?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=How+Body+and+Soul+Interact+with+the+Spiritual+Mind+&rft.creator=Evola%2C+Vito&rft.subject=Psycholinguistics&rft.subject=Behavioral+Analysis&rft.subject=Applied+Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.subject=Ethics&rft.subject=Semantics&rft.subject=Social+Psychology&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Perceptual+Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Language&rft.description=Cognitive+Linguistics+as+an+enterprise+provides+new+theoretical+and+methodological+instruments+in+understanding+the+relationship+between+people%E2%80%99s+thoughts+and+the+language+they+use.+Spiritual+and+religious+experiences+(particularly+the+ones+involving+some+type+of+revelation+from+or+communication+with+a+transcendent+being)+are+especially+interesting+since+they+involve+some+type+of+external%2C+physically+invisible+force+or+agent%2C+contributing+an+%E2%80%9Cineffable%E2%80%9D+quality+to+the+phenomenon.+However%2C+people+can+and+do+describe+such+events%2C+and+metaphors+and+blends+pervade+the+representations+of+certain+concepts+of+the+transcendental+when+attempting+to+talk+about+such+abstract+ideas.+One+of+the+main+tenants+of+Cognitive+Linguistics+is+that+people%E2%80%99s+views+about+themselves+and+the+world+around+them+are+deeply+rooted+in+their+conceptual+systems%2C+created+by+their+experiences+and+their+bodily+interactions+with+the+world%2C+whether+they+be+physical%2C+psychological+or+social.+%0D%0APeople+who+practice+spirituality+reach+certain+states+by+means+of+personal+or+collective+rituals%2C+such+as+prayer%2C+meditation%2C+and+bodily+procedures+involving+discipline%2C+as+is+the+case+of+fasting+or+re-understanding+pain.+When+they+then+communicate+certain+religious+and+spiritual+concepts%2C+they+are+revealing+a+great+deal+about+themselves+and+their+world+and+the+way+they+interact+with+it.+Concepts+dealing+with+people%E2%80%99s+system+of+beliefs+are+very+%E2%80%9Cmeaningful%E2%80%9D+for+the+individual%2C+and+the+more+entrenched+a+frame+of+mind+is%2C+the+less+plastic+it+is%2C+a+fact+confirmed+by+the+neurosciences+which+claim+that+it+is+difficult+to+break+down+and+reconstruct+certain+synaptic+structures+of+the+brain.+%0D%0A%0D%0ABut+how+do+people+who+have+had+such+awesome+experiences+represent+these+supernatural+encounters+and+their+states+of+being%3F+What+is+the+relationship+between+the+concepts+of+body+and+soul+in+devotees+who+torture+their+bodies%2C+who+have+out+of+body+experiences+or+who+describe+a+body+possessed+by+other+spirits%3F+What+does+the+language+they+use+say+about+the+individuals%E2%80%99+concept+of+themselves+and+their+world%3F+%0D%0A%0D%0AI+will+present+some+of+my+own+research+data+containing+conceptual+metaphors+and+blends+collected+in+various+sacred+texts+and+during+a+series+of+interviews+of+people+who+claim+to+have+had+such+supernatural+experiences.+The+data+includes+linguistic+expressions+as+well+as+gesture.+Moreover%2C+the+interviewees+were+asked+to+draw+on+paper+certain+experiences+of+spiritual+nature+and+then+to+describe+their+pictures.+My+investigation+will+try+to+shed+new+light+on+the+phenomenology+of+spiritual+experiences+and+personhood%2C+using+cognitive+linguistics+as+a+prime+tool+of+analysis.%0D%0A&rft.date=2008-10&rft.type=Conference+Paper&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6111%2F1%2Fabstract-csdl9.pdf&rft.identifier=++Evola%2C+Vito++(2008)+How+Body+and+Soul+Interact+with+the+Spiritual+Mind.++%5BConference+Paper%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6111%2F