1998 - The Breath of Life

The Scientific and Medical Network - International Conference

Mystics and Scientists 21

The Breath of Life

3rd - 5th April 1998, University of Warwick

'Breathe the air with love, and reflect that God is within it. Deep breathing is the conscious appreciation of air and the love of the vital forces that it contains. Air is an expression of of the Love of the Great Cosmic Powers that are the source of all visible manifestations'. Beinsa Douno (1864-1944)

Mystics and Scientists 21 marks the publication of the book of lectures from the first twenty conferences. This year we look at another of the five Greek elements, air, and its intimate relationship with spirit. We are introducing a more participatory format with practical exercises during many of the presentations. a panel on the first evening and a chance for participants to present posters and short contributions on Saturday. Our speakers come from many disciplines: Jill Purce has been giving workshops on the healing voice for twenty years, Dr. Neil Douglas-Klotz is a pioneer in Aramaic interpretations of the words of Jesus and in Middle Eastern body prayers, Dr. Joy Manné combines her roles as a Sanskrit scholar and breathworker, James Gregory is a flute maker-player, Dr. Philip Kilner has researched the connection between breath, heartbeat and the feelings, while Peter Glover has been teaching yoga and breathing techniques for over forty years.

 

The Programme

Conference Chairmen: Dr. Peter Fenwick, David Lorimer 

FRIDAY 3rd APRIL

7.45 p.m. Breath as the Spirit of Life David Lorimer

8.30 p.m. Introductory panel exploring the theme, with audience participation

 

Saturday 4th APRIL

9.15 a.m. The Voice of Conscious Breathing Jill Purce

11.30 a.m. Holy Spirit/Holy Breath in the Aramaic Words of Jesus Dr. Neil Douglas Klotz

2.45 p.m. Optional workshops

  • Breath, Soul and Body in the Middle Eastern Mystical Traditions Dr. Neil Douglas Klotz
  • The Healing Voice Jill Purce
  • Breath as a Language Dr. Joy Manné

5.00 p.m. Buddhist Breathwork and the Nature of Consciousness Dr. Joy Manné

7.45 p.m. Poster session or short presentations from participants

8.30 p.m. The Breath of Music - Talk and Flute Recital James Gregory

 

Sunday 5th APRIL

9.15 a.m. Our Living Instrument: Organs of Breath and Voice Dr. Philip Kilner

11.30 a.m. Prana, the Source of All Breath Peter Glover

2.30-4.00 p.m. Open Forum: Feedback and Discussion The Lecturing Panel

 

The Speakers

David Lorimer, M.A., P.G.C.E. has been Director of the Scientific and Medical Network since 1986. He is author of Survival? Body, Mind and Death in the Light of Psychic Experience (1984) and Whole in 0ne (1990). He is also editor of The Circle of Sacred Dance - Peter Deunov's Paneurythmy (1991), Prophet for our Times (1991) and Gems of Love (1994). He was educated at Eton and the Universities of St Andrews and Cambridge. After a spell in merchant banking, he spent a number of years teaching modern languages and philosophy at Winchester College before assuming his present position.

Jill Purce M.A. pioneered the field of voice for healing and meditation internationally for the last twenty years, specializing in the power of group chant, overtone chanting and the spiritual potential of the voice through her Inner Sound and Voice and Healing Voice workshops. She is author of The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul (1974) and General Editor of the Art and Imagination series of books. She has explored the sacred dimension of music since 1968. She worked inGermany with the composer Karlheinz Stockhousen, as well as in the Hymalayas with Tibetan Lamas, and with musicians and shamans from many traditions. She studied voice with the chant master of the Gyut Tibetan Monastery and Tantric College, and has been a practitioner of Dzogchen since 1978. She has taught for the English National Opera and the English Shakespeare Company. She lives in London with her husband, the biologist Rupert Sheldrake and their two sons.

Neil Douglas-Klotz, Ph.D. has for the past ten years' lectured internationally at study centres, institutes and universities in England, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. He is the author of Desert Wisdom: The Native Middle Eastern Tradition from the Goddess to the Sufis (1995) Using "ecological" interpretive methods, Desert Wisdom looks at sacred texts from the Middle East ranging from ancient Egyptian and Babylonian cultures, through Genesis and Jewish canonical writings, to the Aramaic Jesus, Islam and Sufism. Multiple poetic translations are combined with examples of "body prayers" similar to the experiential practices used in the Middle East for thousands of years. Also of Prayers of the Cosmos: Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus (1990). This was the first in a series of work that looks at Jesus as a Middle Eastern person through the linguistics of his native Aramaic language. Multiple interpretive translations of the Lord's Prayer, Beatitudes and other sayings suggest many nuances of Middle Eastern thought that enrich the possibility for each reader to engage actively in the process of creating meaning. He was on the Core Faculty and Departmental Head, Comparative Religion and Spirituality Department, Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality M.A. Program, Holy Names College, Oakland, California, 1987-1996. Courses taught include: Design of Research and Writing (including Ecological and Postmodern Interpretation Theory), Comparative Religion/Spirituality Core Course, Somatic Psychology and Spirituality, Body and Movement in Sufism, Ancient Middle Eastern Religion and Spirituality, Early Christianity and Judaism, Ecology and Hermeneutics. He was recognized as a spiritual director/representative (khalif) in the Sufi tradition, 1982, Ruhaniat branch of the Chishtia Order. Recognized as a senior teacher (murshid), 1993. Also recognized by the Sufi Order of the West, the Sufi Movement, the Mevlevi Order in America and the International Association of Sufism.

Joy Manné, B.Sc., Ph.D. is a practising psychologist and Pali scholar specialising in breathwork and Buddhist psychotherapy. Her recently published book Soul Therapy suggests that by differentiating between the Ego, the focus of Western psychotherapy, and the Soul, the spiritual-ethical part of one's consciousness, we can move to a Soul Path, where we strive for harmony and balance. In her presentation 'Buddhist Breathwork and the Nature of Consciousness' she will present the main text on Breathwork in the Pali Canon and discuss what the texts say about the practice it describes. She will then compare its purpose with that of various contemporary schools of psychotherapy and Breathwork. Finally she will argue that the commonalities have implications with regard to the nature of consciousness. Her workshop 'Breath is a language' will help people in their meditation practice, their psychotherapy and indeed in every aspect of their lives.

James Gregory began his playing career with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra before settling in London to freelance. His career embraces playing with the leading London orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Academy of St. Martin in-the-Fields and working in the field of concert, film and opera recordings and music for television. In this sphere he has played under the baton of some of the world's greatest conductors such as Sir Georg Solti, Leonard Bernstein, Claudio Abbado and Andre Previn and with great soloists of our era including Pavarotti, Carreras, Domingo, Menuhin, Rostropovitch and Te Kanawa. He has appeared most recently as soloist in Bach's fifth Brandenburg concerto with George Malcolm and Christopher Hirons, and as a soloist in Mozart's flute quartet with the Medici quartet. His great love in recent years has been playing the baroque flute in the more intimate ensemble of L'Esprit Baroque. His extensive research into the field of baroque music during the past ten years has led him to combine his skills as a musician with those of a craftsman and he is now a maker-player of fine baroque flutes, as was the tradition in the 18th century. He lives in Oxfordshire with his wife and family.

Dr. Philip Kilner, M.B., B.S., M.D. is a senior clinical research fellow, funded by the British Heart Foundation, at Royal Brompton Hospital in London. His fields of interest include fluid dynamics of blood circulation and magnetic resonance imaging of patients with heart disease. He became interested in heart function and organic form after studying sculpture and flow with John Wilkes at Emerson College in Sussex. His approach to study of the living human organism combines use of modern imaging techniques with awareness of organic fluidity and change, and an artistic sense of form.

Peter Glover is Director of the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, in London. The Hymalayan Institute was founded in Pennsylvania in 1971 by Swami Rama to teach a practical synthesis of the philosophy, psychology and practices of the East and discoveries of modern science. It is dedicated to helping individuals develop themselves at all levels as well as contributing to the transformation of society. Peter began the twice daily practice of meditation in 1960. He conducts regular courses in meditation, stress management, philosophy and yoga and is a member of the teaching panel of "Practical Ayurveda". Peter's wife Isabelle is a councellor and a teacher of Sanskrit. They have a family of three sons and nine grandchildren. He is currently planning for retirement from directorship of an engineering company to devote more time to the aims of the isntitute.

Dr. Peter Fenwick, M.B. Camb., B.Chir., F.R.C. Psych., D.P.M. was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge where he obtained an Honours Degree in Natural Science. His clinical medical training was carried out at St. Thomas' Hospital in London. After obtaining experience in neuro-surgery he specialised in psychiatry. He is Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Consultant Neurophysiologist at Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, and Honorary Consultant in Neurophysiology to Broadmoor Special Hospital. He has published numerous scientific papers on brain function and also several papers on meditation and altered states of consciousness. He is Chairman of the Scientific and Medical Network and also President of the U.K. branch of the International Association of Near-Death Studies reflecting his special interest in this field. He lectures widely in England, on the Continent and in the United States on brain disorders and has made many appearances on radio and television.

 

University of Warwick Conference Park

Venue The University of Warwick Conference Park is conveniently located in 500 acres of landscaped grounds ten minutes from Coventry Station and fifteen minutes from Birmingham Airport. It has its own shopping facilities on campus. A clash of dates has resulted in a move this year from our traditional site in Winchester, but the facilities at Warwick are first rate and have three times been voted best academic venue.

Accommodation Mainly in single rooms with some twin rooms available. We can offer 55 en suite rooms very close to the lecture theatre but most rooms are approximately ten minutes walk from the conference centre. Please indicate on the Booking Form if you require special accommodation considerations due to a physical disability.

Fees Residential option £185 (en-suite £219) includes accommodation, lecture programme, and all meals. Non-Residents £150 includes lectures and all meals except breakfast. Fees payable on booking. Vegetarian meals provided (also fish option - no need to ask in advance). £5 surcharge on credit card payments. All prices include VAT.

Cancellations A fee of £20 will be retained, or £75 after 10th March. After 20th March, no refund.

Booking Places are strictly limited so early application is essential. Send cheque for full amount, payable to "Wider Horizons". Overseas bookings must be in sterling: either credit card, bank draft, or Eurocheque, payable to "Wider Horizons". Please send to:

Conference Administrator
Scientific and Medical Network
Gibliston Mill
Colinsburgh, Leven
Fife KY9 1JS
Scotland.
Tel: +44-(0)1333-340490.
Fax: +44-(0)1333-340491

Tape Recording Individual tape recording is not permitted.

Arrival 4.00 - 6.30 p.m. on FRIDAY. Joining instructions will be sent with booking acknowledgement.

Departure after tea SUNDAY

Meal Times

Breakfast 8.00 - 9.00 a.m.

Coffee 11.45 - 11.30 a.m.

Lunch 1.00 - 1.45 p.m.

Tea 4.00 - 4.30 p.m.

Dinner 6.30 - 7.30 p.m. (Start 6.00 p.m. Friday)

Meditation (optional) 7.45 a.m.

The Scientific and Medical Network co-sponsored the first Mystics and Scientists Conference in 1978. It is an informal international group consisting mainly of qualified scientists and doctors, with a seasoning of psychologists, engineers, philosophers and other professionals. The Network came into existence in 1973 and now has over 1,900 Members in more than 50 countries. It questions the assumptions of contemporary scientific and medical thinking, so often limited by exclusively materialistic reasoning. By remaining open to intuitive and spiritual insights, it fosters a climate in which science as a whole can adopt a more comprehensive and sensitive approach.

Further details: Scientific and Medical Network, Gibliston Mill, Colinsburgh, Leven, Fife KY9 1JS, Scotland. Tel: 01333-340490. Fax: 01333-340491