What happens when a person has a Clear, Vivid, ecstatic, transcendent religious or spiritual experience where they sense that they are being 'caught up' to God, or Spirit? Do they really encounter an unseen, intangible 'spiritual realm' that is Ultimate Reality and the Ground of existence? Why do some people who are diagnosed as 'mentally ill' claim to have such experiences? If a person persists in these kinds of beliefs, are they deluded, or even mad? Are they actually suffering from 'religious mania'? Are atheists correct in dismissing these experiences as merely 'psychological'? Or is it the atheists who are blind and deaf when it comes to Ultimate Reality? Drawing from personal experience and from over forty years of practical and theoretical engagement with spirituality and religion, as well as from approaches within psychology, author Robert Laynton explores these questions, not as a defense of religion or spirituality but as an exploration of experience on the edge of reason.

Jesus is coming again - as King. But what will the Return of the King be like? The bible speaks of a thousand-year reign of Jesus - a Millennium Reign - but what is the Millennium Reign? Author Robert Laynton takes a fresh look at these themes to present a more grounded and sober look at what the Bible has to say concerning the Return of the King and the Millennium Reign. His takes the reader right back to the beginning, to trace the development of these themes within the narrative of God's grand plan of creation and of salvation and restoration in the light of humanity's fall into disobedience and condemnation. It is a plan that has been enacted in history and is being enacted right now; a plan intimately connected with the Jews and with the nation of Israel; with events that will affect the whole world in an unprecedented way. This book should engage students and believers from both Christian and Judaic traditions, as well as anyone who is seriously concerned about these themes.

Studies of opera, film, television, and literature have demonstrated how constructions of madness may be referenced in order to stigmatise but also liberate protagonists in ways that reinforce or challenge contemporaneous notions of normality. But to date very little research has been conducted on how madness is represented in popular music. In an effort to redress this imbalance, Nicola Spelman identifies links between the anti-psychiatry movement and representations of madness in popular music of the 1960s and 1970s, analysing the various ways in which ideas critical of institutional psychiatry are embodied both verbally and musically in specific songs by David Bowie, Lou Reed, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, The Beatles, and Elton John. She concentrates on meanings that may be made at the point of reception as a consequence of ideas about madness that were circulating at the time. These ideas are then linked to contemporary conventions of musical expression in order to illustrate certain interpretative possibilities. Supporting evidence comes from popular musicological analysis - incorporating discourse analysis and social semiotics - and investigation of socio-historical context. The uniqueness of the period in question is demonstrated by means of a more generalised overview of songs drawn from a variety of styles and eras that engage with the topic of madness in diverse and often conflicting ways. The conclusions drawn reveal the extent to which anti-psychiatric ideas filtered through into popular culture, offering insights into popular music's ability to question general suppositions about madness alongside its potential to bring issues of men's madness into the public arena as an often neglected topic for discussion.

It has often been thought that participation in fertility rituals was women's most important religious activity in classical Greece. Matthew Dillon's wide-ranging study makes it clear that women engaged in numerous other rites and cults, and that their role in Greek religion was actually more important than that of men. Women invoked the gods' help in becoming pregnant, venerated the god of wine, worshipped new and exotic deities, used magic for both erotic and pain-relieving purposes, and far more besides. Clear and comprehensive, this volume challenges many stereotypes of Greek women and offers unexpected insights into their experience of religion. With more than fifty illustrations, and translated extracts from contemporary texts, this is an essential resource for the study of women and religion in classical Greece.

The links between madness, creative genius, and spiritual experiences have tantalized philosophers and scientists for centuries. In Healing the Split, John Nelson brings the lofty ideas of transpersonal psychology down to earth so they can be applied in a practical way to explain the bizarre effects of insanity on the human mind. Drawing on a vast knowledge of Eastern philosophy and mainstream neuropsychiatry, he heals the split between orthodox and alternative views with a comprehensive approach that goes beyond both. Starting where R. D. Laing and Thomas Szasz left off, Nelson revises and expands their radical views in light of modern brain science. He then turns to ancient tantric yoga for a synthesis that weaves brain, psyche, and spirit into a compelling new conception of mental illness. For professionals who seek to meet the needs of their patients more creatively, this book offers a unique synthesis. For people in emotional crisis, it clarifies the distinctions among intractable psychosis, temporary breakdowns in the service of healing (spiritual emergencies), and psychic breakthroughs (spiritual emergence). And for anyone interested in the seemingly inexplicable workings of the human mind gone mad, this fascinating exploration of psychotic states of consciousness will be exciting reading.

Now in an updated fifth edition, this book provides readers with overviews of all the key theories, concepts and terminology associated with mental health, summarising them succinctly in a series of easily digestible yet expertly written entries. Structured into four sections, the text starts with entries related to Mental Health and Mental Abnormality, before moving onto Mental Health Services and Society. The new edition offers: 68 concise chapters including new entries on ADHD, Secondary Prevention, Challenges for Practitioners, and The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health. Updates across all chapters to make the content more in-line with contemporary critical debates in mental health, including new terminology and references to modern mental health services. A new contextualising introduction on the sticky subject of mental health terminology. Additional further reading examples and suggestions An essential guide for students of mental health studies, health, nursing, social work, psychology, counselling and psychotherapy.

Most people think that mystics pursue lives of solitude, sequestering themselves away from society in order to dwell solely on God without distraction. In fact, says R. A. Herrera, few who actively engage the world are found among the mystics. However, in Mystics in Spite of Themselves, he examines the lives of four prominent and historically relevant men who broke that rule: Augustine (354 430), Gregory (540 604), Anselm (1033 1109), and Ramon Llull (1233 1315). Though separated from the hermitage, desert, or cell that they may have craved, they are still rightly called mystics. / Herrera brings to life the tumultuous times in which these men lived, and explores what kind of challenges they faced the burdens of work, ill health, and the longing for a different kind of life. Nevertheless, these four men were thinkers and writers who had a powerful impact on their worlds as well as on the history of spirituality. They proved it was possible to be involved in the world without being immersed in it, to be engaged in earthly particulars while also keeping their minds and hearts on higher things.

Preliminary material -- INTRODUCTION -- THE MYSTIC CULT OF CYBELE IN CLASSICAL GREECE -- MYSTERIES IN THE HELLENIZED CULT OF CYBELE -- MYSTIC ASPECTS IN THE “PHRYGIAN” MYTHICAL-RITUAL CYCLE -- THE PROBLEM OF THE PHRYGIAN MYSTERIES -- SOTERIOLOGICAL PROSPECTS IN THE CULT OF CYBELE -- MYSTIC AND SOTERIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE TAUROBOLIUM -- CONCLUSION -- SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY -- ADDENDUM -- INDEX.