Understanding

The Self
Instructor:
MARY BEATRICE J. OBORDO, MAPsy
 Week 7-12

UNPACKING
the

SELF
The Physical Self / The Sexual Self / The Material Self /
The Spiritual Self / The Political Self / The Digital Self
ARE YOU HAPPY
WITH YOUR LIFE
NOW?
 Week 7

THE
SPIRITUAL
SELF
The Concept of Spirituality/ Loob and Personhood / Finding and Creating Meaning /
THE CONCEPT OF SPIRITUALITY
 Spiritual Self is who we are at our core.

 It is the aspect of the self which

develops a certain level of spirituality
which is deemed as man’s way of seeking
as well as expressing the meaning and
purpose of his life.

 Spirituality is a path of direct and

personal connection with the Divine.

 It embraces all faiths, social and political

ideologies.
THE SPIRIT AND THE SOUL
 Spirit is described as the disposition of
an individual, a person’s habitual attitudes,
as man’s supernatural power which comes
from God.

Terms: espirito/espiritu, ginhawa,

hininga, and anges

 Soul or “psyche” in Greek .

 It is described as the will, mind, the seat

of emotion and conscience.

 Both soul and spirit mean life.

THE FILIPINO TRADITIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE
SOUL
 The “soul” and “spirit” are sometimes
used interchangeably but Filipinos interpret
soul differently.

 Kaluluwa, Kararwa, Kadkadduwa all

come from the root word duwa which
means two.

 The soul has two (2) existences:

 Physical- it is connected to the human

body and its life.

 Spiritual- where it exists on its own.

THE FILIPINO TRADITIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE
SOUL

 Terminologies:

 Kaluluwa- Tagalog
 Gimokud- Bagobos
 Makatu- Bukidnon
 Kadkadduwa or Kararwa- Ilocano
 Dungan- Ilonggos
 Kalag- Visayans
 Kaluha- Cebuanos
 Karadwa- Mindoro
 Ab-abiik- Kankanays of Cordillera
 Ikararua- Ibanag
THE FILIPINO TRADITIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE
SOUL

 The Ilocano “kadkadduwa” is further

derived from kadduwa meaning “companion”.

 The Tagalog “kaluluwa” speaks more of the

soul of the deceased person than that of the
living.

 Ab-abiik is the term used for the spiritual

self which is also applicable to trees, stones,
rivers and etc.
THE FILIPINO TRADITIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE
SOUL

 Dungan is not normally seen by the human eye

for the Ilonggos and Cebuanos sometimes comes
out of the body and takes on a visible form such
as that of an insect.

 Dungan has a secondary meaning of

willpower.

 A strong dungan is the intellectual and

psychological capacity to dominate or persuade
others to one’s way of thinking.

 A strong person with a lot of willpower is said

to have a strong dungan.
HOW ARE YOU AS A
PERSON?
LOOB AND PERSONHOOD

 In the contemporary Filipino

Understanding of self, we have the concept
of loob and personhood.

 Loob is the core of one’s personhood and

where the true worth of the person lies.

 A person is said to be of magandang

loob if he relates well and positively with
others. They are called people of goodwill.

 A person is said to be masamang loob if

he is of bad character.
LOOB AND PERSONHOOD

 A purified kalooban is supported by

prayer.

 Constant prayer and religious exercises

are ways to purify the loob.

 One of the most popular sacrifices done

by some Filipino Catholics is the
“penitensia” during Good Friday.

 Despite the pain, loss of blood, the

penitent emerges a “new man” whose loob
has been renewed.
GOD’S KAGANDAHANG LOOB
 The Filipino concept and value, kagandahang-
loob can be very appropriate description of who
God is for Filipinos.

LOOB AND PRAYER

 Prayer is said to be the first expression of
man’s interior truth.

 Interior truth refers to the core of one’s

personhood his loob which is closely related to
man’s spirit.

 Those whose loob is pure, serene and controlled

have “special powers” granted to them by Christ.
 WHAT IS YOUR
PURPOSE IN LIFE?
VIKTOR EMIL FRANKL

 Viktor Emil Frankl

 He was born in Vienna, Austria on

March 26, 1905

 He is a medical doctor, a psychiatrist

who developed Logotherapy.

 Logotherapy a form of
psychotherapy based on helping clients
find a sense of meaning and purpose in
their lives.
FINDING AND CREATING MEANING

 According to Viktor Frankl, “meaning

is something to discover rather than to
invent”.

 Existential Vacuum which means that

life is empty, meaningless, purposeless
and so on.

 Because of this, we fill our lives with

pleasure, eating beyond all necessity and
etc.
THREE WAYS OF DISCOVERING MEANING IN LIFE
 Viktor Frankl indicates three (3) broad
approaches:

 Experiential Values involves

experiencing something or someone we
value.

 Creative Values is the traditional

existential idea of providing oneself with
meaning by becoming involved in the
project of one’s own life.

 Attitudinal Values include practicing

virtues such as compassion, bravery, a good
sense of humor and the like.
HOW DO PEOPLE/WE
PRACTICE
RELIGION?
THE PRACTICE OF RELIGION
 Researches speak of religion as the
people’s way of connecting themselves to
God as they search for meaning in life.

 Religion is also popularly understood as

“beliefs and behaviors related to supernatural
beings and powers”.

 The practice of religion is beneficial to

individuals, families, states and nation.

 It shapes the people’s view of the

universe.
RITUALS

 Rituals are patterned forms of behavior

that have something to do with the
supernatural realm.

 People worldwide engage in religious

rituals that require a considerable amount of
time or personal sacrifice.

 Harang practiced by the Visayan fishing

villages encompassing almost every aspect
of the community’s existence including
good or bad harvest, the operation of fishing
boats and cases of illnesses.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN
MAGIC?
MAGIC
 Magic is commonly referred to as
“tricks” and “illusions” that make
impossible things seem to happen usually
performed as an entertainment.

WITCHCRAFT
 Witchcraft commonly understood as
“kulam” refers to the idea that certain people
have inborn power to harness spirits or
energies for specific purposes.

 Witchcraft is widely considered as evil.

Like sorcery, it is seen magic or special power
that is worked for illegal or antisocial ends.
 DO YOU BELIEVE
THAT GOD EXISTS?
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT MAGIC, RITUAL AND
WITCHCRAFT
 As Filipinos of today, we have the Bible as
our guide in the practice of religion.

 For us Christians, God alone is worthy of

adoration, for He alone, is the one true GOD.

 This is further made clear in Jesus Christ’s

declaration of the Great Commandment of
Love.

 In conclusion, submission to practices such

as magic, kulam, and others of their kind may
not lead us to ONE, TRUE GOD, the source of
all power.
“ Love yourself and the rest will
follow ”

- Ms. Bea