Theosophical Gnosis and Astral Hermeneutics

This chapter traces the subtle body concept through the writings of Blavatsky’s heirs, the major figures in the second generation of theosophy, zeroing in specifically on their reformulations of a mystical form of Christianity informed by the yoga of the subtle body. First, it examines the life and works of Annie Besant and her mythological subtle body interpretations of the Bible. Next, it moves on to Charles Leadbeater, his Kundalini experiences, and how these informed his own subtle body ideas drawn from Kabbalah, Hindu philosophy, and his own personal experience. Lastly, the chapter examines Blavatsky’s former secretary, G. R. S. Mead, and how the subtle body concept is formulated in his numerous books. It ends by looking at Mead’s prognostications about a future wherein the sciences, parapsychology, and humanities are brought together to answer questions about the nature and function of the subtle body.

The Alchemical Body of Carl Jung

This chapter traces the subtle body concept through the work of Carl Jung, who is introduced to the idea by G. R. S. Mead’s theosophical books. After tracing Jung’s early engagement with the Orient, the chapter moves to an analysis of the subtle body concept in his work, specifically in his engagements with Eastern traditions: Daoism, Kundalini Yoga, and Tibetan Bardo Yoga. After examining Jung’s use of the subtle body concept in his translation-commentaries on Eastern texts, the chapter turns to how Jung incorporates the concept into his own psychology of individuation based on the techniques of active imagination and dream analysis. The chapter turns to Jung’s seminars on Nietzsche, where he presents the subtle body concept with a unique dose of critical reflexivity and Kantian rigor. It ends with Jung’s late-life speculation about a future where, following the quantum revolution and spitting of the atom, humans evolve into subtle body–dwelling creatures who occupy a world of psychical substance.

The Body of Light in Renaissance England

This chapter engages with the first Anglophone attestations of the term “subtle body.” It appears first in the contentious correspondence between Thomas Hobbes and Rene Descartes between whom there was some disagreement over who plagiarized the idea from whom. Most of the chapter is taken up with the Cambridge Platonists who came in their wake, who formulated complex philosophical and mythological views of the Neoplatonic vehicles of the soul, now under the English name “subtle body.” It ends with Lady Anne Conway, who fuses the Platonism of the Cambridge group with Kabbalah to create a new form of spiritual monism. This chapter is significantly about how the subtle body concept was employed by Renaissance Platonists arguing against the reductive materialism of Cartesian mechanical philosophy.

Oriental Origins

This chapter shows how the subtle body concept as established by the Cambridge Platonists was carried forward in popular and literary domains and later used as a stock concept in the earliest English translations of Sanskrit texts. It takes the reader through the birth of Indology in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, tracing the subtle body concept through early translations of yoga and Sāṃkhya philosophy, focusing on how the authors posited historical connections between Neoplatonic and Hindu philosophies, laying the groundwork for future understandings of the subtle body as a concept spanning a great East-West divide.

From Eranos to Esalen

This chapter traces the subtle body concept from Jung’s Kundalini seminars to the early work of one of its attendees, Frederic Spiegelberg, who would wind up becoming a professor at Stanford in the 1950s after the Nazis purged German academia of Jewish faculty and staff. Spiegelberg would go on to have a huge impact on a whole generation of Stanford graduates at the very beginning of the counterculture. This chapter focuses on Michael Murphy, the founder of the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, which would go on to become a countercultural and later New Age mecca during the 1960s and 1970s. The chapter focuses on the subtle body concept in the work of Spiegelberg and Murphy, zeroing in on the points of difference between the teacher and his student. It ends with the proliferation of subtle body discourses and forms of praxis that spin out of Esalen during and after the counterculture, laying the groundwork for the hyperpopularity of yoga and martial arts in 1990s American culture, which the author grew up in, leading to his interest in writing this book in the first place.

Formación de la Corporeidad hacia un Desarrollo Integral (Corporate training towards integral development)

La concepción de cuerpo no ha sido la misma a lo largo de la historia, esta ha sido constante cambiante y transformado debido a las necesidades primarias del ser humano, este a su vez viene instaurando un paradigma para la supervivencia en la sociedad. En los últimos años la Educación Física aporta de manera significativa la formación del ser íntegro holístico, en lugar de la mentalidad deportivista. El objetivo de esta investigación es indagar sobre las tendencias educativas en corporeidad para el desarrollo de una sociedad ética y formal a través de las teorías motrices. La metodología empleada fue una revisión documental-bibliográfica la cual abarcó artículos indexados en las bases de datos como los son Scopus, Dialnet, Sport Discus, WoS, EBSCO, Redalyc entre otras entre los años de 2005-2019. Como principal hallazgo se logró evidenciar que la repercusión de la motricidad y la formación de la expresión corporal en el rol docente, cumple un papel determinante en el ciclo de vida de los seres humanos, ya que influye de manera directa, tanto en el desarrollo motor, como en la concepción epistémica del concepto de cuerpo, generando en los seres humanos conciencia motriz. Como principal conclusión se determina que la formación corporal en todas las etapas de la vida es fundamental para un desarrollo integral en las personas. Abstract. The conception of the body has not been the same throughout history, it has been constantly changing and transformed due to the primary needs of the human being, this in turn has been establishing a paradigm for survival in society. In recent years, Physical Education contributes significantly to the formation of the whole holistic being, instead of the sportsmanship mentality. The objective of this research is to investigate the educational trends in corporeity for the development of an ethical and formal society through motor theories. The methodology used was a documentary-bibliographic review which included articles indexed in databases such as Scopus, Dialnet, Sport Discus, WoS, EBSCO, Redalyc, among others, between the years 2005-2019. As the main finding, it was possible to show that the impact of motor skills and the formation of body expression in the teaching role plays a determining role in the life cycle of human beings, since it directly influences both motor development, as in the epistemic conception of the body concept, generating motor consciousness in human beings. As the main conclusion, it is determined that body training in all stages of life is essential for an integral development in people.

Body Concept and Quality of Life in Patients with Idiopathic Dystonia

Patients with dystonia experience unusual postures and disfigurement. The aim of the study was to examine changes in the body concept in relation to quality of life and severity of dystonia. Our cohort consisted of 20 patients with idiopathic dystonia resistant to medical therapy who were planned for pallidal deep brain stimulation. The results were compared to 25 healthy controls. The patients were assessed with Frankfurt Body Concept Scale, Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey, Hamilton Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Social Phobia Inventory and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. The disease severity was evaluated with Burke–Fahn–Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale and Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale. Patients with dystonia had a significantly impaired body concept in eight out of nine subscales in comparison to healthy controls. The differences were most pronounced for the subscales general health, body care, physical efficacy, sexuality and physical appearance (p < 0.001). Furthermore, all eight subscales of SF-36 exhibited significantly lower values in patients with dystonia compared to controls. We also found significant positive correlations between SF-36 and body concept subscales. Impairment of body concept was not associated with disease severity or levels of social anxiety symptoms. However, there was a significant association between self-rated depression and disease severity. Our patients suffered from increased depression and social anxiety symptoms except social interaction anxiety. We conclude that patients with dystonia have significant body concept impairment that interferes with quality of life in both physical and emotional domains. Future studies should focus on assessing these symptoms after adequate therapeutic management of motor symptoms.

Andine kropsopfattelser. Relationer mellem aymaras kropsbegreb og sundhedssystem

The Aymara of Bolivia have different ways of healing their illnesses and use different sources of knowledge in the health system. According to their traditional practice they tend to start curing on a home basis using their own knowledge and experience. Otherwise they may consult the local “curanderos” who exercise different abilities. Resorting to the official medical system is rare. Apart from a specific knowledge of the effects of plants, minerals, and animal ingredients it is shown that their concept of the body influences the choice of healers and healing methods. The body concept is essentially a concept of balancing body liquids and the relation between body and nature. The latter gives evidence to talking about cultural embodiment and using the body as a metaphor of the Andean society.