Context Flashcards
1
Q
what development in the brain allowed for ecstatic experiences
A
neocortex
2
Q
archeology
A
paintings and pictographs beginning ~35 000 years ago in France
3
Q
ethnobotany
A
scientific study of traditional knowledge of how to use plants
4
Q
what did archaic people know about plants
A
what to eat, what could heal, what had psychoactive properties
5
Q
5 possible early origins of meditation
A
- hunting
- sex
- fighting
- trauma
- fire
6
Q
when was fire domesticated
A
~800 000 BCE
7
Q
2 examples of cultures with ecstatic rituals
A
- Eleusis
2. !Kung San
8
Q
what was Eleusis
A
small town in Ancient Greece
9
Q
what occured in Eleusis
A
an agricultural festival
10
Q
what went down at said agricultural festivals
A
secret rites, dances, hallucinogens
11
Q
what were Greeks considered to be if they did not attend the festival
A
“walking corpses”
12
Q
why “walking corpses”
A
because the festival opened your eyes to the experience of life
13
Q
what is !Kung San
A
group from the Kalahari desert in Africa
14
Q
do they still exist today?
A
yes
15
Q
why do they perform their ceremony
A
to experience !kia (ecstasy)
16
Q
what do they do at the ceremony
A
dance
17
Q
what arises from the dance
A
power called n/um
18
Q
what do people gain from this ceremony
A
healing powers
19
Q
what happens to their ability to enter !kia after the ceremony
A
they can enter it deliberately and repeatedly
20
Q
shamanistic culture
A
a culture with a ceremony to enter ecstasy, leading to healing powers
21
Q
earliest written records of meditation are from where
A
India
22
Q
early name for meditation in India
A
yoga
23
Q
when did the word “yoga” originate
A
in the Vedic age when Indo-Aryans came from Khyber into north-western India
24
Q
what did “yoga” originally mean
A
Indo-Aryans yoked their horses to chariots and chariots were very difficult to ride.
skill required was knowns as “yuj”
25
yuj
an achieved skill mastered by going on an adventure
26
what year did yoga refer to priests harnessing their minds in?
400 BCE
27
when did records of meditation in China first appear?
300 BCE
28
first meditation book from China
"Basic Writings" by Chuang Tzu ("Zhuangzi")
29
how did Zhuangzi describe meditation
a skill you are cultivating to complete a difficult task
30
5 cicadas metaphor
represents keeping 5 senses focused on one task
31
earliest meditation records?
500 BCE from India and 300 BCE from China
32
who started an organization with growing interest in the East
Madame Blavatsky
33
who did Madame Blavatsky meet while traveling
Henry Olcott
34
what organization did Blavatsky and Olcott start?
Theosophical Society
35
break down the word theosophical
"theos" = god + "sophos" = wise
36
3 goals of theosophical society
1. interfaith dialogue
2. encourage the study of science
3. investigate the unknown
37
date of first world parliament of religions meeting
Sept. 11, 1893
38
location of first world parliament of religions meeting
Chicago
39
purpose of world parliament of religions
have interfaith dialogue
40
significance of California gold rush
Chinese immigrants bring religion and traditions to the West coast
41
time period of the beat poets
1950s
42
beat poets
early hippies interested in esoteric things like meditation
43
other significant event in 1950s
China invades Tibet leaving Tibetans looking for places to live and people to teach
44
hippies
people in 1960s who travelled to India looking about meditation
45
3 scientific periods of meditation
1. naive enthusiasm
2. disillusionment
3. cautious interest
46
naive enthusiasm
people hear crazy stories about meditation and begin uncontrolled and ineffective studies
47
disillusionment
due to ineffective studies of 1970s people become sceptical of meditation
48
cautious interest
good experimental designs to study meditation
49
Judaism origin date
over 3000 years ago
50
percent of the world that is Jewish
~2%
51
when were Jewish people called Jews
6th century
52
difference when Judaism first came around
initially polytheistic
53
is being Jewish just a religion?
no, it is ethnicity, culture, peoplehood, and religion
54
Judaism holy book
Torah
55
how is the Torah related to meditation
chanting the Torah is a form of meditation
56
Kabbalah
mystical interpretation of the Torah
57
how does Hebrew contribute to Kabbalah
in Hebrew every letter is a number and every word has numerical value
58
tree of life
tree with 10 spheres of energy in Kabbalah
59
Hitbodedut
"self-seclusion"
| living life in joy and ecstasy
60
how does one perform hitbodedut
go to an empty field and speak to god by pouring out thoughts
61
what can hitbodedut lead to
nullification in which everything other than focus of god melts away
62
what percentage of the world is Christian
~33%
63
what does meditation focus on in Christianity
connection between oneself and God/Jesus
64
contemplative vs petitionary prayer
```
contemplative = thinking and contemplating
petitionary = asking for something
```
65
examples of contemplative prayer
saying "hail Mary" over and over or contemplating the crucifixion
66
gnosticism
in order to raise consciousness up, you must reject the world and live in poverty
67
"gnosis"
to know
68
Desert fathers of the 3rd century
Christian hermits that moved to desert and focused intently on God's presence
69
Taize meditative singing
sing short song with simple and repetitive melodies
70
where and when was Taize meditative singing invented
1940s in France
71
3 focuses for meditative singing
1. breath
2. words
3. meaning
72
quaker service
2 or more people sitting in silence for ~1 hour and at some point feeling compelled to say something
73
giving voice to ministery
during a quaker service when an individual is compelled to say something
74
what percent of the world is Islamic?
~20%
75
when was Islam founded and by whom
7th century by the prophet Mohammed
76
what does Islam mean
"surrender" or "submission"
77
5 pillars of Islam
1. confession (recognize one god Allah)
2. prayer (5 times per day)
3. giving
4. fasting
5. pilgrimage (travel to Mecca once in lifetime)
78
sufism
lose sense of self to achieve union with Allah
79
"fana"
turning away from the world and towards God (part of sufism)
80
dervish
group of Sufis that have taken vows of poverty
81
what do the dervishes do?
spinning in a circle
82
what percent of the world is Hindu
~14% of the world
83
is it relatively new or old
oldest of the big 5
84
is Hinuism one religion
no, it's a mixture of many religions, cultures, and philosophies
85
what does "Hindus" mean
"everybody over there"
86
Bhakti
devotion to a divine being or love towards a God
87
Ishta
a devotional object
88
last 4 steps of yoga in hinduism
1. pratyahara
2. dharana
3. dhyana
4. samadhi
89
pratyhara
withdrawing attention away from senses and focusing on the inner world
90
dharana
concentration
91
dhyana
keeping the mind still
92
samadhi
subject and object merges and there is no difference between you and ishta
93
is buddhism a religion
no, there are no gods or dogmas
94
dogma
one right way to do things
95
"budh"
"aware," "know"
96
is Buddha a person?
no, Buddha is a title (like president)
97
what does Buddhism say about suffering
suffering and emptiness can be cured through meditation and kindness
98
what does emptiness become through kindness and meditation
interconnectedness
99
shamatha
focused meditation
100
vipassana
mindfulness or insight
101
metta
loving kindness
102
dao
"the way"
103
what is dao
balance between opposite energies
104
"chi"
life force, energy
105
tai chi
moving form of meditation to make chi
106
qigong
focuses on recognizing and harnessing chi
107
martial arts from China
wu shu and gong fu
108
"wu"
stop using this weapon
109
wu shu
stop using weapons against others and yourself
110
gong fu
work and effort
111
budo
book about being civil and a decent human being
| "way of war"
112
kyudo
way of the bow
113
laido
way of the sword
114
aikido
way of unifying with life energy
115
purpose of budo
find harmony inside oneself and within one's environment
116
is dancing exclusive to humans?
no, also bees, cranes, and chimps
117
where were footprints found indicating dancing
paleolithic cave in Tuc d'Audoubert
118
why did the footprints indicate dancing
in a circle with a heel to toe pattern
119
other types of dance
powwow dance and Haitian voudou dance
120
transpersonal psychology
experiences extending beyond the individual
121
who studied transpersonal psychology
Maslow and Frankl
122
phenomenology
study of subjective experience
123
who described 4 qualities of mystical experiences and what was the book called, and when?
William James
The Varieties of Religious Experience
1902
124
4 qualities of mystical experience
1. ineffability
2. noetic quality
3. transiency
4. passivity
125
ineffability
can't be described
126
noetic quality
noetic = knowing, states of insight
127
transiency
can't be maintained for long
128
passivity
feeling that something else is in control
