LESSON 3: SUPERNATURALS: BELIEVE IT OR NOT!

Rebecca Stein – Religion as a set of cultural beliefs and practices that usually includes some or all of basic
characteristics. These characteristics are:
1. A belief in anthropomorphic supernatural being, such as spirit and gods
2. A focus on the sacred supernatural, where sacred refers to a feeling of reverence and awe (admiration,
respect)
3. The presence of supernatural power or energy that is found on supernatural being as well as physical
beings and objects
4. The performance of ritual activities that involves the manipulation of sacred object to communicate to
supernatural beings and/or to influence or control events
5. The articulation of worldview and moral codes through narratives and other means
6. Provide the creation and maintenance of social bonds and mechanism of social control within a
community; provide explanation for unknown and a sense of control for individuals.
An individual lives in a society where there are many practices of religion. The choice of religious belief lies
within the spiritual self. Although the choice maybe influenced by the society and its culture.
Ritual – is the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by a tradition or sacred law. Ritual is specific,
observable mode of behaviour exhibited by all known societies. It is thus possible to view ritual as a way of
defining or describing humans.
Penner – Three basic characteristics of Ritual
1. A feeling or emotion of respect, awe, fascination, or dread in relation to the sacred
2. Dependence upon a belief system that is usually expressed in the language of myth
3. Is symbolic in relation to its reference
Participation to rituals is expression of religious beliefs.

BUDDHISM – believes that life is not a bed of roses. Instead, there are suffering, pain, and frustration. When
people suffer, they want to experience the goodness of life and avoid disappointments REACTIVE CYCLE of
wanting and hating, like and dislikes, craving and aversion. This cycle can be broken through practice of
MEDITATION, acquiring more wisdom and deeper understanding, and acceptance of things as they are.
2 types of meditation practices : samatha and vipassana. Samatha is practiced as mindfulness of breathing and
development of loving-kindness (metta Bhavana), Vipassana practice aim at developing insight into reality.
Acquiring wisdom is by studying Buddha’s teaching, the Dharma. Through the reflection of Dharma, Buddhist can
achieve a deeper understanding of life. Buddhist believe in non-violent practice.
Dharma Wheel RIGHT TO VISALECM
Right view (know the truth)
Right intentions (free your mind of evil)
Right speech (say nothing that hurts other)
Right action (work for the good of others)
Right livelihood (respect life)
Right effort (resist evil)
Right concentration (practice meditation)
Right mindfulness (control your thoughts)

Buddhist celebrations:
Parinirvana Day February
Buddha day (Wesak) May
Dharma Day July
Padmasambhava October
Sangha Day November
Christianity – Christians believe in Trinitarian God, One God with three personas, God the Father (creator) God
the Son (savior) and God the Holy Spirit (Sustainer). Eternal life after death will be achieved through faith in Jesus
Christ. Holy bible is a selection of books, which is divided into two, Old Testament and New Testament.
Sacrament of Baptism (symbolizes birth in Christian World) and Sacrament of Communion (is an act of
remembrance of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial love.) are practiced by Christian churches. Jesus Christ teaching is
unconditional love.
Christmas and Resurrection (Easter). Christmas, Dec.25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ and
Resurrection Sunday depends on the lunar calendar sometimes in March or April, celebrates the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from death.

HINDUISM – covers wide range of traditional beliefs and religious groups; thus, there is no single founder or
leader. Hindus believe that existence is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, governed by KARMA. Karma is a
concept where the reincarnated life will depend on how the past life was spent.
Vedas are sacred scriptures of Hindus. Mahabharata and Ramayana are other important texts of the Hindus.
Diwali (is a festival of lights (and Navrati (is the festival of nine night, which celebrate the triumph of good over
evil. Hindus have set dates to honor particular manifestation of God.

ISLAM – Muslims believe in Allah “One God”. They believe in unity and universality of God. Muslims have a
strong sense of community or “ummah” and an awareness of their solidarity with all Muslims worldwide. Islam
means “willing submission to God”

Muslim believe that Mohammed is the last and final prophet sent by God. Mohammed was born in Mecca in 570
CE and received revelations from God through the Angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years. The holy book of
Islam is Quran, which was taught to be recited in Arabic because any translation is seen as inadequate.
Muslims believe in 5 pillars of Islam and the foundation of Muslims are:
1. Shahadah – statement of faith “there is no God but one true God and Mohammed is his messenger”
2. Salat – the prayer that is practiced 5x a day
3. Zakat – the monetary offering for the benefit of the poor. It comprises the 2.5% of a Muslims asset.
4. Hajj – the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims who can afford are asked to do the pilgrimage at least once in
their lifetime
5. Sawm – the fasting, from food, drink, and sexual act during Ramadan, is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar
calendar. The Fast is from dawn to sunset.

Eidul-Fitr (is the celebration at the end of Ramadan) and Eidul-Adha (is celebrated within the completion of the
Pilgrimage, the Hajj)

JUDAISM – Jews believe in the God of Abraham, the same God that liberated the Hebrew slaves from Egypt to
Canaan, the Promised Land through the leadership of Moses and later Joshua.
Jews believe in coming of Messiah, the Savior. The sacred scripture of the Jews is called the Torah or the Law, is
the guide of the Jewish living
1. Rosh Hashanah – New Year
2. Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement
3. Pesach – Passover
4. Shavuot – Pentecost
5. Sukkot-Tabernacles – The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday evening at sunset and is an important time when
families gather for the Sabbath meal
Dr. Viktor E. Frankl Father of Logotherapy was born on March 26, 1905 in Vienna, Austria, Sigmund Freud and
Alfred Adler also lived.
He gave short paper to Freud and after 3 years was published, graduated in 1930 and handle the Rothschild
Hospital for 8 years.

A survivor of Holocaust, published a book about logotherapy in 1959 it was translated to English and revised in
1963 as The Doctor and the Soul: An Introduction to Logotherapy. His book Man’s search for Meaning used as
textbook, he died in 1997.

Logotherapy is a psychotherapy introduced by him, main belief is that “man’s primary motivational force is search
for meaning”. It aids individuals to find personal meaning of life.
Meaning can be discovered by creating a work or doing a deed, experiencing something or encountering someone
and the attitude toward unavoidable suffering. “turning suffering into human achievements and accomplishments.

Franklian Psychology basic concepts:

1. Life has meaning under all circumstances
2. Main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life.
3. freedom to find meaning

Franklian Psychology aims to

1. Become aware of spiritual resources
2. Make conscious spiritual resources
3. Use “defiant power of the human spirit” and stand up against adversity (hardship)

Logotherapy Assumptions:
1. The human being is an entity consisting of body, mind, and spirit
body (soma) mind (psyche) spirit (noos) body and mind are what we have and spirit is what we are
2. Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable. “ultimate meaning”
3. People have will to meaning
4. People have a freedom under all circumstances to activate the will to find meaning
5. Life has a demand quality to which people must respond if decisions are to be meaningful
6. The individual is unique

Frankl’s sources of Meaning

Popova (2017) three possible sources of the meaning of life
1. Purposeful work
2. Courage in the face of difficulty
3. Love