Poster Presentations

God is No-thing: An Apophatic Assertion, 2020

Attaching to relative reality and duality is one of the causes of not Awakening. Instead, at a non-dualistic level, one knows Oneness. Oneness or the concept of Emptiness is about all things —including every atom in the “infinite” or the “non-infinite” universe (whichever it is.) The apophatic tradition emphasizes the unity, wholeness, interdependence, and interconnectedness of all things. Written and copyright claimed by Rodger R Ricketts, Psy.D. May 2020

Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy - IRCEP

The contemporary relevance of unraveling the transformative power of philosophy lies in helping to secure its place in the academe and in enabling personal change for the benefit of the individual and the society in which we live. Yet formulating the transformative power of various philosophies, of different philosophic notions, and of philosophy itself as a rational discipline which addresses the mind leads to laying the ground for a new field. This is what I attempt to do on my own, yet briefly, in this article, and at length, with the help of others, in the Handbook for Transformative Philosophy. In the current article, I explain why only Eastern philosophies are usually considered transformative, I argue that Western philosophy is deeply transformative and I formulate that which performs in it the required transformation of the self. I further identify religious readings of philosophy as one impediment to experiencing philosophy’s transformative power, and I point to the ideal o...

In this article, I will use the two truths doctrine from Buddhism to explicate transformative social change as a transmodern moral framework for critical psychological research. The two truths doctrine, a teaching from the Madhyamaka, or Middle Way, school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by Nāgārjuna, nondualistically collapses the ontology of transformation (absolute truth) and the epistemology of social change (relative truth) in the name of soteriology. At their core, dualistic problems and reductionist solutions are based upon the reification of concepts, which can result in devastating effects, such as the objectification (and oppression) of research participants—not mentioning moral relativism. This article attempts to offer a transmodern moral framework for qualitative and theoretical researchers in critical psychology outside the confines of the modern–postmodern debate.

Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 2013

Non-dualism and daily life, Part One, 2012

As the term 'non-dualism' indicates, it describes a way of thinking and being that is not dualistic. By dualistic we mean that our day to day functioning which needs to use opposites-such as heavy and light, dark and light, male and female, open and closed-is interpreted as being based on a real opposition, that is also true beyond mere functioning. Of course, it is useful for our functioning in the world to be able to differentiate between certain things, but this proves nothing about the ultimate reality of ourselves and the world as it appears to us. On further enquiry into the true nature of all that happens, we notice that we can only speak about something happening because we experience it. This experiencing or knowing is possible due to consciousness. When experiencing stops, everything stops. Whether we experience dark or light, a pleasant experience or a nasty one, it is experienced, it is perceived. By allowing all attention to go to experiencing-in-itself, you can notice that there is no multiplicity or separation. The impressions of multiplicity or separation occur within something that is 'not two'. This is non-duality. 'Non-dualism' is the term for the approaches that emphasize non-duality. If this were to remain an abstract philosophy, just one of the many possible interpretations of life, then as far as I am concerned, it would not be necessary to make it the focus of attention. It deserves attention because due to its radical nature it is the only thing that truly exposes the root of all division and conflict, and because recognizing this root shows the way to bring an end to division and conflict. What I mean by non-dualism is therefore not a philosophy but actually a way of liberation. Liberation from dissatisfaction with existence, with the present moment, with the present thought. The self-tormenting voice Man's basic-problem, as I see it, is splitting oneself in two, into 'someone' who behaves and has thoughts, and 'someone' who provides critical commentary on this behaviour and these thoughts. No matter how you try to be one with yourself, that critical voice continues to make itself heard. You appear to identify with both aspects, and the combination of these two can be called the 'ego', or simply the 'I'. The

This paper begins with a summary of my dissertation topic as currently envisioned: a comparison of three theoretical frameworks (Nichiren Buddhism, neuroscience, and archetypal cosmology / depth psychology) from the standpoint of their efficacy in elucidating and supporting the possibility of inner-motivated, self-directed, personal transformation, understood as a creator of social change. Course readings (by Bateson, Bernstein, Gergen, Morin, Slater, Stewart and Bennett, and Sztompka) and a video (by Curtis) are discussed and compared, and their usefulness in helping me perceive and assess my own, socially-created approach to my dissertation, and to my life, is considered. Keywords: Buddhism, social construction, pragmatism, pragmatic fallibilism, feminism, social transformation.

Draft of entry for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Apophatic Theology, 2024

Apophatic theology is relevant to Christian spirituality today as a form of Christological ascetico-mysticism. This entry demonstrates the spiritual pertinence of Dionysius the Areopagite's apophatic theology through its connections to Scriptural Christologies and its opposition to specific formations of the self in the context of neoliberal capitalism. Studies of 2 nd Temple apocalypticism and early Jewish mysticisms facilitate bringing New Testament Christologies and the Areopagite's theology into surprising focus. They show that certain New Testament Christologies are forms of apophatic mysticism and the Areopagite's apophatic theology is a Christological mysticism. For both, the crucified Christ is the incomprehensible and anthropomorphic theophany revealed in the heavenly and ecclesial liturgies and the incorporating body of deification. Apophatic theology, therefore, is ascetical life in which Divine-Humanity is attained not only through the negation of concepts, but through the denial of the self. This asceticism contrasts with the entrepreneurial relationship to the self fostered by the cultural dominance of neoliberalism. The entry concludes that the self-as-entrepreneurial-project is the source of anxieties and despair characteristic of the present time but that the Christological unselving of apophatic theology may serve as a healing therapy for these same miseries.

God is No-thing: An Apophatic Assertion The Salvation for Humankind Revised, 2022

Usually, the social, relationship and environmental consequences of the dualist, rationalist vs non-dualist, transcendental perspective are not explored in depth. In fact, there is less exploration regarding the direct social consequences of the adoption of either perspective than the psychological and transformational aspects. Therefore, I want to use the excellent clear analysis of the modern Jewish philosopher and educator, Martin Buber and others, to show that whichever of the two perspectives (Non-Dualist/Dualist) one predominately adopts, there are significant relational consequences. Here is a good place to remind the reader that the Dualist and non-dualist perspectives are not exclusive from one another.

Abstract This study in time, past and future, examines the dynamics and effects that have shaped us. Errors of past eras are explained through the lens of the perennial wisdom of Eastern spirituality, covering a time when deception had reached its climax until there emerged a new awakening. During the 20th and 21st centuries, the time when madness ruled, monstrous elites seized power and explored the limits of technology over Nature. The exploitation of organic support systems led to a catastrophic destruction of life on Earth; but the passivity of all the victimized people stopped when they understood that they were living under an undeclared and unreported Nuclear War. A global intentional movement arose from the people. This movement was the result of a Spiritual awakening. The methods discussed describe the progressive power of the ancient yogic tradition of Kundalini Integral Yoga and the metaphor of chakras; both systems within the science of Integral Yoga. As compassionate human beings, became aware of the operation of their higher chakras, war on Earth was no longer supported, it ended. The corrupt fell into an expiatory spiritual crisis. This theory and its implementation can be described in numerous epistemologies—each stage can also be approached in terms of Organic Inquiry, Complex Systems Science, and Squiggle Science; and it can also be described using other theories. Though, it is significant to note that on this Earth there is no more hatred or killing anymore. In 2110, the functions of the mind are regarded as Divine entities, and each individual sees a Presence Divine in the other.

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

In qualitative research, the importance of knowledge production is illustrated by the confidence in logos, that still flags. Although there is significant attention for approaches that are inclusive to the body, affect and non-rational dimensions, these approaches still aim to generate understandings by the appropriation of knowledge. This paper critiques that view and proposes another view of inquiry that centers the praxis of living the questions instead. Here, research is seen as a gradual unfolding of a process. The quest that belongs with this view of research is concerned with how to make space for life phenomena to emerge. We frame this as apophatic inquiry, a non-methodology, as it is not a matter of applying activities in a set of steps. For apophatic inquiry, a process of unknowing and wonder is imperative. The paper discusses how to foster a triadic inter-beingness in a research praxis that fosters the calling forth of and reflection on phenomena. For that, the researcher...