Search

Wudu, an ablution performed (often multiple times) daily which is integral to the spiritual lives of many, has been somewhat neglected from the analysis of the everyday experiences and geographies of Muslims. The lack of general and academic knowledge around this practice can lead to misunderstandings amongst non-Muslims which may reinforce negative attitudes towards the Muslim population. This paper draws on questionnaires and interviews with Muslims, chaplains and organizations to explore the experience of wudu in public spaces such as educational institutions. It explores the experience of performing wudu in public spaces and contributes to existing Muslim geographies in three crucial ways. Firstly, it examines how wudu ablution can destabilize existing social relations. As an often-hidden act in which Muslims tactically use secular spaces for religious purposes, wudu refracts social anxiety and alienation into discourses of etiquette and the messiness of spaces. Secondly, it identifies the challenges related to performing wudu in public within dominant hegemonies of secular and non-Muslim spaces. Finally, the paper considers how the recent COVID-19 pandemic has modified and reinforced the meanings and experiences of wudu amongst its participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper clarifies some prominent aspects of Rudolf Eucken’s Philosophy of Life that, despite its vast influence in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, is nowadays mostly forgotten. More specifically, I will reconstruct Eucken’s philosophical diagnosis of the spiritual crisis affecting European and Western civilization in relation to the concepts of culture, history, and worldview. First, I will offer an analysis of the spiritual crisis in its two core aspects: as a crisis of culture and as a crisis of the historical present stemming from the unprecedented polarization of vying worldviews. Second, I will identify the defining traits of Eucken’s original and systematic concept of Weltanschauung through a detailed comparison with Ernst Haeckel’s naturalistic worldview, an early version of scientific reductionism. Third, I will show how the problem of clashing worldviews both configures and responds to the present crisis and how such a problem hinges on a latent process of falsification of life. In doing so, I will shed light on Eucken’s belonging to Lebensphilosophie by elucidating the relation between philosophy and life as well as the task of philosophy vis-à-vis the present crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Julia Watts Belser's Loving Our Own Bones is a book with transformative potential, a book that shows "how disability experience can shape our inner lives, how disability can offer insights into the textures and tenor of spiritual life ... [how] disability can be a generative force, a goad to creativity, a source of embodied knowledge" (5). The demand Loving Our Own Bones makes on its readers is that we simply linger with disability. The promise here is that lingering with disability without rushing to rationalize it, domesticate it, judge it, fix it can be a portal to a vast and glorious imaginative terrain. The promise here is the recovery of "an uncanny kind of freedom" (2) in which the norms and conventions, the shoulds and the oughts, are subject to revision or at least to relativization against the broader horizon of human diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers some reflections on Christina Van Dyke's Hidden Wisdom , using the opportunity to make some suggestions as to possible lines of influence between the world of scholastic theology and that of the female medieval mystics in what Van Dyke considers their 'annihilationist' mode: that the goal of the spiritual life is transformation into God in some sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a critique of Pierre Hadot's idea of philosophy as a way of life with reference to ancient China, particularly the Zhuangzi. The prevailing scholarly emphasis in philosophy as a way of life falls too heavily on individual will and effortful exertion—thus Hadot's description of what he calls "spiritual exercises." I argue for counterbalancing the focus on effortful self‐cultivation with attention to the role of passivity, receptiveness, and chance in the good life—collectively termed "grace." After a discussion of the overemphasis on effort in self‐cultivation, I turn to the Zhuangzi as an illustrative source of the importance of grace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the rich cosmopolitan history of Dakar, Senegal, highlighting its role in the Black Atlantic and ongoing cultural exchanges through mediums like media, music, and sports. It also discusses the visual portrayal of Sufi saints, especially Amadu Bamba, the significance of Pape Diop's graffiti in Dakar's urban landscape, and the role of baraka in shaping the city's social and spiritual life.

Copyright of Turcology Research is the property of Ataturk University Coordinatorship of Scientific Journals and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In secular societies, the adults’ vocabulary for talking with children about spiritual topics is limited. This negatively affects Danish children’s spiritual development as well as hinder spiritual care and conversations with adults. This study explores the spiritual understandings, needs, and language of Danish children by means of focus group interviews with 6–9-year-old children in elementary schools. Results suggest that Danish children exhibit spiritual thoughts and emotions despite being embedded in a secular culture. The children interact and relate to dilemmas and life values with a spiritual language which they acquire through narratives and dialogue. Conversations with adults seem to be central to setting the spiritual development in motion. In a secular Danish school context, adults should support children’s spiritual development with a pedagogical didactic where spirituality is taught from the perspective of or with the child and use spiritual stories to facilitate dialogues about these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a part of applied science, a combination of Linguistics and Psychological Sciences which has been frequently used in various domains since 1970. Its effectiveness in responding to various situations can be seen in the scope of companies, businesses, campuses, education, marketing, health, personal life, and even the improvement of spiritual life. NLP is a powerful and useful methodology that helps us communicate effectively and get the desired results. In this research, NLP technique observations were carried out on the multiculturalism activities of Pandita/Hindu Religious Leaders in Bali. Hindu priests in Bali give religious lectures, cultural seminars, and religious and cultural rituals not only in Balinese and Indonesian but also in English. Multiculturalism activities are also carried out by various ethnic groups, religions, and citizens of the world. There are three NLP patterns used by Hindu Pandita in Bali in their multiculturalism activities: Deletion, Generalization, and Distortion. Frequently, the Deletion and Distortion techniques are most widely used. These techniques can provide benefits such as communication becoming more effective and flexible, the speaker becoming more charismatic, and listeners being curious about what kind of thoughts/views they have and having further curiosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Forest Products Industry is the property of China Forest Products Industry Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose Methods Findings Conclusions Implications for nursing practice This study aimed to determine the clinical validation of the nursing diagnosis (ND) of “spiritual distress (00066)” and the sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio, and predictive value in parents of children with chronic diseases.This cross‐sectional study was conducted using the clinical diagnostic validity method proposed by Fehring. The data were collected through structured interviews and using a researcher‐made list that included 5 parts of demographic information, parents’ opinions about spiritual distress, the researcher's diagnosis, 74 defining characteristics (DCs) of the ND of spiritual distress, and the Spiritual Well‐being Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio, and predictive value.The prevalence of diagnosis was 70% in a sample of 120 parents. Out of the 74 DCs, 39 criteria were validated. Questioning meaning of illness and suffering had the highest sensitivity (98.8%), the highest negative predictive value (88.88%), and the lowest negative likelihood ratio (0.05%). Expressing the lack of meaning in life demonstrated the highest specificity (97.22%), the highest positive predictive value (98.33%), and the highest positive likelihood ratio (25.26%).Parents who search for meaning of illness and suffering related to a lack of meaning in life are in spiritual distress. The ND was validated.These findings can empower clinical nurses to confidently assess and identify patients experiencing spiritual distress, bridging the gaps caused by the absence of standardized tools for assessing spiritual distress in the inpatient setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The believers of all religions seek religious or mystical experience. Yoga, meaning harmony between the divine and the human, is used to achieve this harmony. Sun Prayer is one of the concrete forms of Yogic prayers. This is not a form of worshiping the sun but the sun is taken as symbol of the presence of Divine. This article, basing on the experience of the author, after briefly explaining Yoga and Sun Prayer, proposes a meditation of Sun Prayer with twenty different postures, each containing the meaning of the word, practical guideline, formula for awareness and related texts from scriptures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the experience of Christians who, trusting in the Holy Spirit, practice Zen, as an integral part of their Christian life. It is not a question of doing ‘Christian Zen’, but of practicing Zen as a Christian. Of course, some elements of Zen can be welcome additions to prayer, leading to the discovery of new dimensions of prayer. Zazen in particular plunges the practitioner into the depths of his being, to the most true and pure layer of his spiritual life. And this experience is a challenge because it points to the very source of life. Buddhism, as we know, is a non-theistic tradition. Anyone who thus engages at this level hears the question that had already shaken the psalmist: “Where is your God?” (Ps 41:4). This question may be welcomed in the name of the Gospel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city is the place where cohabitation is made problematic by the assumption that diversity is a potential factor of disharmony and conflict. The secular ethos is impatient with diversity, bypasses religion, replaces moral motivation with procedural modes of coexistence and a rights culture. Secularity though is just an iteration of a spiritual pathology structurally connected to the constitution of the city even in pre-Modern times and which takes the form of the pursuit of linguistic uniformity. In relation to the city, prayer can be described as any practice that fulfils the critical function of disrupting the totalitarian pretensions of linguistic uniformity and of restoring an authentic responsive and responsible approach to reality, sociality, and God. In the end, inescapable exposure to diversity is the feature of the city that keeps its inhabitants spiritually off-balance and restless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karl Rahner insists that “we cannot have a truly spiritual life without a life of the mind.” This suggests that theology is a necessary underpinning to the spiritual life, yet those today claiming to be ‘spiritual but not religious’ pursue spirituality without any theological framework or context. Meanwhile in universities the mystical traditions of the Church are taught without any expectation of leading to personal commitment or practice on the part of the student. This article explores the ways in which theological education, prayer and contemplative practices both challenge and make sense of one another [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relationship between prayer and action, examining the way these two dynamics of the spiritual life intersect and inform one another in ways often overlooked. The author draws on the model of Francis of Assisi tradition to illustrate what the openness to and experience of the transcendent in quotidian human experience looks like. As Thomas of Celano, Francis’s first biographer, notes about the integration of prayer and action in his life, Francis sought to move from saying prayers to a way of life that was “totally prayer” through every word and deed. Examples of this transformation of the understanding of prayer as action can be seen in Francis’s outreach to lepers, interreligious friendship, and creational spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Zhuang people, a significant ethnic minority in China, practise a unique Mo religion that profoundly shapes their spiritual and daily lives. Although the theology and rituals of the Mo religion have been extensively studied, its temporal perspectives still need to be explored. This study addresses this gap by comprehensively analyzing how the Mo religion integrates natural, cultural, calendar, and theological elements to create a sacred temporal framework central to the Zhuang people's social life and material production. Drawing from primary sources such as religious texts, a rigorous text-based research approach is employed to gain a profound understanding of the Mo religion's temporal perspectives. The significance of this study lies in its contribution to enriching our knowledge of the Mo religion's sacred temporal frameworks, providing valuable insights for interdisciplinary research, and fostering mutual respect and appreciation among diverse cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studia Paedagogica Ignatiana is the property of Jesuit University Ignatianum in Krakow and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Úrsula de Jesús's Vida puts her life story in dialogue with a broader Afrodiasporic feminist tradition and community. Úrsula's discourse articulates her liberation through eloquent rage, defined by Brittney Cooper as Black women's refusal to be relegated to an inferior position. Though imitatio is a common trope among Christian mystics, Úrsula uses the trope to represent her positionality as a moral authority because of her Blackness. In doing so Úrsula refuses to accept the inherent anti-Blackness of prevailing arguments that erase the possibility that she could be fully human because of her Blackness. As she repeats and inverts hegemonic interpretations of Christian doctrine, Úrsula achieves a nuanced critique of racial hierarchies. This paper highlights how Úrsula's depiction of her suffering as a donada and her work as a healer is a Black feminist discourse that calls for a reimagining of racial hierarchies. Úrsula sustains a Black feminist critique in her discussion of suffering she faced individually and as part of a broader Afrodiasporic community, Black feminist imitatio and a rhetoric of healing rage that effects change within a system designed to deny Black women's humanity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revisions are proposed to the taxonomic model of human motivation of Forbes (Review of General Psychology, 15(2), 85-98, 2011) in order to incorporate a heretofore missing fourth life domain, the spiritual. The growing literature on spiritual motives is systematically reviewed in accordance with literature review standards for theory development (Templier & Paré, 2018) focusing on the objective of identifying comprehensive theoretical systems that explicitly incorporate the spiritual domain as one of a limited set of human life domains. The structure of the Forbes model is contrasted with thirteen theoretical systems that explicitly incorporate the spiritual as a fourth life domain. Consistent with the Forbes model, the spiritual domain is proposed to consist of three modes of existence (Being, Doing, Having) represented as justice motivation, moral motivation, and transcendental motivation, respectively, as well as both promotion and prevention goals within each of the three motives. Empirical evidence is reviewed in support of a revised heuristic device wherein the Spiritual domain is closely linked with the Intrapsychic and Interpersonal domains, but not the Instrumental domain, resulting in a pyramidal structure and corresponding set of testable hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the relation between quantification and the mysterious question of identity? What order of quality is proper to the inexplicable fact that one is oneself? Starting with an examination of the ontological blind spots of counting, this essay investigates the priority of quality over quantity, in connection with the spiritual nature of life understood as the spontaneous and infinitely evolving question of itself. It argues, in face of the forces of quantophrenia and numerocracy, for the importance of recognizing the essentially serial and apophatic structure of identity, the existential sense that all entities are the living question of themselves. As such, no individual may be considered as merely a part of reality. Each is, no less, the totality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the phenomenon of joint attention and its relevance in understanding the modes of awareness of the presence of God. It explores the perspectives of Eleonore Stump and Andrew Pinsent, as well as the challenge raised by Donald Bungum, with the aim of reaching a better understanding of a distinct way of being 'moved by God in a divine way'. According to Stump and Pinsent, joint attention can deepen our understanding of our relationship with God, emphasizing the importance of sharing attention with Him and making better sense of the way humans may be moved in a divine way. However, Bungum challenges this view by suggesting the possibility of closeness without explicit awareness. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of awareness and the presence of God in our spiritual lives, for our connection with God can manifest in diverse ways different from traditional accounts of explicit awareness. We suggest that a view of joint attention centered in action may be more suitable for an attempt to make sense of what 'to be moved in a divine way' amounts to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most Udmurt living in the Bashkortostan Republic and in the Perm' region of the Russian Federation are followers of a traditional ethnic religion. In their spiritual life, a huge place is occupied by sanctuaries and other places in which their ritual practices take place, such as the worship of deities, spirits and ancestors. We can identify different types of such places in this Udmurt regional group: the sanctuary dedicated to the cult of the clan protector deities, groves dedicated to the god Lud, places dedicated to personal and family cults, sacred places of agrarian sacrifices, territories where funerary and commemorative rituals take place, places dedicated to the propitiation of evil spirits. Depending on their social status, the sanctuaries are regional or general and can be related to a family, clan, village, or multiple villages. In this article, which relies on the authors' ethnographic fieldwork and published sources, we analyse the present state of the sacred places. We show that the transformation of cultural patterns has led some types of sanctuary to cease functioning, while others have remained as relics and the places of agrarian sacrifices have undergone an active revitalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the reading that Armstrong draws from the Axis theory in order to provide a semantic approach to emerging from contemporary challenges, and to what extent this reading is based on Jaspers' thought about the Axis Age and the specific human existence (Existenz). The hypothesis of the article is that we can give a deeper reading of Armstrong's account. This Research leads us to a model called "empathic spirituality" which comes under two categories of consistency: First, the subjective aspect as self-reflection which emphasizes existential transcendence to "self-fulfillment". Thus, self-fulfillment is a transcendental attempt and an existential jump that is carried out with philosophizing and the existential effort to appear in the realm of existentialism. Second, the objective aspect as the connection that emphasizes the kind of relationship that is being used for "other flourishing". Thus, other flourishing is accompanied by the transcendental-self that efforts to have a relationship with another which is carried out with philosophizing and realization of a benevolent connection. This aspect confirms that "I will not be spiritual except in the light of the quest for spiritualization of "other one".

This article investigates the development of the contemporary Algerian culture with its religious and intellectual movements and schools of thought. It proposes that Sufism played a central role in transforming the Algerian society during the 19th century and the French invasion. A historical approach was adopted with a descriptive approach to investigate specific features of a social situation that occurred in the 19th century in Algeria. However, it points to divisions within the sect between reformists and fatalists. The paper focuses on four major areas of study: the political, social, and religious environment in Algeria at the end of the 19th century, the dominance of Sufism and Sufi orders during the same period, the French colonial plans to subvert religion in Algeria, and the religious reformation movements in Algeria during the 19th century.

The present study aims to achieve a deeper understanding of being, based on the relationship of philosophy with theology in the writings of Edith Stein, completed by certain aspects confirmed by Hans Urs von Balthasar from a spiritual perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If the states and goals proper to the mystic are not accounted for in conceptions of moral formation and knowledge, then the object of the mystic's pursuit – the infinitely greater God – inevitably likewise lacks the centrality it deserves. Consequently, our moral wisdom is finitized. To discover afresh a way for moral theology to take the infinitely greater God as its source and end, this paper draws on Gregory of Nyssa's Life of Moses. I argue that Gregory's depiction of moral progress, epektasis, along with his corresponding scriptural hermeneutic, anagogy, present a foundation from which moral and mystical theology can exist in their proper harmony. By contextualizing moral formation within the infinite mystery of God, epektasis establishes an essential continuity between seeing and following God. Likewise, in discovering behind every literal detail of Moses' life a spiritual meaning, Gregory's anagogic hermeneutic opens the virtuous life to the mystic's transcending vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of research is to reveal the synergy of sound and movement, which is manifested in the interaction of music and dance. Research methodology. The following research methods were used to achieve the goal: comparison, systematisation, analysis, and generalisation of the researched problem. Scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that we propose a new perspective on the interaction of music and dance, considering them not just as two separate art forms, but as a synergistic system where a holistic impression of a dance performance arises as a result of their mutual enrichment. Conclusions. The interaction of music and dance is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that has been explored and interpreted by various artists and scholars for centuries. This dynamic relationship underlies the formation of a new artistic vision that enriches our spiritual life. The synergy of sound and movement creates a unique aesthetic experience that cannot be reduced to a simple summation of the two art forms. Music and dance not only complement each other, but also transform, revealing new facets of their expressiveness, creating a holistic impression of a dance performance. The connection between music and dance is based on the common features of their imagery and perception. The interaction between music and dance is not limited to synthetic genres, but permeates the entire history of these art forms, manifesting itself in numerous borrowings, stylisations and interpretations. The results of the study can be used to better understand the creative process in choreography and music, as well as to create new synthetic art forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The events that occurred between the Europeans, inhabitants of Abya Yala, and the African cultures during the conquest, are a reflection of the establishment of a white-Western hegemonic order, based on the myth of racial superiority, which granted rights to Europeans and imposed relations of domination and exploitation with hidden otherness, denying the material and spiritual life of oppressed peoples. Colonial power was maintained over time, moving to various moments and historical contexts, which gave rise to long and prolonged social resistance, which questioned the colonial order, as well as its ontological, epistemological and political assumptions, which raised a series of questions. It correlates with keeping the Latin American region in a state of subordination. In this context, Bolivia is presented as a subversive and insurgent nation that, with a series of struggle processes for the vindication of its rights and identity, questions the neocolonial and neoliberal order imposed by global elites, giving rise to the birth of the State. Plurinational, thus legitimizing the existence and self-determination of indigenous peoples. The method used is documentary exploration. It is concluded that the processes of social struggles, as well as their actors, are fundamental for the encounter with otherness, to give continuity to the project of the Plurinational State, which cannot be seen as finished, but rather in constant construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a film review of Punishment (2024), directed by Øystein Mamen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Qur'an, as in the Bible, the young Moses is born in perilous circumstances, and with a promise of greatness that can only be fulfilled if he survives; and in both scriptural accounts, his life is repeatedly saved through the heroic efforts of the women around him: his mother, his sister, and the wife of Pharaoh, who adopts him. The article begins with an examination of the qur'anic account of Moses's early life and the women whose interventions ensure his survival and considers the way in which certain narrative details found in the qur'anic account, as well as the Qur'an's unique narrative style, serve to highlight the perspicacity, courage, and independent agency of these women. The second part of the article explores the exegetical treatment of this qur'anic narrative by the twentieth-century female Muslim exegete Nuṣrat Amīn (1895–1983), a conservative religious scholar who outwardly reached an unusually high level of religious authority for her time, but who also wrote about her own rich inner life of spiritual and mystical experience, and who devoted much of her life to building a network of institutions for women's religious education. Amīn's exegetical treatment of the qur'anic Mosaic account reads the narrative from the perspective a woman who, like the women around Moses, has experienced both motherhood and maternal loss, successfully navigated a patriarchal world through her own intelligence and determination, and appreciated the value of women working together to support one another toward religious ends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this article is the lived religion of lay Catholics devoted to the woman described as one of the greatest saints of the modern era, Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, known as Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897). It draws on letters written to the Lisieux Carmel in Normandy at the time of the Munich crisis in 1938. Much scholarship on the laity in the interwar years concerns itself with renewal and militancy in the public sphere. By contrast, the body of evidence at hand provides insights into continuities in established forms of devotion and into the religious thinking of the kinds of believers about whom we know relatively little. I argue that Catholics influenced by Thérèse's teachings, notably the "Little Way" and her "Spirituality of the Ordinary," modelled the saint's destabilisation of the active/contemplative (or public/private) dichotomy. The letters reveal the entanglement of the spiritual and the secular in the lives of ordinary Catholics and how, after Thérèse, they participated in the Christian animation of society beyond the home. In their writing we also see evidence of the correspondents' attachment to the universal Church when they felt, acutely, the uncertainties of the international situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the controversy surrounding the "Spiritual Testament" attributed to John Shakespeare, suggesting it may not belong to him but rather to his sister, Joan Shakespeare Hart. It examines the document's origins, its reception by scholars like Edmond Malone, and the subsequent debates over its authenticity. Topics include the authorship of the "Spiritual Testament," its historical reception, and its implications for understanding Shakespeare's religious life and family dynamics.

Investigating the later stages of life, this study aims to outline a specific personal context shaped during this phase, approached from various perspectives: theological, medical, psychological, and social, each highlighting distinct challenges. Theologically, the focus is on the afterlife and preparation for meeting the Righteous Judge. Medically, the emphasis is on health deterioration, culminating in the cessation of bodily existence. Psychologically, the study mentions the decline in cognitive functions, anxiety, and depression. Social aspects include isolation, marginalization, adaptation to change, and the loss of loved ones. Considering the impact of these factors on human life, this research examines to what extent the Sacrament of Communion, from an Orthodox perspective, offers answers to all these challenges. Based on a qualitative research method (content/thematic analysis) of liturgical texts using MAXQDA software, the study focuses on the prayers preceding and following this Sacrament. It highlights the complex nature of the Sacrament of Communion, its multiple faces, and its extended benefits, as well as the risks of partaking without proper preparation. The results provide arguments for the significance the Orthodox Church grants to the mystical union between man and God in the Sacrament of Communion, also emphasizing the importance of an authentic spiritual life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One primary goal of youth ministry programs is to teach adolescents about a given faith and, in doing so, to foster active and ongoing lifelong engagement in spiritual life. Although youth ministry settings differ from conventional classrooms in some ways, their fundamental objective of teaching and learning is the same. In this sense, youth ministers function as "teachers" and adolescents as "students." This exploratory study examines youth ministry pedagogy via an instructional communication lens to discover the degree to which it follows what the research promotes as best practices for teaching and learning. The analysis, grounded in experiential learning theory as conceptualized in the learning cycle and IDEA model, revealed several important conclusions. Youth ministers rely primarily on teaching through lectures. When they do engage in classroom discussions, they typically employ a minister-led teacher-to-student approach. Consequently, students participate as passive learners who are presumed to absorb the information presented to them by the experts (i.e., youth ministers). Students are rarely provided opportunities to apply concepts directly to their personal life experiences beyond the classroom or to enact action steps experientially based on the material presented. Based on these findings, several implications for youth ministers and youth ministry programs, as well as suggestions for future research, are posed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Logos: A Journal, of Religion, Philosophy Comparative Cultural Studies & Art (08687692) is the property of Logos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article is aimed at investigating the problem of religious orientation in the works of Auezov. The leading methods of studying this problem are analysis, classification, comparison, induction, deduction, and the reflection of these aspects in the author's work. The study examines the works of Mukhtar Auezov as a source of religious motives in Kazakhstan; analyzes the specifics of the works and their spiritual component; describes the role of women and their connection with the spiritual and moral part of society; makes a detailed analysis of the literature and clarifies the content, characteristics, and features of the author's work; and shows the originality of the phenomenon of the spiritual life of an ethnic group and the problems of their institutionalization. The materials of the study are of practical and theoretical value for literary critics, students, writers, and poets who will be able to introduce new historical and literary trends and concepts of perception, educate the modern reader with awareness, and demonstrate the importance of the problem of religion. The information will also be valuable for researchers, philosophers, theologians, and cultural scientists who will be able to describe in more detail the influence of religion on the works of Auezov, analyzing the issues of religion, ethnic identity, and culture of Kazakhs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper outlines the historical background of the phenomena of starets (starchestvo) in monasticism, which has its roots in the early days of monastic life in Egypt and is primarily linked to the education of young monks under the guide of an experienced teacher. Particular attention is paid to the development of the phenomena in Russia, which, although with a time lag, initially imitated the Byzantine tradition, but nevertheless in the 18th and 19th centuries developed original traits, especially around the monastery of Optina Pustyn and the figure of the starets Macarius, who opened the monasticism ≫outwards≪ and became a spiritual guide of the laity – the intelligentsia and the common people. The monastery's connection with the world later led to specific forms of elderhood in which also diocesan priests and even lay people, men and women, were recognised as starets. Of course, this was largely connected with the historical situation in Russia, with the communist persecution of monks and the closure of monasteries. Particularly outstanding are the so-called ≫yurodiviy≪ (fools for Christ), who are an unique embodiment of God's wisdom and its redemptive power. The paper attempts to present the basic traits of the spirituality of the starets and the relationship with his spiritual sons and daughters from the perspective of Russian scholars. We can see a deeply Trinitarian and Christologically rooted spirituality, which presupposes a kenotic attitude of the starets in order that the person who is led by him reach God through him. Far from any spiritual manipulation and domination, the unique aim of the starets is to lead the spiritual son or daughter to theosis, divinisation, i.e., to freely accept the grace of salvation.

Background The objectives of the study were to assess the quality of life (QOL) among women with breast cancer and associate the QOL with selected background variables. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was adopted for the study. Data collection was done in oncology units of tertiary care centers. The sample type includes woman with breast cancer at stage I or II or IIIa as per TNM classification. A purposive sampling technique was followed with a total sample size of 60. The tool used was the Quality of Life (QOL) questionnaire - Breast Cancer Version by National Medical Center & Beckman Research institute. Results The QOL among study participants revealed that 42 (70%) had average QOL and 18 (30%) had poor QOL. The QOL was examined in various domains such as physical wellbeing, where the mean score was 38.47, the psychological wellbeing mean score was 60.58, social wellbeing mean was 38.10 and spiritual wellbeing mean was 38.58. There was an association between residence and occupation with QOL at p Conclusions Breast cancer diagnosis has an undeniable effect on women at work, home and can have rapid consequences for other members in the family. Evaluation of QOL and associated factors would help the health care professionals especially nurses to organize health promotion activities and counselling sessions in varied health care settings to overcome challenges and improve Quality of Life.