Spiritual Abuse: A Sufi's Perspective


Book Description

No religious or mystical tradition is immune from the presence of spiritual abuse, for wherever there are people who are seeking to become closer to essential truths, purpose, and meaning, there will be individuals seeking to generate counterfeit currency to offer to those who are unaware, or incautious toward the dangers which lie in wait along the spiritual path. Fraudulent teachers might call themselves a guru, shaykh, rimpoche, monk, priest, imam, apostle, avatar, or minister. They might also call themselves educators, revolutionaries, political leaders, and freedom fighters. Whatever they might call themselves, if they seek to gain control over others through techniques of undue influence, then, they are propagators of spiritual abuse. This book is relevant to individuals from all spiritual traditions, but often focuses on the Sufi spiritual tradition.




Re-visioning Sufism


Book Description

Sufism is often described as ‘the mystical branch of Islam’. Giving some more attention to this underexposed spiritual side, it is often proposed, could help us to ease certain contemporary societal tensions. One finger then points toward the rigorous religious aggression of fundamentalism as ‘the problem’, while another points toward the soft beauty of mysticism as ‘the solution’. Yet, no matter how well-intended the contemporary focus on Sufism might often be, in the end, it repeatedly portrays a lack of comprehension when it comes to Islamic mysticism. The typical descriptions are full of mistakes, and the conclusions they lead to need much nuance. Those misunderstandings do not simply stem from innocent ignorance. They are misunderstandings with more profound origins and implications. They’re closely tied to enormous blind spots in the contemporary view of religion and deeply entwined with pressing political issues. In fact, the way we deal with mysticism in general and with Sufism in particular actually kindles many contemporary conflicts. This book thus seeks to add the necessary nuances, correct the misunderstandings and unveil the contemporary ‘politics of mysticism’. It seeks to clarify how the growing interest in what is called ‘Sufism’ is connected to both the contemporary demonization of Islam and the modern destruction of profound spirituality in the East as well as the West.




Reflections of a Sufi


Book Description

The fifty-two chapters (not counting five appendices) that make up the main body of this book encompass lectures, articles, and letters/e-mails written over a period of about eleven years (from about 1998 through 2009). The material covers a variety of thematic topics both within Islam, in general, as well as in relation to its mystical dimension of tasawwuf - known in the West as 'the Sufi path' or 'sufism' - in particular. Taken collectively, the chapters and appendices provide a very good introduction to both the Sufi path and Islam.




Spiritual Terrorism


Book Description

Spiritual Terrorism is about theimpact of fear-based religion on people's lives who have been spiritually abused by a negative conception of God through eternal hell-fire preaching and teaching. The doctrine of eternal punishment in literal fire is at the heart of many forms of spiritual abuse and all forms of spiritual terrorism which is the most extreme form of spiritual abuse. This book effectively explains the symbolic use of fire in the Holy Bible and other Holy Books. The common misunderstanding of the metaphorical usage of fire is the primary cause of spiritual terrorism. Dr. Purcell clarifies the confusion over the Christian doctrine of salvation by grace and judgment which is based on the deeds of lifegood or bad. This allows readers to grasp the liberating truth that people are totally free to live their lives but are also totally accountable, at the end of life, for how they have lived their lives. God will ultimately teach universal empathy and bring about perfect justice for all without violating anyone's free will. Spiritual abuse has the potential to affect all stages of life: in the womb, childhood, youth, young adults, older adults, end of life, and bereavement after the deaths of loved ones. Spiritual abuse may also affect all areas of life: marriage/divorce, emotional/mental/physical abuse, medical treatment or refusal of such treatment for self and children, and domestic and international terrorism. All major world religions are addressed: Judeo/Christianity, Islam, and the Eastern ReligionsBuddhism and Hinduism. Included as well are Native American Beliefs. There is a theme running through all major religions of God's unconditional love, amazing grace, infinite mercy, perfect justice, and a universal homecoming.




Spirit of Religion


Book Description

The current volume explores a variety of topical themes within the general field of religion -- defined as the search for the truth concerning the nature of one's relationship with Being/Reality. Among the topics explored are: Evolution, the origins of faith, conceptual viruses, suffering, irreligion, the new atheism, nihilism, sacredness, the nature of the self, mythology, Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, free will, epistemology, and spiritual abuse. All of the foregoing topics are critically examined against a backdrop that helps orient the discussion. More specifically, most human beings wonder, in one way or another, about the nature of reality ... that is, they seek to deal, as best they can, with the reality problem. The Final Jeopardy challenge refers to the task of trying to work toward providing a best-effort final response to the reality problem that resonates with, and reflects to varying degrees, the character of reality, before the sands in the hourglass of time run out in a person's life.




Sufism in Western Contexts


Book Description

Sufism in Western Contexts explores both historical trajectories and multiple contemporary manifestations of Islamic mystical movements, ideas, and practices in diverse European, North and South American countries, as well as in Australia – all traditionally non-Muslim regions of the “global West”. From early French and British colonial administrators who admired Persian poetry to nineteenth-century American transcendentalists, followed by South Asian and Middle Eastern immigrant Sufi guides and their movements, expansive and many-faceted expressions of Sufism such as its role in Western esotericism, female whirling dervishes and Rumi cafes, and new articulations in cyberspace, are traced and analyzed by international experts in the field.




Sacred Wounds


Book Description

Trauma therapist Teresa B. Pasquale offers healing exercises, true-life examples, and life-giving discussion for anyone suffering from the very real pain of church hurt. Pasquale, a trauma survivor herself, understands the immeasurable value of our wounds once we've acknowledged them and recovered in community. That's why the wounds are "sacred," and the hope this book offers is a powerful message to anyone suffering from this widespread problem. This book explores the nature of emotional wounds, trauma, and spiritual hurt that come from negative religious experience. Some of the features are: Stories from a wide range of persons hurt by negative religious experience Healing and contemplative practices to help readers explore their own spiritual story and practical ways to move towards personal healing A journey through the experience of trauma in religious settings and how it is both relatable to other forms of trauma and distinctive -- outlining both facets An exploration of the author's own personal and professional understanding of hurt, trauma, PTSD, and the power of resiliency and healing




Journal of a Sufi Odyssey - Volume III


Book Description

With respect to things which can be said, this trilogy is one of the most revealing excursions into the nature of the Sufi path that has been written in the last 736 years. There are seven kinds of people ... within and without.There are those who know and know that they know. These rare dimensions of the Self are spiritually realized, and one should seek them out and learn from them.There are those who know but don't know that they know. These individuals are asleep and should be woken up.There are those who don't know and know that they don't know. These souls are able to learn and should be taught.There are those who don't know and don't know that they don't know. There are the ignorant ones, and they should be avoided. There are those who know that they don't know but who, for a variety of reasons, attempt to induce seekers of truth to believe that the former know what they do not. These are the charlatans ... and there are many of them amongst us. There are those people who even when they are shown the truth cannot bear to live with the implications of what has been disclosed and choose to live their lives in various states of denial that become the doorways through which further evil enters into their lives. There are those who seek the truth and try, to the best of their ability, to act judiciously with respect to what has been realized no matter where such truth may take them ... and who, therefore, also are prepared to accept the possibility that truth may be other - in part or in whole -- than what they believe it to be and, therefore, make accommodation for this possibility through their thought and behavior.







Muslim Women, Domestic Violence, and Psychotherapy


Book Description

Muslim Women, Domestic Violence, and Psychotherapy reconciles newly emerging Islamic practical theology with the findings and theories of contemporary social sciences. It is an inquiry about the lived experience of the Islamic tradition and its application in Islamic counseling with Muslim women subject to domestic violence. By incorporating a holistic examination of the worldview, personhood, and understanding of social and religious obligations of Muslim women in counseling, this book shows how practitioners can empower clients facing trauma and abuse to explore feasible solutions and decrease worry, anxiety, and other negative emotions.