1st Edition

Integrative Spirituality Religious Pluralism, Individuation, and Awakening

By Patrick J. Mahaffey Copyright 2019
    248 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    248 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    In Integrative Spirituality, Patrick J. Mahaffey elucidates spirituality as a developmental process that is enhanced by integrating the teachings and practices of multiple religious traditions, Jungian depth psychology, and contemplative yoga. In the postmodern world of religious pluralism, Mahaffey compellingly argues that each of us must fashion a unique path to wholeness which integrates aspects of life and of the self that have become disconnected and disowned.

    Integrative Spirituality uniquely conjoins four components: exemplary religious pluralists from three traditions, individuation, the forms of contemplative Hindu yoga that have been successfully transmitted to the West, and a presentation of two models for integrating psychological growth and spiritual awakening. The book presents pioneering practitioners in each field who exemplify how we may fashion our own approach to integrating both spiritual awakening and psychological development and delineates an array of spiritual practices that integrate the somatic, psychological, interpersonal, and spiritual aspects of life. Ultimately, Mahaffey contends that integrative spirituality is a mode of being that fully embraces the divinity inherent in each of us and in the world.

    Integrative Spirituality will be essential reading for academics and students of Jungian and post-Jungian studies, transpersonal and Jungian psychology, and religious studies and contemplative education. It will also be of interest to analytical and depth psychologists in practice and in training, and to anyone seeking a greater understanding of spirituality, psychological growth, religious traditions, individuation, and contemplative yoga.

    Foreword by Sally Kempton;  Introduction;  The Spirit of the Times;  Religious Pluralism, Spirituality, and Stages of Faith;  Christianity;  Hinduism;  Buddhism;  Jungian Depth Psychology and Individuation;  Contemplative Yoga and Awakening;  Intergrating Spiritual Awakening with Psychological Development;  Credo.

    Biography

    Patrick J. Mahaffey is Professor and Associate Chair of the Mythological Studies Program at Pacifica Graduate Institute, California, USA, where he teaches Hinduism, Buddhism, and depth psychology and the sacred. He is the author of essays on Hindu yoga traditions, Buddhism, and Jung’s depth psychology.

    "Integrative Spirituality is a beautiful testimony to the challenges and rewards of deep engagement with inner work, soul work. Dr. Mahaffey persuades us of the importance of both centering on the perspectives that speak most powerfully to us and of honoring those of others. His own journey has led him to balance the complementary perspectives of Jungian depth psychology and contemplative yoga, to attend to both a quest for psychological wholeness and for spiritual awakening. His is an account that beautifully serves to encourage us in our own attempts to cultivate soul."

    Dr. Christine Downing, author of The Goddess: Mythological Images of the Feminine and Gods in Our Midst: Mythological Images of the Masculine.

     "Dr Mahaffey’s book is a veritable tour de force that guides the reader unerringly through the intricacies of several religious and psychological traditions. With deeply moving openness about his own life path, he shows how these may be integrated. The reader will be rewarded with both a deepened inner life and a profound appreciation for the complementary nature of our spiritual traditions. This book will expand the reader’s spiritual and psychological horizons."

     —Dr Lionel Corbett, author of Psyche and the Sacred and The Sacred Cauldron: Psychotherapy as a Spiritual Practice. Corbett is a distinguished Jungian analyst and scholar of depth psychology. He is Professor of Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute.