Contemplative Practice Fellows, members of the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education, and other friends of the Academic Program have suggested books and papers which have been valuable in their course planning and research, as well as texts for classroom use.
Art
- Art and Visual Perception
Arnheim, R. (1974). Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- The Power of the Center
Arnheim, R. (1988). The Power of the Center : A Study of Composition in the Visual Arts : The New Version. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Art as Experience
Dewey, J. (1934). Art as Experience. New York: Capricorn Books.
- Practicing Mortality: Art, Philosophy, and Contemplative Seeing
Dustin, C. & Ziegler, J. (2005). Practicing Mortality: Art, Philosophy, and Contemplative Seeing. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Summary:
A collaborative undertaking between an artist and a philosopher, this monograph attempts to deepen our understanding of “contemplative seeing” by addressing the works of Plato, Thoreau, Heidegger, and more. The authors explore what it means to “see” reality and contemplate how viewing reality philosophically and artfully is a form of spirituality. In this way, by developing a new conception of active visual engagement, the authors propose a way of seeing that unites both critical scrutiny and spiritual involvement, as opposed to simple passive reception. - The Art and Science of Portraiture
Lightfoot, S. L. & Davis, J. H. (1997). The Art and Science of Portraiture. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Contemplative Practices: Traditions & Instruction
- Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There
Boorstein, S. (1996). Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There: A Mindfulness Retreat with Sylvia Boorstein. San Francisco: Harper.
- Awakening Loving-Kindness
Chodron, P. (1996). Awakening Loving-Kindness. Boston: Shambhala.
- When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
Chodron, P. (2000). When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times. Boston: Shambhala.
- Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen
Dogen, E. (1995). Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen. New York: North Point Press.
Summary:
This collection of the Zen Master’s writings introduces students to the art of the ambiguous. Its metaphors and its juxtapositions themselves are examples of contemplative practice.Comments:
“Students love this work, but they need much contextualizing in the history and practice of Zazen.” – SunHee Gertz, Professor of English, Clark University - Selected Writings
Eckhart, M. (1995). Selected Writings. New York: Penguin Classics.
Summary:
This collection of sermons and treatises by the Middle High German Dominican explores, and in a sense, defines mystical thought. His metaphors are particularly telling.Comments:
“If used in a class, I find that it is more productive to start with an Eastern text. Starting with Meister Eckhart seems to irritate, since the presumption tends to be that Christianity can’t possible have anything mystical about it. Going to Meister Eckhart after an Eastern text allows for acceptance.” – SunHee Gertz, Professor of English, Clark University
Contemplative Studies
- Mindfulness: Diverse Perspectives on its Meaning, Origins and Applications
Mindfulness: Diverse Perspectives on its Meaning, Origins and Applications. Routledge (2013), 328pp.
Mirabai Bush, founding Director and Senior Fellow of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, contributed a chapter on mindfulness and higher education to this volume.
- Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness
Austin, James. (1998). Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness. Cambridge: MIT Press.
- Contemplative Modes of Inquiry in Liberal Arts Education
Burggraf, Susan and Peter Grossenbacher. “Contemplative Modes of Inquiry in Liberal Arts Education.” LiberalArtsOnline, June 2007.
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihalyi. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper.
- The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience
Goleman, Daniel. (1996). The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience. New York: Tarcher.
Education & Pedagogy
- Contemplative Modes of Inquiry in Liberal Arts Education
Burggraf, Susan and Peter Grossenbacher. “Contemplative Modes of Inquiry in Liberal Arts Education.” LiberalArtsOnline, June 2007.
- Experience and Education
Dewey, John. (repr. 1997). Experience And Education. New York: Free Press.
- Creating Spaces for Listening, Learning, and Sustaining the Inner Lives of Students
Kirsch, Gesa E. “Creating Spaces for Listening, Learning, and Sustaining the Inner Lives of Students,” Journal of the Assembly on Expanded Perspectives on Learning, 14 (Winter 2008-2009): 56-67.
- Integrative Learning and Action: A Call to Wholeness
Awbrey S., Dana, D., Miller, V., Robinson, P., Ryan, M. & Scott, D., eds. (2006). Integrative Learning and Action (Studies in Education and Spirituality). New York: Peter Lang.
- Learning to Stop; Stopping to Learn: Embarking on the Contemplative Learning Path
Brady, R. (2005). Learning to Stop; Stopping to Learn: Embarking on the Contemplative Learning Path.
Summary:
Contemplative pedagogy is a young and growing approach in American education. It invites new possibilities for the emergence of creativity and promotes depth of understanding and a more personal relationship with course content. The path to contemplative learning is different for each educator who travels it. I relate experiences that led me to develop a personal contemplative practice and describe how, over time, my own practice affected my teaching. I focus especially on contemplative methods I’ve begun using in teaching a tenth grade mathematics course. In the process I examine the dimensions of centering, questioning, awareness, and community that are central to the contemplative element of the course. To give the reader a taste of the course, I include poetry, stories, and quotations that I share with my students.
Information Technology
- No time to think: Reflections on information technology and contemplative scholarship
Levy, David. “No time to think: Reflections on information technology and contemplative scholarship.” Ethics and Information Technology, Volume 9, Number 4 / December, 2007.View David Levy’s March 5, 2008 Google Tech Talk on YouTube: No Time To Think.
Law
- The Contemplative Lawyer: On the Potential Contributions of Mindfulness Meditation to Law Students, Lawyers, and their Clients
Riskin, L. (2002). “The Contemplative Lawyer: On the Potential Contributions of Mindfulness Meditation to Law Students, Lawyers, and their Clients.” Harvard Negotiation Law Review, 7, 1.
- Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
Stone, D. & Patton, B. & Heen, S. (2010). Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most. New York: Penguin.
- The Buddha’s Parable and Legal Rhetoric
Zlotnick, D. (2001). The Buddha’s Parable and Legal Rhetoric. 58 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 957
- Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life
Keeva, S. (2011). Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life. American Bar Association; 10th Edition edition.
- The Psychology of Mediation: Issues of Self and Identity and the IDR Cycle
Bader, Elizabeth. (2008). “The Psychology of Mediation: Issues of Self and Identity and the IDR Cycle” (Abstract)
Peace Studies
- Oasis of Dreams: Teaching and Learning Peace in a Jewish-Palestinian Village in Israel
Feuerverger, G. (2001). Oasis of Dreams: Teaching and Learning Peace in a Jewish-Palestinian Village in Israel. New York: Routledge.
Summary:
Based on a nine-year study that Professor Grace Feuerverger carried out as ethnographer in an extraordinary village, “Oasis of Dreams” is about hope in the midst of deadly conflict. This book is a reflexive ethnography focusing on the two bilingual, bicultural educational institutions in this place of peaceful coexistence–an elementary school where Jewish and Arab children study together, and the “School for Peace” which is a conflict resolution outreach program for Israeli and Palestinian adolescents and their teachers.
Philosophy
- The Consolation of Philosophy
Boethius. (2000). The Consolation of Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Summary:
Composed in the 6th century, this allegorical treatise records the prisoner’s acceptance of an unjust imprisonment and death sentence by working through the vagaries of mutability, characteristic of the material world, and a philosophical acceptance thereof.Comments:
“Students tend not to be enthralled by this text, but it is pedagogically useful for introducing them to the idea that the material is insubstantial.” – SunHee Gertz, Professor of English, Clark University - Acts of Meaning: Four Lectures on Mind and Culture
Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of Meaning: Four Lectures on Mind and Culture (Jerusalem-Harvard Lectures). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- I and Thou
Buber, M. (1971). I And Thou. Touchstone.
- Introspection and Transformation in Philosophy Today
Schwartz, M. (2005). “Introspection and Transformation in Philosophy Today.” In J. Wirth, M. Schwartz, & D. Jones, (Eds.), A Feast of Logos: Essays in Commemoration of the Tenth Anniversary of the Georgia Continental Philosophy Circle. (pp. 3-16).
- Philosophy As a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault
Hadot, Pierre. (1995). Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault. Blackwell.
Physics
Psychology
- Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness
Austin, James. (1998). Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness - Culture and the Self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation
Markus, H. & Kitayama. (1991). Culture and the Self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253.
- Phenomenological Method and Meditation
Patrik, Linda. “Phenomenological Method and Meditation,” in Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, vol. 22 (1), 1994.
Theater and Dance
- A Balancing Act: The Development of Energize! A Holistic Approach to Acting
Chaulet, Emmanuelle. (2008). A Balancing Act: The Development of Energize! A Holistic Approach to Acting. Gorham, ME: Starlight Acting Books.
- Breath, Perception, and Action: The Body and Critical Thinking
Sellers-Young, Barbara. “Breath, Perception, and Action: The Body and Critical Thinking.” Consciousness, Literature and the Arts, vol. 3, no. 2, August 2007.
- Breathing, Movement, Exploration
Sellers-Young, Barbara. (2001). Breathing, Movement, Exploration. New York: Applause Books.
Writing
- Narrow Road to the Interior: And Other Writings
Basho, M. (1999). Narrow Road to the Interior: And Other Writings. Boston: Shambhala.
Summary:
The Narrow Road to the Interior uses the journey as a metaphor for life. Basho’s observations on his journey to the interior stunningly juxtapose the aesthetic with the spiritual in nature.Comments:
“Students particularly identify with the journey motif, one they recognize from “road” films and the like. They can pick out the essence of a haiku after reading this.” – SunHee Gertz, Professor of English, Clark University - The Spiritual Side of Writing: Releasing the Learner’s Whole Potential
Foehr, R. P. & Schiller, S. (1997). The Spiritual Side of Writing: Releasing the Learner’s Whole Potential. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, Boynton/Cook.
- Presence of Mind: Writing and the Domain Behind the Cognitive
Graves, R. & Brand, A. G. (1994). Presence of Mind: Writing and the Domain Behind the Cognitive. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, Boynton/Cook.
