Explain the contribution of Teresa of Avila to mysticism Essay Example for Free

Explain the contribution of Teresa of Avila to mysticism Essay Transfer-Encoding: chunked i »? Explain the contribution of Teresa of Avila to mysticism (35) Mysticism is an aspect of religious experience that is little understood. This term has been used to describe experiences that reveal spiritual recognition of truths beyond normal understanding, from the mildly ecstatic to the occult. It has been said that there are certain features which accompany such experiences which enable their recognition, such as a sense of freedom from the limitations of time, space and the human ego. Believers may also experience a sense of â€Å"oneness† or unity with God, accompanied with bliss and serenity. Mysticism is seen as the closest a human being can ever come to actually meeting God in this life. Mystical experiences can also be classified into two areas: extrovertive, where one experiences unity in the world through the physical senses and introvertive, where the person loses their identity as a separate individual and slowly merges into the divine unity. A key introvertive mystic is Teresa of Avila. In examining her contribution to religious experience, a good place to start is considering her background. Teresa’s background may be key to understanding her enigmatic personality and experiences. She was a woman from a wealthy background and had a turbulent start in life. When she was seven her mother died, and when she was fourteen she ran away to seek martyrdom. She had an alleged love affair with her cousin that tarnished her reputation and effectively made her unmarriable. This, coupled with her obsession with books of chivalry, may have corrupted her view of what love really is. Her father decided to send her into an Augustinian convent where she was very unhappy. This sense of rejection played a major part in her later religious experience. It was while she was in the convent that her religious experiences began. In 1554 she had a deeper conversion when she saw a statue of Jesus after he had been whipped. She was deeply moved and wrote, â€Å"I felt so keenly aware of how poorly I had thanked him for those wounds that, it seems to me, my heart broke. I threw myself down before him with the greatest outpouring of heart. † After this experience she progressed into a life of intense prayer and the Catholic practice of mortification, so much so that he motto became, Lord, either let me suffer or let me die. She was also deeply influenced by the Confessions of Augustine and other theological books – although she did not have access to the Bible. Perhaps the single most influential experience she had was when she ‘came back from the dead’ after suffering from what is thought to have been malaria. This increased her notoriety. Moving on, Teresa was encouraged to write about her experiences and her books continue to influence mysticism today. Her two main writings are Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle. Way of Perfection is considered her spiritual autobiography. Here she emphasises the importance of praying mentally as well as vocally. In sixteenth century Spain the common people were encouraged to restrict themselves to vain repetitions of learned-off prayers, Teresa rejected this in favour of a more personal relationship with God. Her superbly inspiring classic on the practice of prayer is as fresh and meaningful today as it was when she first wrote it. The Way of Perfection is a practical guide to prayer setting forth the Saints counsels and directives for the attainment of spiritual perfection. Through the entire work there runs the authors desire to teach a deep and lasting love of prayer beginning with a treatment of the three essentials of the prayer-filled life fraternal love, detachment from created things, and true humility. St. Teresas counsels on these are not only the fruit of lofty mental speculation, but of mature practical experience. In The Interior Castle she compares the soul to a castle with seven rooms, with the Trinitarian God residing in the inner room. Growth in prayer enables the believer to reach a deeper intimacy with God, symbolised by a progressive journey through the rooms of the castle. She also describes the resistance that the Devil places in various rooms, to keep believers from union with God. Throughout, she provides encouragements and advice for spiritual development. Teresa’s writings lack Biblical references due to the Spanish Inquisition restricting access to the scriptures, and this grieved her. William James identified four characteristics of religious experience: ineffability; noetic quality; transiency and passivity. All of these care clearly apparent with Teresa’s experiences. Starting with ineffability, this is when one experiences a feeling that cannot be described to anyone else. She wrote that, â€Å"the soul is fully awake as regards God, but wholly asleep as regards the things of this world. † Secondly, noetic quality is when the mystic experience gives insight into truths unobtainable by the intellect alone. This is also apparent in Theresa’s experiences: â€Å"when I return to myself, it is wholly impossible for me to doubt that I have been in God, and God in me. † Thirdly, transiency. The religious experience does not last for long, usually half an hour or so. Though they are remembered, they are imperfectly recalled, but recognised if they reoccur – the recipient usually feels a profound sense of the importance of the experience. Associated with Teresa’s raptures are always visions. Her most famous vision involved her seeing a small angel with a beautiful face holding â€Å"a long golden spear† tipped with a â€Å"little fire† which he thrust into her heart. Finally, there is passivity, when the mystic feels as if they have been taken over by a superior power. In Teresa’s case, her visions were sometimes accompanied by levitation or strange screams. It could be this aspect that led many to believe she was possessed by the devil. In terms of impact, Teresa of Avila had a profound influence on religious experience. She the first female saint of the Roman Catholic Church – the saint of headache sufferers, rather oddly. She was somewhat of a reformer, emphasising a personal relationship with God above rigid sacramentalism. In 1562 she established the strict Carmelite order in various areas of Spain and her writings continue to be studied by believers today.

My Personal Strengths and Weaknesses Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that life is a learning experience and being able to recognize our own strengths and weaknesses can help us become better individuals in anything we choose to do, whether it is positive abilities and skills that can help achieve our goals or negative personal areas that need improvement. Knowing yourself and what you can do, can help you recognize and overcome your weaknesses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of my greatest strengths at work that I have recognized would have to be my ability to be a well-organized individual. I tend to write what I have to do down on paper and prioritize what is more important to least important. In doing this, it helps me organize and accomplish my work and meet deadlines that are important. A personal strength that I have at home is patience. I am a mother of a beautiful three year old little girl who is a handful. Patience is my greatest strength as a parent and individual which I possess especially being a single mother. I am a dedicated and hard working mother and I always make sure that my daughter gets the love and attention she needs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my Learning team, my personal strength is having good people skills. I meet and get involved with new people everyday whether it be work or school related. I enjoy speaking, listening and giving input to my team members so that they are aware that they can count on me to participate as a team player in our Learning Team. Good people skills are very important in a group setting because of all the di... My Personal Strengths and Weaknesses Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe that life is a learning experience and being able to recognize our own strengths and weaknesses can help us become better individuals in anything we choose to do, whether it is positive abilities and skills that can help achieve our goals or negative personal areas that need improvement. Knowing yourself and what you can do, can help you recognize and overcome your weaknesses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of my greatest strengths at work that I have recognized would have to be my ability to be a well-organized individual. I tend to write what I have to do down on paper and prioritize what is more important to least important. In doing this, it helps me organize and accomplish my work and meet deadlines that are important. A personal strength that I have at home is patience. I am a mother of a beautiful three year old little girl who is a handful. Patience is my greatest strength as a parent and individual which I possess especially being a single mother. I am a dedicated and hard working mother and I always make sure that my daughter gets the love and attention she needs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my Learning team, my personal strength is having good people skills. I meet and get involved with new people everyday whether it be work or school related. I enjoy speaking, listening and giving input to my team members so that they are aware that they can count on me to participate as a team player in our Learning Team. Good people skills are very important in a group setting because of all the di...

Deception Point Page 59

In about five minutes the President would introduce Ekstrom and his NASA staff. Then, in a dramatic satellite linkup from the top of the world, NASA would join the President in sharing this news with the world. After a brief account of how the discovery was made, what it meant for space science, and some mutual backpatting, NASA and the President would hand duty off to celebrity scientist Michael Tolland, whose documentary would roll for just under fifteen minutes. Afterward, with credibility and enthusiasm at its peak, Ekstrom and the President would say their good-nights, promising more information to come in the days ahead via endless NASA press conferences. As Ekstrom sat and waited for his cue, he felt a cavernous shame settling inside him. He'd known he would feel it. He'd been expecting it. He'd told lies†¦ endorsed untruths. Somehow, though, the lies seemed inconsequential now. Ekstrom had a bigger weight on his mind. In the chaos of the ABC production room, Gabrielle Ashe stood shoulder to shoulder with dozens of strangers, all necks craned toward the bank of television monitors suspended from the ceiling. A hush fell as the moment arrived. Gabrielle closed her eyes, praying that when she opened them she would not be looking at images of her own naked body. The air inside Senator Sexton's den was alive with excitement. All of his visitors were standing now, their eyes glued to the large-screen television. Zach Herney stood before the world, and incredibly, his greeting had been awkward. He seemed momentarily uncertain. He looks shaky, Sexton thought. He never looks shaky. â€Å"Look at him,† somebody whispered. â€Å"It has to be bad news.† The space station? Sexton wondered. Herney looked directly into the camera and took a deep breath. â€Å"My friends, I have puzzled for many days now over how best to make this announcement†¦ â€Å" Three easy words, Senator Sexton willed him. We blew it. Herney spoke for a moment about how unfortunate it was that NASA had become such an issue in this election and how, that being the case, he felt he needed to preface the timing of his impending statement with an apology. â€Å"I would have preferred any other moment in history to make this announcement,† he said. â€Å"The political charge in the air tends to make doubters out of dreamers, and yet as your President, I have no choice but to share with you what I have recently learned.† He smiled. â€Å"It seems the magic of the cosmos is something which does not work on any human schedule†¦ not even that of a president.† Everyone in Sexton's den seemed to recoil in unison. What? â€Å"Two weeks ago,† Herney said, â€Å"NASA's new Polar Orbiting Density Scanner passed over the Milne Ice Shelf on Ellesmere Island, a remote landmass located above the Eightieth Parallel in the high Arctic Ocean.† Sexton and the others exchanged confused looks. â€Å"This NASA satellite,† Herney continued, â€Å"detected a large, high-density rock buried two hundred feet under the ice.† Herney smiled now for the first time, finding his stride. â€Å"On receiving the data, NASA immediately suspected PODS had found a meteorite.† â€Å"A meteorite?† Sexton sputtered, standing. â€Å"This is news?† â€Å"NASA sent a team up to the ice shelf to take core samples. It was then that NASA made†¦ † He paused. â€Å"Frankly, they made the scientific discovery of the century.† Sexton took an incredulous step toward the television. No†¦. His guests shifted uneasily. â€Å"Ladies and gentlemen,† Herney announced, â€Å"several hours ago, NASA pulled from the Arctic ice an eight-ton meteorite, which contains†¦ † The President paused again, giving the whole world time to lean forward. â€Å"A meteorite which contains fossils of a life-form. Dozens of them. Unequivocal proof of extraterrestrial life.† On cue, a brilliant image illuminated on the screen behind the President-a perfectly delineated fossil of an enormous buglike creature embedded in a charred rock. In Sexton's den, six entrepreneurs jumped up in wide-eyed horror. Sexton stood frozen in place. â€Å"My friends,† the President said, â€Å"the fossil behind me is 190 million years old. It was discovered in a fragment of a meteorite called the Jungersol Fall which hit the Arctic Ocean almost three centuries ago. NASA's exciting new PODS satellite discovered this meteorite fragment buried in an ice shelf. NASA and this administration have taken enormous care over the past two weeks to confirm every aspect of this momentous discovery before making it public. In the next half hour you will be hearing from numerous NASA and civilian scientists, as well as viewing a short documentary prepared by a familiar face whom I'm sure you all will recognize. Before I go any further, though, I absolutely must welcome, live via satellite from above the Arctic Circle, the man whose leadership, vision, and hard work is solely responsible for this historic moment. It is with great honor that I present NASA administrator Lawrence Ekstrom.† Herney turned to the screen on perfect cue. The image of the meteorite dramatically dissolved into a regal-looking panel of NASA scientists seated at a long table, flanked by the dominant frame of Lawrence Ekstrom. â€Å"Thank you, Mr. President.† Ekstrom's air was stern and proud as he stood up and looked directly into the camera. â€Å"It gives me great pride to share with all of you, this-NASA's finest hour.† Ekstrom spoke passionately about NASA and the discovery. With a fanfare of patriotism and triumph, he segued flawlessly to a documentary hosted by civilian science-celebrity Michael Tolland. As he watched, Senator Sexton fell to his knees in front of the television, his fingers clutching at his silver mane. No! God, no! 69 Marjorie Tench was livid as she broke away from the jovial chaos outside the Briefing Room and marched back to her private corner in the West Wing. She was in no mood for celebration. The phone call from Rachel Sexton had been most unexpected. Most disappointing. Tench slammed her office door, stalked to her desk, and dialed the White House operator. â€Å"William Pickering. NRO.† Tench lit a cigarette and paced the room as she waited for the operator to track down Pickering. Normally, he might have gone home for the night, but with the White House's big windup into tonight's press conference, Tench guessed Pickering had been in his office all evening, glued to his television screen, wondering what could possibly be going on in the world about which the NRO director did not have prior knowledge. Tench cursed herself for not trusting her instincts when the President said he wanted to send Rachel Sexton to Milne. Tench had been wary, feeling it was an unnecessary risk. But the President had been convincing, persuading Tench that the White House staff had grown cynical over the past weeks and would be suspect of the NASA discovery if the news came from in-house. As Herney had promised, Rachel Sexton's endorsement had squelched suspicions, prevented any skeptical in-house debate, and forced the White House staff to move forward with a unified front. Invaluable, Tench had to admit. And yet now Rachel Sexton had changed her tune. The bitch called me on an unsecured line. Rachel Sexton was obviously intent on destroying the credibility of this discovery, and Tench's only solace was knowing the President had captured Rachel's earlier briefing on videotape. Thank God. At least Herney had thought to obtain that small insurance. Tench was starting to fear they were going to need it. At the moment, however, Tench was trying to stem the bleeding in other ways. Rachel Sexton was a smart woman, and if she truly intended to go head-to-head with the White House and NASA, she would need to recruit some powerful allies. Her first logical choice would be William Pickering. Tench already knew how Pickering felt about NASA. She needed to get to Pickering before Rachel did.

Essay on Stem-Cell Research and the Media - 1614 Words

Stem-Cell Research and the Media Biomedical technology is getting much press due to the stem-cell debate. A controversial topic in itself, with the President of the United States taking a stand on the issue for funding purposes, the topic has received even more press over the consequences resulting from President Bushs decision. With the Presidents approval rating well over 80 percent since the September 11th attack, those who contest any of his decisions have been receiving feelings of anger from those who support him. I, however, would like to take a stand and contest Bushs decision to limit the stem cell research funding. This paper presents two articles that examine Bushs decision in different ways; one looks at†¦show more content†¦Readers of this article probably differ in their familiarity with Bushs decision; some already know about President Bushs decision to limit the funding of the research, and thus Begley found no reason to bring up the Presidents decision because many people have very stro ng opinions about the decision. Other readers, however, may not have previously known the actual funding limits created by Bush. Begley does not try to convey Bushs decision in this article, only to discuss the future research effects of this decision and announcement. In a way, Begley is trying to sell to the audience on the idea that 64 lines is not enough, thus taking a stand against Bushs decision to limit the federal funding of stem-cell research to the number of colonies currently in existence. While Begleys words do not imply any direct disagreement with Bushs limit, she would have taken a different approach and used different quotations if the purpose of this article were to commend the presidents decision that 64 lines are enough. In such a case, Begley would not have ended her article with 64 might not be 64 after all, but rather a quotation that suggests the potential power of the 64 lines. Begleys article attempts to immerse the reader in the stem-cell debate. A strong part of thisShow MoreRelatedThe Debate Over Embryonic Stem Cell Research1543 Words   |  7 PagesWhile embryonic stem cell research has been ongoing for more than 30 years, it has only become a controversial topic over the past decade. The embryonic stem cell was first isolated in 1981 by two scientists at the University of Cambridge. However, it wasn’t until 1998 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where the first batch of embryonic stem cells were created in a test tube. In 2001, President George W. 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