Living with an Unintentional, Unexpected Mystical Encounter

ISBN-13: 9783639133172 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 164 str.

Pamela Porath

Opis

How do people interpret and find meaning in anunintentional, unexpected mystical encounter? This interpretive study investigates this type ofexperience with people who were not searching forsuch an experience when it occurred. The study focused on: 1) specific elements ofthe experience(s), 2) the meaning-making processes inwhich participants engaged to interpret theexperience(s), 3) the dynamics of self-disclosure andpotential for stigmatization, and 4) the effect theexperience(s) had on the participants beliefs aswell as career and lifestyle choices. The literatures from diverse disciplines such asmysticism, embodied knowing and meaning-making aswell as self-disclosure were explored. The emergingfindings on self-redefinition, embodied knowing andstigmatization expanded the literatures to includethe early Christian mystics and stigmatization. A generic meaning-making process that includedparticipant self-redefinitions evolved from theinitial thematic analysis. Other findings included the interplay between embodied knowing andarticulating felt knowledge, and unique insightsinto the phenomenon of stigmatization in light of theexperience.

O autorze

Pam Porath, Ph.D. is a scholar-practitioner and founder of
Strategic Solutions Consulting, a firm that focuses on strategic
planning, organizational culture and large-scale change.
Her research interests span a range of transpersonal themes as
well as organizational and leadership topics.
Pam's latest artistic passion is ballroom dancing.