Comparative Theology

The art and activism of Sr. Corita Kent [1918-1986] are powerful catalysts for the resurrection of communication in the 21st century. We have birthed new ways to connect and communicate through digital waves, graphic arts, and social media. From the 1960’s war on peace to the present political devastation in America, it is at this fertile ground of transformation that new visions are born.

The science of consciousness has traditionally situated knowledge creation in the mind, and thus, marginalizes the knowing body. Returning to the body requires a decolonization of consciousness in Euro-Western research paradigms and in our bodies. This research is grounded in the spirituality indigenous to my Latinx matrilineage known as Mary consciousness, which frames the body as an epistemic pillar of knowledge creation. A feminist fleshing of the knowing body displaces the centrality of the mind by elevating indigenous ways of knowing. Material feminist worldviews contribute by expressing the degree to which the body has been marginalized as a valid source of knowledge creation and expanding the binary split of mind over body. The theoretical entanglement of ethics, being, and knowing in the coalescence of matter, spirit, and meaning illustrate that we cannot know where the body ends, and the mind begins. This threefold schema is delineated through the embodied experience of Mar...

Death and dying, for all people, is a unique process to the individual and also the community around them; death rituals are for both the living mourners who celebrate their deceased loved ones lives as well as for the souls of the deceased. However, religious or personal beliefs can alter how a person handles the process of death. Islam is no exception; Muslims have a distinct methodology for dealing with the death of a loved one. This is an essay explaining the traditional, fundamental ways in which Muslims handle the death, funeral and burial of the deceased. These processes are defined by the hadith, which are the words of approval or disapproval by the Prophet Muhammad, which is the final law. It should be noted that, for Muslims living in the western world, some of the following traditions might not be able to be applied fully due to western laws and regulations, such as burying the body without a coffin. Also, due to modernity and reformation of Islam, some of these rituals may have adapted and evolved to the times, such as allowing women to be more active in the burial process. That being said, the discussion that follows on how Muslim's traditionally handle the deceased can proceed.

but not religious' is covered quite briefly, but outlines some key concepts that I believe can be fruitful tools in better understanding the context of your spiritual journeys. This is an very complex topic born from a particularly convoluted history, as you will soon discover, so some, for simplicities sake, broad generalizations about the larger world religions are used, in order to better convey the message and definitions presented. That being said, an effort was put forth to express both 'sides' of the issue, both the 'secular' and the 'religious'. All of the theories below are used with utmost respect for every person of faith and for every world religion as a whole, and are by no means being used with the intent to devalue the importance or significance of each faith 's teachings, messages, practices, etc.

*Note: Due to the length of this project, to avoid any potential formatting issues, please 'DOWNLOAD' this paper instead of 'PREVIEWING'.*
This project aims to propose a kind of alternative spiritual model that analyzes ancient Vedic philosophy alongside modern science. Many abstract and metaphysical concepts are described here, thus an addendum with visuals and explanations, as well as a glossary of Sanskrit terms, is provided at the end of this paper for your convenience. Energy concepts from both fields of study, such as energetic subtle bodies, the mantra OM as the creation of the universe, cymatic experiments, string theory applications, intentional thinking, and sacred geometry are all discussed to illustrate how all of these energy concepts, when unified, have the ability to help us understand our place within the universe and how to properly interact with it, without letting it overcome us unknowingly.
According to the theories presented in this project, the universe is fundamentally made up of a landscape of vibrating energy. This energy vibrates at different frequencies. Within each frequency, there is a set of intrinsic information in the form of sacred geometric patterns. These geometric patterns are the language of existence. This energy that is within all matter and all beings interacts with and has a physical effect on all other matter. These energetic frequencies are all around us and are even a part of us, whether we are aware of it or not. Most importantly, considering that our thoughts are electrical impulses, or energy, our thoughts then must also have the ability to interact with our perceived existence to a certain extent.
Thus, with these energetic understandings in place, it is possible to infer that our thought patterns may play a role in our quality of life as well as our perceived physical realities. We are very much in control of our thoughts, which, consequently, direct our attitudes and our perceived reality – this responsibility is both liberating and simultaneously terrifying. It's about the awareness of energetic intention.

Vibration is a part of everyday life, whether we are aware of it or not. Everyone experiences vibration in a variety of different ways: intentionally with music and speech, environmentally by cars, computers, phones, etc., and unconsciously, because there are many vibrational frequencies that are not audible to the human ear. Previous studies have focused on whether vibrational exposure impacts mood or impacts mindfulness, but the aim of the current study was to examine whether exposure to vibration of high and low frequencies has any impact on state mood and mindfulness levels together. Participants (n = 28) were assigned to listen to either high frequencies (20,000Hz and above) or low frequencies (50Hz or below). Regardless of intervention, participants completed the State Mindfulness Survey (SMS) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) questionnaires before and after their retrospective intervention. A repeated measures MANOVA was conducted to examine group differences on mood and affect. There was no significant time by condition interactions for any of the dependent variables. There were various limitations in this study that may have led to no significant results, such as insufficient sample size combined with low amplitude levels and short frequency exposure times during intervention.
Keywords: Mood, mindfulness, environmental sound, sound, vibration