Overview

In an age of increasing religious diversity and pluralism, many people resonate to spirituality beyond only one tradition. But how to find a path that has depth, discernment, and comprehensiveness, connecting to all one knows? Drawing from cross-cultural religious traditions, psychological research, and personal inquiry, Olds offers vocabulary, concepts, and maps of self and world as resources for exploring the ways psychological and spiritual development intersect and interweave, deepening understanding of one's core tradition as well. An integrative model differentiates soul (inner wholeness) and spirit (nondual awareness) as two complementary dimensions of the spiritual search that echo tendencies West and East. In this comprehensive look at the field of psychology and religion, Indra's net or cosmic web provides a guiding metaphor for exploring facets often underrepresented, including transpersonal development of a deeper self and higher consciousness beyond ego; meditation and mysticism; symbolic, Jungian, and imaginal approaches; God-language and nondual perspectives; spiritual embodiment; gender issues; and dialogues with science. An immanental emphasis on divine sacredness in the world is contrasted with more familiar transcendent assumptions, underscoring themes of interconnectedness in world religions, including Celtic Christianity, Hua-yen Buddhism, Taoism, and Whitehead's process thought.

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Reviews

""In Behind the Altar, Linda Olds opens a window on her lifelong exploration of the world's religions, sharing discoveries that shaped her spiritual growth. Each chapter focuses on a dimension of religion's intersection with psychology, showing how spiritual insight can reveal to us who we are--in body, mind, soul, and spirit--and guide us toward lives of compassion and gratitude. The book stands out for its cross-cultural breadth, depth of insight, scholarship, and eloquence."" --Michael Washburn, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Indiana University South Bend ""Writing with the personal voice of a life-long seeker, and the commitments of a disciplined and prophetic scholar, Linda Olds meets our spiritual and moral moment. She works the edges and plumbs the depths of religions as dynamic systemic fields of connectivity and meaning-making evolving through time and cultures--all in dialogue with psychology, the study of the mind/soul. Essential bridge building across disciplinary boundaries--a trove of insight for both the academy and serious seekers willing to look behind the altar."" --Sharon Daloz Parks, author of Big Questions, Worthy Dreams: Mentoring Emerging Adults in Their Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Faith ""What I most enjoy and admire about Linda Olds's book is its foundation in her own life experience. Her life-long commitment to questions about soul and spirit and their connections to ordinary life has given us a book useful to an academic audience and more importantly to all those seeking a life that makes sense. I'll be making regular use of it myself in my ongoing journey. The bibliography alone is a treasure chest."" --Tom Parisi, Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Saint Mary's College, Indiana

Author Information

Linda E. Olds is Professor Emerita at Linfield University, having taught in both the Psychology and Religious Studies departments, including interdisciplinary courses in psychology of religion and consciousness, psychology East and West, gender and spirituality, and nature and spirituality. She is the author of Fully Human, on psychological and cultural androgyny, and Metaphors of Interrelatedness, on systems theory as a unifying metaphor for psychology, science, and religion.

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