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Six Pillars: Introductions to the Works of Sri Aurobindo
No full textSri Aurobindo (1872-1950) was one of the great twentieth-century figures of India. Over the course of his lifetime, he helped India\u27s struggle for freedom and became a leading yogi, philosopher, and poet of his time and culture. In his teaching, Sri Aurobindo went well beyond Eastern philosophy and religion, synthesizing it with Western traditions, even spending two years of his youth at Loreto Convent in Darjeeling, West Bengal. In 1879, Aurobindo and his two elder brothers were taken to Manchester, England for a European education and placed in the care of Rev. Drewett, an Anglican clergy, and his wife. In 1884, Aurobindo joined St. Paul\u27s School, where he learned Greek and Latin and spent three years studying literature, especially English poetry. By 1910, Sri Aurobindo\u27s focus was directed entirely toward spirituality, and he settled in Pondicherry, India, where he taught, wrote, and published his greatest works. His spiritual vision extended beyond the perfection and transformation of the individual to include the evolution and transformation of human society. According to his teaching, a true solution to humanity\u27s problems arises from a radical transformation of human life into a form of divine existence. “The one aim of [my] yoga is an inner self-development by which each one who follows it can in time discover the One Self in all and evolve a higher consciousness than the mental, a spiritual and supramental consciousness which will transform and divinize human nature.” ―Sri Aurobindo For everyone interested in the philosophical and spiritual vision of the great Indian thinker Sri Aurobindo, the revolutionary turned yogi, this outstanding collection of masterly introductions, first published in 1974, offers original reflections and interpretations of Sri Aurobindo’s six major works, all written by distinguished scholars of religion and philosophy rather than devotees. Long out of print and difficult to find, Six Pillars is again available for contemporary readers.https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/facultypublications/1074/thumbnail.jp
The Path of Initiation: The Integration of Psychological Healing and Spiritual Development in Western Esoteric Thought
No full textThe Path of Initiation: The Integration of Psychological Healing and Spiritual Development in Western Esoteric Thought At CIIS, ideas about the spiritual trajectory of human evolution are often associated with Sri Aurobindo and Integral Yoga. Yet, historically, such ideas were also emerging in Western Esoteric thought during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It seems that both Eastern and Western influences have cross-fertilized each other in dynamic synthesis. For example, Mirra Alfassa (a.k.a. “The Mother”) so influential in Aurobindo’s thinking, studied in the early 1900’s with Max Theon and his wife, both teachers in a Western Esoteric school of the time. Aurobindo’s ideas about the evolution of humanity towards the “supramental” are similar in spirit if not in detail to Western Esoteric thought. This presentation will look at some key tenets of current Western Esotericists (notably, successors to the Alice A. Bailey tradition) regarding the evolution of human consciousness and the dynamic relationship between the soul and persona of humanity. These ideas have very practical ramifications for both individuals and the collective, and have direct bearing on the role of spiritual awareness in our approaches to psychological health and healing. We often hear that humanity is undergoing an initiation at this time. We will examine Western Esoteric models of initiation as a progressive development of conscious alignment between form and spirit
Mystical Teachings and Contemplative Practices in Judaism, Christianity & Islam.
No full textLove’s Ecstasies and Obligations: Jewish Mystical PerspectivesThe Jewish tradition understands love as an act of caring, connecting and knowing. Some forms of love are religiously obligatory: it is a religious duty (mitzvah) to love God, our neighbors, and the stranger and to give generously to the less fortunate. Other forms of love are not obligatory but are strongly encouraged: e.g., visiting the sick, tending to the needs of the elderly, protecting animals. We will examine how compassion and justice are wedded in most forms of sacred love as well as experience some practices for opening the caring heart and hand.
The Challenge of the Desert: Passions and Emotions in Early Christian Spirituality In the fourth century of our era, the tradition of Christian spirituality that developed in the Egyptian desert envisaged the practice of the virtues as the first stage in a process of spiritual ascent that would culminate in the contemplation of the divine reality beyond the realm of shape and form. In this perspective, the body was largely a hindrance to be left behind as the individual ascended towards a higher and higher intellectual insight. After the fifth century, however, the greater emphasis on the mystery of the incarnation within Christian theology ensured that Christian spiritual practice would come to view the embodied condition of humanity, as well as its attendant passions and emotions, as a fundamental resource for individual growth. As the individual transcends the border between the human and the divine realm, the ensuing intellectual and affective transformation accomplishes a dramatic reconfiguration of the inner life where the body is not shed, but is utterly transfigured.
This presentation will focus primarily on the works of Evagrius Pontikos (345-398 ca.) and Maximos the Confessor (580-662)
Sexuality as a Transformational Path: Exploring the Holistic Dimensions of Human Vitality
Get PDFThis article explores a holistic vision of human sexuality by contrasting it to the prevailing
trend of “cognicentrism” in sexological studies. To this end the authors propose that a
novel understanding of sexuality as a creative force of life energy can greatly enhance such
cognicentric approaches. Such a proposal rests on a holistic approach to human nature that
has been developed over many years of educational and clinical application. Within this
holistic vision, the role of a human multidimensional cognition that is somatically rooted in
bodily nature assists the articulation of sexuality as a transformational life path of embodied
spirituality, healing, and growth
Spirituality and the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical Scales
Get PDFThe present investigation examined the relation between spirituality, measured by the
Expressions of Spirituality Inventory (ESI; MacDonald, 2000); and the Minnesota
Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Clinical (MMPI-2 RC) scales (Tellegen et
al., 2003) using data from a previously published study (i.e., MacDonald & Holland, 2003).
Zero-order, multiple, and partial correlations were calculated to explore the association.
All multiple correlations, wherein the five ESI dimensions were used collectively to predict
MMPI-2 RC scales, emerged significant for all MMPI-2 RC scales. For zero-order correlations,
all RC scales were found to have a significant relation with at least one ESI dimension.
Existential Well-Being (EWB) was found to be significantly negatively associated with all
MMPI-2 RC scales except RC9-Hypomanic Activation. When compared to correlations
between the ESI and the MMPI-2 Basic Clinical Scales, the RC scales seem to produce a
similar pattern of coefficients but of lower magnitude. The study concludes with a discussion
of the findings, limitations, and suggestions for clinical practice and future research
Connecting the Spiritual and Emotional Intelligences: Confirming an Intelligence Criterion and Assessing the Role of Empathy
Get PDFA viable model and self-report measure of spiritual intelligence were previously proposed
and supported by King and DeCicco (2009). Despite such advances, evidence is needed
demonstrating significant associations with other intelligences. The current study sought to
test this criterion in relation to emotional intelligence. Among a sample of 420 Canadian
adults, results demonstrated significant associations between spiritual intelligence and two
self-report measures of emotional intelligence. Due to the suggestion by some theorists
that empathy be included in a model of spiritual intelligence, associations with empathy
were also investigated. Results bode well for the inclusion of a spiritual ability set in the
broader framework of human intelligence, and further clarify the ways in which these two
“alternative” intelligences intersect and digress. Key limitations, including the self-report
nature of the current measures, are discussed
Psychoactive Substances and Paranormal Phenomena: A Comprehensive Review
Get PDFThis paper investigates the relationship between psychoactive substances and so-called paranormal
phenomena falling within the study of parapsychology. It is primarily concerned with extrasensory
perception (ESP)—telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance—as well as out-of-body experiences
(OBEs) and near-death experiences (NDEs). Psychokinesis (PK), aura vision, encounter experiences,
and sleep paralysis only make a very limited contribution to this review as they are seldom related
to psychoactive drugs within the parapsychological literature. The paper borrows widely, but by no
means exhaustively, from parapsychology as well as transpersonal studies, anthropology, ethnobotany,
phytochemistry, psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and neurobiology, particularly
neurochemistry. It is organized into neurochemical models of paranormal experience (section 1),
field reports of intentional and spontaneous phenomena incorporating anthropological, historical
and clinical cases, and personal accounts (section 2), surveys of paranormal belief and experience
(section 3), experimental research (section 4), and a methodological critique of the experimental
research with recommendations for further work (section 5)
Integral Review Vol 8 No 1 July 2012 full issue
Get PDFThe articles in this special issue of INTEGRAL REVIEW highlight selected contributions to the 2011 Symposium on Integral Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) (www.ciis.edu ). This annual symposium provides a forum for CIIS community members and friends to exchange and deepen their understanding of integral consciousness, its evolution, and its relationship to the current planetary challenges and transformational processes. Each year there are several themes covered in a variety of presentation formats: keynote and standard presentations, as well as a number of interactive sessions and workshops
California Institute of Integral Studies -- Catalog 2012-2013
Get PDFThis is the 2012-2013 catalog of courses, staff and faculty for the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/academiccatalogs/1024/thumbnail.jp