Perspectives : Art Science Experience

Some people find that giving themselves number answers on the questions just gets in the way. If you are one of those people, remember that you can go through the book without even bothering with the numbers. You can use the items as prompts to explore the questions in an open-ended way. The book is the best resource for the open-ended approach, with its spaces to respond and prompts to do so, including possible ideas from other people’s experiences.  After answering each question, if you had this kind of experience, you can jot down some notes about what it felt like for you, and where and when it occurred.

Just noticing the experiences has been shown to be linked to many good things in life, and can be uplifting in an of itself.  The checklist version is another way of using the DSES questions that is beginning to be used in research and in practical settings. Below find this version and also a strictly non-theistic version.

Regarding scoring of this version, a simple yes/no: 1/0, should be adequate.

Recently . . .

1. Have you been spiritually touched by the beauty of creation?

2. Have you felt God’s presence, or the presence of the divine or holy?

3. Have you experienced a connection to all of life?

4. Have you felt close to God, or to the divine or transcendent as expressed in other words?

5. Have you desired to be closer to God or in union with the divine?

6. Have you felt God’s love or divine love for you directly?

7. Have you felt God’s love or compassionate love for you through others?

8. Have you felt a selfless caring for others?

9. Have you accepted others even when they have done things you think are wrong?

10. Have you found strength in your spirituality or religion?

11. Have you found comfort in your spirituality or religion?

12. Have you felt guided by God in the midst of daily activities?
Or: Have you felt divine guidance in the midst of daily activities?

13. Have you asked for God’s help in the midst of daily activities.
Or: Have you asked for help from a higher power as you go through the day?

14. During worship, or at other times when connecting with God, have you felt joy that lifts you out of your daily concerns?
Or: At times when connecting with the “more than” have you felt joy that lifts you out of your daily concerns?

15. Have you felt thankful for your blessings?

16. Have you felt deep inner peace or harmony?

A more strictly non-theistic version of the checklist version is:

Recently….

__Have you been spiritually touched by the beauty of creation?

__Have you experienced a connection to all of life?

__Have you felt compassionate love for you from other people?

__Have you felt a selfless caring for others?

__Have you accepted others even when they have done things you think are wrong?

__Have you found strength in your spirituality or religion?

__Have you found comfort in your spirituality or religion?

__Have you felt divine guidance in the midst of daily activities?

__Have you asked for help from a higher power as you go through the day?

__At times when connecting with the “more than” have you felt joy that lifts you out of your daily concerns?

__Have you felt thankful for your blessings?

__Have you felt deep inner peace or harmony?

__Have you felt the presence of the divine or holy?

__Have you felt close to a divine or transcendent presence?

__Have you desired to be more in union with the ‘more than’?

__Have you felt love for you directly from a divine or transcendent source?

© Lynn Underwood. For personal use only. Contact Lynn Underwood for permission to duplicate or distribute. and to register for non-profit use at no cost.

Here are a sampling of non-fiction books I have on my shelves that are relevant to the book, and might be useful for further reading and resources for exploration.

• Lost in Wonder by Esther de Waal
• I and Thou Martin Buber
• Hidden Beauty: Microworlds Revealed by France Bourely, Laurel Hirsch
• French Cooking in Ten Minutes: Adapting to the Rhythm of Modern Life by Edouard De Pomiane
• Modern Spirituality: An Anthology, ed. John Garvey
• I Wonder by Marian Bantjes
• Reason, Faith and Revolution, by Terry Eagleton
• The Way of a Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues on His Way
• Six Existentialist Thinkers HJ Blackham
• The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Laurence
• The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Iain McGilchrist
• Descarte’s Error by Antonio Damasio
• Showings by Julian of Norwich
• The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Laurence
• Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth by Ilia Delio, Keith Douglass Warner, Pamela Wood
• Grace and Necessity, Rowan Williams
• The Oxford Companion to the Mind
• Degowin and Degowin’s Bedside Diagnostic Manual
• Complete Guide to Guys, Dave Barry
• Leisure the Basis of Culture, Josef Pieper
• Bergan and Schwann Ignatian Exercises Series
• Formative Spirituality by Adrian van Kaam
• Only the Lover Sings: Art and Contemplation by Josef Pieper
• A Balm for Gilead, Daniel Sulmasy
• The Greatest Works of Western Art, Thomas Hoving
• The Natural Way to Draw, Kimon Nicolaides
• Ways of Seeing, John Berger
• Art and Soul, Hilary Brand and Adrienne Chaplin
• Science and Poetry, Mary Midgely
• Open Hands Henry Nouwen
• Personal Knowledge, Michael Polanyi
• The Limits of Language, ed. Walker Gibson
• Open Mind, Open Heart Thomas Keating
• The Music of What Happens, John J O’Riordian
• On Sharing Religious Experience, Gort, Vroom, Fernhout, and Wessels
• The Four Loves, CS Lewis
• Passionate Women, Elizabeth Dreyer
• Love, Human and Divine, Edward Vacek
• Seeking God, the Way of St Benedict, Esther de Waal
• Sadhana by Antony de Mello
• Christian Mystics Ursula King
• Simone Weil – Attention to the Real, Robert Chenavier
• The Far Side Collection by Gary Larson
• The Mystical Now: Art and the Sacred by Wendy Beckett
• Collected Works of Thomas Merton
• Desert Wisdom Yoshi Nomura