Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Numinosum'

There is a development of religious consciousness in nowadays modern societies, that seeks the divine on the individual internal plane, gradually getting rid of dogmas and traditions. This incites a strong opposition reaction on the part of fundamentalists, defenders of the traditional, so they see themselves as divine while seeing people outside congregation as profane. This work investigates a psychological aspect behind this opposition reaction of fundamentalists towards people outside the congregation, using Carl G. Jung's theory of deep psychology as a tool. In order to achieve this, we used the qualitative research method to carry out a study of scientific literature and the published fundamentalist ideology of Christian pastor Steven L. Anderson, who lives and has his congregation in the United States of America. The way in which the fundamentalist sees people outside the congregation has more to do with the fundamentalist’s own ego than with the other people: it’s derived from a psychic process and is called shadow projection, according to Jung’s theory.

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CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Experiência religiosa é um dos temas centrais na ciência da religião. O pensamento de Rudolf Otto possui particular importância para este tema, pois este teólogo alemão buscou alcançar a essência do fenômeno religioso ao propor suas ideias sobre o numinoso e a categoria do sagrado, e ao afirmar a precedência da experiência sobre o conceito. A filosofia de Søren Kierkegaard, por sua vez, é também importante para a ciência da religião devido, entre outros aspectos, à sua perspicaz análise comparativa entre o pensamento filosófico grego e o cristianismo, especialmente nas suas obras publicadas sob o pseudônimo Johannes Climacus. A presente pesquisa pretende propor uma leitura das ideias kierkegaardianas de Instante e Paradoxo Absoluto, desenvolvidas no livro Migalhas Filosóficas, como expressões de uma experiência religiosa, interpretando-as a partir do instrumental teórico encontrado nas obras de Otto, particularmente em O Sagrado.
Religious experience is one of the main themes in Religious Studies. Rudolf Otto’s thought has particular importance to this theme, for this German theologian sought to reach the essence of the religious phenomenon when he proposed his ideas about the numinous and the category of the holy, and when he stated the precedence of experience over concepts. The philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard, on the other hand, is also important to Religious Studies because, among other reasons, it proposes a discerning comparative analysis between Greek philosophical thought and Christianity, especially in its works published under the pseudonym Johannes Climacus. The present research intends to propose a reading of the kierkegaardian ideas of Moment and Absolute Paradox, in the way they are developed in the book Philosophical Fragments, as expressions of a religious experience, interpreting them using the theoretical tools found in Otto’s works, particularly in The Idea of the Holy.

THE 'COSMOLOGICAL MONOGRAPH' views the development of achromatic images within artistic practice as the most direct and inalienable approach to researching the dialectical substrata that supports the apparent world. The philosophical argument surrounding the a posteriori meanings of the Universal, the Individual and the Particular, or in other settings, Antithesis, Thesis and Synthesis, shall be replaced by a visual achromatic tonal palette - an a priori dialectic, as illustrated above. Establishing these tones as discrete layers or continuums, a rotation of this macrocosmic dialectic into a microcosmic orientation, shall present a structural monograph of nine intersections of manifestation. Through developing a precise appreciation of the fundamental tendencies of movement [centrifugal, centripetal, and rotational] by which each tone intrinsically is the method of manifesting itself, tone shall be presented as an undetermined device for visually addressing intersubjective and transcendental research. This study remaining rooted to this dialectic, is to be informed by a parallel co-ordination of the methods by which plants support their quintessential creations - their flowers of unfolding cosmological space; these supports being known as inflorescences. The identification of a visually counterbalanced symmetry within this co-ordination [the dialectic reflected into active and inactive modes], presents evidence for a second source of the Absolute Image - a second eidos - the other eidos. It shall be declared that it is to this inactive Image that the artist's work belongs. Exemplifying the implications of such a fundamental dialectic would be an infinite task if it were to be comprehensive. Thus through a constellation of achromatic observations, art as an approach to seeing incorporeal and 'unnatural' images shall be presented as the most powerful and timeless mode of cosmological communion.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
The purpose of this study consists in the determination of whether the mandala's design improves concentrated attention in teenagers in a classroom, and if it presents symbols of religious connotation. This is a quantitative as well as a qualitative research project, focusing on the quantity and frequency of the meanings and processes under scrutiny. The tool used for the mensuratiion of concentrated attention in four high school groups, totalling 70 teenagers, was Test AC-15. In the concentrated attention test, groups B and C (mandala + test) showed results above the average, while groups D and E (test + mandala) came up with results below the average; thus attesting to the mandala's improvement of concentrated attention. The results also show that circular forms are the most frequent in the mandala's inwards, and that, in the quadrature of the circle, flower and star shapes prevail among the themes found. In the verification and analysis of the groups, it is possible to observe that the drawings, in their majority, are center-aligned, which indicates that the subjects of this research are well-adjusted individuals, with a tendency to be more self-driven and self-centered. The characteristics of drawing styles and pressure, reflecting emotional and mental balance, appear to be normal. Also, the drawings present mostly average aesthetic results, showing signs of intelligence, aptitude for spatial abstraction, and emotional equilibrium. Therefore, it can be said that, in this study, the mandala presented an enriching activity for individuals' psychic life, enhancing concentrated attention in the subjects, and bringing moments of improvement in the inner contact with order and harmony, leading to emotional integration
O objetivo deste estudo consiste em verificar se o desenho da mandala melhora a atenção concentrada em adolescentes em sala de aula e se o mesmo apresenta símbolos de conotação religiosa. É uma pesquisa qualitativa e quantitativa, que privilegia os significados e processos mensurados em termos de quantidade e freqüência. O instrumento utilizado para medir atenção concentrada em quatro turmas do Ensino Médio, que totalizaram 70 adolescentes, foi o Teste AC-15. As turmas B e C (Mandala + Teste) que representa a aplicação do desenho da mandala e depois o teste AC15 apresentaram índice superior à média no teste Atenção Concentrada, enquanto as salas D e E (Teste + Mandala) manifestaram um índice inferior à média; comprovando, assim, que a mandala proporciona maior atenção concentrada. Os resultados mostram, também, que as formas circulares são as mais freqüentes no interior da mandala e que, na quadratura do círculo, entre os temas encontrados, há o predomínio de flor e estrela. Na verificação e análise das turmas, é possível observar que os desenhos, em sua maioria, estão centralizados, indicando que os sujeitos desta pesquisa estão ajustados; mostram-se mais auto-dirigidos e auto-centrados. A caracterização do traço e a pressão, que significa equilíbrio emocional e mental, se apresentam normais. Os desenhos também, em grande parte, são medianos, demonstrando inteligência, capacidade de abstração espacial e equilíbrio emocional. Portanto, podemos dizer que a mandala nesse estudo foi uma atividade enriquecedora para a vida psíquica, aumentando a atenção concentrada dos sujeitos e proporcionando momentos à melhora na integração emocional de contato interior de ordem e harmonia, o que pode levar, à integração

This thesis offers a distinctive approach to writing poetry which has been developed within the context of the author’s/researcher’s observations of, and participation in, end of life care. It will be argued that poetry can have a unique role in supporting patients within a hospice setting. It emerges that there may be a further role of the poem as ‘memorial art’. The practical base to the research has been writing poetry based on conversations with, and the creative artwork of, hospice patients throughout a period of over three years. These working methods have enabled the author to produce a substantial collection of poetry, presented at the start of the thesis, as the prime evidence of the value of the approach. In this research context the ‘numinous’ is interpreted from its extended definition as relating to transcendence, wonder and otherness. Particular components of the writing practice have formed a ‘numinous poetics’. The numinous as a focus in this research has emerged through careful and scholarly reading and reflection as part of the author’s response to the perceived qualities and value of the poems as they were written. Seeking for the ‘numinous’ was not a prelude or prescription for the research but a consequence of it. It encompasses cognitive, linguistic and literary components, and further draws from the often numinous experience of a poem’s inception whilst talking with an individual patient. The numinous is argued to be of particular value to inform the creative representation of a patient’s life at a time when a more simplistic presentation of meaning and understanding may prove inadequate. The research details the poetics of the various components, and documents the writing experience to demonstrate the potential to other writers choosing to work in hospice settings. Following the Creative Work of 93 poems beginning the thesis, Chapters 1 and 2 introduce the numinous approach and outline components of numinous poetics. Chapter 3 details the development of particular techniques and skills by specific examples, and then Chapter 4 fully explains the practice and key learning points gained as a hospice poet. Chapters 5 and 6 deal with further key issues regarding the role of the poet and the case for this approach to be integrated within the end of life care aims regarding a ‘good death’.

Lo “espiritual” comparece hoy como concepto sobreentendido, lo cual conduce a una frecuente subutilización de la expresión. El equívoco se deriva a partir de la sistemática que planteó la metafísica del Idealismo alemán en la que lo espiritual convoca al perfeccionamiento humano como su contenido, y cuyo objeto axiológico se identifica con el modelo de razón como entelequia. En vista del aspecto determinante de ese modelo para la Filosofía posterior, la conceptualización de “espiritual” desconoce una parte de su historia, atravesada por tradiciones culturales y religiosas. El caso de Kandinsky funciona aquí como nodo que ata implicaciones filosóficas del Idealismo alemán y del Idealismo religioso ruso, de manera que lo estético post-kantiano se enmarca en el influjo de lo religioso cristiano en su personalidad. Un análisis fenomenológico-hermenéutico del caso resulta en la formación de un concepto de das Geistige que convoca la noción de espiritual relativa a lo numinoso.
The “spiritual” appears today as a hypothecated concept leading to a frequent underuse of the expression. To an extent, the equivocal derives from the systematics granted by the German Idealism metaphysics, in which the spiritual calls for human perfecting as its own content, and of which the axiological object is identified as the model of Reason as entelechy. Observing at the determining aspect of such model for later Philosophy, the conceptualization of the “spiritual” disavows part of its history, which undergoes through the development of cultural and religious traditions. The case of Kandinsky works here as a node to which philosophical implications of both, German Idealism and Russian religious Idealism, arrive, therefore the post-kantian aesthetical gets framed by the Christian religious influence over his personality. A phaenomenological-hermeneutical analysis of the case succeeds informing a concept of das Geistige that calls that notion of “spiritual” which is relative to the numinous.

Esta pesquisa versa sobre a temática do religioso, mais especificamente do fenômeno do numinoso que foi proposto e descrito pelo teólogo Rudolf Otto. A partir de um referencial psicanalítico, em especial da Teoria da Sedução Generalizada, procurou-se ampliar a compreensão desta vivência que se caracteriza, segundo Otto, pelo mysterium tremendum et fascinans – o divino que se mostra enigmático e, ao mesmo tempo, angustiante e sedutor. Partiu-se da explicitação do desamparo físico e existencial, já que estes são considerados causas da construção da religião pelo humano, segundo Freud. É ao analisar a passividade/desamparo da criança frente ao adulto que se constata a presença da sexualidade inconsciente deste. O resultado desta interação, que é desigual, é a vivência traumática e o recalcamento originário. A criança passiva frente ao excesso implantado pelo adulto consegue metabolizar apenas parte desta sexualidade, sendo que o resto torna-se o recalcado originário. Propôs-se que, na vivência do numinoso, é este resto que retorna transbordando no eu. A percepção do enigmático (mysterium) do numinoso foi, desta forma, considerado como sendo de ordem sexual, esta alteridade interna não metabolizada que demanda ligação ao eu. Assim, a vivência da angústia numinosa estaria relacionada ao retorno das mensagens enigmáticas que não puderam ser integradas ao eu. Já na vivência do fascínio numinoso estaria em jogo justamente um primeiro movimento na tentativa de traduzir e elaborar estas mensagens.

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The aim of this study was to investigate Calatonia, a method of relaxation developed by Pethö Sándor, as a means to contact the numinous. An account of Pethö Sándor s life was presented, as well as a description of the method which he created, namely Calatonia. Numinous is the term which Carl Gustav Jung chose to refer to what he understands as religiosity, which, according to him, is the transforming experience of contact with archetypes; a momentously dynamic effect that does not depend on one s will. In order to develop this study, qualitative research was preferred as a method of investigation and interpretation once it focuses on the understanding of phenomena. Eleven psychologists, ranging from 26 to 58 years of age, participated in this research, which started off from the observations made by two participants. Such observations were interpreted in the light of Jung s constructive method, and the resulting data was analyzed through the application of Forghieri s method. It has been c oncluded that Calatonia may facilitate contact with the numinous, seeing that some evidence of this contact was detected in the two cases analyzed. It is possible to deduct thereof that the lowering of ego activity facilitated by Calatonia may promote the emergence of images charged with numinosity, which, once integrated to a structured ego, may lead to a transformation orientated to a repositioning which ultimately proves favorable to a change of attitude towards life
Esse trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a Calatonia, método de relaxamento desenvolvido por Pethö Sándor, como via de acesso para o contato com o numinoso. Foi relatada a vida de Pethö Sándor, assim como foi feita a descrição do método criado por ele, a Calatonia. Numinoso foi o termo escolhido por Carl Gustav Jung para designar o que ele entende por religiosidade, que é a experiência vivida e transformadora do contato com o arquétipo, um efeito dinâmico impactante e que independe da vontade. Para a realização deste estudo foi privilegiado como método de investigação e de interpretação a pesquisa qualitativa por centrar sua atenção na compreensão do fenômeno. Participaram desta pesquisa onze psicólogos com idades variando de 26 a 58 anos. Tomou-se por base as observações de duas participantes, observações essas que foram interpretadas à luz do método construtivo de Jung. Os dados obtidos foram analisados mediante o método fenomenológico de Forghieri. Concluiu-se que a Calatonia pode favorecer o contato com o numinoso, tendo-se percebido indícios desse contato em dois dos casos observados. É possível se deduzir que o rebaixamento da atividade do ego favorecido pela Calatonia possa promover o surgimento de imagens carregadas de numinosidade que, integradas a um ego estruturado, podem levar a uma transformação orientada para um reposicionamento favorável a uma mudança de atitude frente à vida

From Preface: A reader looking to this study for a charting of the diverse religious views held by Tennyson at different periods in his life may be disappointed. My primary concern has been not with religious forms, but with the numinous impulse. However, though I approached the topic with a completely open mind, I find my own Christian convictions have been strengthened through the study of Tennyson's poetry. As the title indicates, I have not attempted to deal with the plays. To explore both the poetry and the plays in a study of this length would have been impossible. I have perhaps been somewhat unorthodox in attempting to combine several disciplines, especially since I cannot claim to be a specialist in the areas concerned. However, I felt it necessary to approach the subject from a number of points of view, and to see to what extent the results could be said to converge on some sort of central "truth". When I have despaired of being able to do justice to a particular aspect within the imposed limits, I have sometimes found comfort in the words of Alan Sinfield (The Language of Tennyson's "In Memoriam", p.211): "We can only endeavour continually to approach a little closer to the central mystery; the ma j or advances will be infrequent, but most attempts should furnish one or two hints which others will develop. "

Nous partons de la présentation de l'oeuvre de Mark Rothko et d’une analyse quirévèle en elle les « risques du sublime », ce qui nous permet alors d’adopter un point de vue esthétique. Attirant l'attention sur l’acte nécessaire du spectateurcontemporain s’il veut découvrir un sens à son expérience des oeuvres d’art, nouscherchons à forger de nouvelles voies de compréhension. La réflexion vise ainsi àmontrer la manière dont le sublime et l’approche apophatique de la mystique peuventnous aider à mieux comprendre l‘attitude nouvelle exigée par la peinture moderne. Il faut comprendre que nous devons nous disposer à (ou pour) l’oeuvre, sans chercher à lui attribuer un sens. Il faut accepter d’être d’abord désorientés et apprendre à reconnaître ensuite d'autres relations possibles entre l’oeuvre et soi-même, pour finir par voir d’un oeil éminemment spirituel. De sorte qu’il s’agit au final d’apprendre à vivre l’oeuvre de Rothko et un certain type d'art contemporain en intégrant des modes nouveaux d’accès à cette peinture, tout en vérifiant une expérience proche du religieux, bien que séculaire
Using the presentation of Mark Rothko’s work and an analysis unveiling the "risks of the sublime" in it, we advance through an aesthetic approach. Focusing on thenecessary act that the contemporaneous viewer must engage in to find a meaning inthe experience of the paintings; our aim is to forge new ways of understanding. This consideration reveals how the sublime and an apophatic mystic help us understand a new and needed appreciation for modern art. By becoming fully open and available to the painting without searching to assign a sense and accepting to be disorientated at first, we arrive at other possible relationships and we can see with an eminently spiritual vision. Thus, we learn to live Rothko’s works and too, contemporary painting, suggesting new ways of access and evincing an experience that can be religious, while remaining secular
Partimos de la presentación de la obra de Mark Rothko y de un análisis que nosdescubre los "riesgos de lo sublime" en ella, para tomar después un punto de vistaestético. Dirigiendo la atención al necesario acto que el espectador contemporáneodebe realizar para encontrar un sentido en su experiencia con las obras, buscamosforjar nuevas vías de comprensión. La reflexión, entonces, pretende descubrir cómolo sublime y una mística apofática podrían ayudarnos a entender esa nueva actitudque pide la pintura moderna. Entender que debemos disponernos a la obra, sinbuscar un sentido para atribuirle, aceptando una desorientación primera, para llegar a aceptar otras relaciones posibles y ver finalmente con una visión eminentemente espiritual. Así, aprender a vivir la obra de Rothko y de un cierto tipo de arte contemporáneo proponiendo nuevos modos de acceso y constatando unaexperiencia que pude ser religiosa, aunque secular

The Seven Valleys is an interactive 3D installation based artwork inspired by mystical writings of the Bahá'í Faith. Created as a modification of the firstperson shooter Unreal Tournament 2003 (Epic, 2003) it subverts the original paradigm of the game to create an experience of the numinous, which in spirit, is diametrically opposed to the original intent of the gameplay design. This artwork presents an exploration of, and allusion to, the often subtle and illusive concepts found in the sacred treatise The Seven Valleys (Bahá'u'lláh, 1991) in which the user engages in an experiential journey through the work. The user is faced with conditions and situations that provide motivation to question, explore and attempt to fathom the abstract sense of the numinous. Each of The Seven Valleys contains its own individual mysteries while at the same time contributing its part to the telling of a collective story.
Master of Arts

The Seven Valleys is an interactive 3D installation based artwork inspired by mystical writings of the Bahá'í Faith. Created as a modification of the firstperson shooter Unreal Tournament 2003 (Epic, 2003) it subverts the original paradigm of the game to create an experience of the numinous, which in spirit, is diametrically opposed to the original intent of the gameplay design. This artwork presents an exploration of, and allusion to, the often subtle and illusive concepts found in the sacred treatise The Seven Valleys (Bahá'u'lláh, 1991) in which the user engages in an experiential journey through the work. The user is faced with conditions and situations that provide motivation to question, explore and attempt to fathom the abstract sense of the numinous. Each of The Seven Valleys contains its own individual mysteries while at the same time contributing its part to the telling of a collective story.
Master of Arts

There are places within nature which are imbued with magic and beauty. This dissertation explores the numinous or sacred within nature which creates such a hold upon the imagination. The images of enchantment from fairy-faith open the realms of nature as a threshold experience, explored through the research of W.Y. Evans-Wentz and Katherine Briggs. The concept of the invisibles in nature as "Other" is investigated through the ideas of Mary Watkins.

When one steps into these enchanted spaces, one may want to spontaneously sing, dance, or remember a story. Such an enchanted experience signals that the invisibles or fairy-folk may be present. The Irish poet W. B. Yeats wrote that " . . . the beautiful [fairies] are not far away when we are walking in pleasant and quiet places [. . .] I will explore every little nook of some poor coppice with almost anxious footsteps, so deep a hold has this imagination upon me" (Mythologies 64).

A relationship between the human and natural orders of being encourages the imagination of both worlds. As Gaston Bachelard argues, "The imagination gives more than things and actions, it invents new life, new spirit; it opens eyes to new types of vision" (On Poetic Imagination and Reverie 16). The poetic imagination provides a way to enter the mythical spheres of nature. The imagining psyche, as seen through the lens of alchemy, mysticism, and physics, is explored through the work of W. B. Yeats, Mary Oliver, and William Shakespeare. In their works, the poetic imagination creates stories that give visionary form to the invisibles of nature. This study also investigates the figures of Arthurian legend, Merlin and Vivien, in their fairy aspect. Their story of disappearance into the primeval forest provides metaphors for the workings of numinosity within nature, such as the "return to the forest," and the "sacred marriage," explored through the thought of Heinrich Zimmer, Mircea Eliade, C. G. Jung, and Marie Louise von Franz.

Finally, an accompanying creative component includes a journal of active/guided/shamanic imagination, a journal focusing on travel to Ireland, and a collection of poems, which, taken together, contribute to the exploration of the numinous qualities of nature.

La vista, la mirada y los ojos son temas nucleares de esta investigación, aunque en ella contemplemos principalmente la visión extraordinaria, la mirada interior y el ojo del corazón. Creemos que la experiencia visionaria es la que fundamenta la creación genuina, que sin esta experiencia inspirada el arte deviene mera especulación. Con el propósito de confirmar esta hipótesis hemos dividido la investigación en dos partes; la parte primera pretende aclarar El Sentido Numinoso de la Luz, título de esta tesis, y la parte segunda el subtítulo, las Aproximaciones entre Creación y Experiencia Visionaria. En la parte primera rescatamos el neologismo numinoso que acuñó Rudolf Otto para referirnos a aquello inefable, fascinante, asombroso que provoca temblor, alegría y gozo, que anima y fundamenta tanto la realidad aparente y ordinaria como la oculta y extraordinaria. La luz que nos permite ver es en sí misma invisible, igual que lo numinoso, es difícil de definir por su carácter paradójico, dada su calidad de onda y de partícula. Por otro lado, los relatos visionarios se refieren a ella como “una luz más luminosa que la luz solar, cegadora, indescriptible”. El sentido numinoso es para nosotros la pulsión que late en toda la creación de forma oculta o manifiesta. En la parte segunda nos centramos en la experiencia y la percepción del sentido numinoso de la luz, así como en la verdadera creación que es fruto de la adecuada interpretación, traducción y fijación de esa visión. Para articular la investigación, hemos creado un diagrama sinóptico que relata, fase a fase, el movimiento que desplaza y transforma el Cuerpo de Percepción del creador a través de la experiencia visionaria. La gestión de esta experiencia de visión es para nosotros el verdadero secreto del oficio de creador.

This research is shaped by the actual experience of practice: as painter and writer. My preoccupation is with the nodal moment when conscious awareness is suspended, and both the corporal and psychic involvement in realising the work almost transport one to another zone of effectiveness. This zone, which I name as the poetic zone, is where the numinous enters the ordinary. The investigation for a space/place/moment that lies beyond the logic of acceptable discourse can help initiate and give shape to a new vocabulary - visual or literary. By orchestrating a methodology, which functions on several layers, I have endeavoured to create a synthesis between painting and writing. My method in all the aspects of this research - the thesis, play scripts, studio paintings, and albums - is firmly rooted in the conscious and critical intellect, as the vehicle that helps facilitate my need in establishing a personal arena for Becoming: - a deliberate yet semi-controlled state of charged eidetic experience, whereby the 'other' of the self is met with and (perhaps) named. By probing into the specific makeup or anatomy of the poetic moment, and coming to understand how it functions within both the pragmatic and the apparently undecipherable creative processes, the artist/poet, like the mystic visionary, may give an affirmative answer to the Self, as /-that-is-not-the-other. Thus I hope that this research will contribute to the feminist project engaged in trying to delineate the divine presence in 'feminine writing', as a powerful guise and method for a clearer understanding of the psychological other.

Researchers have examined reverie and the numinous autonomously; however concomitant studies on reverie and the numinous are nonexistent. Moreover, no research in depth psychotherapy explores reverie or the numinous as essential experiences associated with early childhood psychospiritual awareness. This heuristic investigation examines the experience of reverie as it can lead to the numinous in the context of Child Centered Play Therapy (CCPT). Case history as arts based data conceptualizes this premise. Five nonactive child case histories give an initial glimpse into the researcher's clinical experience of reverie as it can lead to the numinous.

Reverie is defined as a daydream, and numinous is viewed as an ethereal attribute given to one's personal experience of phenomena. Both descriptions are universal depictions. The researcher includes personal perspective through autobiographical accounts of early childhood experiences and through reflections of reverie as it can lead to the numinous in adulthood. In heuristic inquiry, understanding the researcher's internal frame of reference is essential to understanding the research premise and the unique explorative research process.

Overall, this research serves as a way to include children and their unique depth psychotherapeutic processes. Understanding how children access unconscious material may help depth psychologists to understand what informs early childhood psychospiritual awareness.

Ultimately, children can and do access psychological material that can and do lead to transformation and healing at a deep level. Children's psychotherapeutic processes manifest differently and sometimes emanate from a place of reverie; what manifests from those soulful reveries sometimes take on a numinous quality.

This initial heuristic investigation on reverie as it can lead to the numinous is exploratory in nature and is not intended to be conclusive. More research is likely needed to continue to expand on this dissertation's premise.

Key words: case history, child centered play therapy, daydream, heuristic, numinous, psychospiritual, reverie, Sol niger.

This thesis embraces the disciplines of philosophy, art history and practical theology. It is concerned with the ways in which artists have endeavoured to express the numinous or point towards the Transcendent through landscape painting. The Transcendent is described as that recognition in mankind of the capacity of knowing truth intuitively, or of attaining a scientific knowledge of an order of existence transcending the reach of the senses, and of which we can have no sensible experience. This thesis will demonstrate that landscape drawing and painting can be a means of showing the viewer glimpses of that transcendent domain. Whilst paintings of theophanies and of biblical scenes have long been created by artists to produce works that are suitable for altarpieces, it will be my contention that depictions of landscape can be also be used as aids to devotion. The period chosen for the study is 1780-1880 but for contextualisation I will at times discuss matters that lie outside these boundaries. This period covers the reawakening of the discipline of aesthetics, and the development of Idealism in Germany propounded by Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Schelling, one of the consequences of which led to recognition of landscape painting as fine art. I argue that some artists express their view of God through their images, producing hieroglyphs, divine images which can induce mystical experiences in the mind of the viewer and could be used as aids to devotion with some even being regarded as sacred. A discussion of religious experience and trigger factors is included, embracing the work of Friedrich Schleiermacher and Rudolf Otto. The works of a number of artists have been considered but special emphasis is given to Samuel Palmer and Caspar David Friedrich.

Partimos de la presentación de la obra de Mark Rothko y de un análisis que nos descubre los “riesgos de lo sublime” en ella, para tomar después un punto de vista estético. Dirigiendo la atención al necesario acto que el espectador contemporáneo debe realizar para encontrar un sentido en su experiencia con las obras, buscamos forjar nuevas vías de comprensión. La reflexión, entonces, pretende descubrir cómo lo sublime y una mística apofática podrían ayudarnos a entender esa nueva actitud que pide la pintura moderna. Entender que debemos disponernos a la obra, sin buscar un sentido para atribuirle, aceptando una desorientación primera, para llegar a aceptar otras relaciones posibles y ver finalmente con una visión eminentemente espiritual. Así, aprender a vivir la obra de Rothko y de un cierto tipo de arte contemporáneo proponiendo nuevos modos de acceso y constatando una experiencia que pude ser religiosa, aunque secular.
Using the presentation of Mark Rothko’s work and an analysis unveiling the “risks of the sublime” in it, we advance through an aesthetic approach. Focusing on the necessary act that the contemporaneous viewer must engage in to find a meaning in the experience of the paintings; our aim is to forge new ways of understanding. This consideration reveals how the sublime and an apophatic mystic help us understand a new and needed appreciation for modern art. By becoming fully open and available to the painting without searching to assign a sense and accepting to be disorientated at first, we arrive at other possible relationships and we can see with an eminently spiritual vision. Thus, we learn to live Rothko’s works and too, contemporary painting, suggesting new ways of access and evincing an experience that can be religious, while remaining secular.

Through a mixed methodology of hermeneutic and heuristic inquiry, this thesis examines the influence of early childhood numinous, or profound spiritual, experience on the developing psyche and its relationship to repetitive compulsion over the lifespan. A dual lens of depth psychology and neuroscience is employed to explore the interstitial spaces between theories on the numen, early psychological development, and the repetition compulsion, comparing the literature with personal and clinical examples. Findings illustrated that numinous experiences are intimately connected with repetitive symptomology and that certain individuals are genetically predisposed to numinous experience. The hypothesis was proposed that repetition compulsion engendered by early numinous experiences, and perhaps all repetition phenomena, might reflect an unconscious telos, or the aim of an integral part of one’s psyche seeking expression, integration, and relationship in the world.

CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO
Este trabalho se dedica ao estudo da subjetividade de pessoas mentalmente saudáveis, que vivenciam a religiosidade através de experiências de contato direto com o sagrado, alcançado mediante a ingestão de uma substância enteógena de nome Hoasca, no âmbito religioso da União do Vegetal. A fundamentação teórica para a compreensão deste modelo de vivência religiosa é baseada em W. James, R. Otto e C. G. Jung, autores que conferem importância à religiosidade, e ao contato direto com o sagrado na vida do ser humano.
This work is dedicated to the study of the subjectivity of mentally stable people religious experiences through direct contact with the sacred, via the ingestion of sacred substance know as Hoasca, within the religious sphere of União do Vegetal. The theoretical foundation for understanding this type of religious experience is based in the thinking of W. James, R. Otto and C. G. Jung, as authors that confer importance to religion and its direct contact with the sacred, in the life of human being.

This thesis explores historical and postmodern ideas of the sublime and the numinous, and finds similarities and differences between the two concepts. Consideration is given to notions of the sublime, from its appearance in Longinus’s treatise Peri Hypsous, through to its historical development and reception by philosophers, theologians, and eighteenth-century theorists. The thesis discusses how the sublime is conceived in contemporary thought. Alongside this concept, and in order to examine similarities and differences between that and the numinous, Rudolf Otto’s work Das Heilige is used, in which the author argues for consideration of a non-rational element in religion and pleads for an original understanding of the holy. He shows how traditional representations of the deity lead to restrictions and limitations, and introduces his understanding of the mysterium tremendum et fascinans which, like the sublime, leads to awe and dread. Further analysing the sublime, the thesis discusses critical theories presented by John Dennis, Joseph Addison, John Baillie, Immanuel Kant, and Edmund Burke. I show how Otto was influenced by these writers, and how Friedrich Schleiermacher’s ideas on the essence of religion and the sensus numinis paved the way for Otto’s thinking. Otto’s understanding of the wholly other and its origins in the Hindu Upanishads is explored, and I explain how he distinguishes religion from anthropological and emotional morals. Additionally, I show how Emily Brady uses language of the numinous when referring to being overwhelmed, an effect shared by the sublime. Finally, the thesis focuses on ways in which the sublime and the numinous manifest themselves in our contemporary world, in what Gavin Hopps calls ‘a reawakened sense of mystery’. My original contribution to knowledge is that although the sublime and the numinous have similarities, they are distinct, and the sublime is a signpost towards the powerful concept of the numinous.

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O intuito desta dissertação é descrever o sentimento religioso e a experiência religiosa a partir do sacramento da eucaristia, contando com o aporte teórico da fenomenologia da Ciência da Religião, mormente de dois autores clássicos: Rudolf Otto e Mircea Eliade. Estes dois teóricos, com suas respectivas teorias e metodologias, serviram como norteadores para a abordagem do fenômeno no nosso campo empírico. Ademais, tais autores deram a esta pesquisa um fio condutor na compreensão da experiência religiosa, tanto no que se refere à manifestação do numinoso na consciência humana, na experiência individual, quanto da manifestação das hierofanias que conduzem a experiência religiosa no coletivo e no social. A tradição da teologia eucarística é revisitada em sua evolução histórica, no que se refere à compreensão do sacramento da eucaristia. O fenômeno da liturgia eucarística foi perscrutado sob o prisma da fenomenologia hermenêutica em duas comunidades de Juiz de Fora, em busca de vestígios que dissessem do sentimento religioso dos fiéis católicos à luz deste sacramento. Entrevendo como pressuposto ser o rito eucarístico um mysterium impossível de ser desvelado completamente. Mas, que se revela historicamente ou trans-historicamente como um fenômeno dinâmico que atualiza potencialmente a fé humana, desenvolvendo assim a consciência crística, a qual Teilhard Chardin cunhou como consciência cosmoteândrica desabrochando o ágape fraterno e a religião cósmica.
Le but de cette dissertation est décrire le sentiment religieux et l’expérience à partir du sacrement de la eucharistie. En utilisant l'apport théorique de la fenomenologie de la Sciences de la Religion, particulièrement de deux auteurs classiques: Rudolf Otto e Mircea Eliade. Ces deux apports théoriques, avec leurs théories et méthodologies, ont servi de lignes directrices pour l’approche du phénomène dans notre champ empirique. En outre, tels auteurs ont donné à cette recherche un fil conducteur dans la compréhension de l’expérience religieuse, tant en ce qui concerne la manifestation du numineux dans la conscience humaine dans l’expérience individuelle, qu’en ce qui concerne la manifestation dês hiérophanies qui conduisent l’expérience religieuse dans le collectif et dans le social. La tradition de la théologie de l'Eucharistie est revisité dans son évolution historique, en ce qui concerne la compréhension du sacrement de l'eucharistie. Le phénomène de la liturgie eucharistique a été scruté sous le prisme de la fenomenologie herméneutique dans deux communautés de Juiz de Fora. À la recherche de vestiges qui dissent du sentiment religieux des fidèles catholiques à la lumière de ce sacrement. En entrevoyant comme présupposition être le rite eucharistique un mysterium impossible d’être complètement dévoilé. Mais, qui se révèle historiquement ou transhistoriquement comme un phénomène dynamique qui met à jour potentiellement la foi humaine en développant ainsi la conscience christique, dont Teilhard Chardin a monnayé/désigné comme conscience cosmoteândrica en éclosant l’agape fraternelle et la religion cosmique.

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The Sacred Circle Dance is a contemporary practice of dance which aims to rescue its primordial function when it was incorporated to an integrate complex called Music-Dance-Prayer; its original function is self-knowledge and transcendence. German born Benhard Wosien started the Movement in the 70´s and The Spiritual Community of Findhorn in the northeast of Scotland spread these practices throughout the world. The Movement was born during the emerging of the New Age culture. This work is an exploratory study of the historic-practical dimension of this Movement; it is an attempt to identifiy its traditional origin as well as trying to find its relation with the phenomenological aspects of the Sacred in Rudolf Otto, Mircea Eliade and Ninian Smart. Therefore, the origins of the Circle Dance as well as the contemporary correlative movements throughout history have been investigated. Besides the bibliographic study, a qualitative investigation with ten Brazilian facilitators from different regions of that country was carried out aiming to describe not only their profile but mainly their relation with the numinous. The conclusion is that there is a tendency to reintegrate with the original complex Music-Dance-Prayer and only the Fascinans, the most common aspect of the numinous has been present. This work suggested new questions for future investigations
A Dança Circular Sagrada é uma prática de dança contemporânea, que procura resgatar sua função primordial no passado, enquanto integrada no complexo Canto-Dança-Oração, fazendo-a agir como uma forma prática de auto-conhecimento e transcendência. Movimento iniciado pelo alemão Bernhard Wosien, em meados da década de 70, e difundido pela Comunidade Espiritual de Findhorn no nordeste da Escócia, vem marcado por traços da emergente cultura da Nova Era. Este trabalho procurou, de maneira exploratória, detalhar o aspecto histórico-prático do movimento, identificando suas origens tradicionais, bem como, suas relações com o Sagrado do ponto de vista fenomenológico, conforme o enfoque de Rudolf Otto e Mircea Eliade. Para isso, rastrearam-se as origens e a função da Dança Circular ao longo da História, assim como, fez-se um levantamento de movimentos correlatos de Dança Coral Circular, a fim de contextualizar aquele iniciado por Wosien. Além do estudo bibliográfico, cujo material é bastante escasso, realizou-se uma pesquisa de campo com dez experientes focalizadores, de diferentes regiões do país, para delinear o perfil do movimento no Brasil, bem como para analisar as relações da prática com o Numinoso. Concluiu-se que há uma tendência de busca pela reintegração original, entretanto, que apenas as manifestações positivas do Numinoso, o Fascinans, encontram-se, em parte, presentes. O estudo visou, também, ao levantamento de questões para futuros estudos

Celem przedstawionej pracy było rozwinięcie filozoficznej koncepcji cudu, którą zaproponował Adam Świeżyński. Autor Filozofii cudu korzysta z przyjętej w teologii katolickiej teorii semejologicznej . Zgodnie z nią cud jest znakiem i jako taki posiada cztery elementy strukturalne: nadawcę, odbiorcę, nośnik i treść. Nadawcą cudu jest osobowy Bóg, odbiorcą - człowiek, nośnikiem - niezwykłe i niewytłumaczalne z pomocą nauki zdarzenie, a treścią - jakiś u kryty za tym zdarzeniem sens religijny. Tak rozumiany cud posiada istotne funkcje religijne: objawieniową, wiarotwórczą, eklezjotwórczą i soteryczną. Świeżyński zauważa, że poza nimi każde zdarzenie cudowne posiada także wartość ogólniejszą, nie wynikającą z nauki katolickiej ani nie związaną z żadną inną tradycją religijną. Mówi o a - religijnym kontekście i znaczeniu cudu. A - religijny kontekst sprowadza się do tego, że zdarzenia cudowne zachodzą zwykle w sytuacji szeroko pojętego kryzysu. A - religijne znaczn ie - na tym, że umożliwiają jego przezwyciężenie. Świeżyński stawia koncepcji semejologicznej jeszcze dwa zarzuty. Po pierwsze krytykuje pojęcie "niewyjaśnialności" naukowej i zastępuje je pojęciem "niewyjaśnioności" Po drugie, twierdzi, że ujęcie cudu jak o znaku nie wystarczająco uwypukla ludzki sens cudu. Uważa, że adekwatne ujęcie zdarzenia cudownego powinno uwzględniać jego personalistyczn o - egzystencjalny wymiar: czyli to, jaką role odgrywa to zdarzenie w życiu konkretnych osób ludzkich. W przeprowadzo nyc h w niniejszej pracy analizach rozwinęłam przede wszystkim dwie tezy postawione przez Świeżyńskiego. Po pierwsze - dotyczącą konieczności uwzględnienia "ludzkiego sensu" zdarzenia cudownego. Po drugie - dotyczącą kryzysu jako typowego kontekstu tego zda rzenia. Opisałam obszerniej, na czym polega antropologiczny wymiar cudu. Oprócz aspektu personalistycznego i egzystencjalnego, uwzględniłam jeszcze trzy inne: komunikacyjny (polegający na tym, że człowiek jest odbiorcą cudu i tym, kto odczytuje jego głębsz y sens), aksjologiczny (polegający na tym, że zdarzenie cudowne otwiera nas na wartości) oraz fenomenologiczny (polegający na tym, że zdarzenie cudowne niesie ze sobą konkretne i bardzo istotne doświadczenie, przeżywane w niepowtarzalny sposób). Twierdzę, że sama fenomenologiczna warstwa cudu - dotąd zaniedbywana w filozoficznej literaturze mirakularnej - zasługuje na odrębne badanie. Takiemu badaniu poświęciłam większą część niniejszej pracy (rozdział II, III i IV). Rozdział I opisuje dotychczasowe, istot ne z punktu widzenia założeń tej pracy, badania dotyczące fenomenu cudownego. Przedstawiam w nim dwie klasyczne koncepcje cudu: psychologiczno - subiektywną stworzoną przez św. Augustyna oraz filozoficzno - obiektywną, będącą dziełem Tomasz z Akwinu. Wskazuję, że przede wszystkim druga z nich stała się podstawą dla filozoficznej krytyki cudu. Opisuję krótko główne punkty tej krytyki i ustosunkowuję się do niej, opierając się na pracach współczesnych. Przedstawiam, jak przebiegała dotycząca cudu refleksja podejm owana przez Kościół katolicki. Pokazuję, jak w obrębie teologii współczesnej funkcjonują teorie Augustyna i Tomasza. Opisuję podstawowe założenia koncepcji semejologicznej oraz to, w jaki sposób odniósł się do niej Adam Świeżyński. Zarysowuję też wyniki an aliz przeprowadzonych przez Świeżyńskiego. Podstawowa teza, którą wyprowadzam z przeprowadzonych w tym rozdziale analiz, głosi, że ani nauka, ani filozofia racjonalistyczna nie są w stanie wypracować adekwatnej teorii zdarzenia cudownego. Zdarzenie to jest bowiem czymś takim, co z założenia nie mieści się w tym, co racjonalne, logiczne, pojmowalne. Cud jest przejawianiem się transcendencji w immanencji i jako taki zawiera w sobie taką realność, która nie może być w pełni pojmowalna dla umysłu ludzkiego. Na koniec rozdziału podejmuję refleksję dotyczącą tego, czy możliwe jest stworzenie takiej koncepcji cudu, która nie stosowałaby się jedynie do zdarzeń znanych z jednej tradycji religijnej, ale miałaby charakter uniwersalny. Innymi słowy: czy można traktować cud jako fenomen dotyczący homo religiosus jako takiego? Twierdzę, że fenomenologiczne ujęcie cudu jest tym sposobem jego opisania, który mógłby doprowadzić do takiego, uniwersalnego rozumienia tego zjawiska. Rozdział II stanowi rozwinięcie tezy Adama Św ieżyńskiego dotyczącej kryzysu jako typowego kontekstu cudu. Opisuję w nim różne formy cierpienia, które towarzyszą zdarzeniom niezwykłym znanym z tradycji chrześcijańskiej oraz z szamanizmu. Zdecydowałam się na odwołanie także do tej drugiej formy religij ności ze względu na to, że jest ona często określana jako religijność pierwotna. Z tego powodu jej obserwacje mówią wiele o tym, czym jest homo religosus jako taki. Wskazuję na to, że cierpienie jest nie tylko kontekstem, ale także podmiotowym warunkiem zdarzenia cudownego. Odwołując się do przykładów z tradycji chrześcijańskiej i szamanistycznej oraz do prac filozoficznych (do twórczości Williama Jamesa i Lwa Szestowa) wyjaśniam na czym polega szczególna rola cierpienia. Pokazuję, że jest ono tym doświadczeniem, które może doprowadzić człowieka do stanu wewnętrznej wolności. Rozdział III ukazuje, na czym polega doświadczenie wolności przeżywane z związku z wydarzaniem się cudu. Podkreślam tu, że autentyczna wolność ma zawsze charakter osobowy. W oparciu o prace trzech filozofów rosyjskich: Sergiusza Bułgakowa, Lwa Szestowa i Pawła Florenskiego, przeprowadzam refleksję dotyczącą związku wolności i cudu. Prz edstawiam możliwe stanowiska dotyczące tego, czy wolność jest do pogodzenia z wiarą w rozum oraz pokazuję, jaki to ma związek z zagadnieniem cudu. W tej części pracy zaczyna się coraz wyraźniej zar ysowywać wspólnotowy wymiar tego fenomenu . Wniosek płynący z Rozdziału III polega na tym, że adekwatne ujęcie interesującego nas problemu ukazuje fenomen cudowny jako coś, co nie podważa całkowicie wiary w rozum, ale ukazuje istotne ograniczenia myślenia racjonalnego. Innymi słowy, istnienie zjawisk cudownych i ic h autentyczne doświadczenie wskazuje na to, że całość realności nie jest logicznie pojmowalna. Wolność, która przeżywana jest w cudzie, nie daje się wyczerpująco opisać i logicznie wytłumaczyć. Zawiera w sobie pewną nieusuwalną niewiadomą. Autentyczna woln ość zarazem jest osobistą sprawczością, jak i wymaga otwartości na to, co zewnętrzne wobec danej jednostki. Bez tej otwartości moje ja skazane jest na poruszanie się w obrębie własnej immanencji - nie ma wówczas miejsca na element nowy, na żadną realną zmi anę. Tymczasem wolność służy temu, by wprowadzać realne zmiany w świecie. Rozdział IV jest filozoficzną analizą tego doświadczenia, które samo w sobie polega na otwartości ja na to, co inne ode mnie - czyli miłości. Podkreślam, że tradycja filozoficzna u wypuklała dwa aspekty miłości. Po pierwsze, ujmowała ją jako osobową relację do drugiego. Po drugie - jako stosunek do piękna. Analizuję obydwa te wymiary doświadczenia miłości. Pierwszy z nich przedstawiam przede wszystkim w oparciu o książkę Siemiona Fra nka - Niepojęte . Autor wiąże bowiem wyraźnie miłość z cudem. Twierdzi, że ona sama ma charakter cudowny. Wyjaśniam, skąd bierze się to przekonanie. Pokazuję, w oparciu o Niepojęte , że miłość jest czymś sprzecznym, a zarazem - ze względu na swoje implikacje metafizyczne - nie budzącym wątpliwości. Będąc czymś logiczne niemożliwym, stanowi jednocześnie podstawę obiektywnego bytu. Opisując drugi aspekt, odwołuję się do kategorii estetycznych: piękna i wzniosłości. Przedstawiam krótko historie pojęcia wzniosłoś ci. Wskazuję, że początkowo było ono niejako aspektem piękna, a zostało od niego oddzielone dopiero w czasach nowożytnych. Pokazałam, że oddzielenie to opiera się przede wszystkim na tym, że piękno traktowane jest jako mysterium fascinans , podczas gdy wzniosłość odnosi się do tego, co określilibyśmy jako tremendum . Na koniec, odwołując się do wcześniej przedstawionych tekstów, ale także - ponownie - do pracy Franka oraz do współczesnych analiz teologicznych, określam wzajemny związek piękn a i wzniosłości. Twierdzę, że wzniosłość określa pewną ludzką postawę spowodowaną zetknięciem z tym, co piękne - czyli z pewną obiektywną realnością na zewnątrz mnie. Powtarzam też za F rankiem, że ta realność jest czymś psychopodobnym. W związku z tym dośw iadczenie estetyczne jest w pewnym sensie pokrewne osobowej relacji miłości. Wszystkie te analizy doprowadzają do twierdzenia, że miłość jest nadrzędnym elementem doświadczenia cudu. Poprzez swoje odniesienie do obiektywności uzasadnia i nadaje wartość poz ostałym wymiarom tego doświadczenia - cierpieniu i wolności. Jednocześnie - jako to, co ma zarówno sens etyczny, jak i estetyczny, uwzniośla zarówno duchowy, jak i materialny element cudu.
Summary The purpose of this study was to elaborate and complement a certain aspect of a philosophical concept of a miracle presented in Adam Świeżyński's postdoctoral dissertation. The author of Filozofia cudu refers to the semiotic theory according to which miracle is a sign. As a sign it includes four major components: a sender, a receiver, the signifier and the signified. The sender of a sign is a personal God, the receiver is a human, the signifier is an un usual fact which cannot be explained by scientists and the signified is the hidden religious sense. A s such a miracle fulfils important religious functions: epiphanic, faith - grounding, Church - grounding and soteric. Świeżyński claimed that except from these a miracle has also more general value which is not related to catholic faith or any other religious tradition. He persuaded that we should also consider a non - religious context and meaning of a miracle. A non - religious context is based on the fact that m iracles usually happen in various critical situations. Non - religious meaning - on the fact that due to miracles the crisis can be overcome. Świeżyński suggested that the semiotic theory does not sufficiently emphasize the human perspective of a miracle . He is convinced that this theory should be complemented with the study on personal and ex istential dimension of this phenomenon . In other words, the adequate philos ophical theory of a miracle ha s to include its meaning and implicati ons for people 's lives . The thesis stated by Świeżyński was a starting point of the study. Except from personal and existential characteristics of a miracle I also described its three other " human " aspects: communicative, axiological and phenomenological. The communicative aspect is based on the fact that it is a man who receives the miraculous sign. That is to say a man reveal its underlying meaning. Axiological sense relates to the values which we are able to recognize due to a miracle. Finally, phenomenological characteristic describes the content of the unique and essential human experience of such an event . It was indicated that phenomenology of a miracle has not been sufficiently analyzed withi n philosophy of religion. Th is study is an attempt to fulfill this deficiency. Chapter 1 gives a brief overview of the most important works on a miracle. Two classical theories were introduced here: st. Augustine's psychological concept and st. Thomas's p hilosophical concept of a miracle . It was pointed out that the second of them has been primarily criticized by philosophers and scientists who argue against the existence of such phenomena . The main critics were presented and discussed in the view of more recent pap ers. Moreover, the teaching of the catholic Church concerning a miracle was presented. It was demonstrated how the classical theories have been functioning in theological thought. Furthermore, we introduced the fundamental premises of the semiot i c theory . Also, we shortly described Adam Świeżyński's polemics with it. The end of this chapter is concerned with the issue of whether it is possible to elaborate a concept of a miracle which is not related to any particular religious faith. In other word s, can a miracle be described as a universal phenomenon concerning homo religiosus in general? We put forward the claim that phenomenological characteristic of these events is a possible way to obtain such a universal concept. Chapter II comprises the amp lification of Świeżyński's thesis that the typical background of a miracle is some kind of an existential crisis. We examined various forms of pain which occur in relation to unusual events known from the C hristian tradition and shamanistic religions. The examples from the latter were taken into consideration since shamanism is by many authors described as a primal human religiosity. For this reason, exploration of shamanism can provide interesting knowledge on homo religiosus in general. We put forward the claim that pain not only is a typical background but also a subjective condition of a miracle. To support this thesis we also referred to philosophical works (by William James and Lev Shestov) on the sense and value of pain for human existence. On the bas is of particular examples taken from religious traditions as well as philosophical investigation the author explained what is the exceptional meaning of pain grounded in. We indicated that the phenomenon of pain causes the very unique experience which can be the source of our internal freedom. The aim of Chapter III was to investigate the content of the experience of freedom which is related to the miraculous event. It was emphasized that the authentic freedom must be understood as a personal feature as well as most general characteristic of human condition. The phil osophical inquiry into the relation of freedom and a miracle was conducted on basis of works by three Russian authors: Sergei Bulgakov, Lev Shestov and Pavel Florensky. We presented the possible positions concerning the issue of whether the state of being free is achievable for those who trust in human reason. Furthermore, the consequences of this debate for the concept of a miracle were discussed. The results of these analyzes revealed that the existence of a miracle does not completely contradict the impo rtance of human reasoning. Nonetheless, the occurrences of unusual events lead us to constrain our trust in rational thinking. Likewise, the human experience of a miracle is not possible to describe and explain in logical terms. Such an experience always i ncludes an ineffaceable unknown. The authentic freedom is a personal, individual creativity as well as the openness to the external personal reality. Chapter IV is the philosophical investigation into the experience of love which is the core experience of relation with the non - self : It was noticed that there have been two fundamental approaches to the phenomenon of love in the history of philosophy. According to first of them, love is a personal relationship. As such it is primarily an ethical problem. The other tradition takes its origins from the Plato's thought and defines love as seeking for the ideal beauty. That is to say, it focuses mainly on the aesthetical aspect of the experience under discussion. Both these approaches were described in the chapte r. The concept of love as a personal relationship was discussed mainly in reference to Semyon's Frank The Unknowable . This publication seems to be exceptionally relevant for this matter since Frank claims that love itself is a miracle. We explained the g rounds of such a thesis. It was indicated that the phenomenon of love is logically impossible as well as undeniable. It is beyond rational perception but at the same time it constitutes the very basis of the objective reality. Notably, both ethical and aes thetical characteristic of love describe this phenomenon as a personal, intimate experience which is founded in the objective reality. The inquiry into aesthetic experience related to the miraculous event not only includes the analysis on the beauty but al so of the sublime. We presented the classical approach according to which the difference between these two notions relies on the fact that beautiful things induce experience which is opposite to the experience caused by the sublime. To portrait the issue i n Rudolph's Otto terms, beauty is related to mysterium fascinans while the sublime relates to the element of tremendum . The results of the investigation into ethical and aesthetical aspects of love both led to the same thes is. We claim ed that the objective ground is the reason why love justifies other phenomenological components of a miraculous event - the experience of pain and freedom. The phenomenological inquiry conducted in the study provides additional support for insight into the universal "human" aspect of a miracle. We examined the components of the experience related to the miraculous event and their mutual relations. This analysis was used to confirm that a miracle not only is a n element of a particular religious faith but also an event of a sig nificant meaning for the existence of homo religiosus in general . The characteristic of the experience of a miracle reveals the personal structure of homo religiosus - a free person who develops through critical situations, is capable of love and open to t ranscendence - as well as their relation to the external reality.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Ethnomusicology and Musicology.
Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 372-386). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:NR29325

Tese de Doutoramento em Arte Contemporânea apresentada ao Colégio das Artes da Universidade de Coimbra
Esse estudo é constituído de matéria poética coletiva, multifacetada e ancestrálica, se quisermos, seu corpo expositivo desprende-se no âmbito do mistérico ou do “mysterium tremendum”. Por um lado, é a construção autoral e poética, de um doutorando em Arte Contemporânea e artista vinculado à estética do Butô, que se reclina sobre uma prática recortada por dimensões simultaneamente biográficas e transgeracionais. Enquanto faceta evocativa de visualidades e de instalações artísticas, segundo uma trajetória epistêmico-laborial do contemporâneo nas artes, as manifestações aqui compartilhadas, ademais, interpelam o criador a partir de um modo de recepção autodidata que excede a dimensão objetiva da obra artística, uma vez que solicita acomodações nas potências ritualísticas dos antepassados invocados. Por outro lado, exatamente assim posicionado como reconhecimento sensível, o que se apresenta como uma feitura dessa gestação criativa, surge, não obstante, como interface de obrigações e reparações sobre feridas de um Imenso Longínquo. Diferentemente da miragem pessoal e das narrativas institucionais (também familiares), as tramas aqui se deslindam, como fratura ou trauma tácitas, uma fraude ou traição que convoca uma audácia pela invenção: mediações transliminares, por exemplo e sobrevivência, são formuladas para os expedientes litúrgicos da tradição – mais do que transdisciplinares e transcendentes, mais do que obediências e apenas vacâncias. O acontecimento-Eixo desse processo criativo valeu-se uma Árvore dita por Velha ou Antiga (uma Ameixoeira-de-jardim): então localizada no Claustro do Colégio das Artes da Universidade de Coimbra, a Árvore tornou-se fragmento de viagens e visitas, de outros deslocamentos na comunicação entre os mundos dos reais/das ontologias, uma Árvore, portanto, da Vida e da Morte, do Conhecimento e dos Antepassados, de Ligação e também de Mistério com Orixás pela diáspora afro-brasileira. Quanto se fez presente o processo de enlutamento da Avó na Árvore e, depois, o funeral presentificado da própria Avó-Árvore, nesse Butô lançado como incursão pelos mortos e os não-mortos, é preciso sublinhar que, tangente aos valores de subversão e ao anarquismo do artista, constata-se essa narrativa como assimétrica ou incomensurável, enquanto pactuação de um vivido inefável em capitulações estáticas no signo da palavra escrita. Essa é, sobretudo, uma travessia liminar pelo inatual, como um avesso na pretensão do atual, para um saber da psykhé junto ao trauma e à Morte. Realizadas no intervalo entre os anos acadêmicos de 2017 e de 2020, especialmente a partir da Universidade e da Cidade de Coimbra, as experimentações desse processo de criação-estudo extrapolaram uma “localização” meramente territorial e temporal, seja de Portugal e de Cascavel, no Ceará do Brasil, seja de um corpo em sua presente encarnação mistérica, para rascunhar outras ocupações e respectivas narrativas de espacialidade. Constituídas a partir das categorias do Numinoso e do Oráculo, implica-se, nesse documento de aspectação labiríntica e agônica, um modo de saber arcaico (ou das arkés), implicado nas jornadas e referentes da alma (ou da psykhé). O processo, finalmente, se situa como uma experimentação abismática de “Butô-Instalação” e sua ferramenta de “Ankoku-Paisagem”, segundo um procedimento de “des-uso” e uma contra-orientação do “Con(tra-)temporâneo em Arte”, no campo de uma “Arte dos Meios Longínquos”.
The study consists of collective, multifaceted and ancestral poetic materials, wherever its main body also dwells in the mystery or the ´mysterium tremendum´. On one hand, it is authorial and poetic construction of a Ph.D. candidate in Contemporary Art who is also an artist bounded to the aesthetics of Butoh, whose creative practice leans on simultaneously biographical and transgenerational dimensions. Evocative of artistic visualities and installations according to a laborial-epistemic trajectory of the contemporary in the arts, the shared artistic manifestations are here challenged by a mode of self-taught reception that exceeds the objective dimension of the artistic work, since it requires further accommodation in the ritualistic potency of the ancestors invoked. On the other hand, exactly positioned as sensorial recognition, what appears as the outcome of this creative gestation, emerge, nevertheless, as the interface of obligations and repairs on the wounds of an Immense plain of Longitude. Unlike personal mirage and institutional (also familiar) narratives, the interweaving here unfolds, as tacit fracture or trauma, a fraud or betrayal that calls for audacity of invention: transliminary mediations, for example and survival, are formulated for the liturgical expedients of tradition - more than transdisciplinary and transcendent, more than obedience and vacancies. The main event of this creative process was the use of an Old or Antique Tree (a Plum Tree): then located in the Cloister of the College of Arts of the University of Coimbra, as the Tree became a fragment of travel and visits, including other shifts in communication between the real/ontological worlds, a Tree, therefore, of Life and Death, of Knowledge and Ancestors, of Liaison and also of Mystery with the Orishas by the Afro-Brazilian Diaspora. As far as the grieving process of the Grandma in the Tree was made present and, later, the presentified funeral of the Grandmother-Tree itself, in that Butoh launched as an incursion by the dead and the undead, it must be emphasized that, tangent to the values of subversion and anarchism of the artist, it assembles this narrative as an asymmetrical or immeasurable, once taking into consideration the lived ineffable while reached in static capitulations in the sign of the written word. This is, above all, a liminal crossing through the inactual, as an opposite to the intention of the actual, for a wisdom of the psykhé along with trauma and Death. Held between the academic years of 2017 and 2020, especially from the University and the City of Coimbra, the experiments of this creation-study process exceeded a purely territorial and temporal ´location´, be it in Portugal or Cascavel, in the Ceará do Brazil, be it a body in its present mysterial incarnation, to sketch other occupations and respective narratives of spatiality. Constituted from the categories of Numinous and Oracle, in this document of labyrinthine and agonic aspects, an archaic (or arkés) way of knowing was implicated in the journeys and referents of the soul (or psykhé). The process, finally, stands as abysmal experimentation of ´Butoh-Instalation´ and its tool of an ´Ankoku-Landscape´, according to a procedure of ´dis-use´ and a counter-orientation of the “Co(u)nTe(r)mporary in Art´ , in the field of an ´Art of Longitude Media´.

The focus of this qualitative, arts-based inquiry was to understand how disabling illness might be transformed through art. A/r/tography -- art/research/teaching and writing, was the method used to explore and understand the meaning(s) held within the art: Border Crossings -- a conceptual, figurative, sculptural installation. The installation embodied the experience of disabling illness, symbolically depicting power relationships, identities, subjectivities and the multi-dimensional nature of being, of one coming up against the institution, the illness and the self. Guided by the work of Heidegger (Hermeneutic Circle), Deleuze and Guatarri (Rhizome and The body without Organs) and Foucault (Power Relationships), the A/r/tographer examined the installation through the lens of the poststructural feminist writers Grosz, Davis, Gatens, Weedon, Moss and Dyck with a focus on the body/subjective to explore notions central to understanding being in a body. A further analysis through art theorists Eisner, Allen and A/r/tographers Irwin and Springgay’s aesthetic perspectives, explicated the nuance of how art transformed the ill researcher and larger community. The results of the inquiry revealed a multi-dimensional, generative process of opening multiple thresholds of complexity, understanding and transformation of the experience of disabling illness for inquirer, and the art participant/observers/larger community. The research illuminates the value of A/r/tography as a potent means of inquiry into lived experience and how art enhances the understandings and possibilities for the transformation of the experience of disabling illness/lived experience.
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