Lives in Spirit: Precursors and Dilemmas of a Secular Western MysticismSUNY Press, 2003 M08 1 - 357 pages Lives in Spirit explores the dynamic conflicts that both energized and distorted the spiritual development of key precursor figures of a contemporary secular or this-worldly mysticism. With its historical roots in the early Gnostics and Plotinus, this characteristically Western spirituality re-emerges with the secularization and loss of traditional religious belief of modernity. The lives, works, and direct experiences of Nietzsche, Emerson, Thoreau, Jung, Heidegger, Gurdjieff, Crowley, and contemporary feminist mysticism are considered in terms of transpersonal psychology (Almaas), the sociology of mysticism (Weber and Troeltsch), and contemporary psychoanalysis (Winnicott, Bion, Kohut). Spiritual or essential experience is seen as an inherent form of human intelligence, which while potentially and even increasingly impacted by personal dynamics and social crisis, is not reducible to them. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Phenomenology and Psychodynamics of Transpersonal Experience | 11 |
Descriptive Phenomenologies | 13 |
Personal Development Psychodynamics and Metapathology | 22 |
A H Almaas and the Synthesis of Spiritual Development and Psychoanalytic ObjectRelations Theory Almaas Transpersonal Psychology and Psychod... | 35 |
A Cartography of the Numinous | 44 |
Issues and Controversies | 52 |
The Sociology of InnerWorldly Mysticism in Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch | 57 |
Triumph of the Will Heideggers Nazism as Spiritual Pathology | 199 |
Heidegger as Spiritual Thinker | 200 |
The Rectorship | 201 |
Heideggers Spiritual Crisis and its Partial Resolution | 203 |
Spiritual Awakening | 205 |
False Illumination | 206 |
True IlluminationDirect Manifestations of Essence | 208 |
Vulnerabilities of Character | 211 |
InnerWorldly Mysticism as the Secret Religion of the Educated Classes | 65 |
Dilemmas and Societal Implications of Contemporary InnerWorldly Mysticism | 71 |
Plotinus and Hellenistic InnerWorldly Mysticism | 81 |
Epictetus and Personal Presence | 82 |
Plotinus and the Formless Dimensions | 85 |
The Plotinian Psychology ofSilberer and Jung and the Origins of Transpersonal Psychology | 89 |
Mirroring and Splitting | 94 |
Plotinus on the Metapathologies of the Gnostics | 96 |
Gnosticism Mystical Dualism and the Metaphysics of Hate | 101 |
The Elements and Social Background of Gnosticism | 102 |
Metapathologies and Implied Dynamics Egyptian Hermeticism | 106 |
Mystical Satirists of the Old Testament | 108 |
Heterodox Christian Gnostics and the Redemption of Sophia | 111 |
A Radical Prophetical Dualism | 114 |
The Problem of Splitting in Mystical Gnosticism | 115 |
Freuds Gnostic Metapsychology of the Newborn | 117 |
Nietzsche | 125 |
Aspects of Essence in Nietzsches Thought and Experience | 126 |
Dynamics and Tragedy | 132 |
Relations between Pathology Creativity and Essential States in Nietzsche | 138 |
The Nietzschean Psychologists and Abraham Maslow | 142 |
Emerson Thoreau and Hiram Marble New England Transcendentalism and a Brief Look at Spiritualism | 147 |
Dynamics and Openings to Essence in Emersons Life | 151 |
The Woods of Concord as Mirror of the Soul | 154 |
Thoreaus Life and Dynamics | 156 |
Kierkegaards Knight of Faith at Dungeon Rock | 162 |
Jung Visionary Racial Occultism and Hitler | 173 |
Carl Jungs Dance with the Devil | 177 |
Narcissistic Vulnerability in Jungs Development | 181 |
Jungs Shift from PseudoBiology to a Cognition of Metaphor | 186 |
Hitler as Charismatic Prophet | 193 |
Max Weber on Spirituality and Politics | 195 |
Dilemmas of InnerWorldly Mysticism | 218 |
Socrates and Heidegger | 219 |
Heidegger and Weber | 221 |
George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff A Near Eastern InnerWorldly Mysticism in the Modern West | 225 |
Gurdjieffs Anticipations of ObjectRelations Theory | 232 |
ObjectRelational Dilemmas in Gurdjieffs Life and System | 238 |
The Schizoid Position | 239 |
The Pakanoid Position | 242 |
Making Reparation and the Capacity for Concern | 245 |
Gurdjieff and Almaas | 247 |
A Final Note on Gurdjieff in NaziOccupied Paris | 248 |
Aleister Crowley Sexual Magick and Drugs Some Ambiguities of Sex Will and Power in InnerWorldly Mysticism | 251 |
Astral Travel and the Invention of the Speedball | 259 |
Crowley and Spiritual Realization | 264 |
False Love | 266 |
False Power and the Role of Hatred | 268 |
The Horrific Childhood of Aleister Crowley | 270 |
The Avoidance of Essential Power and Will in Jerry Garcia | 272 |
Crowley and the Dilemmas of Contemporary Spirituality | 276 |
Feminist Spirituality The Return of Sophia | 279 |
SocioCultural Bases of a Feminist Shamanism | 283 |
The Feminist Roots of NineteenthCentury Spiritualism and Theosophy | 286 |
Contemporary Feminist Spiritualities | 292 |
The Autobiography of Jean Houston | 294 |
Limitations of a Feminist InnerWorldly Mysticism | 298 |
Concluding Reflections Reconciling Transpersonal Approaches and the Human Sciences | 303 |
Contemporary Societal Implications | 308 |
A Closing Word from Kierkegaard | 316 |
Notes | 319 |
References | 327 |
353 | |
Other editions - View all
Lives in Spirit: Precursors and Dilemmas of a Secular Western Mysticism Harry T. Hunt Limited preview - 2012 |
Lives in Spirit: Precursors and Dilemmas of a Secular Western Mysticism Harry T. Hunt Limited preview - 2003 |
Common terms and phrases
abstract Aleister Crowley Almaas Almaas's archetypal aspects autonomy basic become C. G. Jung capacity childhood Christian cognitive consciousness contemporary core creative Crowley Crowley's cultural death described dynamics early ecstasy Emerson emotional Ernst Troeltsch ethical evil experiential Fairbairn false father feeling felt feminist formless dimensions forms Freud Gnostic goddess grandiosity Gurdjieff hatred Heidegger Heidegger's Hermeticism higher human Ialdabaoth identity imagery individual inherent inner inner-worldly mysticism Jerry Garcia Jung's Jungian Kabbalah Kohut Laski later lucid dreaming Maslow Max Weber meditation metapathologies metaphors mirroring modern mother movements narcissism narcissistic naturalistic nature ness Nietzsche Nietzsche's numinous numinous experience object-relations one's pain personal essence phenomenology Plotinus political potential presence Princeton prophetical psychoanalysis psychodynamic R. F. C. Hull radical realization reflected schizoid schizoid dilemma self-remembering sense sexual shamanism social society specific spiritual development spontaneous Sufism this-worldly Thoreau tion traditional transpersonal psychology Troeltsch understanding University Press visionary Weber Winnicott York