Defense Date

1-19-2018

Graduation Date

Summer 2018

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Clinical Psychology

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

William Adams

Committee Member

Suzanne Barnard

Committee Member

Daniel Burston

Keywords

Self-Surrender, Surrender, Contemplative, Sufism, Zen, Hermeneutics, Transpersonal, Psychospiritual, Psycho-Spiritual

Abstract

This dissertation examines the psycho-spiritual significance of self-surrender as a mode of being and experiencing. The author seeks to generate meaningful knowledge of self-surrender through a methodology that follows from the distinct nature of self-surrender as a psycho-spiritual/religious phenomenon that is grounded in direct experience. As such, this study draws on an integrative methodology that synthesizes elements of applied hermeneutics with autoethnography and contemplative practice. The author conducts an applied hermeneutic analysis of two psycho-spiritual texts; one that is rooted in the Zen Buddhist tradition and the other from the Sufi tradition. This is followed by a thematic analysis that identifies common themes between the texts as well as a reflexive hermeneutic analysis of meaning structures found in both texts. Finally, the discussion section examines the broader psycho-spiritual, existential, relational, and clinical significance of self-surrender.

Language

English

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