The judicious and timely use of silence within worship is becoming increasingly recognised as a crucially important aspect of its performance. This article suggests that Samuel Beckett＇s Waiting for Godot has much to...The judicious and timely use of silence within worship is becoming increasingly recognised as a crucially important aspect of its performance. This article suggests that Samuel Beckett＇s Waiting for Godot has much to offer liturgists about silence＇s dramatic potential and its ability to alert others to a contemplative mode of being. I refute the predominant way of seeing the play as an absurdist text and indicate that a more persuasive reading would situate it within a contemplative hermeneutics which gives due weight to silence as an ontological phenomenon. One key to appreciating this interpretation is to see the play against the backdrop of the Christian contemplative tradition. Thus, the article, besides encouraging liturgists to pay attention to dramatists also suggests that dramatists might draw from religion＇s insights and history.展开更多
Mindfulness is a psychological technique based on Eastern meditative practices that was developed in the late 1970s by Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts.Initially,there was a debate over whether it should ...Mindfulness is a psychological technique based on Eastern meditative practices that was developed in the late 1970s by Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts.Initially,there was a debate over whether it should be considered a scientific technique or labelled as part of the“new wave”practices.Today,mindfulness is omnipresent in modern societies but has suffered from merchandising and banalization,which has been strongly criticized.Despite some limitations regarding methodological aspects of mindfulness research,it is considered effective for treating many physical and psychological disorders,and even it is recommended in clinical guidelines such the British National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.During the last 2500 years,mindfulness practices have moved from Northern India across most of Asia,but their mixing with Western science and culture at the end of the 20^(th)century is considered a key event in recent history.For the first time in human history,due to globalization,the wisdom of all contemplative traditions can be shared with all human beings and assessed by science.Mindfulness practices,yoga included,are giving birth to a new field of knowledge,contemplative sciences,which go beyond mindfulness and is devoted to helping humanity to reach higher levels of happiness and mental peace.展开更多
This paper is a revised version of a seminal paper, written as early as 1986, that introduces the concept of contemplative psychology as a psychology that is an intrinsic part of the contemplative traditions of most w...This paper is a revised version of a seminal paper, written as early as 1986, that introduces the concept of contemplative psychology as a psychology that is an intrinsic part of the contemplative traditions of most world religions. It refers to the psychological insights and methods that are-often implicitly-present in the spiritual traditions themselves. The paper delineates this psychology as a psychology in its own right and in dialogue with the conventional view of psychology and science. Later research by the author has been published in two books entitled Contemplative Psychology and The Spiritual Path： An Introduction to the Psychology of the Spiritual Traditions.展开更多
Virtue education in the United States has lost its clout while the corporatization of higher education may be at its peak. The focus of traditional education has shifted from ideas, wisdom, and the love of learning to...Virtue education in the United States has lost its clout while the corporatization of higher education may be at its peak. The focus of traditional education has shifted from ideas, wisdom, and the love of learning to having a corporate mindset on progress and skills-based knowledge. In many cases, the focus of attention is on remaining viable/sustainable in times of economic decline rather than learning itself, so the resources supporting institutions of higher education are directed into marketing and public relations practices instead of the infrastructure for thinking and learning. This essay draws together three coordinates to make a case for a return to virtue education in the United States. First, the current condition of higher education is shown to have dubiously strayed from a virtue model. Second, the re-emergence of philosophy as a preferred major and its growth in the academy suggest that people realize that something has to change in higher education as they revert back to a broad liberal arts emphasis. Third, a discussion of virtue education from the lens of Josef Pieper＇s virtue philosophy, grounded in the lSta Contemplativa, offers renewed possibility to reengaged higher education for a sustainable future. Together, I suggest that the tradition of higher education in the United States is no longer viable and return to a virtue education model is an alternative that might make higher education sustainable.展开更多
文摘The judicious and timely use of silence within worship is becoming increasingly recognised as a crucially important aspect of its performance. This article suggests that Samuel Beckett＇s Waiting for Godot has much to offer liturgists about silence＇s dramatic potential and its ability to alert others to a contemplative mode of being. I refute the predominant way of seeing the play as an absurdist text and indicate that a more persuasive reading would situate it within a contemplative hermeneutics which gives due weight to silence as an ontological phenomenon. One key to appreciating this interpretation is to see the play against the backdrop of the Christian contemplative tradition. Thus, the article, besides encouraging liturgists to pay attention to dramatists also suggests that dramatists might draw from religion＇s insights and history.
文摘Mindfulness is a psychological technique based on Eastern meditative practices that was developed in the late 1970s by Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts.Initially,there was a debate over whether it should be considered a scientific technique or labelled as part of the“new wave”practices.Today,mindfulness is omnipresent in modern societies but has suffered from merchandising and banalization,which has been strongly criticized.Despite some limitations regarding methodological aspects of mindfulness research,it is considered effective for treating many physical and psychological disorders,and even it is recommended in clinical guidelines such the British National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.During the last 2500 years,mindfulness practices have moved from Northern India across most of Asia,but their mixing with Western science and culture at the end of the 20^(th)century is considered a key event in recent history.For the first time in human history,due to globalization,the wisdom of all contemplative traditions can be shared with all human beings and assessed by science.Mindfulness practices,yoga included,are giving birth to a new field of knowledge,contemplative sciences,which go beyond mindfulness and is devoted to helping humanity to reach higher levels of happiness and mental peace.
文摘This paper is a revised version of a seminal paper, written as early as 1986, that introduces the concept of contemplative psychology as a psychology that is an intrinsic part of the contemplative traditions of most world religions. It refers to the psychological insights and methods that are-often implicitly-present in the spiritual traditions themselves. The paper delineates this psychology as a psychology in its own right and in dialogue with the conventional view of psychology and science. Later research by the author has been published in two books entitled Contemplative Psychology and The Spiritual Path： An Introduction to the Psychology of the Spiritual Traditions.
文摘Virtue education in the United States has lost its clout while the corporatization of higher education may be at its peak. The focus of traditional education has shifted from ideas, wisdom, and the love of learning to having a corporate mindset on progress and skills-based knowledge. In many cases, the focus of attention is on remaining viable/sustainable in times of economic decline rather than learning itself, so the resources supporting institutions of higher education are directed into marketing and public relations practices instead of the infrastructure for thinking and learning. This essay draws together three coordinates to make a case for a return to virtue education in the United States. First, the current condition of higher education is shown to have dubiously strayed from a virtue model. Second, the re-emergence of philosophy as a preferred major and its growth in the academy suggest that people realize that something has to change in higher education as they revert back to a broad liberal arts emphasis. Third, a discussion of virtue education from the lens of Josef Pieper＇s virtue philosophy, grounded in the lSta Contemplativa, offers renewed possibility to reengaged higher education for a sustainable future. Together, I suggest that the tradition of higher education in the United States is no longer viable and return to a virtue education model is an alternative that might make higher education sustainable.
