| 1. |
- Geels, Antoon, et al.
(författare)
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Den religiösa människan. En introduktion till religionspsykologin
- 2006
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This is a basic textbook in the psychology of religion, originally published in 1985, used at almost all basic courses at university level in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. The book has been revised four times (1989, 1993, 1999, 2000). New chapters on contemporary spirituality and coping theory have been added.
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| 2. |
- Geels, Antoon
(författare)
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Medvetandets stilla grund. Mystik och spiritualitet i världens religioner
- 2008
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We are witnessing an increasing interest in yoga, meditation, pilgrimages, retreats, and other expressions of spirituality. This study presents an overview of spirituality in the five major religions of the world; Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Every chapter highlights a specific theme, such as yoga in Hinduism, mindfulness in Buddhism, ecstatic prayer in Islam, and retreats in Christianity. A fundamental question being posed pertains to the relation between these popular spiritual exercises and the religious traditions to which they originally belong. The book is linked to a webpage, containing pictures and videos, taken by the author during his numerous journeys to religious settings, preferably to Asian countries.
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| 3. |
- Geels, Antoon
(författare)
-
Muslimsk mystik. Ur psykologisk synvinkel
- 2005
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The scientific study of mysticism includes at least the following dimensions: the mystical experience, its consequences in the life of the mystic, ritual behavior, and intellectual and traditional aspects. The author distinguishes between two types of mystical experience: the cataphatic type and the apophatic type, also know as via affirmativa and the via negativa. The study is psychological in the sense that the author focuses on Islamic mysticism’s experiential and behavioral aspects, the first and third dimensions mentioned above. Some fundamental questions in the study are: How is human personality described by Islamic mystics? Which techniques are used in order to reach beyond personality defined as such? What kind of experiences do these exercises lead to? To what end does the mystic pursue these activities? Using scholarly translations of Sufi texts and modern research on Islamic mysticism (that is, Sufism), the author presents influential Sufis from Morocco in the West to Indonesia in the East. The thematic and chronological presentation of their ideas is then analyzed from en ego-psychological perspective. Mystical techniques, such as different types of meditation, repetitive prayer, isolation, and ascetic practices like fasting, staying awake, are described as aspects of social, sensory, sleep, and nutritive deprivation. The numerous examples of visionary (cataphatic) experiences are described as auto-symbolic representations of such intrapsychic needs as the need to feel the confirmation of being divinely chosen. The apophatic experience of mystical death, i.e. the annihilation of personality, is described in terms of an inhibition, not only of the functional dimensions of the complex ego-structure, but also of its inner representations, including the representation of the I as an active agent.
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| 4. |
- Geels, Antoon
(författare)
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Religiös besinning och besinningslös religion. Tankar om terror i Guds namn, buddhism och global andlighet
- 2007
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Bok (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Religion can motivate people to altruistic activity in the service of mankind. But it can also instigate terror attacks. When does religion become senseless? Several chapters are devoted to a discussion of Buddhism and its contribution to well-being. In a final chapter the author presents his ideas about global spirituality. Representatives of the five great world religions come together in order to prepare a (fictive) interreligious dialogue, focusing on controversial issues as well as on common spiritual denominators, which can lay a foundation for a new global spirituality.
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