Theophostic Ministry: Preliminary Practitioner Survey

This exploratory survey investigated Theophostic Ministry, a recently developed inner healing prayer technique that has simultaneously garnered much anecdotal support and criticism. Specifically, the survey sought to assess who is using Theophostic Ministry, what disorders are being treated, and regular practitioners perceptions of this techniques efficacy. The survey was administered during an advanced training seminar given by Ed Smith, the techniques developer. Of the 148 participants 74% completed the survey (Respondent N = 111). Survey results suggested a wide variety of people are using Theophostic Ministry - from pastors to lay counselors to psychologists. Overall, the respondents believe this technique is very effective and have used the prayer ministry in treating a wide variety of disorders including some quite complex. Training level issues therefore emerged from this surveys findings. These issues are explored and recommendations made. The limitations of the survey are discussed.     

What Confucius practiced is good for your mind: Examining the effect of a contemplative practice in Confucian tradition on executive functions

The short-term training effects on various executive functions (EFs) by a movement-based contemplative practice (MBCP) are examined. Three aspects of EFs (working memory capacity, inhibition, switching) are assessed before and after a month-long 12-h training period using Body-Mind Axial Awareness (BMAA) principles that Confucius followers have practiced for more than 2000 years. A mindfulness-based practice (Chan-meditation) and a waiting-list control group served as contrast groups. Our results showed that the BMAA group performed better on the task that measured working memory capacity than did the Chan-meditation and the waiting-list groups after training. In addition, the Chan-meditation groups outperformed the control group on attentional switching, a novel finding for this kind of practice. Our findings not only show a new effect of short-term MBCPs on EFs, but also indicate movement-based and mindfulness-based contemplative practices might benefit development of various aspects of EFs in different ways.     

The Church of England’s Pray One for Me intercessory prayer site: a virtual cathedral?

Over the past decade there has been a growing number of studies examining the prayer content of people’s personal prayers left in intercessory church-related contexts. Since 2012, these studies have extended to include the cathedral intercessory prayer board and the online intercessory prayer site. Both ‘the cathedral’ and ‘the online site’ are distinctive contexts for intercessory prayer in terms of their openness and accessibility for a broad range of people, who are allowed to enter and use these prayer facilities. What is not known, however, is whether the cathedral prayer board and the online site are functioning in similar ways. This study presents an analysis of 500 prayers posted on the Church of England’s ‘Pray One for Me’ (POFM) website over a period of six months in 2012. The analysis employs the ap Siôn Analytic Framework for Intercessory Prayer (apSAFIP), which distinguishes among prayer intention, prayer reference, and prayer objective. The results of the analysis are compared with the results from recent cathedral studies employing the same analytic tool, and it is concluded that these two prayer contexts are functioning differently.     

Integral Spirituality, Deep Science, and Ecological Awareness

There is a growing understanding that addressing the global crisis facing humanity will require new methods for knowing, understanding, and valuing the world. Narrow, disciplinary, and reductionist perceptions of reality are proving inadequate for addressing the complex, interconnected problems of the current age. The pervasive Cartesian worldview, which is based on the metaphor of the universe as a machine, promotes fragmentation in our thinking and our perception of the cosmos. This divisive, compartmentalized thinking fosters alienation and self‐focused behavior. I aim to show in this essay that healing the fragmentation that is at the root of the current world crises requires an integrated epistemology that embraces both the rational knowledge of scientific empiricism and the inner knowledge of spiritual experience. This “deep science” transcends the illusion of separateness to discern the unity, the unbroken wholeness, that underlies the diverse forms of the universe. Our perception of connectedness, of our integral place in the web of life, emerges as an attribute of our connection with the eternal, beatific source of all existence. This awakened spiritual vision “widens our circle of understanding and compassion, to embrace all living creatures in the whole of nature” (Einstein, quoted in Goldstein [1976] 1987). Our behavior, as it emerges naturally out of our perception of the sacredness of the natural world, will naturally embody love and respect for all life forms. This vision promotes the healing of our long‐standing alienation from the natural world and offers hope for renewal in the midst of widespread cultural deterioration and environmental destruction.     

Fearfully Wonderfully Made: The Interconnectedness of Body-Mind-Spirit

This article describes the interconnection of body-mind, mind-spirit, and body-spirit from scientific, theological, and pastoral perspectives, and also from a Christian viewpoint, as exemplified in the words and actions of Jesus Christ. Using this background, the author, a physician, theologian, and lay pastoral minister, describes a course which she has developed for the ecumenical evening session of a local seminary.     

Supplication and the Muslim personality: Psychological nature and functions of prayer as interpreted by Said Nursi

Efforts to describe an Islamic psychology of religion must include the relationship that Muslims maintain with God through supplication. The Turkish theologian and scholar Said Nursi (1877–1960) offered useful theoretical guidance for understanding this issue. His perspective rested on the assumption that supplication finds its motivation in humanity’s innate shortcomings. Such imperfections encourage a person to communicate with God through supplication, and supplication then provides a source of felt closeness to God that defines how the Muslim personality should function. In broad terms, Nursi subdivided supplication into verbal (petitionary) and doing (behavioural) types. Verbal supplication helps persons respond to innate weaknesses by trusting in their own strengths, and this trust then manifests itself in the behavioural supplications that the individual uses to meet the demands of life. Nursi’s views suggest opportunities for empirically understanding supplication within an Islamic psychology of religion.     

西方伦理学的三种类型

西方伦理学主要有三种类型 :救世济时型、静观审思型和纯粹技术型。它们在话语模式、思想形式和代表人物的学术心态等方面各有其特点 ,这三种类型的伦理学各有其优长 ,相辅相成 ,不可或缺。