& Student Handbook - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

158 Master Degree Programs
HD730
Eastern Movement and Philosophy (2 cr.)
This course explores the holistic wisdom embedded in Eastern movement
forms such as Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Akido, or Yoga. Students are introduced to
several different forms with a focus on the beginning practice of depending
on the instructor's expertise. The Eastern philosophy underlying the
movement form is discussed as well as health benefits and the translation
of Eastern movement forms into a Western lifestyle
Elective/Contract Courses
in Spirituality, and Personal and
Professional Development
HD565
The Use of Ritual to Celebrate Life (1 cr.)
Humans are ritualistic creatures; yet for some, religious ritual has
become meaningless, and for others, nonexistent. The premise of this
class is that certain kinds of nondenominational ritual can help heal
isolation by connecting people with themselves, with nature, with others
and with the sacred. Students will explore the purpose and structure of
such ritual, with an emphasis on small group and individual ritual. In
addition to reading and discussion, students will experience and evaluate
ritual in class, consider the myriad ways ritual can be used in personal
and professional life, and begin to create their own ritual.
HD603
The Therapeutic Use of Imagery for Psychological and
Spiritual Growth (1 cr.)
This course examines the theory and practice of imagery as a technique
for psychological and spiritual growth. An overview of the therapeutic use
of imagery is presented as well as how this approach fits into a
transpersonal therapeutic model. Topics include use of imagery in
psychosynthesis, Progoff's twilight imagery technique, Jungian active
imagination, and Sheihk's use of death imagery.
HD604
Telling Our Story: Memoir (1 cr.)
This course examines the memoir as narrative that captures and
communicates one's own specific life experience and its individual,
social, personal, and communal significance. It studies the myriad forms
of techniques for composing a memoir.
HD626
Science and Spirit: Phenomenological Approaches for Exploring
Religious and Spiritual Concerns (2 cr.)
This course presents significant subjects of religious and spiritual
exploration. It examines qualitative methodologies within human science
that permit systematic and rigorous exploration of them. The course
reviews contemplative, phenomenological, and systems approaches and
ways to select a particular methodology appropriate to the exploration of
a particular religious or spiritual concern.
HD633
Many Faces of Art: A Psychological Perspective (2 cr.)
This course focuses on psychological aspects of the visual arts. Topics
include the normative development of artistic ability, the impact of
developmental and environmental challenges, mental illness, and health
related issues on the production of visual art. Relevant theory and artistic
production are examined.
HD673
Journaling: Life's Companion (1 cr.)
This experiential course gives the student an opportunity to journal as a
means of self-discovery. After outlining a rationale for the process and
psychology of journal writing, this course assists participants in learning
and employing a wide variety of journaling techniques for their personal
growth.
HD693
Psychological Transformation and the Spiritual Journey (1 cr.)
The tradition of depth psychology describes a pattern of individual interior
evolution that is reflected in changes in our external life. This course
explores the interior process of making significant changes in one's life,
direction, career, or relationships and resonance between our exterior
lives and interior development.
HD714
Spirituality and Care of the Earth (2 cr.)
This course explores both the exploitation of and return towards a
sustainable human/earth balance. An inter-religious approach to
scriptural, ethical, liturgical, and spiritual traditions which call for greater
human accountability toward earth is used.
HD715
Cross-Cultural Ritual (2 cr.)
This course focuses on cross-cultural patterns of ritual and their religious
as well as spiritual implications. Participants consider Greco-European,
Asian-Buddhist (esp. Tibetan), American Plains and Woodland Indian,
African (Bemba), Hispanic, and Hmong cultural patterns of ritual.
HD717
Grief and Loss (2 cr.)
This course offers a multidimensional approach to the spirituality of
suffering, death, grief, and bereavement in the context of participant's
own experience of profound loss. Participants focus on their
assumptions, beliefs, and experiences in the context of their own
spiritual and healing processes as well as those of other cultures.
HD718
Relationships and Spirituality (2 cr.)
This course focuses on persons as communal individuals who live in
relationship with others, nature, and the cosmos. It explores the integral
nature of relationships and how we can grow as relational, communal,
and spiritual individuals.
HD629
Exploring Spiritual Life through Literature (1 cr.)
This course explores major symbols of the spiritual journey in mystical
literature of diverse times and places. It examines a variety of literary genre
to explore themes inherent in spiritual life and the value of taking the
spiritual journey and communicating it in the context of time and place.