Course Code and Title: GE 101 – Understanding the Self

Lesson Number: Lesson 11 (Week 12)

Topic: The Spiritual Self
LESSON PRESENTATION:

THE SPIRITUAL SELF

The spiritual aspect of the self is the inner essence, the part of the self that connects
the person to the sacred, the supernatural, and the universe. The spiritual self
enables the person to experience a feeling of oneness with a higher being and the
universe and gives a deeper purpose or meaning of one's life. Understanding and
nurturing the spiritual self is as important as with the other aspects of the self. The
spiritual self develops through interaction, observation, and imitation. The family,
school, and church play a very important role in a child's spiritual development.
Spirituality begins at an early age but develops throughout life as people continuously
interact in the environment.

BIBLICAL PERRSPECTVE:
1. Created in God’s Image (Genesis 1:27)
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.”
2. Spiritual Rebirth (John 3:3-6)
“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they
are born again.’ ‘How can someone be born when they are old?’ Nicodemus
asked. ‘Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be
born!’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God
unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the
Spirit gives birth to spirit.’”
3. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom
you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
4. Renewing of the Mind (Romans 12:2)
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good,
pleasing and perfect will.”
5. Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
 6. Spiritual Gifts and Purpose (1 Corinthians 12:4-7; Ephesians 4:11-13)
• 1 Corinthians 12:4-7: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit
distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are
different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at
work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
• Ephesians 4:11-13: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the
evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that
the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of
the fullness of Christ.”
7. Overcoming the Flesh (Galatians 5:16-17)
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the
flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the
flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you
want.”
8. Living a Life of Worship (Romans 12:1)
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper
worship.”
9. Hope of Eternal Life (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly
we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are
achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not
on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what
is unseen is eternal.

SPIRITUALITY

The root meaning of spirituality is taken from the Latin word spiritus, meaning breath
or life force. Spirituality can be understood as the search for the sacred, a process
through which people seek to cover, hold on to, and, when necessary, transform
whatever they hold sacred in their lives . Spirituality generally refers to meaning and
purpose in one's life, a search for wholeness, and a relationship with a transcendent
being . The sacred transcendence could refer to a higher being.

The term "spirituality" originally developed in early Christianity. Christians use the
term "Spirit" to describe the Holy Spirit. In Christian Ethics, Peschke (1994) describes
that the experience of the sacred is characterized by reverence, faith, fear, trust, love,
and admiration which are intimately connected to God. Worship is regarded as an
essential act to realize the ultimate meaning of transcendence and human life. Acts of
worship may include prayer, reading the Bible, attending sacraments, and doing
sacrifices. In addition, through acts of faith, hope, and love, man is able to encounter
God and understand God's words of salvation.

Spirituality is connected with religion. Religion is an organized system of ideas about

the spiritual sphere or the supernatural along with associated ceremonial practices by
which people try to interpret and/or influence aspects of the universe otherwise
beyond their control. All religions recognize the importance of spirituality in one's life.
One's spirituality may be expressed through religion and participation in religious
rituals and ceremonies. Spirituality and religion fulfill numerous social and
psychological needs, such as the need to explain human sufferings and death.
Through the practice of religious activities such as prayers, people may find comfort,
security, and stability in times of sufferings, loss, insecurities, and uncertainties.
Spirituality and religion may be a source of love, hope, and affection.

Search for the Meaning of Life

In his book Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl begins by sharing his personal
experiences in the Nazi concentration camp, He explains how a prisoner passes
through three major phases in the concentration camp, and how each phase
transformed the prisoners from their previous lives to a new one and how they
developed various pathologies. The prisoner was first in a state of shock, which was
followed by the phase of developing apathy, and lastly, the psychology of the prisoner
after liberation. Apathy is the blunting of the emotions and the feeling that one could
not care anymore. It is a protective shell from the brutalities in the camp. During the
last phase, the prisoners experienced depersonalization or a state in which everything
seemed unreal, unlikely, as in a dream.

Frankl's personal experiences in the Nazi concentration camps during War II led him
to develop the basic tenets of logotherapy, which were tested and found valid even
amid all the dark forces in human existence. Frankl embraced both the bright and
dark sides of existence and believed that inevitable human suffering could contribute
to human achievement and the search of meaning in life. Logotherapy is the pursuit of
human existence as well as on man's search for such a meaning. According to
logotherapy, the striving to find a meaning in one's life is the primary motivational
force in man. In logotherapy, one can discover the meaning of life in three different
ways: by doing a deed, by experiencing a value, and by suffering.

In doing a deed, the way of finding meaning in life is through achievements or

accomplishments. The second way of finding meaning in life is by experiencing
something or someone, such as loving a person. Frankl elaborates that love is the
only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his or her
personality. No one can become fully aware of the essence of another human being
unless he or she loves him or her. By his or her love, he or she is enabled to see the
essential traits and features of the beloved person. Thus, he imparts that the salvation
of man is through love and in love. Love finds its deepest meaning in one's spiritual
being—the inner self.

The third way of finding a meaning in life is by suffering. According to Frankl, it is

through sufferings that man encounter the central theme of existentialism: to live is to
suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering. If there is purpose in life at all,
there must be a purpose in suffering and in dying. But no one can tell another what
this purpose is. Each one must find out for himself or herself, and must accept the
responsibility that his or her answers prescribe. If he or she succeeds, he or she will
continue to grow in spite of all indignities. Thus, Frankl is fond of quoting Nietzsche,
"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”

Frankl further suggests that one should not search for an abstract meaning of life.
Everyone has his or her own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry
out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Ultimately, one should not ask
what the meaning of his or her life is, but rather must recognize that it is he or she
who is asked. In a word, each individual is questioned by life, and he or she can only
answer to life by answering for his or her own life; to life he or she can only respond
by being responsible.

THE PRACTICE OF ANIMISM

Spirituality is also associated with animism. Beliefs about the sacred also include the
primitive concept about animism or the belief that creatures, objects, and places
possess certain spirits. Animism is also the belief that things and places are alive and
grounded by a supernatural order. In the Philippines, indigenous peoples are known
to practice animism. Some groups, for example, believe that the spirits of the sun,
sky, and moon are their gods and that different deities exist to protect them and guide
them toward a fruitful life. Others believe that spirits inhabit animals and nature such
as trees, rocks, mountains, and bodies of water, among others, and that respect must
be given to them through acts of worship (e.g., offerings, prayers, sacrifices) to please
or appease them. Being linked with folk belief, animism cultivates among people a
consciousness of the environment that they are in, thus making them more mindful of
how they act according to the different things they come in contact with.