Spiritual

Self
 Spiritual Self
 Spiritual self is one of the four
constituents of the “self” according to
William James in his book, The
Principles of Psychology in 1890. The
spiritual self is the most intimate, inner
subjective part of the self. It is the one
of the most intimate version of the self
because of the satisfaction experience
when thinking of one’s ability to argue
and discriminate, of one’s moral
sensibility and conscience, and of our
unconquerable will (James 1890) is 2
 Spiritual Self
 The ability to use moral sensibility and
conscience may be seen through the
expressions of religion, its beliefs and
practices. In the same manner, cultural
rituals and ceremonies are some
manifestations what people believe in.
Moreover, seeking the meaning of life
is a journey that the Spiritual self is on.

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Religion
 Religion
 Rebecca Stain (Stein 2011) works on
the definition of 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, 5
 Religion
3. The presence of supernatural power
or energy that is found on supernatural
beings 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 6
 Religion
6. Provide the creation and maintenance
of social bonds and mechanism of
social control within the 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 influence by the society 7
Rituals
 Ritual
 Ritual is the performance of
ceremonial acts prescribe by a
tradition or sacred law (Britannica
2017). Ritual is a specific, observable
model of behaviour exhibited by all
known societies. It is thus possible to
view rituals as a way of defining or
describing humans.

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 Ritual
There are three fundamental characteristics
of rituals according to Penner (Britannica
2017). Ritual has the characteristics of:

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 a symbolic in relation to its reference
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 Ritual
 The self can be describe as the ritual
being who exhibits a striking parallel
between their ritual and verbal
behaviour. Just as languages is a
system of symbols that is based upon
arbitrary rules, ritual may be viewed as
a system of symbolic acts that is based
upon arbitrary rules. Participation to
rituals is expressions of religious
beliefs.
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Buddhism
 Beliefs
 Buddhism believes that life is not a bed
of roses. Instead, there are sufferings,
pain, and frustration. When people
suffer, they want to experience the
goodness of life and avoid
disappointments. It becomes a habit
known as the reactive cycle of wanting
and hating, like and dislike, and
craving and aversion. This reactive
cycle can be broken through the
practice of meditation, acquiring more 13
Custom and Practices
 There are two types of meditation
practices: samatha and vipassana.
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-violence principle.
 Some of the major Buddhist
celebrations are Parinirvana Day in
February; Buddha Day (Wesak) in May; 14
Christianity
 Christianity
 Christianity believe in Trinitarian God. One
God in three personas: God the Father
(Creator), God the Son (Savior), and God
the Holy Spirit (Sustainer). Eternal life after
death will be achieve through faith in Jesus
Christ. Jesus Christ is, God the Son, who
came into flesh, to spread the Good News
of Salvation. He died on the Cross for the
sin of the humanity but resurrected from
the death, so that anyone who believes in
Him will be saved and have eternal life.
The holy Bible is a selection of books,
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 Custom and Practices
 Sacrament of Baptism and Sacrament
of Communion are practiced by
Christian churches. The Sacrament of
Baptism symbolizes the birth in
Christian World, while the Sacrament
of Communion is an act of
remembrance of Jesus Christ’s
sacrificial love. Jesus Christ teaching
in unconditional love that expressed in
the loving the poor, oppressed, and
outcast of the society. 17
Hinduism
 Hinduism
 Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion,
according to many scholars, with roots
and customs dating back more than
4,000 years. Today, with about 900
million followers, Hinduism is the third-
largest religion behind Christianity and
Islam. Roughly 95 percent of the
world’s Hindus live in India. Because
the religion has no specific founder, it’s
difficult to trace its origins and history.
Hinduism is unique in that it’s not a 19
 Beliefs
 Hinduism covers a wide range of traditional
beliefs and religious groups; thus, there is
no single founder or leader. Hindus believe
that existence is cycle of birth, death and
rebirth, governed by Karma. Karma is
concept where the reincarnated life will
depend on how the past life was spent.
Hindus believe that the soul passes
through a cycle of successive lives and its
next reincarnation is always dependent on
how the previous life was lived. Vedas are 20
 Custom and Practices
 Diwali, and Navrati are the most
celebrated festivals of the Hindus.
Diwali is the Festival of Lights while
Navrati is the festival of nine nights,
which celebrated the triumph of good
over evil. Hindus have set dates to
honor particular manifestations of God.

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Islam
 Islam
 Islam is the second largest religion in
the world after Christianity, with about
1.8 billion Muslims worldwide.
Although its roots go back further,
scholars typically date the creation of
Islam to the 7th century, making it the
youngest of the major world religions.
Islam started in Mecca, in modern-day
Saudi Arabia, during the time of the
prophet Muhammad’s life. Today, the
faith is spreading rapidly throughout 23
 Beliefs
 Muslims believe that in Allah, who is
their “One God.” They believe in the
unity and universality of God. Muslims
also have a strong senses of
community of “ummah” and an
awareness of their solidarity with all
Muslims worldwide. Islam means
“willing submission to God.”
 Muslims believe that Mohammed is the
last and final prophet sent by God.
Mohammed was born in Mecca in 570
CE and receive revelations from God
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 Beliefs
 The Holy Book of Islam is called the
“Quran” which was taught to be recited
in Arabic because any translation is
seen Inadequate.

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 Custom and Practices
 Muslims believe in five pillars of Islam,
which are the foundation of Muslim
Life:
1. Shahadah – statement of the faith.
2. Salat – the prayer that is practiced five
times a day.
3. Zakat – the monetary offering for the
benefit of the poor.
4. Hajj – the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca.
Muslims who can afford are asked to
do the pilgrimage at least once in their 26
 Custom and Practices
 Two of the major festivals in Islam are
Eidul-Fitr and Eidul-Adha. Eidul-Fitr is
the celebration of the end of Ramadan,
while Eidul Adha is celebrated within
the competitionof Pilgrimge, the Hajj.

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Judaism
 Judaism
 Judaism is the world’s oldest
monotheistic religion, dating back
nearly 4,000 years. Followers of
Judaism believe in one God who
revealed himself through ancient
prophets. The history of Judaism is
essential to understanding the Jewish
faith, which has a rich heritage of law,
culture and tradition.

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 Beliefs
 The 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.
 The Jews believe in the coming of
Messiah, the Savior. The sacred
scripture of the Jews is called the
Torah or the Law. The Torah is the
guide of the Jewish living. The study
and interpretation of Torah is part of
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 Custom and Practices
 There are five major festivals observes
by the Jews:

1. Rosh Hashanah – the Ney Year

2. Yom Kippur – the 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.
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 Religion
 Religious belief, rituals, practices, and
customs are all part of the expression of
the spiritual self. What to believe and how
to manifest the belief is entirely dependent
on the individual, to the self. A person
might believe that there is a higher being, a
supernatural being, usually termed as God,
but not necessarily wants to be affiliated or
identified with a certain religious group.
Others may have religious practices which
are perceive to be contrary to the practices
of other groups. Religious beliefs and
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Finding and Creating
Meaning of Life
 Another extensive study of
self can be found in the
works of Dr. Viktor E.
Frankl. The Viktor Frankl
institute in Vienna was
created in 1992. The
institute has a website
where there is a synopsis of
his life and works and 33
 The
Psychiatrist
 Dr. Viktor E. Frankl
 March 26, 1905
 Vienna, Austria (Sigmund Freud &
Alfred Adler)
 At a young age, he wrote a short paper
to Freud which was published after
three years.
 Graduated with medical degree from
University of Vienna in 1930.
 He was assigned in Vienna Hospital
Suicide ward and headed the
Rothschild Hospital, eight years later.
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 A survivor of the Holocaust, Dr. Frankl
published a book about logotherapy, in
1959.
 The book 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,
has been used as a textbook in high
school and college courses.
 September 2,1997
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Logotherapy
 Logotherapy is a psychotherapy
introduced by Dr. Viktor Frankl, who is
consider as the Father of Logotherapy.
The main belief of logotherapy is that
“man’s primary motivation force is
search for meaning.” Logotherapy aids
individuals to find personal meaning of
life, whatever life situation they may
be.

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 In logotherapy, meaning can be
discovered by creating a work or doing
good deeds, experiencing something
or encountering someone and the
attitude toward unavoidable suffering.
According to the Viktor Frankl Institute
of Logotherapy, it uses the philosophy
of optimism in the face of tragedy,
where people are capable of “turning
suffering into human achievement or
accomplishment; deriving from guilt the
opportunity to change oneself for the
better, and deriving from life’s 39
Basic Concepts
of Franklian
Psychology
 The Franklian psychology has the
basic concepts. These are the
following:
• Life has meaning under all
circumstances.
• Main motivation for living is our will to
find meaning in life.
• Freedom to find meaning.

 Furthermore, Franklian psychology

aims to:
1.) Become aware of spiritual resources,
2.) make conscious spiritual resources, 41
Logotherapy
Assumptions
1. The human being is an entity
consisting of body, mind, and spirit.
2. Life has meaning under all
circumstances, even the most
miserable.
3. People have a will to meaning.
4. People have 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. 43
 In essence, all humans are unique with
an entity of body, mind, and spirit. We
all go through unique situations and are
constantly looking to find meaning. We
are free to do these all the times in
response to certain demands.

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Frankl Sources
of Meaning
Popova (2017) discussed Viktor Frankl’s
work. There are three possible sources of
the meaning of life:

1. Purposeful Work
2. Courage to the Face of Difficulty
3. Love

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Popova (2017) quoted Dr. Frankl’s
definition of love:
“Love is the only way to grasp another
human being in the innermost core of his
personality. No one can become fully
aware of the very essence of another
human being unless he loves him. By his
love , he is enable to see more, he sees
that which is potential in him…
Furthermore, by his love, the loving
person enables the beloved person to
actualize these potentialities. By making 47
Costello (2015) captured Viktor Frankl’s
message:

“The ultimate secret on the spiritual

foundation of life is that love is salvation
and joy eternity.”

The ultimate factor to find the meaning of

life is love.
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Thank you!!

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