The Sacred Dance of the Sexes

Problems inherent in the patriarchal system have led to the universal problem of the so-called battle of the sexes. The last two hundred years of liberation movements lead to the conclusion that for any such movement finally to succeed, the patriarchal system must be outgrown. Six methods of dealing with the problem are reviewed and all are found variously wanting, though some offer promise. A solution is offered. The differences between men and women must be honored and true partnership developed. A method by which this can be achieved is described.     

The Varieties of Sacred Experience: Finding the Sacred in a Secular Grove

This paper contends that the social scientific study of religion has long labored under a chafing constraint and a misleading premise. It suggests that our primary focus should be on the sacred, and that religion is just one among many possible sources of the sacred. Defining religion "substantively" but the sacred "functionally" helps toresolve a long-standing tension in the field. Broadened conceptions of the sacred and of "sacralization" help to defuse the conflict among the two very different versions of secularization theory: the "all-or-nothing" versus the "middle range." Meanwhile, a conceptual typology of the sacred pivots around the intersections of two distinctions (compensatory vs. confirmatory and marginal vs. institutional). This generatesfour distinct scenarios: the sacred as integrative, the sacred as quest, the sacred as collectivity, and the sacred as counter-culture. The paper concludes with three admonitions for research in the area.     

The New Sacred Math

The individual soul is an ageless idea, attested in prehistoric times by the oral traditions of all cultures. But as far as we know, it enters history in ancient Egypt. I will begin with the individual soul in ancient Egypt, then recount the birth of the world soul in the Pythagorean community of ancient Greece, and trace it through the Western Esoteric Tradition until its demise in Kepler's writings, along with the rise of modern science, around 1600 CE. Then I tell of the rebirth of the world soul recently, in new branches of mathematics.     

Psychoanalysis: The Sacred and the Profane

Colleagues from a variety of perspectives have written about the propensity to enshrine psychoanalytic theory. The meaning of the word “enshrine” is to cherish as sacred an idea or philosophy and protect it from change. In other words, the way we view psychoanalysis, our theories of mind and technique, become holy writ and we have divided the world of theory into the sacred and the profane. This is the kiss of death for theory, which must constantly evolve and change, but comforting for the analyst who believes he is on the side of the right, the sacred. In this paper I will discuss how our propensity to enshrine theory has had a debilitating effect on the development of psychoanalysis and, in particular, as a treatment for the most vulnerable people who seek our help. I also address the idea that movement away from enshrined positions allows us to construct different versions of reality. In this context, the notion of “action at a distance” is presented along with the attendant idea of psychoanalytic entanglement.     

Reclaiming the Sacred

No abstract available for this article.     

Forms of the Sacred

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

The Tao of Creating Sacred Relationships

SUMMARY

This article articulates the major premises of Sheldon Z. Kramer's book, Transforming the Inner and Outer Family: Humanistic and Spiritual Approaches to the Mind-Body Systems Therapy(The Haworth Press, Inc., 1995). This overview briefly introduces and explains the power of meditation in psychotherapy, meditation and the use of the body, creating congruent communication, working with incongruence in couples and bridging the inner and outer couple.     

The Sacred Character of Community Life

Theory and research suggest that there is a basic and irreducible human yearning for a relationship with something that transcends ourselves, something sacred. The sacred can be understood not only in individual terms, but also in terms of relationships, settings, and communities. Empirical studies indicate that the sacred has powerful implications for human behavior; it can be an organizing force and a resource to people in their most difficult times, yet it can also be a source of seemingly intractable problems. This paper reviews several of the promising steps psychologists have taken to learn about the sacred, learn from spiritual communities, and collaborate with these communities in efforts to better the world. Research and practice in this area is enriching our understanding of the meaning of community and the meaning of spirituality. Invited paper presented to Division 27 of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, August 18, 2007. Portions of this talk were adapted from K. Pargament (2007). Spiritually integrated psychotherapy: Understanding and addressing the sacred. New York: Guilford Press.     

The Naked Goddess: Pornography and the Sacred

Abstract

In this article it is argued that contemporary forms of pornography represent an assault upon important sacred traditions which venerated female generative power and saw sexuality as a means of participating in the divine. The pornographic representations of the feminine in Western culture are part of systems of domination which not only support the abuse of women but also the colonization of peoples and the exploitation of nature. A celebration of the sexual cosmologies, which can still be found in cultural performances and ritual acts, is a means of countering this domination. So too is the process of speaking from the vulva; reclaiming the female genitals as a source of intelligent power that both manifest in and signify the creative forces that animate the universe.     

试析藏传佛教朝圣者的圣地情结

朝圣是藏传佛教徒宗教信仰的典型表现形式。通过对西藏藏传佛教信仰者的实地访谈调查发现,朝圣地是藏族宗教信仰价值感中最重要的强化物。在每一个藏族人的宗教情结里,都存在着按价值大小构成的圣地网络结构,这一结构表现为由低到高四个层次:私我圣地、社群圣地、边缘圣地和超我圣地。     

Oikos,The Incorruptible: The Ecological Reasons of the Sacred

In this article, I will show how the notion of ecology of mind developed by Gregory Bateson (1972, 1979; Bateson and Bateson 1987), constitutes a third way, with respect to those two trends that I have here called naturism and realism. I will try to show how Bateson's notion of ecology of mind (that sometimes I will call briefly ecosystemic) is closely linked to notions of epistemology and of the sacred, and how it can highlight potential complementarities between the realist and the naturist tendencies. The discussion will be divided into two parts: from ecology to the sacred, and from the sacred to ecology.