertexts. </p><p> Step 3: Identify the biblical intertext or intertexts at play in the line of prayer, and consider the surrounding biblical context. </p><p> Step 4: Identify the rabbinic interpretation(s) of the biblical intertext, giving additional layers of meaning to the text behind the prayer text. </p><p> Step 5: Offer an interpretation or set of interpretations that relate to the prayer. In the course of this study, we employ this method with the first blessing of the <i>amidah,</i> the blessings that constitute <i> havdalah,</i> and the texts of confession for Yom Kippur. In each case, the multiplicity of interpretations that emerges through the juxtaposition of the prayer text with the biblical intertext (and its rabbinic understanding) extends far beyond the original surface rendering. These interpretations are offered throughout the analysis.</p>

One of the most basic human questions is whether there is a divine presence with which we can interact, and, if so, how do we communicate with this presence and how should the results of our communication be manifest in our lives? This study is an exploration of how one community has sought to answer these questions in their practices. The researcher adopts an ethnography of communication perspective, informed by cultural discourse analysis, cultural communication, speech codes theory, and the coordinated management of meaning, to explore the communicative practices of members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States, with a focus on the practices of participants at a meeting of unprogrammed, liberal Friends. This research seeks to answer questions about these Friends’ practices in their meeting activities, including: When are the phrases “gathered” meeting, “corporate discernment” or “spiritual journey” used by Quakers? What are the forms of communication identified with these terms? and Are there deep cultural meanings about communication, sociality, and personhood active in communication about or during these practices? Data are drawn from approximately a year and a half of participation in the meeting community and include field notes on participation in meetings for worship, articles in a Quaker publication, and recordings of meetings for business, of interviews, and of Friends telling their “spiritual journeys.” This work seeks to contribute to scholarship on cultural communication, religious communication, decision making, silence, narrative, and identity and suggests comparisons with the practices of other religious traditions. Most importantly, it attempts to provide a descriptive and interpretive account of how it is that Quakers understand communication with a spiritual presence to be fundamentally based in expectant group silence, understood as listening together, which in turn is the foundation for the process through which they reach agreement in meetings for business on corporate social action. Findings include the identification of distinctive characteristics of “gathered” meetings for worship, the description of elements of a Quaker style of speaking, and the formulation of a Quaker code of communication, including cultural premises of value and norms for acting in the community.