Going Beyond the Jesus Story by Douglas Lockhart
Who am I? Why am I? Where am I headed and where have I been? These are just some of the questions that concern the author of Going Beyond the Jesus Story, a book that ranges freely across complex and intriguing subject areas such as the nature of religious belief, contemplative and meditative experience, lucid dreaming, the role of feeling in our appreciation of reality, the inherently spiritual nature of asking questions, and our need to go beyond not only the Jesus story as it has come down to us, but also the ingrained notion that self is an ongoing, uninterrupted experience of the conscious mind that can be taken for granted. Directing our attention to the nature of attention itself, we are introduced, step by carefully constructed step, to the idea that consciousness is not what we have assumed it to be, or conscious awareness quite as conscious as we like to think it is. Delving into history, theology and philosophy in an attempt to reach an integrated understanding of the religious and secular problems we face as human beings, the author examines ideas that confront and challenge on just about every level, ideas that carry us towards an appreciation of what it means to presence the self to the self as an experience in its own right. At this point theory gives way to experiment, to methodology, to a knowing or seeing that makes this book a unique contribution to the study of human sentience and its evolved, and evolving structures.
GOING BEYOND THE JESUS STORY is an impressive and thought-provoking workDrawing on a wealth of scholarly material, the book develops its arguments in a way that is both engaging and accessible. It not only connects contemporary religious and theological ideas with recent work in the philosophy of mind and consciousness, but also shows how much there is still to be gained from the mystical and contemplative traditions, as well as from other more esoteric sources. Lockhart's conclusions connect with some of the most innovative current thinking about meaning, mind and self arguing for a view of human existence as neither wholly internalised nor wholly externalised, but as constituted in the 'between' of mind and world in a way that encompasses both. (Jeff Malpas, Professor of Philosophy and ARC Professorial Fellow, University of Tasmania, Distinguished Visiting Professor, LaTrobe University) Douglas Lockhart offers us a beautifully written, wide-ranging, and thoroughly absorbing exploration of the deeper reaches of contemplative thought and practice. Here you will find an inspired and inspiring guide to the nondoctrinal core of contemplative experience; of what it means fully to be present in the present. (Professor Warwick Fox, School of Philosophy, University of Central Lancashire, UK.)
Douglas Lockhart is a Glasgow born Scot whose journalistic career in London blossomed into short stories, novels, poetry and works of non-fiction dealing with the mystery of consciousness.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781846944659 |
| ISBN 10 | 1846944651 |
| Title | Going Beyond the Jesus Story |
| Author | Douglas Lockhart |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Collective Ink |
| Year published | 2011-09-30 |
| Number of pages | 392 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |