Spiritual self

• Philosophy


  Started the moment humans started to wonder
• Developing a healthy sense of wonder as a college student


  • Part of this curiosity should be about:
  • Range of human beliefs
  • Understanding belief systems that may not be the same as yours
• Religion


  A personal set of institutionalized systems of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
• Spiritual


  Relating to or affecting the human spirit/soul as opposed to material or physical
• Similarities and differences between religion and spiritual

  • Paths to God
  • Approaches
  • Definition
• Religion (person)


  Someone who believes in a god or group of gods and consciously adheres to the beliefs of his/her religion
• Spiritual (person)


  Someone who places little importance on beliefs and traditions, is more concerned with growing and experiencing the Divine
• Approaches of religion and spiritual

  • Religion: fear, emphasis on sin, guilt, and the concept of a punishing God
  • Spiritual: Path of love, Path with no condemnation and judgment, but where there is mercy and acceptance
• Beliefs of religion and spiritual

  • Religion: God is high up in the heavens. Separate being from human
  • Spiritual: God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent
• Paths of religion and spiritual

  • Religion: the only way to salvation is in their religion and not with others
  • Spiritual: all faiths are valid, and enhance all the world's religions, but at the same time not constrained by any other religious dogmas or forms
• Why are people attracted to Religion?

  According to Steven Reiss, religion attracts many followers because it satisfies all 16 basic desires that humans share
• 16 basic desires that humans share

  • Acceptance
  • Curiosity
  • Eating
  • Family
  • Honor
  • Idealism
  • Independence
  • Order
  • Physical activity
  • Power
  • Romance
  • Saving
  • Social contact
  • Status
  • Tranquility
  • Vengeance
• All religious beliefs are designed to meet all 16 beliefs
• Four Dimensions of Religion

  • Belief
  • Ritual
  • Spiritual experience
  • Unique social forms of community
• Why is Spirituality Important?

  • Spiritual practices are associated with better health and well-being
  • Sense of meaninglessness and lack of purpose in life can be significant factors in causing anxiety, depression, and phobias
  • Spiritual fellowship can be a source of social support that may provide a sense of belonging, security, and community
  • Contemplating practice - a method to develop concentration, deepen understanding and insight, and cultivate awareness and compassion
• Examples of Contemplating Practices

  • Meditation
  • Prayer
  • Yoga
  • Journaling
• Sacred Pathways (Gary Thomas) - nine sacred paths to connect with God


  • Naturalists - loving God out of doors
  • Sensates - loving God with the senses
  • Traditionalists - loving God through ritual and symbol
  • Ascetics - loving God in Solitude and simplicity
  • Activists - loving God through Confrontation
  • Caregivers - loving God by loving others
  • Enthusiasts - loving God through mystery and celebration
  • Contemplatives - loving God through adoration
  • Intellectuals - loving God with the mind
• Logotherapy


  The pursuit of one's meaning in life, founded on the belief that human nature is motivated by the search for the purpose of life
• Basic Principles of Logotherapy

  • Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones
  • Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life
  • We have freedom to find meaning in what we do, and what we experience, or at least in the stand we take when faced with a situation of unchangeable suffering
• 3 Different ways to Discover Meaning in Life

  • By creating a work or doing a deed
  • By experiencing something or encountering someone
  • By the attitude we take toward "unavoidable suffering" and that "everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms–to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances