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Spiritual Journeys: Mysticism across Religions

The Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation and the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology, present a public seminar exploring mystical experience across religious traditions: Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist. This seminar is part of a series of events leading up to the Parliament of the World's Religions being held in Melbourne, 3-9 December 2009.

The seminar is free but bookings essential

Speakers at this public seminar will present mystical aspects of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and then elicit responses from recognized authorities on mysticism from a range of Eastern and contemporary practices, Hindu and Buddhist. It will help people to understand the various ways in which the spiritual journey has been formulated in different religions. Subsequent seminars will present other religious traditions, in order to explore awareness of and respect for the diversity of mystical wisdom present in our culture.

With music by NEFES, director Peter Daverington. NEFES comprises members of diverse cultural backgrounds, who perform the music of the Ottoman Empire, using the ney, kudum and kanun and modern orchestral instruments.

Speakers

Constant Mews
Prof. Constant Mews, Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology, is a specialist in medieval religious and intellectual history, but also has a strong interest in contemporary interreligious dialogue.

Claire Renkin (YTU)
Claire Renkin is a lecturer in the history of art and spirituality at the Yarra Theological Union (Melbourne College of Divinnity). She is interested in issues of gender and spirituality in relation to medieval and renaissance art, with particular attention to the figure of Mary Magdalen.

Nathan Wolski
Dr Nathan Wolski is a lecturer with the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash University where he teaches Bible and Jewish mysticism. His major research interest is the Zohar, the Book of Radiance, the major work of the medieval Kabbalah.

Salih Yucel
Dr. Salih Yucel is a lecturer at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology at Monash University. He teaches Islam, principles and Civilization, and Islamic thought in the Modern world. He completed his doctoral research in the field of Islam and medicine. His current research field is history of Muslims in Australia.

Panellists

Isobel Crombie
Dr Crombie has been a practitioner of yoga and meditation since 1995 under the guidance of her teacher, Swami Shankarananda, at the Shiva School of Meditation. She is Chairperson of the Shiva Yoga Board of Management and Co-Director of the Shiva Yoga Interfaith Committee. Dr Crombie is a member of the advisory board at the World Parliament of Religions and a member of their Arts and Culture Committee. She has a long-standing career as a curator, writer and lecturer in the arts and has been employed as Senior Curator of Photography at the National Gallery of Victoria since 1988. See http://shivayoga.org/

Ken and Elizabeth Mellor
Ken and Elizabeth Mellor founded Biame Network Inc. in 1984, to promote Urban Mysticism as a practical form of spirituality that embraces every aspect of life.
See http://www.biamenetwork.net/

Padmasiri de Silva
Prof. Padmasiri de Silva is a distinguished Buddhist philosopher, and author of many books, with a particular interest in the emotions, counselling and pyschology.

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