Harnessing the Four Elements for Mental Health

Humans are intimately connected to nature, and our physical and mental health is influenced strongly by our environment. The “elements,” classically described in humoral theory as Fire, Water, Earth, and Air, all may impact our mental health. In a contemporary sense, these elements reflect a range of modifiable factors: UV light or heat therapy (Fire); sauna, hydrotherapy, and balneotherapy (Water); nature-based exposure therapy and horticulture (Earth); oxygen-rich/clean air exposure; and breathing techniques (Air). This theoretical scoping review paper details the emerging evidence for a range of these elements, covering epidemiological and interventional data, and provides information on how we can engage in “biophilic” activities to harness their potential benefits. Interventional examples with emerging evidentiary support include “forest-bathing,” heat therapy, sauna, light therapy, “greenspace” and “bluespace” exercise, horticulture, clay art therapy activities, and pranayamic yoga breathing exercises. Further robust research is however required to firmly validate many of these interventions, and to establish their therapeutic applications for the benefit of specific mental health disorders

Münzer and the Gracchi

58 page(s

Don't say all religions are equal unless you really mean it: John Hick, the axial age, and the academic study of religion

Includes bibliographical references. 267-302.1. Theological pluralism and the 'World Religions': sketching out the issues -- 2. John Hick and the pluralist theory of religions -- 3. Historicizing the rhetoric of great traditions: a genealogy of the world religions paradigm -- 4. From Hegel to Hick: pluralism and problem of the Axial Age -- 5. Beyond the great traditions: towards a redescription of the Axial Age -- Don't say all religions are equal unless you really mean it: theological pluralism and the academic study of religion.This dissertation undertakes a critical analysis of the "pluralist" view of religious diversity, which holds that all religions are responses to the same transcendent reality. Although the pluralist ideal has a long history in western thought, primary focus is placed on recent articulations of the argument as represented by figures such as John Hick, Huston Smith, and Wilfred Cantwell Smith. Particular focus is placed upon the philosophical theory of religion offered by Hick in 1989. The aim of this work is to show that despite the intention of pluralist thinkers to move beyond the Eurocentric categories that have traditionally pervaded the western study of religion, their arguments invariably remain predicated on the problematic "world religions" paradigm, as well as a number of other discourses that have their root in the cultural hierarchies of the nineteenth century. I therefore suggest that in spite of their egalitarian ideals, the pluralist theory of religions ultimately reifies and reinforces many of the Eurocentric assumptions about "religion" that it seeks to overcome. -- This argument is made by employing a discourse-analytical reading of Hick's theory, building upon numerous critical works in religious studies that have addressed the problematic history of the world religions paradigm. After providing a detailed introduction to the pluralist perspective and its place in contemporary debate, attention turns to the various criticisms that have been levelled at the world religions paradigm, focusing particularly on the cultural hierarchies that are implied by the seemingly benign rhetoric of "great" traditions and "world" religions. Focus then returns to Hick's argument with these problems in view, paying attention primarily to his use of the "Axial Age" metanarrative, which serves as the historical backbone of his argument. As will become clear, by following Karl Jaspers' division of religions into "pre-axial" and "post-axial", Hick reproduces a form of civilizational exceptionalism that stems directly from nineteenth-century race theory and other paradigms of cultural difference by which European imperialism was justified. I show that Hick's argument replicates at least six standard tropes of colonial discourse with regard to the non-urban (i.e. "primitive") other, and claim that this undermines his clearly stated methodological and ethical goals. This dissertation therefore also begins to outline a much needed critique of the Axial Age construct, something so far missing from critical literature in the field. The final chapter provides a detailed survey of recent historiographical trends that render the key assumptions of the Axial Age narrative empirically untenable; but in the interests of constructive critique, this discussion is also used to sketch out some alternative approaches to emplotting long-term religious history that are more in line with current historiographical standards. -- The Conclusion looks at how these issues impact on the pluralist theory, as well as the larger question of how they relate to contemporary debates about the place of pluralism and theological essentialism in the academic study of religion. Although I suggest that it seems impossible to reconcile traditional theological pluralism with contemporary critical standards, my ultimate contention is that if these issues continue to be addressed, then opportunities will be presented to develop an increasingly sophisticated vocabulary for the treatment of long-term religious history that could bring together many strands of recent scholarship and move the academic study of religion in exciting new directions.Mode of access: World Wide Web.1 online resource (302 pages

The deep history of ritual and mythology : new terrain in the study of religion

Over the last two decades new forms of macrohistory have emerged that unite broad scientific timescales with the shorter timescales of human history. But although we have witnessed major strides in "big history" alongside a slew of works on the evolution of human culture, up to now there has been little sustained integration of the new paradigms with traditional fields of humanistic scholarship. This is particularly the case with " evolutionary" treatments of religion. However, a connection has finally been established, and the two provocative books reviewed in this article have opened up new terrain in the study of religion. The review is largely descriptive but closes by noting several reservations about both works

Against 'indigenous religions' : a problematic category that reinforces the world religions paradigm

Over the last two decades the term 'indigenous religions' has become the preferred category for the traditions of small-scale kinship societies, replacing earlier categories such as 'primitive,' 'savage,' and 'primal' religions. Although this has followed more prevalent usage in postcolonial and socio-political discourses (exemplified in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of indigenous Peoples, 2007), in general the terminology has been employed by scholars of religion without any rationale beyond this basic correspondence. Thankfully recent years have seen more attention paid to the theoretical dimensions of the debate, particularly with regard to the historically-embedded problems attending any discussion of small-scale kinship societies. Amongst other works, James Cox's From Primitive to Indigenous: The Academic Study of Indigenous Religions (2007) stands as the most comprehensive justification for 'indigenous religions' as a category within the academic study of religion. The aim of Cox's justification is twofold. Primarily, the term is defined using a rigorous socio-cultural approach that prioritises two criteria: (1) the primacy of kinship relations, and (2) connection to place (addressing the fact that 'indigenous' has hitherto been based largely on non-empirical criteria like cross-cultural 'essences'). At a wider level, Cox's proposal is situated amongst the growing critique of the 'world religions' paradigm of religious studies, which continues to dominate how 'religion' is understood at both academic and popular levels (see Masuzawa 2005; Owen 2012; Cotter & Robertson 2016). Cox is particularly concerned to highlight how the world religions paradigm perpetuates the legacy of Western imperialism via a built-in marginalisation of small-scale religious traditions. The justification of 'indigenous religions' in From Primitive to Indigenous is therefore designed to: (a) promote the study of such groups as a legitimate topic within academic institutions; by (b) establishing the term using a robust social-scientific methodology; thereby (c) contributing to the agenda to displace the world religions paradigm at an institutional level (thus working against the ongoing legacy of Western imperialism in global cultural relations). This chapter engages these questions by arguing that while Cox's proposal offers some interesting ideas, key problems remain in terms of developing a feasible alternative to the world religions paradigm. In addition to the term's lack of macrohistorical applicability, the argument of this chapter is that 'indigenous religions' is ultimately only a replacement category to describe the same groups of people previously described as 'primitive' and 'primal' meaning that it fails to challenge the two-fold division that sustains the world religions paradigm (i.e. world religions/indigenous religions). The category still fits perfectly within the world religions paradigm, and is simply defined differently. While From Primitive to Indigenous stands as a methodological benchmark for the study of the localised ancestral-based traditions (see especially 53-94), the proposal is not sufficient for replacing the world religions paradigm with something substantially different - and it may even be counter-productive to that goal. If the world religions paradigm is to be challenged at an institutional level, then not just one category, but the entire set of categories used to divide human groups must be reconceived- for example: what do we call 'world religions' instead'? There are certainly suggestions in From Primitive to Indigenous for how this could proceed but Cox makes strong statements suggesting the proposal already achieves this. My contention is that an alternative model will be neither complete (nor even feasible) without a significantly wider set of considerations about new language, new categories, and new classificatory logics that could sustain the shift at a fuller paradigmatic level

"Another city, another sauna" : travel as Saunatarian praxis

This article explores sauna as a religious identity, focusing on the role of travel in the formation of that identity. While the topic of individualist religious/spiritual worldviews has been much discussed in recent sociological literature, so far the literature has not extended to sauna. In large part this is due to the lack of an identifiable Saunatarian community, but this article overcomes that problem by way of autoethnography. Specifically, the article uses personal narrative about my own travel motto ("Another City, Another Sauna") to provide a thick description in response to calls for more data from persons who identify as spiritual tourists. The final section of the article pushes into theoretical terrain: firstly by justifying the label "spiritual tourism" as an appropriate description, then by considering how the idiosyncratic, unpatterned nature of this case study can help to expand our understanding of spiritual tourism as both a category and a phenomenon

Sauna Studies as an academic field : a new agenda for international research

This article is a proposal for Sauna Studies as an academic field. Although previous sauna research exists in areas of health science and historical/cultural studies, it is scattered, unconnected, significantly non- English, and, to date, largely undigitized. An International Sauna Association does exist, and its two key members (the Finnish Sauna Society and the Deutscher Sauna Bund) produced interesting research from the 1940s to the 1990s. But this does not amount to a proper academic field, especially considering the global prevalence of saunas, steam rooms, and other types of hot-air bathing. To remedy this situation, an International Journal of Sauna Studies is being created. Commencing in 2017, the IJSS will have three sections: 1) Health Science; 2) History and Culture; and 3) Technology and Design. This article lays out a programme for Sauna Studies by exploring the history of sauna research, surveying existing literature, and suggesting research directions across the three areas. It is an exciting opportunity for international collaboration. The greater purpose of Sauna Studies is to promote physical and mental health around the world in a time of increasing stress and social fracture

Ezekiel 16 and its use of allegory and the disclosure-of-abomination formula

Abstract Ezek 16 and 23 have been subjected recently to much critical review, especially from feminist scholars. The present article acknowledges their work but seeks to take the discussion back to a formal analysis of the image of the adulterous wife, with a special focus on Ezek 16 and its use of the ‘disclosure of abomination’ formula. The use of this formula locates the oracle within the legal register but framed in terms of a unilateral covenant. The effect of such a formula and its employment is to silence the woman and give only the accuser/judge a voice. But the use of the formula is figurative and plays to the larger allegorical function of the oracle which, it is argued, places the prophet towards the literate end of the oracy/literacy continuum.13 page(s

Sufism in the secret history of Persia

27 April 2015. Like any religious tradition, the Islamic tradition is made up of countless groups and subgroups that interpret, enact, and commit to the materials of their tradition differently. Although focus is often placed on divisions between Sunni and Shi’a communities, one of the most fascinating modalities of belonging within Islam is that of Sufism, all the more interesting because Sufi sensibilities can extend across the full spectrum of Muslim identities. Sufism is often defined as a “mystical” tradition that shares similarities with forms of mysticism from other traditions in the way that in conceptualizes the nature of divinity and the nature of human understanding. In this interview, Milad Milani discusses the basic orientation and history of Sufi thought. He also speaks about the diverse national variations of Sufism, particularly with respect to Iranian (or “Persianate”) Sufism. The interview concludes with a few critical remarks on the questionable appropriation of Sufism in contemporary Western discourses on religion