What are the three types of Visions ( that have been grouped by their nature)
Sensory - a vision where external objects/sounds or figures convey knowledge and understanding to the recipient
Intellectual - in terms of visions that of which brings the recipient knowledge and understanding
Dreams - in terms of visions the recipient is in an unconscious state and knowledge and understanding is gained through a series of images in a dream narrative that wouldn’t be available to the individual if they were conscious
What does ‘conversion’ mean?
changing from one state to another
What are the three types of conversion
from unbelief to belief
from one religion to another
a strengthening of faith
What are the the 4 ways that conversions can happen?
individual, communal, sudden and gradual
an example of a communal conversion
the day of Pentecost in Acts when the disciples were gathered in a room and recieved the Holy Spirit but after Peter had courage and addressed the crowds and began preaching encouraging them to repent ( acts 2:37-41)
Who argued the key features of conversion?
William James
characteristic features of a conversion
gradual or sudden
voilitional or self-surrending
passive or active - experience comes upon them unexpectedly without them deliberatley seeking it OR someones might seek a spiritual experience
individual conversion
occurs for one person
may be a private experience e.g Saul of Tarsus
communal conversion
simultaneously occurs to a group of people
part of a public experience shared by others e.g day of Pentecost
sudden conversion
self surrender
unconscious
involuntary
spontaneous or unexpected
gradual conversion
cannot be pinpointed in time
involves conscious effort
usually voilitional/voluntary
takes time
A conversion may be moral and …
intellectual - where new ideas are accepted
mysticism
a religious experience where union with God or the absoloute reality is sought or experienced
Ed Miller summarises the features of a mystical experience as :
transcendent - beyond space and time
Ineffable - not expressible in language
Noetic - provides knowledge unobatainable by any other source
Ecstatic - overwhelming feeling of peace and bliss
Unitive - a sense of oneness with reality
example of transcendent mysticism
Sufism - mystical group within Islam focused on the divine union with Allah through meditation, dance and other mystic practices that Rumi was associated with
What does Rumi believe?
all human beings have a yearning inside them and that even though Allah is closer to an than his own jugular vein humankind was still separated from Allah. He developed the practice called Sema a sacred dance (constantly turning) and is meant to generate a spiritual ascent to Allah
example of an estatic experience
Teresa of Avila - “ one perceives that the natural heat of the body is lessened the coldness increases though accompanied with exceeding joy and sweetness
example of a unitive experience
St Bernard of Clairvaux - described the experience as a “mutuality of love”
Henry Suso and many more
Teresa of Avila
Born 15 March 1515 in Spain
She had an illness which left her paralysed for 3 yrs
She had a vision of a sorely wounded Christ
The vision re energised Teresa’s spiritual journey and inspired her to write about the great works of prayer
Teresa says it’s impossible for an individual to achieve union with God by themselves but it is through God’s grace. She compares the soul to a garden and how it can be watered in four ways and that once watered it become vibrant. This is the effect of prayer. What is the garden analogy?
The bucket - getting water from a well with a bucket is hard work just like the beginning process of prayer it it easy to become tired
The windlass - makes watering easier but is still hard but once you have a routine the process of prayer becomes a little easier
The river - takes the burden of watering from you and after practice God begins to take the burden from you
Rain - no effort is required once contemplative prayer is established the soul is given to God and union with Him is complete
What else does Teresa consider the soul to be?
A castle that contains seven suites / mansions
What are the 7 stages of prayer? Starting from the fourth one
Prayer of Quiet
Prayer of Union
Stage of Spiritual marriage
Stage of mystical marriage