THE SPIRITUAL SELF

“Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak.”

Ma. Jaya Sati Bhagavati
 SPIRITUAL VERSUS RELIGIOUS
• Spiritual is defined as “relating to or affecting the
human spirit or soul as opposed to material or
physical thins.”
• Religion and spirituality are both paths to God;
however, they Are different in their approaches.
• A religious person is someone who believes in a
god or group of gods and consciously adheres to
the beliefs of his/her religion.
• A spiritual person, on the other hand, places little
importance on beliefs and traditions and is more
concerned with growing and experiencing the
Divine.
 Why is spirituality important?
• Sense of meaninglessness and lack of purpose
in life can be significant factors in causing
anxiety, depression, and phobias; however,
there is a growing body of evidence indicating
that spiritual practices are associated with
better health and well-being
• Many spiritual tradition encourage
participation in a community. Strong
relationship have been proven to increase
well-being and bolster life expectancy
• Contemplative practice is good for student
like you. Contemplative practice can be
broadly understood as a method to develop
concentration, deepen understanding and
insight, and cultivate awareness and
compassion.
• These practices can have a profound impact
on students’ experiences both in college and
beyond.
Examples of contemplative practices:
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. It can induce feelings of calm and
clear-headedness, as well as improved concentration and
attention.
2. Prayer- a spiritual communion with God (or an object of worship)
as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession. Prayer
may elicit a relaxation response, along with feelings of hope,
gratitude, and compassion- all of which have positive effect on
overall well-being.
• There are several types of prayers. Many of which are rooted in the
belief that there is a higher power that has some level of influence
over life.
• A recent study found out that clinically depressed adults who
believed their prayers were heard by God (or a concerned
presence) responded much better to treatment than those who did
not believe.
3. Yoga- a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline.
Hindu theistic philosophy teaches the
suppression of all mind and body activity so that
the self may realize its distinction from the
material world and attain liberation.
• In western culture, yoga is a system of physical
postures, breathing techniques, and
sometimes meditation to promote physical
and emotional well-being.
4. Journaling is another ( but often overlooked)
contemplative practice that can help you
become more aware of your inner life and feel
more connected to your experience and the
world around you. Studies show that writing
during difficult times may help you find meaning
in life’s challenges and help you become more
resilient in the face of obstacles.
(Lin, Oxford,& Brantmeier, 2013)
 The Practice of Religion: Belief in
Supernatural Being and Power
• The vast majority of the earth’s more than 7 billion
people practice some form of religion. The number of
religions and spiritual traditions that the human
population practices is estimated at a little over 4,000.
the reasons and theories of humans’ having religion
are just many( if not more).
• Religion is defined as “ the belief in the worship of a
superhuman controlling power, especially a personal
God or gods” (Oxford University Press, 2017).
• It is also a “particular system of faith and worship.”
(University of Minnesota Human Rights Center, 2003,
2016)
• Religion is an experience. Religion, however,
may best be understood as a systematic
“attribution of human characteristics or
behavior to a god, animal, or object” (read:
Anthropomorphism).
• One reason humans attribute human
characteristics to some other “entities” is that
the world is huge, ambiguous, and we need to
interpret it the best possible way we can.
The Psychology behind religious belief
• A 1990 research conducted by Steven Reiss,
professor emeritus of psychology at the Ohio
State University, posited a theory on why
people are attracted.
• Religion, he said, attracts so many followers
because its satisfies all 16 basic desires that
humans share( the 16 Strivings for God, 2016)
 Reiss 16 desires that humans share are:

1. Acceptance 9.Physical activity

2. Curiosity 10.Power
3. Eating 11.Romance
4. Family 12.Saving
5. Honor 13.Social contact
6. Idealism 14.Status
7. Independence 15.Tranquility
8. Order 16.Vengeance
• Reiss claimed that we all share the same 16
goals, but what makes us different is how
much we value each one.
• Example, in social contact, religions attracts
both the introvert and extrovert. Extrovert,
religion offers fellowship with others.
Introvert, religion encourages meditation,
privates retreats, and solitude.
• The four dimensions of religion
• The incredible amount of variation between
different religions makes it challenging to decide
upon a concrete definition of religion that applies
to all of them.
• Sociologists noted four dimensions that seems to
be present in varying forms and intensities in all
types of religion(Dawson,&Thiessen, 2014).
1. Belief;
2. Ritual;
3. Spiritual experience; and
4. Unique social forms of community
Dimension of various Religious: Belief
• Religious beliefs are a generalized system of
ideas and values shape how members of
religious group come to understand the world
around them.
Dimension of various Religious: Rituals
• Rituals are the repeated physical gestures or
activities, such as prayers and mantras, used
to reinforce religious teaching, elicit spiritual
feelings, and connect worshipper with a
higher power (Little, 2016).
 Dimension of various religious:
Spiritual Experience
• Spiritual experience or feeling of immediate
connection with a higher power.
• Saint Thomas Aquinas is often quoted to have
said, ”To one who has faith, no explanation is
necessary. To one without faith, no
explanation is possible”-summing up the
experiential dimension of religion.
 Dimension of various Religion:
Unique social forms of community
• Unique social forms of community. Emile
Durkheim(1915-1964) emphasized that
religious belief and practices “unite in one
single community called a Church, all those
who adhere to them.”
 Social dimensions that religions share according to
Dawson and Thiessen (2014):
• Religions gains credibility when agreed and share
by group. It is easier to believe in something if
others around you(whom you respect) believe it
as well.
• Religion provides an authority that deals
specifically with social or moral issues, such as
determining the best way to live life. It provides a
basis for ethics and proper behaviors, which
establishes the normative basis of the
community.
• Religion acts as a form of social control, and it
supports the development of self-control,
which are vital elements of a functional
society.
• Places of religious worship function as social
hubs within communities, providing a source
of entertainment, socialization, and support.
One way scholars have categorized religions is
by classifying what or who they hold to be
divine.
RELIGIOUS WHAT/WHO IS DIVINE EXAMPLE
CLASSIFACATION
Polytheism Multiple gods Hinduism, Ancient Greek
and Romans
Monotheism Single gods Judaism, Islam,
Christianity
Antheism No deities Atheism, Buddhism,
Taoism
Animism Nonhumans beings Indigenous nature
(animals, plants, natural worship, Shinto
world)
The Major Religions
1. Judaism
2. Christianity
3. Islam
4. Hinduism
5. Buddhism
• Judaism encompasses the
religion, philosophy, and
culture of the Jewish TRIVIA
people. Judaism is the oldest of the
• It is characterized by Abrahamic religious and the
belief in one transcendent predecessor of Christianity and Islam.
Jews remains faithful to the writings
God who has revealed of the Torah, which was believed to
himself to Abraham, have been handed to Moses on Mt.
Moses, and the Hebrew Sinai, and the Tanakh, the books of
prophets and by a the prophets, the kings, and some
religious life in other religious writings.
accordance with the
scriptures and rabbinic
traditions. Their sacred
text is the Torah.
• Christianity is an
Abrahamic
monotheistic religion TRIVIA
The world’s largest
based on the life and religion is Christianity. To
teachings of Jesus date, it has 2.1 billion
followers worldwide.
Christ, who serves as
the focal point of the
Christian faith. For
Christians, the word of
God is written in the
Bible
 Interesting Islam Facts:
• The word “Islam” means submission or surrender.
• The root word Islam is “Salam,” which means
“peace.”
• The word “Islam” in religious terms means
“surrender one’s will to the true will of God to
achieve peace.”
• A Muslim is one who surrenders himself to God’s
true.”

Islam is the religious faith of Muslims who worship Allah

as the sole deity and believes Muhammad is His prophet.
The holy scriptures of Islam is the Koran.
Interesting Hinduism Facts:
• The word Hindu originates from the Indian Indus River
• There are more than one billion followers of Hinduism in the world today
• Hinduism is not a single religion; rather, it is practiced by many different
religious groups from India
• Most of Hinduism’s sacred texts were written in Sanskrit in ancient times.
• The oldest ancient sacred texts of Hinduism are called the Vedas. Vedah
means knowledge.
• The Vedas include Rigveda, Yajur-Veda, and Atharva-Veda.

• Hinduism, considered the world’s oldest

religion, is still commonly practiced. Hinduism
combines the beliefs, philosophy, and cultural
practices of India.
 Interesting Buddhism Facts:
• Buddha is also known as “the enlightenment one” or “the awakened
one.”
• When Buddha was 35 he meditated under a fig free, the Bodhi tree, for
several days until he attained enlightenment.
• Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching hi followers (in the
northeastern Indian subcontinent) the path of awakening.
Buddha lived to the age of 80. He died in Kushinagar, India in 483 BC.

• Buddhism refers to the teaching of Guatama

Buddha, (originally a follower of the Hindu faith)
experienced enlightenment, or Bohdi , while sitting
under a tree. It was in this moment that Buddha was
said to be awakened to the truth of the world, or the
Dharma.
 THE CONCEPT OF “DUNGAN,” SPIRIT,
AND SOUL
• In the pre-colonial Philippines, our ancestors looked up
to a “babaylan.” described as a priestess or shaman, a
babylan acted as healer, spiritual leader, and medium.
the babaylan perform rituals through chants or prayers
for spiritual intervention to drive spirits that cause
illness or misfortune.
• Babaylan explore the world of animism. animism is the
attribution of soul to plants, inanimate objects, and
natural phenomena.
• They also believed that souls persist after death and
become ghosts, in the same way that modern Filipinos
believed in “multo.”
 How do “dungan” and “ginhawa”
differ?
• Alicia P. Magos, an anthropologist and professor
emerita of University of the Philippine Visayas made a
pioneering study on the primeval Visayan concept of
“dungan.”
• According to her, “dungan” was “a 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.”(Magos, 1992, pp. 45-50).
• This is similar to the western concept of “soul,”
however, unlike the soul, the “dungan” can temporarily
leave the body when the person is asleep. Once
“dungan” returns to the person’s body, he or she
becomes fully conscious again.
• Meanwhile, our pre-colonial ancestor believed
that aside from a “dungan,”a vital force also
occupies the body. The vital force was called
“ginhawa” (translation: breath of
life).””ginhawa” was said to be responsible for
the hearth’s ability to beat.
• It was believed that if “ginhawa” left the body,
the person also dies.
• “ginhawa” and “dungan” both exist in every
person. Ginhawa was the breath of life while
dungan was the conscious intellectual and
emotional aspects.
 WHAT IS DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE
SOUL AND THE SPIRIT OF MAN?
• The soul and the spirit are the two primary
immaterial aspects ascribed to humanity.
Here is the brief and general overview of the
difference between a soul and spirit:
Etymology
Old English for “soul” was “sawol” that means the
“spirit and emotional part of person’s, animate
existance.”spirit is directly from Latin spiritus “a
breathing (respiration, and of the wind, breath,
breath of a god,” hence, “inspiration, breath of life.”
Biblical beliefs
Soul refers to the conscious, the moral and
thinking part of person. the soul is 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. It is the force of God through which
blessings are bestowed upon His people. As one
develops in the faith, he or she is said to be
growing spiritual.
In Western Culture
• Soul can often be taken to mean someone’s
moral consciousness. Spirit may also refer to
ghosts or any other supernatural beings, it is
believed that the souls of people who died
with unfinished business wander the earth
until their task is fulfilled.
• For example, a cruel killer could be said to
have no soul.
In Eastern Culture
• soul is the part of the person that has dharma. In
Hinduism dharma is one’s obligation with respect
to caste, social custom, civil law, and sacred law.
Dharma incurs karma.
• In Hinduism and Buddhism, karma is the sum of a
person’s actions in this and previous states of
existence.
• Nature and ancestor spirits are common in
Taoism. Shinto, an animistic folk religion from
Japan, places an emphasis on shamanism,
particularly divination, spirit possession, and faith
healing.
 THE SOUL ACCORDING TO SOME ETHNOLINGUISTIC
GROUPS OF THE PHILIPPINES
• Linnawa or “soul of the dead” by the Ifugao.
• Kaduwa of the Isneg (an Igorot tribe native to
Apayao Province in the Philippines Cordillera
Administrative Region). The Isneg believes that
the dead exists in a realm called the aglalanawan.
The kaduwa (soul) is believed to cross a pond in a
ferry piloted by a kutaw (spirit).
• The Kankanaey (another member of the Igorot
people) believes that the human person is
composed of the physical body and the ab-abiik
(soul). A ritual will be performed to appease the
spirit who summoned the ab-abiik to return to its
body, and the person recovers from the illness.
• Kaluluwa is the Tagalog people’s concept of soul.
However, it refers more to the soul of the
deceased. The soul of a living person is called a
“kakambal.” The “kakambal” leaves the physical
body at night to roam, and any bad encounter
causes bangungot (nightmare).
• The kararua, or the soul proper. It is the
equivalent of a soul in the Christian concept.
• Karkarma stands for natural vigor, mind, and
reason. It can leave the physical body when one is
frightened. A karkarma can also be stolen. If this
soul fails to return to the body, the person
becomes insane. Sacrificial ceremonies may be
performed to lure back a lost karkarma.
• Aniwaas can leave the body during sleep and
visits places familiar to the body. If one wakes up
while the aniwaas is visiting these places, he or
she may lose the aniwaas and become insane.
• Araria is the liberated soul of the dead. It visits
relatives and friends in the physical world to ask
for prayers. The howling of dogs means araria is
present.
• The Ibang/Ybanag (who inhabits the provinces of
Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya) has a
distinction between baggi (body) and ikaruruwa
(soul). The Ibang believes that the soul has
physical characteristics.
• The Hanunoo Mangyan (of Mindoro) believes in
the piurality of souls. For insane, they have
karaduwa tawu/tawo (human soul), karaduwa
manok (chicken soul), karaduwa boboy (pig
soul),karaduwa kuti (cat soul) and karaduwa
hipon (shrimp soul). A soul can also separate
itself from the physical body.
• The Tagbanwa of central and northern Palawan
believes that people have one true soul or
kiyaraluwa and five secondary souls. The
kiyaraluwa is given at birth by the god
Magindusa. The secondary souls are located in
the both hands and feet, while there is also one
in the head just below the air whorl (alimpuyo).
• The ethic tribes of Bukidnon believe in the
gimukod.
• There are two types of gimukod:
1. The one in the right hand is a good soul
2. The one in the left hand is a bad soul
• The right hand soul is associated with life,
health, activity, and joy.
• The left hand soul is the cause of lethargy,
pain, and illness.
 RITUALS AND CEREMONIES
• A rituals is a ceremony or action performed in
a customary way. Rituals may be prescribed by
the traditions of a community, including a
religious community.
• A ceremony is a formal act or ritual (often set
by custom or tradition) performed in
observation of an event or anniversary, i.e., a
Japanese tea ceremony.
 WHERE DOES RITUAL ORIGINATE?
The general approaches to theories about the nature and origin of
ritual are:
1. Origin approach was the earliest form to explain ritual. The basic
premise approach is that ritual behavior was part of the human
evolution.
2. Functional approach the nature of rituals was believed to be
defined by its function in society. The aim of the functional
approach was to explain ritual behavior in terms of individual and
social needs.
3. History of religious approach holds the view that ritual behavior is
an expression of the sacred; it is how the material human
connects with the transcendent realm or the ultimate reality.
The basic problem with this approach, however, is that scholars need
to agree first that such a transcendent realm really exists before the
theories can be confirmed (Ecyclopedia Britannica)
 CLASSIFICATION
1. Imitative
2. Positive and Negative
3. Sacrificial
4. Life crisis
• Imitative Rituals because these are patterned
after myths, and the ritual repeats the myths or
aspects of the myth. This practice is actually
based on a Chinese myth.
• Example, Filipinos make noises at the strike of
twelve every New Year.
• Avoidance is the bet description for a negative
ritual. Thus negative rituals focus on rules of
prohibition, which cover an almost infinite variety
of rites and behavior.
• On the other hand, positive rituals are mostly
concerned with giving blessing to an object or to
an individual.
• Sacrificial rituals are seen as the earliest form
of religion. The significance of sacrifice in the
history of religion is well documented.
• The distinct feature of this type of ritual is the
total destruction of the sacrifice as an offering
to a “higher being.”
• Life crisis ritual is the transition of one mode
or stage of life into another. This ritual usually
defines the life of an individual.
• Example, it is a Filipino tradition to bury the
placenta right after birth and it is the father
who is asked to do this.