Browsing by Author "Edwards, Stephen David"

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    A Social Psychology of Religion with a Phenomenological Case Study
    (EDIS- Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina, 2022-06-30) Edwards, Stephen David
    This article defines religion in terms of some of its major characteristics. Special attention is paid to how religion is attuned to the structure of a prevailing social order. Religion renders valuable functions within the psyche of individuals and renders justification to the integrity of a community. A brief qualitative investigation utilizing interviews challenges Freud’s viewpoint about religion being a neurosis. It also illustrates that religion can be studied phenomenologically without having to bracket the concept, of God. Finally, people can live comfortably with paradoxes in their interpretations of reality. The awareness of personal limitations and the need for a sacred, embodied, immanent and transcendental world ensures the future of religion.
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    Meaningful Quantitative and Qualitative Transformative Experiences using the Arka Dhyana Intuitive Meditation Method
    (EDIS- Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina, 2022-06-30) Tina, Lindhard; Edwards, Stephen David
    Using scales and the analysis of shared phenomenological experiences, our chief aim in this investigation is to record what happens when practitioners start meditating on their Self via their hearts using the Arka Dhyana Intuitive Meditation method (IM). This yogic-based practice involves a journey from the thinking mind to the emotional heart to pure consciousness. Thirty-one participants divided into three groups attended a five-session online introductory IM workshop. The participants filled in the Resilience Scale (RS), Spirituality Scale (SS), and the revised Feeling Consciousness Scale (FCS), which included two open questions providing qualitative data. Quantitative findings indicated significant increases in RR, SS, and FCS. The highly significant quantitative results provide meaningful support for the hypothesis that the IM method is associated with transformative changes after learning IM. The qualitative data support and expand on these findings. This study is relevant to people who hold a metaphysical position that supports the concept of the Self beyond the small ego identity.
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    Running for God as a Dialogue between Self and Soul
    (EDIS- Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina, 2022-06-30) Edwards, Stephen David
    This study is about the physical and spiritual aspects of running. In addition to the human physical activity of running, there is a special reference to God-consciousness. Although the paper reflects an African, Christian, psychological bias, from an interfaith perspective, it concerns a simple, natural, human activity, within a broader energetic field of consciousness, which is usually and simply referred to as Love. The deliberate choice of the broad generic terms, God, or Godhead, is intended to include such terms as Allah, Brahman, Tao, Spirit, Divine, etc. While the terms “self” and “soul” may be used in different ways by various wisdom, spiritual and religious traditions, here they essentially refer to the interior, social and spiritual dimensions of human relationships. The study adopts a phenomenological, psychological, and biographical methodology with special reference to the spirituality of running as experienced by participants and reported by the heroic figures of Allyson Felix, Eliud Kipchoge, and Teilhard de Chardin, respectively. Its humble intention is to inspire all concerning the benefits of physical activity in general and running in particular, for physical, mental, social, and spiritual health promotion.
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    Running for God as a Dialogue between Self and Soul
    (EDIS- Publishing Institution, 2022-06-30) Edwards, Stephen David; Du Toit, Krynauw; Edward, David John
    This study is about the physical and spiritual aspects of running. In addition to the human physical activity of running, there is a special reference to God-consciousness. Although the paper reflects an African, Christian, psychological bias, from an interfaith perspective, it concerns a simple, natural, human activity, within a broader energetic field of consciousness, which is usually and simply referred to as Love. The deliberate choice of the broad generic terms, God, or Godhead, is intended to include such terms as Allah, Brahman, Tao, Spirit, Divine, etc. While the terms “self” and “soul” may be used in different ways by various wisdom, spiritual and religious traditions, here they essentially refer to the interior, social and spiritual dimensions of human relationships. The study adopts a phenomenological, psychological, and biographical methodology with special reference to the spirituality of running as experienced by participants and reported by the heroic figures of Allyson Felix, Eliud Kipchoge, and Teilhard de Chardin, respectively. Its humble intention is to inspire all concerning the benefits of physical activity in general and running in particular, for physical, mental, social, and spiritual health promotion.