UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

THE SPIRITUAL SELF

-is another dimension of the Self. It is personal to each of us. It is referred to as the real, true, or
authentic YOU, without influence,
stereotypes, or assumptions. It is not related to our race, our religion, gender, nor our concerns,
NOT even our physical appearance.
It is the YOU without patterns. It is the beautiful
YOU in appearance form.

According to David James Lee,

-Spirituality expert of Wei Wu Wisdom, described our spiritual self as our intangible and invisible
self, the gut feeling and inspiration inside us.
Lee considers spiritual self as the higher self. He emphasizes the importance of getting connected
with the spiritual self since this helps us find a balance between the physical and spiritual selves
enable us to live to our full potential.

Bob Mangroo,
-in his blog, Your Spiritual Self, beautifully referred to spiritual self as the eternal self, the
intangible, non-physical, invisible part of our existence. He called it, SOUL. He claims that with
our physical reality, we can identify our date and place of our birth, meaning the beginning of our
existence.
However, it is not true with our soul.

• The idea of the existence of the soul leads us to understand that the nature of spiritual self is
not connected with religion.
Our Christian faith taught us, that our body is the temple, the in-dwelling, of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that we have a soul and that, when we die, our physical body is buried, or cremated,
as the case may be, but our soul goes to either heaven, or hell, to remain there eternally,
depending on the kind of life we lived when we were still alive.

Spirituality
-is usually associated with our own existence and a search for the purpose and meaning of life. It
is a universal human experience that has touched us all.
Some people deem spirituality as a spiritual experience that is sacred and transcendent, or
something that is beyond any other ordinary experience; to others, it is simply an awareness of
being alive and of how one lives his life.

-Christina Puchalski (2014),MD, Director, Division of the South Wales Institute for Spirituality &
Health, spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express
meaning and purpose of the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, the self,
to others, to nature and to the significant or sacred.
ASPECTS OF SPIRITUALITY

The first aspect

• is spirituality emphasizes the idea of meaning and purposes that go beyond physical realities of
life. The idea helps us understand why we go through difficult situations and why such happen to
us. It makes us realize that things happen for a reason and they have a purpose.

The second aspect

• is spirituality allows us to build connections to other
people, nature and to the sacred and divine. Our spirituality leads us to a more positive attitude
and practice the appropriate behavior towards others.

The third aspect

• is that spirituality suggests sacredness and transcendence.

Religiosity
-is defined by Sherkat (2015) as a characteristic of individuals and collectivities that displays
various features of beliefs about the supernatural.

-We are aware that different churches have different ways of expressing their beliefs and values
and participating in religious communities.
Some of these include attending regularly church services and activities and other periodic
church events, paying their tithes, reciting prayers and doxologies and other similar activities.

-Schools play a very important role in the religiosity of students. Their curriculum allows the
formation of clubs and organizations. The involvement of the students in these
organizations provides them with the opportunities to work and get connected to and interact
with, other students, faculty and staft.

-Professionals also organize themselves to express their faith and religiosity in the religious
communities they formed. Take the case of the charismatic movements of different churches.
Through their prayer meetings, some people claim having experienced the supernatural, feeling
closer to God, especially during the worship part of the meeting.

The Importance of Spirituality

Our spirituality helps us live a balanced and focused life, a balanced mental health and well-
being. With this kind of life, we become aware of our choices, behavior and actions. We live
simply and in moderation.

What are the consequences of having a well-balanced life?

•The person who is healthy physically and spiritually develops into a spiritual person. Being one
he/she believes and accepts that suffering and death are parts of life. He/she is positive in his/her
disposition; he/she lives in serenity and enjoys peace of mind; he/ she counts his/her blessings.
He/she focuses on what is good in others; he/she is appreciative of the world around him/her
and is connected to himself/ herself.

•A person with a healthy spiritual life takes things in stride.

He/she accepts any circumstances in his/her life positively and embraces them as part of his/her
existence. He/she believes that any experience in life, difficult though it is part of a greater
scheme of things and therefore, has a purpose and meaning. He/ she puts his/her trust and faith
in the Divine that provides him/ her anchorage in life.

•A spiritual person engages in activities that boost his/her self-identity and self-actualization and
that lead him/her to exercise such virtues as compassion and social concern. He/she enhances
his/her interpersonal relationship through proper communication, trust in and respect for others
and his/her ability to resolve conflict. He/she avoids all forms of negativity in his/her life because
he/ she has self-confidence and high self-esteem.

•In contrast, a person who does not have a healthy physical and spiritual well-being is not
balanced, focused and connected to self and others. Being in this state, he/she continues his/her
habit of being critical, judgmental and negative. His/her usual reaction to any situation is
negative. Getting angry and being defensive is normal to this type of person. He/she has no time
to appreciate those around him/her, nor does he/she have the time to love himself/herself,
others and anything that has life, including nature.

Strengthening Spirituality
-Spirituality is part of our natural process of self-development. It grows as we live in and within,
our respective communities and as we maintain our relationship with our family and the society,
in general.

In the home, children can imbibe spirituality from their parents by the positive and nurturing
relationship experienced from them and through the spiritual orientation parents provide them
with to serve as a solid foundation of their healthy spiritual life.

In schools, mental health and well-being may be imbibed by the students from their teachers and
from the vision, mission, goals and the core values of the school.

The curricular programs including seminars and activities on the development of humanitarian
values of compassion, empathy and sensitivity for the welfare of others and other activities, like
contemplation. Retreats and recollections, can foster reflection, self-evaluation and
contemplation

According to Lee, it is beneficial to remain connected with one's eternal self. To do this, he
suggests three ways.
First, have a specific intention and stay focused on it; keep it in your heart and mind and decide
when and how you would accomplish it.

Second, live life cheerfully, honestly, truthfully and authentically. Enjoy what you are doing. Never
lie to others or to yourself, as you work in achieving your intention.

And third, be self-responsible. It is your desire to be a spiritual person. It is therefore, your

responsibility to live out consistently your goal, your target, that is - to become a spiritual person.