Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry PDF Download

Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry PDF full book. Access full book title Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry by Arthur Zajonc. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.

Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry

Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry PDF Author: Arthur Zajonc
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781584200628
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
When we turn to meditation, we are turning toward renewal, peace, and insight. Initially, we may take up contemplative practice as a means of tapping into the abundant resources of the mind and heart that bring serenity, but the meditative journey leads further--to the place where wisdom and love unite. In Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry, Arthur Zajonc offers an overview of the meditative life, weaving practical instruction together with the guidance and inspiration of the world's great teachers, from Rudolf Steiner to Rumi, and from Goethe to the sages of Asia. Zajonc reminds us that an ethic of humility grounds all practice, and that care of the soul is the basis for sound spiritual reflection and understanding. The author carefully describes each stage of the path and includes many recommended practices. Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry is the fruit of many years of personal practice and teaching. Arthur Zajonc developed his orientation toward meditation through working with hundreds of university students and professors, as well as with contemplative groups in the U.S., Europe, and Australia.

Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry

Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry PDF Author: Arthur Zajonc
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781584200628
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
When we turn to meditation, we are turning toward renewal, peace, and insight. Initially, we may take up contemplative practice as a means of tapping into the abundant resources of the mind and heart that bring serenity, but the meditative journey leads further--to the place where wisdom and love unite. In Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry, Arthur Zajonc offers an overview of the meditative life, weaving practical instruction together with the guidance and inspiration of the world's great teachers, from Rudolf Steiner to Rumi, and from Goethe to the sages of Asia. Zajonc reminds us that an ethic of humility grounds all practice, and that care of the soul is the basis for sound spiritual reflection and understanding. The author carefully describes each stage of the path and includes many recommended practices. Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry is the fruit of many years of personal practice and teaching. Arthur Zajonc developed his orientation toward meditation through working with hundreds of university students and professors, as well as with contemplative groups in the U.S., Europe, and Australia.

Contemplative Druidry

Contemplative Druidry PDF Author: James Nichol
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781500807207
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Book Description
Contemplative Druidry is an evolving aspect of modern Druidry. Rather than talking in purely abstract terms, this book focuses first on the experience of people practicing contemplative Druidry now. Only then does it look at the bigger picture and draw conclusions for the developing spirituality of modern Druidry as a whole.'Contemplative Druidry' takes the five months of March-July 2014, and offers a snapshot of how 15 practitioners of Druidry in England today understand and practice contemplative Druidry, and why they value it. Responding to a set of questions either in live interviews or through written responses, they describe both what contemplative Druidry means to them personally, and how they see it fitting in to the context of Druidry as a modern pagan spirituality. In this way 'Contemplative Druidry' acts as a contemplative inquiry, with many voices offering perspectives on contemplative Druidry, its place within Druidry as a whole, and its wider contribution to the development of modern spirituality, particularly within pagan traditions. The contributors, in alphabetical order of first names, are: David Popely, Elaine Knight, Eve Adams, JJ Middleway, Joanna van der Hoeven, Julie Bond, Karen Webb, Katy Jordan, Mark Rosher, Nimue Brown, Penny Billington, Robert Kyle, Rosa Davis and Tom Brown. In his introduction, the author describes the experience which led him, already a practising Druid, onto a more contemplative path. He talks of how he turned outwards to his own community, as well as inwards to his personal practice, and brought together a group dedicated to developing a practice of contemplative Druidry in Gloucestershire, England. The book is in many respects a fruit of this work, and 11 of the 15 contributors are involved in the group. The other four are independently engaged with contemplative and meditative practice in Druidry, and agreed to be part of the book. The main section of the book is divided into three parts. The first is about the people involved - their childhood spirituality, their histories of questing for a spiritual practice and home that made sense, and their commitment to Druidry as an identity and set of values. The second is about practice - formal sitting meditations, ways of contemplative engagement with nature, forms of group practice, contemplative arts, and having a contemplative stance in every day life. The third is about potential - what the practice of contemplative Druidry can do for the individual and its benefits to the community as a whole. The book ends with a set of author's reflections and conclusions, including suggestions about how contemplative practices can become more widely adopted within the Druid community. There are eight appendices, which include models of group programmes and solo practices for contemplative Druidry, and also two threads from the Contemplative Druidry Facebook group, one about contemplation and mysticism and the other on pilgrimage. The book has a foreword by Philip Carr-Gomm, Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, a significant contribution in its own right under the title: 'Deep Peace of the Quiet Earth: the Nature Mysticism of Druidry'. The foreword endorses the view that contemplative Druidry is an idea whose time has come. 'Contemplative Druidry' is an introduction in that it raises awareness of contemplative practice in Druidry, and potentially in pagan spirituality more widely. It provides documentary recognition of the approach. And it sets a note of contemplative inquiry and exploration, rather than offering a fixed set of teachings that people are invited to assimilate in a top-down kind of way. The book is therefore of interest both to people with a personal interest in contemplative Druidry, and to those with a more general interest in the life and development of modern Druidry, pagan paths more widely, and evolutionary spirituality as a whole.

Meditation and the Classroom

Meditation and the Classroom PDF Author: Judith Simmer-Brown
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438437897
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 315

Book Description
Meditation and the Classroom inventively articulates how educators can use meditation to educate the whole student. Notably, a number of universities have initiated contemplative studies options and others have opened contemplative spaces. This represents an attempt to address the inner life. It is also a sign of a new era, one in which the United States is more spiritually diverse than ever before. Examples from university classrooms and statements by students indicate benefits include increased self-awareness, creativity, and compassion. The religious studies scholars who have contributed to this book often teach about meditation, but here they include reflections on how meditation has affected them and their teaching. Until recently, though, even many religious studies professors would find sharing meditation experiences, let alone teaching meditation techniques, a breach of disciplinary and academic protocols. The value of teaching meditation and teaching about meditation is discussed. Ethical issues such as pluralism, respect, qualifications, power and coercion, and avoiding actual or perceived proselytization are also examined. While methods for religious studies are emphasized, the book provides valuable guidance for all those interested in this endeavor.

Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry

Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry PDF Author: Arthur Zajonc
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 1584205059
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Book Description
7 lectures, various cities, April 17-May 26, 1914 (CW 154) What is the relationship between those who have died and those who remain alive on Earth? Can we help those now in the spiritual world? Can they help us? In these talks, Rudolf Steiner deals with the spiritual relationships that the living can have with those who have crossed over the threshold between life and death. In a realistic, practical way, he shows how an understanding of our spiritual nature reveals ways of knowing a world undreamed of by materialists. The tone of these talks is warm and moving, clearly drawn from Steiner's own experience and the lives of those who had died and who were personally known to him--Robert Hamerling, Christian Morgenstern, and others. This important work is for those who are coming to terms with the death of a love one. This book is a translation from German of Wie erwirbt man sich Verständnis für die geistige Welt? Das Einfließen geistiger Impulse aus der Welt der Verstorbenen (GA 154).

Contemplative Pedagogies for Transformative Teaching, Learning, and Being

Contemplative Pedagogies for Transformative Teaching, Learning, and Being PDF Author: Jing Lin
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1641137827
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 369

Book Description
In our current systems of education, there is a trend toward compartmentalizing knowledge, standardizing assessments of learning, and focusing primarily on quantifiable and positivist forms of inquiry. Contemplative inquiry, on the other hand, takes us on a transformative pathway toward wisdom, morality, integrity, equanimity, and joy (Zajonc, 2009). These holistic learning practices are needed as a counterbalance to the over-emphasis on positivism that we see today. In addition to learning quantifiable information, we also need to learn to be calmer, wiser, kinder, and happier. This book aims to find and share various pathways leading to these ends. This book will describe educational endeavors in various settings that use contemplative pedagogies to enable students to achieve deep learning, peace, tranquility, equanimity, and wisdom to gain new understanding about self and life, and to grow holistically. Embodiment is a central concept in this book. We hope to highlight strategies for exploring internal wisdoms through engaging ourselves beyond simply the rational mind. Contemplative pedagogies such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, dance, arts, poetry, reflective writing and movements, can help students embody what they learn by integrating their body, heart, mind, and spirit.

Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic

Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic PDF Author: B. Alan Wallace
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231158343
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
A radical approach to studying the mind. Renowned Buddhist philosopher B. Alan Wallace reasserts the power of shamatha and vipashyana, traditional Buddhist meditations, to clarify the mind's role in the natural world. Raising profound questions about human nature, free will, and experience versus dogma, Wallace challenges the claim that consciousness is nothing more than an emergent property of the brain with little relation to universal events. Rather, he maintains that the observer is essential to measuring quantum systems and that mental phenomena (however conceived) influence brain function and behavior. Wallace embarks on a two-part mission: to restore human nature and to transcend it. He begins by explaining the value of skepticism in Buddhism and science and the difficulty of merging their experiential methods of inquiry. Yet Wallace also proves that Buddhist views on human nature and the possibility of free will liberate us from the metaphysical constraints of scientific materialism. He then explores the radical empiricism inspired by William James and applies it to Indian Buddhist philosophy's four schools and the Great Perfection school of Tibetan Buddhism. Since Buddhism begins with the assertion that ignorance lies at the root of all suffering and that the path to freedom is reached through knowledge, Buddhist practice can be viewed as a progression from agnosticism (not knowing) to gnosticism (knowing), acquired through the maintenance of exceptional mental health, mindfulness, and introspection. Wallace discusses these topics in detail, identifying similarities and differences between scientific and Buddhist understanding, and he concludes with an explanation of shamatha and vipashyana and their potential for realizing the full nature, origins, and potential of consciousness.

Contemplative Practices in Higher Education

Contemplative Practices in Higher Education PDF Author: Daniel P. Barbezat
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118646924
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
Contemplative pedagogy is a way for instructors to: empower students to integrate their own experience into thetheoretical material they are being taught in order to deepen theirunderstanding; help students to develop sophisticated problem-solvingskills; support students’ sense of connection to and compassionfor others; and engender inquiries into students’ most profoundquestions. Contemplative practices are used in just about everydiscipline—from physics to economics to history—and arefound in every type of institution. Each year more and morefaculty, education reformers, and leaders of teaching and learningcenters seek out best practices in contemplative teaching, and nowcan find them here, brought to you by two of the foremost leadersand innovators on the subject. This book presents background information and ideas for thepractical application of contemplative practices across theacademic curriculum from the physical sciences to the humanitiesand arts. Examples of contemplative techniques included in the bookare mindfulness, meditation, yoga, deep listening, contemplativereading and writing, and pilgrimage, including site visits andfield trips.

The Contemplative Practitioner

The Contemplative Practitioner PDF Author: John P. Miller
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1442615532
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 201

Book Description
Describes how the experience of the whole through mindful contemplation can release energy and knowledge for practical use in the classroom and in the place of business.

Mind in the Balance

Mind in the Balance PDF Author: B. Alan Wallace
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231147317
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
By establishing a dialogue in which the meditative practices of Buddhism and Christianity speak to the theories of modern philosophy and science, B. Alan Wallace reveals the theoretical similarities underlying these disparate disciplines and their unified approach to making sense of the objective world. Wallace begins by exploring the relationship between Christian and Buddhist meditative practices. He outlines a sequence of meditations the reader can undertake, showing that, though Buddhism and Christianity differ in their belief systems, their methods of cognitive inquiry provide similar insight into the nature and origins of consciousness. From this convergence Wallace then connects the approaches of contemporary cognitive science, quantum mechanics, and the philosophy of the mind. He links Buddhist and Christian views to the provocative philosophical theories of Hilary Putnam, Charles Taylor, and Bas van Fraassen, and he seamlessly incorporates the work of such physicists as Anton Zeilinger, John Wheeler, and Stephen Hawking. Combining a concrete analysis of conceptions of consciousness with a guide to cultivating mindfulness and profound contemplative practice, Wallace takes the scientific and intellectual mapping of the mind in exciting new directions.

Reclaiming Civilization

Reclaiming Civilization PDF Author: Brendan Myers
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
ISBN: 178535566X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Book Description
What is civilization, and is it a good thing? It’s a name for the most glorious of humanity’s monuments and cultural achievements; yet it also speaks of the conquests, oppressions, and empires which make their glory possible. This book explains the essence of civilization, then asks what’s wrong with it, and considers what can be done about it.