Module 8: Spiritual Self

• Spiritual self


  Intangible and invisible aspect of the self, the real, true, or authentic you
• Spirituality


  Relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things
• Spirituality


  Allows us to build connections to other people, nature and to the sacred and divine, typically involves a search of purpose and meaning of life
• Spirituality


  Spiritual person places little importance on beliefs and traditions and is core concerned with growing
• Religiosity


  Adherence to a belief system and practices associated with a tradition in which there is agreement about what is believed and practiced
• Religion


  Belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal god or gods
• Dimensions of religion


  • Belief
  • Ritual
  • Spiritual experience
  • Unique social forms of community
• Religious classification


  • Polytheism
  • Monotheism
  • Atheism
  • Animism
• Judaism


  Belief in one transcendent God who has revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and the Hebrew prophets and by a religious life in accordance with the scriptures and rabbinic traditions
• Christianity


  Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point of the Christian faith
• Islam


  Religious faith of Muslims who worship Allah as the sole deity and believes Muhammad is his Prophet
• Hinduism


  Combines the beliefs, philosophy, and cultural practices of India, guided by Vedic scriptures and belief in reincarnation and one supreme god called Brahman who has multiple manifestations as either a god or goddess
• Buddhism


  Teachings of Gautama Buddha, who experienced enlightenment and found the truth of the world, or the Dharma
• Babaylan


  Ancestors looked up to in pre-colonial Philippines, described as priestess or shaman who acted as healer, spiritual leader, and medium
• Animism


  Attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena
• Dungan


  Life force, an energy, as well as an ethereal entity, a spirit with a will of its own that resides in the human body and provides the essence of life
• Ginhawa


  Vital force that occupies the body and is responsible for the heart's ability to beat
• Soul


  Refers to the conscious, the moral, and thinking part of a person; immortal; it will go to hell, purgatory, or heaven after the person dies
• Spirit


  Refers to the Holy Spirit, the third part of the Trinity; the force of God through which blessings are bestowed upon his people
• Soul (Western culture)


  Someone's moral consciousness
• Spirit (Western culture)


  Ghost or any other supernatural beings
• Soul (Eastern culture)


  Part of the person that has dharma, one's obligation with respect to caste, social custom, civil law, and sacred law
• Kaduwa (Isneg)


  Soul that crosses a pond in a ferry piloted by a kutaw (spirit) to the realm of the dead called aglalanawan
• Ab-abiik (Kankanaey)


  Soul that can be summoned by spirits, causing the person to become sick
• Kaluluwa (Tagalog)


  Soul of the deceased, while the soul of a living person is called a "kakambal" that leaves the physical body at night to roam
• • Maycan (2018) - religiosity refers to adherence to a belief system and practices associated with a tradition in which there is agreement about what is believed and practiced.
• • Spiritual fellowship (such as attending church or a meditation group) can be a source of social support that may provide a sense of belonging, security, and community. Strong relationships have been proven to increase well – being and bolster life expectancy, which is perhaps why one study found a strong association between church attendance and improved health, mood, and well-being.
• • Contemplative practice is good for students like you. Contemplative practice can be broadly understood as a method to develop concentration, deepen understanding and insight, and cultivate awareness and compassion.
• Types of contemplative practice:

  1. Meditation 

  • mental exercise (such as focusing on one’s breathing or repeating a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness. 
• Types of contemplative practice: Prayer

  a spiritual communion with God (or an object of worship) as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.
• Types of contemplative practice: Yoga 

  •  a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline; it teaches the suppression of all mind and body activity so that the self-realize its distinction from the material world and attain liberation. 
  • In western culture, yoga is a system of physical postures, breathin techniques, and sometimes meditation to promote physical and emotional well – being.
• Types of contemplative practice: Journaling 

  • another (but often overlooked) contemplative practice that can help you become more aware of your inner life more connected to your experience and the world around you. 
• Emile Durkheim = religious beliefs & practices unite in one single community called church.
• Belief


  Generalized system of idea and values that shape how members of a religious group come to understand the world around them
• Ritual


  Repeated physical gestures or activities, such as prayers and mantras, used to reinforce religious teachings, elicit spiritual feelings, and connect worshippers with a higher power
• Spiritual experience


  A third common dimension of various religions is the promise of access to some form of unique spiritual experience or feeling of immediate connections with higher power
• Unique social forms of community


  A fourth common dimension of religion is creating unique social forms of community
• • Alicia Magnos (anthropologist and a professor emerita of University of the Philippines Visayas) made pioneering study on the primeval Visayan concept of “Dungan.”