MODULE 9

THE SPIRITUAL SELF

I. MODULE OVERVIEW

Spirituality influences the individual through acts of faith, hope, and love. This chapter provides an overview
of spirituality and religion. It also includes topics on the practice of animism.

II. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOME

At the end of the chapter, you should be able to:
 Identify various religious practices and beliefs;
 Understand the self in relation with religious belief;
 Explain ways of finding the meaning of life;

III. TAKE OFF MOTIVATION

A quote to ponder:

“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.”
- Buddha

IV. CONTENT FOCUS

DEFINITION OF TERMS:
1. Sacred Transcendence. A higher being.
2. Apathy. The blunting of the emotions and the feeling that one could not care anymore. It is a
protective shell from the brutalities in the camp.
3. Depersonalization. A state in which everything seemed unreal, unlikely, as in a dream.

The Spiritual 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. The spiritual self enables the person to experience a feeling of oneness with
a higher being and the universe and gives a deeper purpose or meaning if one’s life. Understanding and
nurturing the spiritual self is as important as with the other aspects of the self. The spiritual self develops
through interaction, observation, and imitation. The family, school, and church play a very important role in a
child’s spiritual development. Spirituality begins at an early age but develops throughout life as people
continuously interact in the environment.

SPIRITUALITY
 Spirituality, 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
discover, hold on to, and, when necessary, transform whatever thy hold scared in their lives (Hill &
Pargament, 2003).
 Spirituality, generally refers to meaning and purpose in one’s life, a search for wholeness, and a,
relationship with a transcendent being (Hage, Hopson, Siegel, Payton, & DeFanti, 2006).
 The term “spirituality” originally developed in early Christianity. Christians us the term “spirit” to
describe the Holy Spirit.
 In Christian Ethics, Peschke (1994) describes that the experience of the sacred is characterized by
reverence, faith, fear, trust, love, and admiration which are intimately connected to God.

WORSHIP
 regarded as an essential act to realize the ultimate meaning of transcendence and human life.
 Acts of worship may include;

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 1. Reading the bible
2. Attending the sacraments
3. Doing sacrifices
In addition, through acts of faith, hope, and love, man is able to encounter God and understand
God’s words of salvation.
 Spirituality is connected with Religion.

RELIGION
 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 if the
universe otherwise beyond their control.
 All religions recognize the importance of spirituality in one’s life.
 One’s spirituality may be expressed through religion and participation in religious rituals and
ceremonies (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, & Mcbride, 2013).
 Spirituality and religion fulfill numerous social and psychological needs, such as the need to
explain human sufferings and death.
 Through the practice of religious activities such as prayers, people may find comfort, security,
and stability in times of suffering, loss, insecurities, and uncertainties.
 Spirituality and religion may be a source of love, hope, and affection (Brown & Parrish, 2011).

SEARCH FOR THE MEANING OF LIFE

In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl begins by sharing 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 transformed the prisoners from their previous lives to a new one and how they developed various
pathologies.
The prisoner was
1. First in a state of shock,
2. Followed by the phase of developing apathy,
3. And lastly, the psychology of the prisoner after liberation.
Apathy is the blunting of the emotions and the feeling that one could not care anymore. It is a protective shell from the
brutalities in the camp. During the last phase, the prisoners experienced depersonalization or a state in which
everything seemed unreal, unlikely, as in a dream.
Frankl’s personal experiences in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II led him to develop the basic tenets
of logotherapy, which were tested and found valid even amid all the dark forces in human existence. Frankl embraced
both the bright and dark sides of human existence and believed that inevitable human suffering could contribute to
human achievement and the search of meaning in life.

LOGOTHERAPY
 The pursuit of human existence as well as on man’s search for such a meaning.
 According to logotherapy, the striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man.
 In logotherapy, one can discover the meaning of life in three different ways:
1. By doing a deed, the way of finding meaning in life is through achievements or accomplishments.
2. By experiencing a value, such as loving a person. Frankl elaborates that love is the only way to grasp
another human being in the innermost core of his or her personality. 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 love, he or she is
enabled to see the essential traits and features of the beloves person. Thus, he imparts that the salvation
of man is through love and in love. Love finds its deepest meaning in one’s spiritual being-the inner
self.
3. By suffering, according to Frankl, it is through sufferings that man encounter the central theme of
existentialism: to live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering. If there is purpose in
life at all, there must be a purpose in suffering and in dyinf. But no one can tell another what this
purpose is. Each one must find out for himself or herself, and must accept the responsibility that his of

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 her answers prescribe. If he or she succeeds, he or she will continue to grow in spite of all indignities.
Thus, Frankl is fond of quoting Nietzsche, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”

Frankl further suggests that on should not search for an abstract meaning of life. Everyone has his or her own
specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment.
Ultimately, one should not ask what the meaning of his or her life is, but rather must recognize that it is he or
she who is asked. In a word, each individual is questioned by life; to life he or she can only respond by being
responsible.

THE PRACTICE OF ANIMISM

Spirituality is also associated with animism. Beliefs about the sacred also include the primitive concept about animism
or the belief that creatures, objects, and places possess certain spirits. Animism 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.
Some groups, for example, 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
tree, rocks, mountains, and bodies of water, among others, and that respect must be given to them through acts of
worship (e.g., offerings, prayers, sacrifices) to please or appease them. Being linked with folk belief, animism
cultivates 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.

V. SELF- REFLECT

INSTRUCTION: 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 Philippines. What are the reason for having those
spiritual beliefs?
4. What are the functions of religion in developing the spiritual self?

VI. REFERENCES

 Alata, C., Serafica, and Pawile., (n.d). Understanding the Self

 Go-Monilla, J., Ramirez, N., (n.d). Understanding the SelF

Compiled and edited by:

Jither Ken V. Patalinghug
Phoebe M. Castillo
Instructor I/DEBESMSCAT

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