Indian psychology: the connection between mind, body, and the universe

The purpose of this study was to devise a mode of treatment that would be helpful when clinically working with the East Indian community. A theoretical orientation of Indian psychology was describes using the principles found in various Hindu scriptures. The scriptures show that an unbalance and a disconnection from the true self causes psychological problems and as the individual comes in contact with the true self the psychological problems are eliminated. Different theories for understanding the human psyche are used to describe this process: the triguna theory, the kosha theory, Ayurveda, and Patanjali\u27s Yoga. These different theories work together to help distinguish the difference between healthy and unhealthy personalities and to show ways in which personality can be altered to health. This dissertation outlines a theory of mind, assessment, and interventions that can be used when working with an East Indian client that would be consistent with the Hindu worldview

Shankara: A Hindu Revivalist or a Crypto-Buddhist?

Shankara, the great Indian thinker, was known as the accurate expounder of the Upanishads. He is seen as a towering figure in the history of Indian philosophy and is credited with restoring the teachings of the Vedas to their pristine form. However, there are others who do not see such contributions from Shankara. They criticize his philosophy by calling it “crypto-Buddhism.” It is his unique philosophy of Advaita Vedanta that puts him at odds with other Hindu orthodox schools. Ironically, he is also criticized by Buddhists as a “born enemy of Buddhism” due to his relentless attacks on their tradition. This thesis, therefore, probes the question of how Shankara should best be regarded, “a Hindu Revivalist or a Crypto-Buddhist?” To address this question, this thesis reviews the historical setting for Shakara’s work, the state of Indian philosophy as a dynamic conversation involving Hindu and Buddhist thinkers, and finally Shankara’s intellectual genealogy

Transpersonal literature

What do you get if you apply Ken Wilber's theories of transpersonal psychological development within human consciousness to William Golding's Lord of the Flies or Conrad's Heart of Darkness, or Shakespeare's Hamlet? Can they provide a clear interpretative tool in order to uncover the intentional or unintentional aspects of consciousness development contained within them? Do these literary texts reveal a coherent quest for knowledge of human consciousness, the nature of good and evil, and the ineffable question of spirit? Is there a case for presenting a transpersonal perspective of literature in order to expound the theories of this psychological discipline? Can literary texts provide materials that are unique to that art form and can be explicated by knowledge of transpersonal psychology? Is there an evolutionary motion, which is not necessarily historically chronological but nonetheless displays a developmental map of human consciousness across literary works? In other words, can we see a hierarchical framework along the lines of consciousness development as proposed by Ken Wilber, that suggests a movement up the evolutionary ladder of consciousness from Lord of the Flies to Hamlet and beyond? Can we counter oppose Lord of the Flies and Hamlet, suggesting that the first is a fable of regression to transpersonal evil within a cultural community and the second sees Hamlet attempt to avoid this path in order to move toward the transcendence of ego and self, within the individual? If this is so then we should be able to plot both paths relative to the models of development traced in Wilber's theories and interpret the texts according to this framework. What is the relationship between transpersonal aspects of consciousness and literature? And what are the effects upon the cultural consciousness of human evolution that literature has had so much to inform? How do the literary works of individuals inform the cultural consciousness and transcend the age in which they are written? Equally we should be able to test the theories with the aid of some texts of literature - especially those works which are of, and about consciousness. What does this mean to the literary interpretation of these texts? How does it differ from other interpretations? What are the pitfalls and what disclaimers need to be put in place? Is the difference between the notion of a transpersonal evil and a transpersonal good simply a matter of individual moral choice

DESIGN THINKING: COGNITIVE PATTERNS IN ENGINEERING DESIGN DOCUMENTATION

Engineering design is an integral resource that on the surface uses creative, scientific, and process knowledge. Over the years many research driven improvements have been made to the methods and tools used for crafting the engineering design profession. Some progress has been made in exploring the cognitive processes, reading between the lines, and thinking about design thinking. This information is valuable to engineering designers in visualizing and performing the product development process. This dissertation is interdisciplinary in nature. The goal of this research is to apply cognitive research techniques to engineering design documentation to understand what happens in the mind during the design process. This research can be considered as an exploratory study of uncovering cognitive processes during design by developing a coding scheme that is applied to student and professional design journals. A successful cognitive coding scheme can be used in different domains and leads to development of new metrics for examining journal activities. This first study will enable future work aligned with the larger research goal of improving the understanding of design thinking. Engineering design documentation is one method of revealing insights into the mysteries of the mind. Design journals are used in this study combined with a Cognitive Coding Scheme created by the author to explore design thinking. This dissertation focuses on identifying patterns in cognitive behavior of engineering designers. Design documentation is also analyzed for insights on attitudes towards design journaling. This dissertation will make a contribution to the field of engineering design research by presenting a cognitive coding scheme capable of revealing insights into the mind of the designers

The mystical approach to reality in St. John of the Cross and Ramakrishna

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, missing page 106This thesis is an investigation into the nature of mysticism as it is represented in the sixteenth century Spanish Christian mystic, St. John of the Cross, and the nineteenth century Hindu mystic, Ramakrishna. In the problematic development of the thesis St. John was considered first. The order of consideration was an investigation into the nature of the way of approach to the full mystic experience, followed by a discussion of the theory of reality derived from the examination of the way. The consideration of Ramakrishna followed that of St. John. Finally mysticism as such was analyzed and illustrated according to the two above named mystics. The method in the final two chapters was the same. The way according to St. John is the way of agony. God is separate from the soul of man. Yet God is discovered, and the way to God is manifest. This way is conceived in terms of the active and passive nights of the sense and spirit. The seeker purges his soul and spirit of sensual attraction. He gains pleasure in nothing save God. In the passive night of the spirit, he waits in detachment for the "inflowing of the spirit of God into the soul." This is known in union which is the goal of the way. It is characterized as a union of wills in love [TRUNCATED

A christological interpretation of "The Golden String" of Bede Griffiths' Spiritual Journey

This thesis explores the Christological focus of the 'the Golden String,' the defining image of Bede Griffiths' spiritual journey while taking into account other images employed in relation to God, the self, and creation itself. Our exploratory narrative schema sets this metaphor in the wider history of Griffiths' development and places it into the context of his theological articulation of the contemplative vocation and related issues. A key interest is the movement of humankind to a new level of consciousness

The Power of Prayer

If words are arbitrary, how does prayer have power?” is the question of inquiry in this paper. An unobtrusive Content Analysis inquiry methodology was used to answer this question. The answer lies in the finding that words and thoughts are not the same thing, and our thoughts expand beyond the audible and visible. The implication for professional practice these findings present is that a deeper awareness of “Self” is needed to understand people’s miraculous way of resolving conflict via prayer

The Routes of Philosophy: Paul Deussen, Indian Non-Dualism and Universal Metaphysics

It is the nature of comparative philosophy to reflect on different orders of knowledge and different forms of discourse. The question of the validity of knowledge is essential to the comparative works of Paul Deussen. By analysing metaphysics into its basic elements, he was able to gather and compare the efforts of many different times and places. This is to say that Deussen endeavoured to use the elements of metaphysics to reconcile the mutually incompatible claims of Reason and Revelation. He pursued this reconciliation in a non-Hegelian manner which did not exclude revelation and which allowed the status of religion, philosophy and science to be preserved, whether eastern or western in origin. While Deussen agrees to an extent with the Hegelian postulate that philosophy only ever emerges in a particular alignment with science and ethics, he insists on including religion in the account of the origin of philosophy. For this reason, he was able to include India's exegetical traditions of the fundamentally theologico-philosophical treatises of the Veda in his comparative and historical work. This was an entirely unprecedented and an untimely philosophical enterprise, and one which remained unparalleled for almost half a century. My thesis explores the manner in which he articulates and validates a unified, universal science of metaphysics. It examines his transformation of the scientific resources of physiology and psychology into the principle of the Will and follows his elaboration of a metaphysical morality based on the negation of this Will. However I also explore the potential in the most significant text for this thesis, The System of the Vedanta (1883), for a non-metaphysical way of thinking and acting. I argue that Deussen's text marks the creation of a singular relation to the Outside of the type of existence ordered by western thought. Deussen's history of philosophy leads me finally to evaluate his project for the renewal of philosophy and culture on the basis of universal metaphysics. From this emerge the suggestions for further work concerning Nietzsche's relationship to the Vedantic concept of 'beyond good and evil' in particular and to Indian philosophy and the revaluation of all values in general

Embodied Continuity: Weaving the Body Into a Web of Artistry and Ethnography

abstract: Embodied Continuity documents the methodology of Entangled/Embraced, a dance performance piece presented December, 2011 and created as an artistic translation of research conducted January-May, 2011 in the states of Karnataka and Kerala, South India. Focused on the sciences of Ayurveda, Kalaripayattu and yoga, this research stems from an interest in body-mind connectivity, body-mind-environment continuity, embodied epistemology and the implications of ethnography within artistic practice. The document begins with a theoretical grounding covering established research on theories of embodiment; ethnographic methodologies framing research conducted in South India including sensory ethnography, performance ethnography and autoethnography; and an explanation of the sciences of Ayurveda, Kalaripayattu and yoga with a descriptive slant that emphasizes concepts of embodiment and body-mind-environment continuity uniquely inherent to these sciences. Following the theoretical grounding, the document provides an account of methods used in translating theoretical concepts and experiences emerging from research in India into the creation of the Entangled/Embraced dance work. Using dancer and audience member participation to inspire emergent meanings and maintain ethnographic consciousness, Embodied Continuity demonstrates how concepts inspiring research interests, along with ideas emerging from within research experiences, in addition to philosophical standpoints embedded in the ethnographic methodologies chosen to conduct research, weave into the entire project of Entangled/Embraced to unite the phases of research and performance, ethnography and artistry.Dissertation/ThesisM.F.A. Dance 201