Rise Above It: Spiritual Development for College Students - Paperback

by Ray Silverman (Author)

Rise Above It: Spiritual Development for College Students is a textbook for a course in practical spirituality for young adults in general, and specifically for college students. In this course, "rise above it" refers to rising into higher states of consciousness through practicing universal spiritual principles. In these higher states, above ego concerns, students become more self-aware and gain a broader, deeper perspective on the issues that confront them. While this course does not deal directly with the pressing social issues of our day (violence, substance abuse, global warming, gender identity, poverty, etc.), it does encourage students to examine themselves in the light of universal truth. This leads to an awareness in which they can make decisions that are grounded in the highest human values. Using the Ten Commandments as a framework for universal spiritual principles, this book demonstrates how spiritual practice is the core of every major religion-regardless of differences in doctrine or ritual. Students will not only learn how the commandments occur in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, they will also have the opportunity to practice these spiritual principles in their own lives-especially in regard to the college experience. Each chapter has four parts: Part One: Introductory Story An opening story based on world history, famous literature, or current events, intended to introduce the spiritual practice to be discussed in the chapter. Part Two: World Scriptures A survey of the major religions, with a focus on how each religion contributes to a fuller and deeper understanding of the spiritual practice being studied that week. Many perspectives on the same truth reveal multiple facets of the same gem. Part Three: Journal Entries Excerpts from journal entries and weekly reports, selected from over 12,000 journal entries written by students who have taken this course over the past eighteen years. The book contains over 100 of these anonymous journal entries, reproduced with permission. Part Four: Suggestions for further reflection and practice. Many participants in this course have described themselves as "spiritual but not religious," "evangelical," "agnostic" and even "atheist." Regardless of how students initially describe themselves, they find this course tremendously useful in becoming a finer version of themselves. This course has been taught in a variety of formats for both undergraduate and graduate credit at Bryn Athyn College, the Graduate Theological Foundation, Lincoln University, Mercer University, and the Pacific School of Religion. It is recommended for courses in Practical Spirituality, Religious Ethics, Comparative Religion, Professional Ethics, Moral Life, and Ethical Decision-Making. It could also provide the framework for a First-Year Studies program. A 22-page index, along with a bibliography that includes multiple web sources is designed to help students pursue further research interests.

Author Biography

Ray and Star Silverman are authors and program developers who lead seminars on spiritual development, creative conflict transformation, and relationship enrichment. Their popular seminar, Rise Above It: Spiritual Development through the Ten Commandments has been taught across America, as well as in Africa, Japan, Korea, France, Brazil, England, Sweden, Japan, Australia, and in the Philippines. Portions of the book have been translated into Czech, Swedish, Japanese, French, Portuguese, and Korean. This new book, Rise Above It: Spiritual Development for College Students, summarizes and synthesizes their experience of teaching this course to college students over the past 18 years. Star has an M.A. in Education (University of Denver). Ray has a PhD. in English and Education (University of Michigan), MAT in English (Wesleyan University), and MDiv (Bryn Athyn College). He currently serves as Associate Professor at Bryn Athyn College, where he teaches courses in English and religion, including Rise Above It: Spiritual Development for College Students, occasionally accompanied by Star. Ray is also a fellow in the Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education (University of Delaware) and a founding member of the Nature-Based Leadership Institute (Antioch University New England). Ray is the editor/reviser of Helen Keller's spiritual autobiography, Light in My Darkness, and has written the introduction to Helen Keller's How I Would Help the World, a USA Book Awards finalist. He is also the author of The Core of Johnny Appleseed: The Unknown Story of a Spiritual Trailblazer. His presentations include the American Academy of Religion, the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education, the Parliament of World Religions, and the Society for Biblical Literature. In 1986 Ray and Star became certified Marriage Enrichment Trainers, studying with David and Vera Mace, the founders of the marriage enrichment movement. Since then they have trained with several leaders in the field, including Scott Stanley, Harville Hendrix, Lori Heyman Gordon, and Cloé Madanes. They have presented at Smart Marriages in Boulder and San Francisco on "The Spiritual Dimension in Marriage" and are planning another book in the Rise Above It series, this time with the title, Rise Above It: Spiritual Development for Couples. Ray and Star have been married since 1976. They have seven children and ten grandchildren. They live in Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania.