The Spiritual Self

Spiritual Self
The spiritual self is who we are at our core.
It is more permanent than the other two selves – material self and social self.
The spiritual self is our subjective and most intimate self.
It is the aspect of self which develops a certain level of “spirituality” –
man’s way of seeking as well as expressing the meaning and purpose of his
life.
It speaks of the quality of one’s relationships with God.
It is showing high level of Christian maturity and concern with the higher
things in life such as the
Sacred or the Divine.

This spirituality is specified more concretely in deepening the faith.

Spirituality leads man to a deeper communion with the Divine. It is a path of

direct and personal connection with the Divine. It embraces all faiths, social and
political ideologies. It aids persons in spiritual, emotional or physical distress, crisis
or discomfort as well as those seeking to make a significant change in their lives
through self-awareness. This can be a healing process that leads to personal
development.

The Spirit and the Soul

Though spirit and soul are sometimes used interchangeably, they have
distinctions which need to be recognized.

As mentioned by L. Mercado:

Spirit
- “ruach” in Hebrew Language
- “pneuma” in Greek which means “breath” (the “breath of life”)
- described as the man’s supernatural power which comes from God.
- It is the “life-giving part of man”
 Soul
- “nephesh” in Hebrew Language
- “psyche” in Greek, originally meaning “throat” or “neck” which
means “human life”
the animating principle of human nature.
- In modern psychology, it is described as the “will, mind, the seat of
emotion, conscience".

Both soul and spirit mean life.

But soul (nephesh-psyche) stands for natural man,
while spirit (ruach-pneuma) is the ethical factor which adds the new dimension of
relationship with God.

Spirit enables man to serve God and to participate in the supernatural order.
Here, the Hebrew concept of man is holistic, NOT a trichotomy of body (fresh),
soul, and spirit,
but one totality.

However, the Hebrew sees the distinction between the natural and the
supernatural,
in respect to the “soul and spirit.”

The term used by the Filipinos for “spirit” is a loan word:

“espirito” or “espiritu”,
which is in Visayan term, “ginhawa”
in Tagalog, “hininga”
in Ilocano, “anges”

Soul is the nonphysical aspect of the person, the complexity of human

attributes that manifests as consciousness, thought, feeling, and will, regarded as
distinct from the physical body. It is the person’s emotional and moral nature,
where the most private thoughts and feelings are hidden.
 In some systems of religious belief, the soul is the spiritual part of a human
being that is believed to continue to exist after the body dies. The soul is also
regarded as subject to future reward and punishment. The Bible further speaks of
the soul as the innermost aspect of the person which signifies the spiritual principle
in him, “the breath of life”. It is because of this spiritual soul that the body
becomes alive.

The Filipino Traditional Understanding of Soul

The “soul” and “spirit” are sometimes used interchangeably but Filipinos
interpret the soul differently.

According to Demetrio in the book “The Soul According to the Indigenous Filipino”:

- “kaluluwa, kararwa, kadkadduwa”, all come from the root word “duwa”,
which means, two.

This is because the soul has two existences – one physical that is
connected to the human body and its life, and the other spiritual where it
exists on its own.

The Ilocano “kadkadduwa” is further derived from kadduwa, meaning

"companion."
The doubling of "kad" intensifies the nature of companionship so that it means:
“constant companion” or an “inseparable partner”,
therefore an “attached companion of the living person”.

Some Philippine Dialects of the “SOUL”:

Tagalog – kaluluwa
Bagobo – gimokud
Bukidnon – makatu
Ilokano – kadkadduwa or kararwa (inside physical body)
Ilonggo – dungan (if person is alive) and kalag (if person is dead)
Visaya – Dungan (willpower)
Cebuano – kaluha
Ibanag – ikararua
 Mindoro folks – karadwa or kalag
Kanakanays of Cordillera – ab-abiik

For the Kankanays of Cordillera, ab-abiik is the term which is also applicable to
trees, stones, rivers, etc.,

Demetrio used the word of Mariano Gatan : Ikararua for the Ibanag’s soul
which has the role of giving direction and wholeness to the man”.

The body can stay alive independently of the soul while the soul itself, even
when separate from the body, experiences material wants and needs".
Furthermore, when the person is frightened, the Ikararua Ieaves the body while the
body remains alive. A ritual called “mangaggakao” is performed to invite the soul
to return to the body.

For the Tagalogs, the kaluluwa speaks more of the soul of the deceased
person than that of the living. Jocano refers to the soul of a living person as his
kakambal (twin or double) which is thought of as the “malay” or the “tiny
voice”. It is a consciousness which is the individual’s capacity to think, to reason, to
learn and to have willpower. At night, the kakambal may travel around and its
troublesome encounters could be the cause of nightmares (bangungut). The
double becomes a kaluluwa after the person dies.

The dungan (not normally seen by the human eye) for the Ilonggos and
Cebuanos sometimes comes out of the body and takes on a visible form such as
that of an insect like a housefly or even a lizard. The dungan may leave the body
voluntarily as when a person is asleep, according to the Visayans. When a person
can see himself in his dreams, it means that his "other self" has left the physical
body. The dungan’s travel outside the body should be free from accidents. Only
when the soul has safely returned home would the owner be able to wake up.
Whatever happens to the dungan happens to the physical body as well.

Alicia Magos as cited by Demetrio also indicates that another cause of the
withdrawal of the soul from the body is when the body is badly maltreated. The soul
then voluntarily leaves the body.

Similarly, Arsenio Manuel as cited by Demetrio speaks of the soul, leaving

the body involuntarily as in the case of a child who is frightened. The kaluluwa or
dungan departs from the body and so there's a need to call the soul back by saying,
"Come back, come back soul of return to your home body." The child becomes
normal again the moment the kaluluwa or dungan rejoins the body.
 Another involuntary departure of the soul happens when it is lured by bad
spirits or engkantu.

Sickness is the effect of temporary loss of the soul

Death is the effect of permanent loss

Furthermore, Magos says that the Visayan dungan has a secondary

meaning of “willpower”.
A strong dungan has the intellectual and psychological capacity to dominate or
persuade others to one's way of thinking. A person with a lot of willpower is said to
have a strong dungan. By itself, if strong due to ritual nurturing, it is capable of
causing illness or seriously weaken the other persons who have weaker dungan.
Constant companionship (sometimes under the same roof) of two persons may
lead to a spiritual competition between the two dungan and the defeat results to
sickness of the one with the weaker

Mercado says that if weak, the Dungan has to be strengthened in a religio-

magical rite to prevent or cure body illness caused by its inherent weakness. With
the dungan properly nurtured, nourished, strengthened, and lodged in the physical
body, a person would consequently have a satisfactory well-being. With such
condition, he is said to have intelligence, proper sense, willpower, good health,
capacity to influence/dominate others, and, similar other qualities.

At death, the soul (zang) leaves the body via the nose, ears, eyes and other
orifices and eventually goes with the air of the wind towards the upper regions
where it waits until it can find another body to enter. To be sure that the "kalag"
will go to its final destination, the rite “patulod” (meaning, "to usher; to push") is
performed on the third day after the burial of the person. With this, the "kalag"
will not come back to visit the living and cause illness. Such visits may happen when
the "kalag" has some messages to be told to the living.

The notion of multiplicity of souls is common among Filipinos. According to

Llanes, four souls animate the body in early Ilokano beliefs namely:

4 Souls in Ilokano Beliefs:

1. Kararwa

2. Karkarma

3. Aniwaas (Aningaas or Alingaas)

 4. Ar-aria (Al-alia)

1. The kararwa or the soul proper is the vital element in man. It can leave only
after death.
It is the Ilokano name presently used for the Christian soul.

2. The karkarma or second soul can leave the body when one is frightened; or
it can be stolen from the body when the person goes to isolated places. If the
soul fails to return, the owner becomes insane. Sacrifices and attendant
ceremonies are held to lure back a lost karkarma.

The Ilokano karkarma stands for natural vigor, energy, strength or power.
It also stands for mind or reason. It is our counterpart of what the Greeks
referred to as psyche.

3. The aniwaas (aningaas or alingaas) or third soul, can leave the body during
sleep and visit places which the person who owns it frequents when awake. If
he wakes up, he may lose his aniwaas (aningaas, alingaas) and become
insane.

4. Ar-aria (al-alia), or the fourth soul, is the liberated soul of the dead. It is the
soul that comes down to earth to visit its relatives and friends, asking them
to pray or perform a duty it failed to do in life. The howling of dogs announces
the presence of an ar-aria/al-alia. It makes noise, disturbs the chickens,
makes audible footsteps, breaks the door, or bangs the utensils in the
kitchen. If the dead was a cook, he likes staying in the kitchen; if a tailor, he
plays with the sewing machine. If he was lame in life, his footsteps betray
that fact.

Like the Visayans and the Ibanags, the Ilokanos believe that the soul leaves
the body when frightened which results to sickness and a ritual is necessary to
invite the strayed soul back to its homebody.

Loob and Personhood

LOOB
  the inner self or inner being, is the core of one's personhood and where
the true worth of the person lies.
 It is what makes one what he is and who he is as a person.
 It is a term used to describe a person in relationship with others.

MAGANDANG LOOB / MABUTING LOOB

 A person is said to be Maganda / Mabuting Loob if he relates well and

positively with others.
 He is not only well-intentioned but he also promotes the well-being of others,
especially those in need.
 They are called “people of goodwill”.

MASAMANG LOOB

 a person is said to be of masamang loob if he is of bad character.

 He relates negatively with others.
 This LOOB is manifested through external behavior, and behavior in an
authentic person stems from the loob.

PURIFIED KALOOBAN

 supported by prayer
 This loob that has been continually purified and strengthened acquires
commitment to the cause of the individual.
 This happens through forms of sacrifices which include prayers,
abstinence from certain kinds of food, or comforts, and sexual
abstinence.
 Constant prayer and religious exercises are ways to purify the loob.

One of the most popular sacrifices done by some Filipino Catholics is the
“penitensia” during Good Friday. The penitents reenact the suffering of Jesus
Christ, from the flagellation to the crucifixion. Penitents whip themselves the back,
using whips made of bamboo or paddles to draw blood. To complete the rites, some
devotees willingly allow themselves to be nailed to the cross, reenacting Jesus'
crucifixion. Despite the pain, loss of blood, the penitent emerges a "new con" whose
loob has been renewed, ready to face squarely the challenges of this world. Prayer
and ritual can be a source of power.

Covar, in Mercado’s book, “The Filipino Mind” says that “the use of
amulet (anting-anting) may also be a source of power. Those who use the anting-
anting believe that the words of Christ and the things used in Catholic liturgy are a
strong source of power. While Scriptures say that the Word of God is efficacious
meaning, "has the power to produce a desired result', their belief extends to other
rituals and liturgical language in the Catholic rite. The efficacy of the anting-anting
depends upon the proper execution of certain rituals and the following of strict
rules." Holy Week is supposedly the best time for obtaining, testing and recharging
the powers of anting-antings.

God's Kagandahang-loob

The Filipino concept and value, kagandahang-loob (kindness, generosity,

benevolence, helpfulness) can be a very appropriate description of who God is for
Filipinos. It connotes all that is good in a person which is the ideal among Filipinos.
It is a quality of BEING which has its roots in the very heart of a person and which
is given expression in the totality of one's life of interrelationship. This reminds us of
Jesus in whom words and deeds are true manifestations of His kagandahang-loob.
This is why God's saving activity is described as kagandahang-loob.

Loob and Prayer

Prayer is said to be the “first expression of man's interior truth”.

Interior truth refers to the core of one's personhood, his loob, which is
closely related to man's spirit.
It is the ultimate organizing center of human reality. It is also the very zone of
creaturehood which is the substratum of ideas, feelings and behaviors.

Those whose loob is pure, serene and controlled have "special powers"
granted, to them by Christ such as the ability to control elements, cure the sick,
speak in different tongues, interpret signs, among others.
 Prayer then is the Christian’s acknowledgment and awareness of the true
nature of the loob, and the richness or weakness of this loob as exposed by the
light of faith. This loob is made "in the image and likeness" of God, hence, it is
constituted by being related to God.

With this, prayer becomes an active receptiveness, and to what God active
listening to is revealing through one's loob. It is the recognition, acknowledgment,
acceptance of this relatedness to God of our loob in an explicit manner. Christian
prayer is our conscious personal communion with God, our Father, in Christ Jesus. It
is the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in our hearts, enabling us to turn to God and
with confidence, to call Him our Father. This prayer is always a free gift of God,
which leads us back to Him, pagbabalik loob (conversion) when astray, restoring the
original goodness of one's kalooban.

Finding and Creating Meaning – Viktor Emil Frankl

Victor Emil Frankl was born in Vienna, Austria.

He is a medical doctor, a psychiatrist who developed Logotheraphy, a form of
psychotherapy,
based on helping clients find a sense of meaning in their lives.

According to Viktor Frankl :

“Meaning is something to discover rather than to invent.”

It has the same concept with inner happiness, life satisfaction, self-
actualization, deep spirituality.
He believes that in life, there is an existential vacuum which means that is empty,
meaningless, purposeless, aimless, adrift, and so on. Because of this existential
vacuum, we fill our lives with pleasure, eating beyond all necessity, or even having
promiscuous sex.

We might seek power, especially the power represented by monetary

success. Because of this existential vacuum, Frankl says that we fill our lives with
"busy-ness," conformity, conventionality, anger, hatred and even attempts to
destroy what we think is hurting us, a neurotic “vicious cycle”, such as obsession
with germs and cleanliness, or fear-driven obsession with a phobic object.
3 Ways of Discovering Meaning in Life

1. Experiential Values
2. Creative Values
3. Attitudinal Values

a. Experiential Values

This approach involves experiencing something or someone we value. The

most important example of experiential values is the love we feel towards another
family, relatives, friends, and workmates.

b. Creative Values

This is the traditional existential idea of providing oneself with meaning by

becoming involved in one’s projects, or, better, in the project of one's own life. It
includes the creativity and passion involved in art, music, writing, invention, and
work.

c. Attitudinal Values

Attitudinal values include practicing virtues such as compassion, bravery, a

good sense of humor, and the like. But Frankl's most famous example is achieving
meaning by way of suffering.
The ultimate goal is self-transcendence, in the spiritual realm it is a reference to
God, a reference to religion.

The Practice of Religion

 Researches speak of religion as the people’s way of connecting themselves
to God as they search for meaning in life. Religion is also popularly understood as
"beliefs and behaviors related to supernatural beings” Still others define religion as
“organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere, along with ceremonial
practices; our way of relating with the supernatural or the DIVINE". All cultures have
religion.

Religion serves several functions to man as follows:

1. The practice of religion has a significant effect on happiness and an overall

sense of personal well-being
2. Regular religious attendance led to much less psychological distress
3. Young people see love as the central aspect of the meaning of life; they
believe that religion is still important in helping form judgments and attitudes
4. The cohabitation rate is seven times higher among persons who seldom or
never attend religious services compared to persons who frequently attend.

Therefore, practice of religion is beneficial to individuals, families, states, and

the nation. It improves health, learning, economic well-being, self-control, self-
esteem and empathy. It reduces the incidence of social pathologies, such as out-of-
wedlock baths, crime, delinquency, drug and alcohol addiction, health problems,
anxieties, and prejudices. Furthermore, religion creates a moral community to which
people experience a sense of belonging. It provides rites of passage as in the case
of sacraments in Christianity. provides emotional support. It serves as a means to
provide answers to ultimate questions in life. It shapes the people's views of the
universe. Finally, it can be a powerful agent of social change.

Rituals

Rituals are “patterned forms of behavior that have something to do with the
realm”.
They are performed in a repetitive nature. They can be religious or secular.

People worldwide engage in religious rituals that require a considerable

amount of time or personal sacrifice. A good example is the case of the Vegans of
Phuket, Thailand who various acts of self-torture, including bathing in hot oil, fire
walking, and piercing themselves with sharp implements during their annual
vegetarian festival.
 "Life- cycle rituals", often referred to as 'sites of passage', mark a status
change from one important life stage to another. The Christian sacraments are
examples of this.

Many religions encourage rituals of pilgrimage, a round trip to a place

considered sacred for the purpose of religious devotion or ritual".

In many cases, sacrifice as the offering of something to the supernatural

beings is performed to express gratitude to such deities. An example of this is the
offering ritual called “harang” practiced by the Visayan fishing villages. Such
ritual is described as a process of:

 purification (tuob)
 invocation (pagtawag)
 entreaty (pangamuyo)
 offering (bayad)
 feast (kan-on) ……

…. encompassing almost every aspect of the community’s existences

including good or bad harvest, the operation of Fishing boats and cases of illness.

Kanyaw in the Cordillera, which is performed as an expression of

thanksgiving to their deities as well as a means to appease them is also noteworthy.
This is also an expression of solidarity among the members of the community.
Similarly, the Buklog of the Subanens in Aurora, Zamboanga is performed in their
fiesta to honor the spirits and plea for favors. It is also a symbol of the Subanens’
relationship with their fellowmen, and a spiritual journey to their Creator. Rituals in
this sense have the function of uniting the people. They allay fear of crisis as they
prompt collective action.

Magic

Magic is commonly referred to as "tricks" and "illusions" that make

impossible things seem to happen, usually performed as entertainment. Stein and
Stein describe it as a special talent or skill; an act that makes impossible things
happen through some sort of trickery or deception, and thereby manipulating not
the supernatural world, but their human perception.
 However, magic, as anthropologists use the term, refers to activities usually
rituals, by which a person can compel the supernatural to behave in certain ways. It
is seen as the ability which gives somebody control over the forces of nature. It is
used in many cultures for healing, keeping away evil, seeking the truth, and for
vengeful purposes. It is an attempt to make supernatural forces act in specific ways
for good or evil purposes by recourse to certain specified formulas.

Stein & Stein state that magic answers our need to have some control of our lives
and also of others with the ability to control supernatural forces.

Haviland also explains that like religion, magic tries to explain the
unexplainable and provides comfort and a view of the world. It also reduces stress
and providing a sense of the world leads to avoidance or healing of illness. In the
area of entertainment, magic captivates the audience with expert showmanship. It
promotes and advances the art of staged magic. Magic exists in all cultures.

Witchcraft

Witchcraft, commonly understood as “kulam”, refers to the idea that

certain people have an inborn power to harness spirits or energies for specific
purposes. It is an explanation of events based on the belief that certain individuals
possess an innate psychic power capable of causing harm, including sickness and
death.

Here, it is closely understood closely with sorcery. Witchcraft is widely

considered evil. Like sorcery, it is seen as magic or special power that is worked for
illegal or antisocial ends.

For example, magic that is worked to kill someone for vengeful purposes is
bad. The witch or sorcerer tends to steal food remnants, hair, nail clippings, or
clothes from the victim and use these objects to inflict harm upon the victim.

Haviland mentions that witchcraft serves a number of functions in society.

Just hike religion and magic, he says that witchcraft provides explanations of the
inexplicable, like illness, or natural disasters, as well as allows a community to come
together, focus their energies on something (ridding themselves of bad witchcraft)
and to reassert their communal identity.

What the Bible Says About Magic, Ritual and Witchcraft

 As Filipinos of today, predominantly Christians, we have the Bible as our
guide in the practice of our religion, Specifically, the Book of Deuteronomy states:

“Don't sacrifice your children in the fires on your altars, and do not let your
people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in
witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits
of the deal. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because
the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will
drive them out ahead of you. But you must be blameless before the Lend your God”
(DL18:10-13).

For us Christians, God alone is worthy of adoration, for He alone, is the

ONE, TRUE GOD. Such acts contrary to this, such as ascribing power to amulets,
magic and others mentioned above, are considered idolatrous and therefore,
unacceptable. It is a violation to the very first commandment of God:

“I am the Lord, your God who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves;
worship no god but Me"
(Ex. 20:2-3).

This is further made clear in Jesus declaration of the 'Great Commandment of

Lave when He said;

"The most important one is this: Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only
Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soud, with all your
mind, and with all your strength. The second most important commandment is this:
Love your neighbor as you love yourself. There is no other commandment more
important than these two" (Mark 12:29-31).

In conclusion, submission to practices such as magic, kulam, and others of

their kind may not lead us to the "ONE, TRUE GOD", the source of all power. Much
discernment must be done to examine or evaluate our practices whether or not
they lead us closer to the One, True There are indeed Filipino traditional religious
practices (popular/folk religiosity) which are not helpful to our true worship of GOD,
practices which need to be purified, and this calls for a genuine, meaningful
Christian evangelization. Without careful examination, our practices may lead us
away from the ultimate source of happiness, our ultimate end. Such ultimate end is
God Himself, our union with Him. Failure to examine the things that we do, the way
we live our lives, results to the loss of meaning in life. Jesus Christ Himself gave us a
clear guide when fle spoke about the commandment of love-love of God and love of
neighbor.