Examine the Characteristics of Mystical and Conversion Experiences Essay

wo well-known categories of religious experience are Conversion and Mystical experiences. Throughout history there have been many reports of people having these religious experiences, and not all of the recipients are necessarily Christian in belief. Famous examples of conversion experiences include St Paul on the road to Damascus, and an example of a mystical experience could be the story of Theresa of Avila. Firstly I am going to look at the characteristics of mystical experiences, followed by an example of a mystical experience that I shall analyse before moving on to doing the same for conversion experiences. A philosopher called William James has designed a series of tests to see if a mystical experience conforms to a pattern that has arisen through the history of these experiences. William James said that the receiver of the religious experience should be passive, i.e. does not go out of his or her way to trigger the experience, it happens to them without their provoking it. The experience should be ineffable in that in the aftermath the receiver finds it very difficult to describe what had happened and how they had felt in normal communication, thirdly that there is a noetic quality to these experiences, meaning that some truth or great fact is revealed to the recipient of the experience. Finally the experience should be transient, this means that the actual experience should not take very long at all, perhaps a few hours, but afterwards it has a very long, if not lifelong impact on the person who had the experience. Mystical experiences often have an example of the defying of the laws of nature and physics, for example the hearing of voices or seeing of visions, or receiving of the wounds of Christ, the Stigmata, that came from nowhere and have no rational explanation. An example of a mystical experience, as I mentioned earlier, is the story of Theresa of Avila. Theresa was a Carmelite nun who had been raised as being deeply religious; when her mother died she turned to the Virgin Mary and became a nun. Throughout her life she was often seriously ill and during these bouts of illness she claimed to have experienced religious ecstasy, in which she saw a cherub repeatedly stabbing her in the stomach with a fiery spear, and where he stabbed her she felt bliss and pain equally. In one bout of sickness she lost the use of her legs for three years, and during this time she stopped praying until she was convinced by a priest to start again. Not long after she began praying again she experienced holy delights from God, which were moments when her senses were overwhelmed by the presence of God. Alongside this she experienced the levitation, meaning that she claimed to have had her body raised off of the ground by the Holy Spirit. The levitation is the main mystical experience of Theresa’s life; this is a very clear example of how the laws of nature are defied by the power of God. The experience is passive as she was ill in bed at the time, it wasn’t ineffable however as she could clearly explain what had happened, however the experiences of having her senses overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit that accompany the levitation certainly were ineffable. There was no great truth revealed directly but there is a lesson in her story. And that is that the Lord will watch over and take care of us when we are sick. It is hard to tell whether or not the experience was transient, as while the levitation took place over just a few minutes, we cannot know how deep an impact it had on Theresa, as she was already deeply religious, we cannot easily see how she changed as a person. Now we move onto conversion experiences, the most key characteristic of a conversion experience is that the recipient of the experience has a complete switch around of their religious beliefs, they are converted. This conversion stays in place for the rest of the experiencer’s life, the religious experience is transient. Conversion experiences can be either gradual or sudden, meaning that a person’s beliefs can change over time due to different stimuli or events, or they can change swiftly as a result of an undeniably holy action. An important fact to remember when discussing conversion experiences is that they can occur not just in regards to an individual’s religious beliefs, they can also impact on political and social ideals as well, and these kinds of conversions follow the same pattern as that of religious experiences. The example of a conversion experience I am going to talk about is the conversion of St Paul on the road to Damascus. Before his conversion Paul, or Saul as he was known, was a Pharisee who harshly persecuted the early Christians and was not in any way inclined to believe in the teachings of Jesus. One day Paul was riding down the road to Damascus, as he drew near to the city a light shone down from heaven and Paul was cast down to the ground, then he heard a voice saying â€Å"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me†? The voice identified itself as Jesus and instructed Paul to go to the city where he will be instructed further. The men accompanying Paul were amazed, as they had heard the voice, but had seen no man or any vision as Paul had. Paul opened his eyes, but found that he had been blinded, perhaps by the brilliant light, his men led him to the city and there he stayed, blind, not eating or drinking for three days. After the three days his sight returned, and he was convinced that he had seen the resurrected Christ. After the experience Paul could be found in the company of the disciples that were in Damascus, which shows a very large turn around in his ideals, because before the experience he would have arrested and persecuted those men. This story is a good example of a conversion experience as it shows a very big contrast in the subject before and after the experience, which is as I said previously, the main characteristic of a religious experience. To conclude the essay I would just like to summarise the characteristics of both mystical and conversion experiences, mystical experiences are most easily identified when evidence of supernatural even ts take place, such as the levitation, while conversion experiences are clearly shown in the change of the recipients religious or political ideals.

An Abuse of Power Essay

Abigail is the most prominent example of power and manipulation, with far worse repercussions, fooling the court and pretending to be God’s voice to get what she wants. Hale declares before the court that â€Å"private vengeance is working through this testimony,† (105) when Proctor attempts to show the court Abigail’s machinations. She recognizes the Puritan’s fear of God, and their fear of witches, to manipulate those in power, gaining her own strength in the court and causing mass hysteria to turn in her favor. Her rise to power begins even before the hysteria, starting with the group of girls from the forest, but her tactics are no different: manipulate others to save herself. They fear being caught, and she plays to their terror, telling them if they â€Å"breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, [then she] will come to [them] in the black of some terrible night and [she] will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder [them]† (19). This threat crafts her iron grip on the girls, allowing her to lead them against the town, lying and condemning folk to save themselves from strife over their actions. Abigail’s hold remains on the girls all through the play, forcing even the most honest to turn from truth and continue their lies â€Å"when people accused of witchery confronted [them] in court, [they] would faint, saying their spirits came out of their bodies and choked [them]† (98). This is evident in the scene where Mary confesses their lies, admitting they â€Å"never saw no spirits† and â€Å"were never threatened or afflicted by any manifest of the Devil or the Devil’s agents† (98). Abigail manipulates the court, using the power she’s gained to say she does God’s work, and Mary falls back to her, carrying out Abigail’s wishes by condemning John Proctor. This is similar to how Abigail got rid of Elizabeth by accusing her in her newfound place of power, so she could be with John, a fact that he addresses, refusing to â€Å"give [his] wife to vengeance† (73) when they come to arrest her. Abigail’s attitude of controlling the girls by vicious fear of witchery is easily comparable to that of the boy Jack in Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Jack recognizes the weakness in the group of boys, using their gnawing fear of â€Å"the beast† to turn them to his side, against Ralph. Though much more direct, Jack uses his power to threaten the boys on Ralph’s side, such as Samneric, to hail to savagery and chaos, much like Abigail did to Mary. He dominates the island, getting what he wants, and eliminating those such as Piggy and Ralph, who stand in his way. Abigail’s tactic of lying, manipulating fear and abusing her power in court grants her the same reward of getting her way, and pushing aside enemies like Elisabeth. The only difference is that Abigail’s actions come with far bigger consequences, more than Parris, Putnam or Danforth, fleshed out on a larger scale of victims who fell in the face of her machinations. In the end, Arthur Miller’s Crucible is a fine study of manipulation and abuse of power, shown in various forms, through vicious antagonists, always exploiting Salem’s fear to achieve their own selfish goals and further themselves on the social food chain. What Miller is perhaps attempting to demonstrate through this play is that those in positions of power will always abuse it, especially when faith is involved, because of the â€Å"manipulation of that faith to create fear and control† (Bardem), as have done Danforth, Parris, Putnam and Abigail.

Online shopping vs. Traditional Shopping Essay

Shopping is an exciting part of American culture, whether you participate or not. With a boost from cyberspace, a person can buy just about anything without leaving the couch. Both types of transactions coexist with one another, yet window-shopping is a distinctly different experience from Internet shopping. Shopping is no longer as simple as it used to be, especially if you’re picky. Whether it’s web-based or face-to-face browsing, there are some benefits and downfalls to both methods that differentiate the two, even though they each accomplish a common goal. When shopping traditionally there is a limitation to some extent, whether it’s a variety of size, color, brand, or availability. Shopping at the store can be convenient, yet frustrating. Finding what you need takes patience and sometimes a little help. Also, depending on the demand, a store may not always have a product in stock. Even more irritating is finding what you need, just not the right size. Each of these situations makes online shopping the more appealing option. When shopping on the Internet, there are endless options and variety to choose from. Online customers can search for any product; browse by category, color, size, brand, etc.; or just take a peek at everything in a matter of minutes. Another appealing factor to Internet shopping is the availability to choose from additional colors, styles, or sizes because of the mass compiling of inventory. Additionally, a benefit from buying from huge online retailers is that pricing may be more competitive because it is coming from the direct or discount supplier, which minimizes the middlemen. Lastly, and most obviously, customers shopping over the web have no geographic limits. A person can enjoy any good around the world without having to go the distance to retrieve it, which makes Internet shopping so unique. Despite the fascination with online shopping, there is only so much an Internet connection and domain can do for you. Browsing a website’s product listing is in no way comparable to being able to physically touch, see, smell, or feel a product when making a purchase. Looks can be deceiving, as well as luring descriptions. No matter what angle its viewed from, pictures only provide a two-dimensional detail of a product in the most attractive lighting, with the happiest people enjoying it, or the best looking person  modeling it. Making a decision based on these intentionally placed marketing methods can alter a consumer’s perception of the true quality of a product, more than likely resulting in dissatisfaction. What makes traditional shopping more appealing in this aspect is that a consumer is more than likely aware of what their buying into, rather than blindly buying into a false belief. A person is capable of fully experiencing the true quality of a product without a bias on it’s presentation. By witnessing a product in material form, consumers are given the opportunity to make a judgment without having to dodge marketing obstacles. A person’s five senses assist in getting to the bottom of the misunderstanding created by deceptive showcasing techniques and assure the best decision. Likewise, when deals in cyberspace seem too good to be true, they usually are. A person’s susceptibility to scam is increased when shopping on the Internet. The occurrence of personal information theft, such as credit cards, is alarmingly high. When shopping traditionally, a person is not faced with as high of chances of this happening. Due to the existence of many untrusted or sketchy websites, a person may not want to be so quick to hand over method of payment. Also, even if a website is trusted, there is always room for error, especially when a computer is the main coordinator of the order processing. The possibility of receiving the incorrect item from the supplier is a risk that is taken each time a person resorts to Internet shopping. Making Internet order returns are an even trickier task, whereas returning an item to a traditional store is just as simple as the way you bought it. Internet merchandise returns can take several weeks to process and refunds can come in exchanges, full refunds, or store credit, adding to the inconvenient complications. Nevertheless, nobody usually enjoys spending long hours at the store, making a trip to a mall out of town, or doing anything generally shopping related. Traditional shopping can take a lot of energy and effort, inflict stress, and lead to impulse purchases. All of these results are undesirable and easily avoided through Internet shopping. With a computer or smartphone, a person has access to millions of online stores as well as websites to favorite traditional stores. All of these options are available from the  comfort of any home (with internet of course.) You can shop on your own time rather than the hours of operation of a traditional store. Heck, you can even shop naked if you desire. Not only can using this alternative make shopping convenient and easy, shipping of products is extremely affordable and sometimes free. Money and time usually spent on transportation and food when shopping formally can be saved, on top of the savings one can find online. Finding deals on the web is just as easy, if not easier, than traditional shopping. Also, buying gifts and other personal items can be done in privacy/secrecy when necessary. In conclusion, both methods of shopping are full of differences and similarities that make them unique in some approach. Traditional shopping allows for inclusion of the five senses, quick and safe transactions, and a more formal experience that includes the customer; whereas Internet shopping is convenient and easy, provides increased option, and helps to save money. Due to the variation in execution, both methods have an appropriate time and place to occur, yet in the end, internet shopping and formal shopping are interchangeable, despite the discrepancies.

Stratigic Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Stratigic Financial Management - Essay Example The main trends of the industry are the explosion in electronic trading; the service providers have their own technologies and systems; and the coming of the age of media personalization. On the other hand, to analyze the company situation was considered the product and market strategy, its business unit situation and the financial performance. With respect to financial performance, Reuters had a gradual improvement in sales in 2005, but its profitability has been very volatile in the last few years, nevertheless in February 2006 experienced an amazing 25% increase in its 2005 profits. The question here is if the sale of INSTINET has benefited not only Reuters but also Nasdaq According to financial data presented, both companies are in a much stronger and healthy financial position than before the sale of Instinet. With nearly 200 news bureaus, Reuters ranks as the world's largest international news agency, publishing stories in almost 20 languages. Reuters has always been an innovative leader in delivering news. In 1850 Reuters founder, Paul Julius Reuter, "created a company devoted to delivering information using the best available technology" ("History of Reuters' Technical developments," p. 1). In 1850, the best available technology was a fleet of 45 pigeons that would deliver news and stock prices between Brussels and Germany within two hours. Through the use of these birds, the company was able to beat news delivery by the railroad by six hours. Reuter quickly exploited the technology of the telegraph as soon as it was introduced. Throughout the years Reuters has continued to lead in new uses of information technology. Reuters remains the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's financial institutions, businesses and the media. According to its website: "Reuters strength lies in its unique ability to offer customers around the world a combination of content, technology and connectivity. Its offerings include: real-time financial data; transaction capabilities; analytical, risk and trade management tools; collective investment data from Lipper; historical databases; and text, graphics, video and pictures to media organisations woldwide." ("Aboutreuters.com," p. 1). Reuters Background Reuters is an information service, traditionally news. In recent years, it has become a financial organization as

Critical Thinking and the Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical Thinking and the Society - Essay Example Non-Critical Thinker Critical Thinker To evaluate the information and the conclusions drawn from it, the critical thinker should have the â€Å"questioning power.† To think critically the thinker must ask questions to get as much information as possible and to judge how far the information collected is relevant, applicable, important and significant. Then after the thinker needs to ask questions in regards to the conclusion drawn from this information. Using logic he needs to think if the conclusion is fair, logical, reasonable and consistent with all the collected information. There are different kinds of questions for critical thinking related to different activities. There are tools for Getting the Facts, Evaluating the Facts, Drawing a Conclusion and Evaluating the Conclusion. SKILLS REQUIRED FOR CRITICAL THINKING. Critical Thinking is an art which can be learned over time and needs special skills for its successful implementation: Rationality. It’s about reply on t he reasons and facts rather than emotions. Rationality is more based on known evidences and follows them where it leads. Self-Awareness. One can think critically when recognizes his/her own point of view without being biased. Honesty. One can think critically if he/she recognises emotional impulses, selfish motives, purposes or other modes of self-deception. Open-mindedness. Critical thinking demands reasonable inferences, variety of point of views or perspectives open to alternative interpretations. Critical thinking needs to be open to new explanations, model or paradigm if they explain the evidences better with more simplicity with more data. Judgement. Critical thinking always recognises the relevant and/or merit of alternative... Thus critical thinking is used in all our important decisions in our daily life. It affects one’s growth personally as well as professionally. The concepts and principles of critical thinking can be applied to any context. Thus critical thinking is based on one universal principal but its application to different disciplines requires reflective conceptualisation. Critical thinking is gaining importance in academics as well as to judge professional’s potential within a professional environment. Academically, Critical Thinking enables the students to analyse, evaluate, explain and restructure their thinking, thereby decreasing the risk of adopting, acting on and thinking with a false belief. However this kind of academics is only introduced in the West whereas in the East it’s still not prevalent. Introducing critically thinking into the curriculum would help the students to build thinking skills which would not only benefit them as individuals but would benefit the democracy as well. Professionally, the people who think critically are called the clear thinkers and are in high demand as they whittle down solutions for the company. Critical thinking would play a very important role in today’s alarming decline of the earth’s natural resources. The society can turn towards critical thinking only if thinking is considered as primary and not as a complex phenomenon. If the existing problems in the world are critically thought over with a open mind and unbiased natured, these problems could definitely get a solution.

Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth Assignment - 1

Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth - Assignment Example Or, generally speaking, is planet earth a religious planet? The physical universe displays evidence of a mathematical precision and order. This order is based on universal laws that govern the physical phenomena in the whole universe designed by an intelligent supreme authority, the Creator of all things. He ideally designed every part of these thousands of systems that cooperate with each other to keep His living creatures alive. For countless millions of years, the gravitational force of the sun has held all the planets in stable orbits. However, considering the possibility of man’s ruining or destroying the Earth by his own folly, the universal order that governs the whole universe might as well be disturbed thereby affecting our lives from other planets. Sadly, the current Earth’s rising temperature may pose alarming threats to this universal order as it already damaged the Earth’s ozone layer, which causes climate change. Concurrent climate change has resulted in destructive extreme weather which includes droughts, heavy precipitation, heat waves and hurricanes worldwide. An article reports that â€Å"it is very possible that we could see more instances of ozone depletion in the coming year as greenhouse gases emissions continue, causing increased tropospheric heat and more stratospheric cooling† (Daniel & Byrd, 2011). According to human report, such catastrophes have taken place through excessive deforestation, uncontrolled pollution of the atmosphere and spoiling of the waterways. In fact, research of the University of East Anglia declares that â€Å"China’s groundwater irrigation system is responsible for polluting the atmosphere with more than 30 million tons of CO2 per year† (Saini, n.d.), making China the largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. This is evidently one example of how human is ruining the Earth’s environment and ecosystem. But the big question is why do humans

Compare and contrast the marketing strategies of two companies Essay - 1

Compare and contrast the marketing strategies of two companies - Essay Example Nike is a major sports brand in the United States that manufactures different types of sports gears and equipment. The name is the most popular brand in terms of sports shoes and apparels. Nike has created a major loyalty base around the world, especially due to its trend setting marketing and advertising campaigns, as well as the number of sports stars it occasionally ropes in to endorse its products. The company sells its products through various retailers – both online and offline – along with the exclusive brand stores of Nike. Apart from selling sports related products the company sponsors many high profile athletes and teams in various sports. Most of the time where Starbucks Coffee formulates its marketing strategy is in the Service phase of the product life cycle. However, their marketing strategy also targets the market during the Realize phase where they produce and deliver the best coffee possible to their customers. When looking into the marketing strategy of Nike they mostly formulate their marketing strategy during the Realize phase in which they manufacture the products and try to capture the market by selling their innovation in the market (Armstrong et al., 2012). The main method that Starbucks Coffee applies to its marketing strategy is to advertise their brand through their own products like t-shirts, coffee mugs that their regular customers purchase. On the other hand the advertising methodology of Nike is exclusively through print media and sometimes through electronic or digital media as well. The early advertising of Nike was mainly focused on the new shoes that it released and the message of the advertisement showed the benefits of various shoes like basketball, tennis and running shoes. While formulating the marketing strategy Nike made effective use of television as they believe it to be the most powerful medium of information and commercial. The TV commercials of Nike make a viewer feel the necessity of the product