Eastern Practices and Nordic Bodies: Lived Religion, Spirituality and Healing in the Nordic Countries (Palgrave Studies in New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities)

Acknowledgments
Contents
List of Contributors
Notes on Contributors
List of Tables
Introducing Eastern Practices and Nordic Bodies
	Introduction
	“Eastern practices”
	The Nordic Context
	Spirituality in the Nordic Countries
	The Contributions to this Book
	Suggestions for Future Research
	References
Part I: Embodiment, Movements, and Practices
	Catharsis in the Spruce Forest: Osho Meditations and Therapy at a Spiritual Retreat in Norway
		Introduction
		Osho Meditations and Therapies: Eastern Practices?
		The Nordic Context
		The Retreat Centre Dharma Mountain, Norway
			The Therapeutic and the Transformational
			The Affective and the Wonderous
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
		References
	Getting Past the Ego: Modern Advaita and the Cultivation of a Nondual Habitus
		Introduction
		The Adaptation, Dissemination, and Globalization of Advaita
		Rishikesh: A Meeting Place for Nondual Satsang
		Nonduality in Daily Life
		Self-Reflexivity: Observing the Mind and Cultivating Awareness
		Devotion: Finding Meaning in Day-to-Day Life
		Human Interconnectedness: Seeing Oneself in Others
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
		References
	Modern Yoga and the Nordic Body: Between Authenticity and Cultural Appropriation
		Introduction
		Yoga in a Nordic Context
		Yoga in Aarhus
		Analysis of Developments in Yoga in Aarhus9
		Yoga with Both Centrifugal and Centripetal Tendencies in Contemporary Time
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
		References
	Kirtan: Music, Emotion, and Belonging in Finnish Holistic Spirituality
		Introduction
		Background
		Kirtan in Holistic Spirituality
		Kirtan’s Enduring Appeal
		Discussion
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
		References
	Art of Living and Transcendental Meditation: Eastern Practices for the “Scientifically Minded Westerner”
		Introduction
		Art of Living and Transcendental Meditation: A Brief Historical Overview
		Courses and Key Practices in Art of Living and Transcendental Meditation
		Social Legitimation
		Traditional and Charismatic Authority
		Blended Authority: Vedic Science
		Mainstream (Medical) Science on the World Wide Web
		Experiential Legitimation
		Science as Taken-for-Granted Legitimation
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
		References
Part II: Aesthetics, Nature, and New Contexts
	Embodying Qi in the Nordic Countries: The Healing Practices of Zhineng Qigong
		Introduction
		The Nordic Reception of the Healing Practices of Zhineng Qigong
		The Social Production of Qi at the European Zhineng Qigong Summer Course
		Experiencing and Narrating Qigong
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
		References
	Aikido’s Spirituality and Transplantation in the Nordic Countries: Spirituality in the Asian Martials Art
		Aikido and Its Spread Around the World
		Data and Method
		A Brief History and Development of Aikido in the Nordic Countries
		Discussing the Spiritual and Religious Aspects of Aikido
		Views on Aikido’s Transplantation to the Nordic Countries
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
		References
			Interviews
	Towards Watery and Vibrating Bodies: Finnish Bodies Learning Tibetan Sound Healing
		Introduction
		Protestant and Post-Protestant Bodies in Finland
		Ritual Body Pedagogics and Somatic Inversions in Sound Healing
		Eastern Influences on Contemporary Spirituality
		Sound Healing and Tibetan Roots: The Case of Peter Hess Singing Bowl Relaxation
		Embodiment, Fluids, and Sonic Vibrations
		Body Pedagogics and Somatic Inversions in Tibetan Singing Bowls
		Unlimited Watery Bodies
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
		References
			Empirical Data
	Meditation and Other New Spiritual Practices in the Church of Sweden
		Introduction
		From New Age to Lived Religion
		The Nordic Context
		From Exclusive Retreats to Everyday Spiritual Practices
		Analysis of the New Spiritual Practices
		Conclusion
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
		References
	Acem and the Psychology of Meditation: The Inner History of a Living Practice
		Introduction
		Psychology, Guidance, and Long Meditations
		Inner History
		Four Years of Change
		The First Communication Group
		The Split
		Psychology of Meditation
		Psychology and Beyond
		Existential Process
		Long Meditations and Deepening Retreats
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
		References
	Shinrin-Yoku in Sweden: The Political Significance of Embodiment and Sensory Attention in Nature
		Introduction
		Shinrin-Yoku: A Japanese Practice Goes Global
			The Practice
		Shinrin-Yoku in Sweden
		Influences
		Mindfulness
		Deep Ecology
		Embodiment and Sensory Attention
			Embodied Identification
			Embodied Reciprocity and Communication
			Nature as Egalitarian Community
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
			Adjustment and Resistance
			Political Implications of Embodiment and Sensory Presence
			The Attraction of the East
		References
	Starving the Animal Within: Vegetarianism as Spiritual Development and Eastern Wisdom in Early Swedish Theosophy
		Introduction
		Predators and Eaters of Grass: The Vegetarian Movement in Sweden at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
		The Emergence of Theosophy in Sweden and the Nordic Countries
		Abolishing the Diet of Predators: Vegetarianism Within the Swedish Theosophical Movement
		Not a Hunter but a Gardener: Theosophical Vegetarianism as Eastern Wisdom and Spiritual Cultivation
		Theory Is Practice: Reflections on Lived Theosophy
		Implications for the Study of Eastern Practices in the Nordic Countries
		References
Index