CHAPTER 9 “We are not human being having a spiritual experience, But we are spiritual being having a human experience.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. OVERVIEW Spirituality is a general concept and involve different views. It motivates the person through acts of faith, hope and love. This chapter provides a general understanding of spirituality and religion. It also includes emotional health and practice of animism. LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of the chapter, you should be able to: * Demonstrate an understanding of the spiritual self; * Explain the importance of spirituality in one’s life; * Discuss how spirituality is connected to religion; * Describe how spirituality relates with emotional health * Analyze how spirituality animism are associated. Asst. Prof. FIDES JOYCE O. LLEGADO Social Sciences DepartmentSotellual Self The spiritual aspect of the self is the inner essence, the part of the self that connects the person to the sacred, the supernatural, and the universe. Understanding and nurturing the spiritual self is as important as with the other aspects of the self. It develops through interac- tion, observation, and imitation. The family, school and church play a very important role in a child’s spiritual ©pngguru.com development. Spirituality begins at an early age but develops throughout life as people continuously interact in the environment (Monilla & Ramirez, 2018). Sptslluallly The root meaning of spirituality is taken from the Latin word spiritus, meaning breath or life force. Spirituality can be understood as the search for the sacred, a process through which people seek to dis- cover, hold on to, and, when necessary, transform whatever they hold sacred in their lives (Hill & Par- gament, 2003). It is a collective human experience — something that links us all. Some people may say that spiritual experience as sacred or mystical or just a deep sense of joy and interrelatedness with the Supreme Being. Similarly, it may also refer to ‘Gcipbarneort meaning and purpose in one’s life, a search for wholeness, and a relationship with a transcendent being (Hage, Hopson, Siegel, & DeFanti, 2006). SPIRITUS — ['spiridas/ According to Dr. Christina Puchalski, Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, “spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.” Other people comes into focus with their spirituality when faces with emotional trauma, physical ailment or even death. Chapter 9 - The Spiritual Self“Spirituality” was initially developed in early Christianity. Christians use the term “Spirit” to describe the Holy Spirit. In Christian Ethics, Peschke (1994) describes that the experi- ence of the sacred is characterized by reverence, faith, fear, trust, love, and admiration which are linked to God. Adoration is an important deed to understand the funda- mental meaning of transcendence and human life. There are. various ways of doing worship, it may include prayer, read- ing the bible, attending sacraments or even doing sacrifices. Spirituality and religion are not the same thing. But spirituality is connected with religion. Religion is an organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere or the supernatural along with associated ceremonial practices by which people try to interpret and/or influence aspects of the universe otherwise beyond their control. One’s spirituality may be expressed through religion and participation in religious rituals and ceremonies (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, & McBride, 2013). Spirituality and religion may be a source of love, hope, and affection (Brown & Parrish, 2011). SPIRITUALITY RELIGION What practices, rites, or rituals should | follow? Where do | find meaning? Belief Comfort Reflection Ethics Awe How do | feel connected? What is right or wrong? How should | live? What is true and false? w Chapter 9 - The Spiritual Self Page 2 \\ y 7In Spirituality, the questions are : where do | personally find meaning, connection, and values? © In religion, the questions are: what is true and right? © Where the circles overlap is the person experience, which affects the way you, think, feel and behave. Spiiliuallly vs. Emolional flealih Emotional and spiritual wellbeing influence one another: © Spirituality is about finding signifi- cant association with something bigger than yourself, which may Spirituality neon have an effect in positive emotions, like peace, contentment, acceptance, understanding, grati- tude. sree TENE © Emotional health is about nurturing a positive state of mind which can broaden your attitude to know and integrate a connection to something larger than yourself. Thus, emotions and spirituality are distinct but linked, deeply integrated with one another. Discovering Lpes Meaning This part of the module features the concept of well-being and life satisfac- tion, what they mean to an individual, and the factors that contribute to them. It also stresses the importance of well-being and life satisfaction in today’s chal- lenging times, wherein we are facing fear, and anxiety due to the COVID-19 pan- demic. Chapter 9 - The Spiritual Self Page 3 )Wihlt-being ana Lye Saliefaciion Individuals are inclined to evaluate their life, reflect and analyze the choices they have made and most importantly learn lessons from these experiences. Some says that well-being and life satisfaction are the same but there is a bit difference between the two. Well-being is an inner, personal construct, associated with self-esteem, and self-under- standing. It is how good one feels for himself/herself. While life satisfaction is a general attitude towards life. When both are present, happiness can be felt. On the other hand, in some situations, happiness is generally regarded as the emo- tional result of life satisfaction. Life satisfac- tion can refer to the desire to change one’s life, satisfaction with the past, satisfaction with the future, and views of one’s life (Diener, et al., 1999). It is also associated with quality of life. Research has cited many factors that influence how they can be achieved: e Environmental conditions contribute to individual life satisfaction. Socio-economic status, home and social environment, interperson- al relationships, and education also influence one’s well-being and life satisfaction. Personal factors such as personality, cognition, physical health. In the present time, most of us are facing difficulties and struggles. People try to seek comfort or even security in various ways. In so doing , they experi- ence struggles in achieving happiness and satisfaction. Chapter 9 - The Spiritual Self Page 4Viktor Frankl, a famous psychiatrist and writer, wrote a book entitled Man’s Search for Meaning shared his personal experiences in the Nazi concentration camp. He explains how a prisoner passes through three major phases in the concentration camp, and how each phase trans- formed the prisoners from their former lives to a new one and how they developed various patholo- gies. At first, the prisoner was in a state of shock, which was followed by the phase of developing apathy. Apathy is the blunting of the emotions and the feeling that one could not care anymore. It could be considered a protective shell from the brutalities in the camp. The last phase is the psychology of the prisoner after liberation. During this time, the pris- oners experienced depersonalization or a state in which everything seemed unreal, as in a dream. Frankl’s stay in the Nazi concentration camps during World Ward II led him to develop the basic tenets of logotherapy. He embraced both the bright and dark sides of human existence and be- lieved that human suffering could contribute to human achievement and the search of meaning in life. Logotherapy is the quest of human existence and on man’s search for such meaning. In logothera- py, one can discover the meaning of life in three different ways: by doing a deed, by experiencing a value, and by suffering. e In doing a deed — way of finding meaning in life is through achieve- ments or accomplishments © By experiencing something or someone, such as loving a person. No one can become fully aware of the essence of another human being unless he or she loves him or her. By his or her, he or she is enabled to see the essential traits and features of the beloved person. Love finds its deepest meaning in one’s spiritual being- the inner self. Chapter 9 - The Spiritual Self Page 5e By suffering. It is through sufferings that man encounter the central theme of existentialism: to live is to suffer, to survive is to find mean- ing in the suffering. If there is purpose in life at all, there must be a purpose in suffering and in dying. Each one must find out for himself or herself, and must accept the responsibility that his or her answers. prescribe. If he or she succeeds, he or she will continue to grow in spite of all indignities. “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how” according to Nietzsche. Everyone has his or her own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Within the con- text of spirituality, being cognizant of one’s purpose in life, accepting limitations and celebrating strengths, enabling love and concern for others, and engaging in behaviors that embody all these will lead one to have well-being and life satisfac- tion. Spirituality is also associated with ani- mism. Animism is the belief that creatures, objects, and places possess certain spirits. It is also the belief that things and places are alive and grounded by a supernatural order. In the Philippines, indigenous peoples are known to practice animism. For example, they believe that the spirits of the sun, sky, and moon are their gods and that different deities exist to protect them and guide them toward a fruitful life. Others believe that spirits inhabit animals and nature such as trees, rocks, mountains, and bodies of water, and that respect must be given to them through acts of worship. Being linked with folk belief, animism culti- vates among people a consciousness of the environment that they are in, thus making them more mindful of how they act according to the different things they come in contact with (Molina & Ramirez, 2018). ) Chapter 9 - The Spiritual Self Page 6 v yy;Exaluale Answer the following questions. 1. Distinguish the difference between belief in spirits and belief in the Holy Spirit. 2. What is the relationship between religion and spirituality? 3. Give at least two kinds of spiritual beliefs (animism) in the Philip- pines. What are the reasons for having those spiritual beliefs? Aged. 1. Answer the test on How Spiritual Are You? The test may be downloaded at http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/religion/Spiritual%20Quiz.pdf. What are your insights on the outcomes of the test? 2. Write ten (10) things that you should be thankful to God. Explain your answer Leto Reflect “Walking in Desert” ( Otig, Gallenero, et.al, A Holistic Approach in Understanding the Self, Mutya Publishing, 2018) Procedure: 1. Do some reflection by walking for at least 30 minutes in a place where you can find peace. 2. Scribble in a journal your personal experience by answering the questions below: a. What thoughts come up while you were walking? b. What happened when you were walking? c. How did you respond to such distractions? Chapter 9 - The Spiritual Self Page 7References: Monilla, Ma. Joycelyn A. & Ramirez, Normaliza C. (2018). Understanding the Self. C & E Publishing, Inc. Haviland, W., Prins, H., Walrath, D., & McBride, B., (2013). The Essencw of Anthropology (3rd edition). USA Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. http://webtakingcharge.csh.umn.edu Hage, S., Hopson, A., Siegel, M., Payton, G., & De Fanti, E., (2006). Multicultural Training in Spirituality: An Interdisciplinary review. American Counseling Association. Chapter 9 - The Spiritual Self Page 8