THE INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED THEOLOGY AT BARD AND MIRIAM’S WELL PRESENT TWO WEEKEND SEMINARS IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER

Andrew Harvey leads the seminar “The Sacred Marriage of Yoga and Mysticism,” November 19–21; Bruce Chilton examines “The Mystical Practices of Jesus and Paul,” December 3–5 ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—The Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College and Miriam’s Well of Saugerties will copresent two weekend seminars, in November with noted author and mystic Andrew Harvey, and in December with Bruce Chilton, executive director of the Institute of Advanced Theology. Tuition for each of the seminars is $225; $125 for members of the Institute of Advanced Theology; and $50 for Bard faculty, students, and staff. To register or for further information on work-study opportunities and accommodations, call 845-246-5805, e-mail [email protected], or visit the website www.miriamswell.org. From Friday, November 19, through Sunday, November 21, Andrew Harvey will lead the seminar “The Sacred Marriage of Yoga and Mysticism: The Way of Ecstasy.” Harvey will be joined by Karuna Erickson, with whom he has created Direct Path Yoga. The seminar will fuse simple yoga asanas with a poetic and sacred practice, that will “revitalize your spiritual yearnings and enhance your passion for life, love, and peace,” states Harvey. “Our work will incorporate spiritual practices taken from Tibetan, Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, Jewish, and Christian sources, and interweave them with ecstatic dancing, poetic writing and expansive yoga exercises.” “The Mystical Practices of Jesus and Paul” is the topic of the seminar led by Bruce Chilton, the Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Philosophy and Religion and chaplain of the College at Bard, from Friday, December 3, through Sunday, December 5. “Jesus and Paul crafted disciplined practices of meditation designed to focus and clarify their experiences of God,” explains Chilton. “Each reported his own visionary insight as a result of his discipline, either in oral accounts (in Jesus’s case) or written letters (in Paul’s case), and attempted to convey his distinctive method to his followers.” This seminar will provide an experiental weekend of practical techniques of meditation in the traditions of Jesus and Paul. The Institute of Advanced Theology was established to foster critical understanding based on scholarship, which aims to make true religious pluralism possible. Since its inception in 1996, the Institute’s work has focused on how religions influence history, society, and other religions, and are in turn influenced by them. The Institute gratefully acknowledges support from members of the Institute, the Crohn Family Trust, and Tisch Family Foundation, as well as grants from The Levy Economics Institute and Bard College. For further information about the IAT, its programs, or membership, call 845-758-7279, e-mail [email protected], or visit the website www.bard.edu/iat. Located in Saugerties, New York, the goal of Miriam’s Well is to offer “transformational experiences that initiate and sustain a conscious spiritual evolution towards peaceful coexistence,” according to cofounders Susan and Richard Rosen. During 2004, Miriam’s Well presents a wide variety of speakers and workshops with the theme, “Where Do We Go from Here: Evolving toward Unity and the Healing of America.” For further information, visit www.miriamswell.org. For further information or to register for the seminar, call Miriam's Well at 845-246-5805 or e-mail [email protected]. Miriam's Well is located at 13 Simmons Street in Saugerties, N.Y. # About the Presenters: Bruce Chilton is a scholar of early Christianity and Judaism and the author of the first critical translation of the Aramaic version of Isaiah (The Isaiah Targum, 1987). His most recent book, Rabbi Paul: An Intellectual Biography, has been chosen as a selection of the Book of the Month Club and the History Book Club. He has written academic studies that put Jesus in his Jewish context (Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography, 2000; Pure Kingdom, 1996; The Temple of Jesus, 1992; and The Galilean Rabbi and His Bible, 1984). Chilton has taught in Europe at the universities of Cambridge, Sheffield, and Münster, and in the United States at Yale University (as the first Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament) and at Bard College. Throughout his career he has been active in the pastoral ministry of the Anglican Church; he is currently rector of the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Barrytown, New York. Karuna Erickson has taught yoga and worked as a psychotherapist for over 30 years. She has degrees from Stanford University and UC Berkeley and has studied with many world-renowned teachers, including BKS Iyengar. She has assisted Rodney Yee in yoga workshops and retreats, and teaches internationally about the interconnectedness of body, mind, and spirit. Andrew Harvey became the youngest person ever to be named a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. He has written and edited more than 30 books, including The Direct Path: Creating a Journey to the Divine through the World’s Mystic Traditions; Son of Man; A Journey in Ladakh; Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (coauthored with Sogyal Rinpoche); Mary's Vineyard: Daily Readings, Meditations, and Revelations (photographs by Eryk Hanut); Dialogues with a Modern Mystic; The Way of Passion: A Celebration of Rumi; Hidden Journey; and his most recent, Sun at Midnight, a memoir. His articles have appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Body Mind Spirit, Quest, and other publications. Harvey has taught at Oxford and Cornell Universities and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. He was the subject of the 1993 BBC documentary The Making of a Mystic. He continues to study a variety of religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity. # # # (11/2/04)

This event was last updated on 12-06-2004

Back to Top