The Spiritual Quest

The Spiritual Quest PDF Author: Robert M. Torrance
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520920163
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
Robert Torrance's wide-ranging, innovative study argues that the spiritual quest is rooted in our biological, psychological, linguistic, and social nature. The quest is not, as most have believed, a rare mystical experience, but a frequent expression of our most basic human impulses. Shaman and scientist, medium and poet, prophet and philosopher, all venture forth in quest of visionary truths to transform and renew the world. Yet Torrance is not trying to reduce the quest to an "archetype" or "monomyth." Instead, he presents the full diversity of the quest in the myths and religious practices of tribal peoples throughout the world, from Oceania to India, Africa, Siberia, and especially the Americas. In theorizing about the quest, Torrance draws on thinkers as diverse as Bergson and Piaget, van Gennep and Turner, Pierce and Popper, Freud, Darwin, and Chomsky. This is a book that will expand our knowledge—and awareness—of a fundamental human activity in all its fascinating complexity.

The Spiritual Quest

The Spiritual Quest PDF Author: Robert M. Torrance
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520920163
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 387

Get Book

Book Description
Robert Torrance's wide-ranging, innovative study argues that the spiritual quest is rooted in our biological, psychological, linguistic, and social nature. The quest is not, as most have believed, a rare mystical experience, but a frequent expression of our most basic human impulses. Shaman and scientist, medium and poet, prophet and philosopher, all venture forth in quest of visionary truths to transform and renew the world. Yet Torrance is not trying to reduce the quest to an "archetype" or "monomyth." Instead, he presents the full diversity of the quest in the myths and religious practices of tribal peoples throughout the world, from Oceania to India, Africa, Siberia, and especially the Americas. In theorizing about the quest, Torrance draws on thinkers as diverse as Bergson and Piaget, van Gennep and Turner, Pierce and Popper, Freud, Darwin, and Chomsky. This is a book that will expand our knowledge—and awareness—of a fundamental human activity in all its fascinating complexity.

Science and the Spiritual Quest

Science and the Spiritual Quest PDF Author: W. Mark Richardson
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415257671
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Addressing fundamental questions about life, this unique volume examines the way in which distinguished scientists of different faiths explore the connections between science, ethics, spirituality and the divine.

Le Clézio's Spiritual Quest

Le Clézio's Spiritual Quest PDF Author: Thomas N. Trzyna
Publisher: Currents in Comparative Romance Languages and Literatures
ISBN: 9781433119026
Category : Ethics in literature
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Le Clézio's Spiritual Quest is the first English language book to address the development of this Nobel Prize winner's spiritual ideas and the first book in any language to focus on his abiding interest in the philosophy of Parmenides, Sufism, and Meso-American religion. Le Clézio's Spiritual Quest explains many puzzling features of his work from this philosophical perspective, including the relative absence of dialogue in his novels and short stories, his portrayals of mystical experiences, his intensely poetic prose, his treatment of time as the repetition of history, and his struggles to develop a persuasive ethical system. Le Clézio is not merely postcolonial, he creates a new kind of spiritual understanding of the cosmos by drawing on sources that have little connection to the main religious and spiritual traditions of the Western and Eastern worlds. Le Clézio's Spiritual Quest offers an important supplement to French studies of his work, which have explored his works in the context of his French sources. It concludes with a consideration of artistic dilemmas posed by this Nobel Prize-winning author, whose experimental fiction merges poetry, essay, fiction, and philosophy in ways that are enlightening, fresh, and yet often challenging to read. This book guides undergraduate and graduate students of French literature as well as scholars of literature and contemporary ideas to reflect on Le Clézio as a representation of a new direction in philosophical and spiritual voyaging because of his remarkable independence from many contemporary debates and his choice to seek new foundations for human thought in dead religions and what many have considered marginal philosophical and religious traditions.

The Spiritual Quest and the Way of Yoga

The Spiritual Quest and the Way of Yoga PDF Author: Swami Adiswarananda
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 1594735514
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Guidance for Your Spiritual Journey—from the Wisdom of Yoga and Vedanta “The ultimate goal of life is to discover the divinity within ourselves and in all beings and things. This will lead us to adore our true Self, adore our fellow beings, and adore the world that is but a reflection of Reality. This reunion with the Absolute—the core of our individual being as well as of the universe—is the true meaning of yoga.” —from chapter 13 The yoga way maintains that spiritual quest is not a matter of choice but a vital necessity for total well-being. This comprehensive guide for spiritual seekers of all faiths and backgrounds presents a roadmap to Self-knowledge, the goal of spiritual quest, and shows that reconnecting with the center of your being, your true Self, is real, tangible and attainable. Exploring the route to spiritual fulfillment through the teachings of Yoga and Vedanta, Swami Adiswarananda outlines the meaning of spiritual quest, the nature of and the preparations necessary for the journey and the milestones you will use to chart your progress. He also draws from the sacred texts of these time-tested traditions to address the vital questions that often trouble spiritual seekers, such as: Which spiritual path should I follow? How can I attain liberation? What are the dangers and obstacles on the spiritual path? How do I control the restless mind? Why are there many religions and what is the way to interfaith unity?

Spiritual Quest

Spiritual Quest PDF Author: Thomas N. Hart
Publisher: Paulist Press
ISBN: 9780809139064
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
A guide for those who want to grow in the spiritual life, with insights into the questions spawned by today's spiritual resurgence.

The Spiritual Quest

The Spiritual Quest PDF Author: Mark L Prophet
Publisher: SCB Distributors
ISBN: 1609883020
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
"The Spiritual Quest, the first book in the Sacred Adventure series, presents a step-by-step guide to the spiritual path. It gives a thorough understanding of the purpose of life—from your point of origin to your becoming a masterful spiritual being. You’ll find dynamic keys to your spiritual growth in each of the chapters on your divine origin, your higher self, living a spiritual life in a material world, expanding the flow of light within, karma (good, bad and balanced), reincarnation, and your ultimate destiny. Includes charts, diagrams, color illustrations and audio links throughout."

Going on Faith

Going on Faith PDF Author: William Zinsser
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1610970675
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
In this deeply felt book, nine American writers and thinkers from different points of the religious compass discuss how their work is nourished by spiritual concerns. Diana Ackerman explains why she calls herself a messenger of wonder and how, in her observations of the natural world, there is a form of beholding that is a kind of prayer. David Bradley recalls how his inheritance as the son, grandson and great-grandson of black preachers has enabled him, at considerable pain, to be touched by the word. Frederick Buechner makes an intensely personal journey to his roots as a novelist: In fiction, as in faith, something outside ourselves is breathed into us if we're open enough to inhale it. Allen Ginsberg describes how his poetry is grounded in the Buddhist idea of renunciation of hand-me-down conceptions and the meditative practice of letting go of thoughts. Mary Gordon retraces an odyssey in which the religious beliefs and forms of a Catholic girlhood turned out to be as useful as a wiretap to the grown-up novelist. Patricia Hampl describes how the writing of Virgin Time took her on a series of pilgrimages to explore the contemplative life. Hillel Levine tells of his search for the mystery of goodness, exemplified by a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania who saved thousands of Jews on the eve of World War II. Hugh Nissenson explains how his work as a Jewish writer has been animated by a sense of the holy and shaped by the poetry, drama and narrative of the King James Bible. Jaroslav Pelikan revisits three religious writers--Augustine, Newman, and Boethius--whose influence on other religious writers over the centuries has never gone out of fashion. Together, as William Zinsser notes in his introduction, these writers are on a pilgrimage to find the source of their faith as individuals and their strength as artists.

Van Gogh and God

Van Gogh and God PDF Author: Cliff Edwards
Publisher: Loyola Press
ISBN: 9780829406214
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
Explore the depth of this brilliant and tortured artist's spirituality and find a new Van Gogh--philosopher of life, unorthodox theologian, and determined seeker of global spirituality.

Mysticism and the Spiritual Quest

Mysticism and the Spiritual Quest PDF Author: Phyllis Zagano
Publisher: Paulist Press
ISBN: 1587683717
Category : Mysticism
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
A crosscultural exploration of the meanings, definitions, practices, and common themes of mysticism via a study of original texts (in translation) from different parts of the world. It brings together the writings of the mystics from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Confucianism in one volume.

Finding Faith

Finding Faith PDF Author: Brian D. McLaren
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0310238382
Category : Apologetics
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Is there a God? - What might God be like? - What is the relationship between faith and certainty? - Can intelligent people believe in spiritual realities? - Why are there so many religions? - Is it possible to experience a relationship with God--and if so, how? If you've asked questions like these, you're in good company. From songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Jewel Kilcher to TV shows such as The X Files and Touched by an Angel, the media and the arts reflect postmodern men and women's search for a living faith and a spiritually oriented life. Real faith isn't blind believism. It is a process that engages your intellect as well as your emotions. If you think faith requires turning your back on truth and intellectual honesty, then Finding Faith is one book you really ought to read. With logic, passion, and even-handedness that the thinking person will appreciate, this book helps you face your obstacles to faith by focusing not on what to believe, but on how to believe. Whether you want to strengthen the faith you have, renew the faith you lost, or discover faith for the first time, Finding Faith can coach, inspire, encourage, and guide you, and help you discover more in life than you'd ever imagined or hoped for.