Understanding the Self | The Spiritual Self

 

Hello!

Previously, we talked about the Emotional Dimension of Self which includes the topic of Human Emotions, Emotional Intelligence, and Emotional Regulation. Emotions serve as a driving force in how one acts and behaves, and it is a biological experience and response, and emotional intelligence or also known as emotional quotient is the capacity of an individual to recognize his/her emotions and those of others.

Today, we will discuss the Spiritual aspects of the self, we will further elaborate on the Inner Soul, Connections with Nature, and Discovering Life's Meaning.

The Inner Soul

Have you ever asked yourself "am I a good person?" or "how can I live my life to the fullest?" if yes, these questions are connected with our spirituality. Spirituality is the aspect of the self that is associated with an individual's process of seeking and expressing meaning (Puchalski, 2014). Furthermore, it talks about the meaning and purpose that go beyond the physical realities of life and is focused on the individual's connections to people, to nature, and to sacredness and divinity thus, spirituality is relational. However, the concept of spirituality and religiosity are both being interchangeably used in various contexts. Religiosity is the dedication to a belief system and practices associated with a tradition and customs in which there is agreement about what is believed and practiced. Religiosity differs from spirituality because a person can be spiritual even without religion as it is a natural aspect of self-development, however, religion may be a foundation of spirituality because an individual can be influenced by his/her parent's practices and beliefs.

Connections with Nature

In Christianity, we are taught that the environment is connected with God because He created it for us to live, thus we must respect and care for nature. During the Pre-Spanish era in the Philippines, our ancestors also pay respect for nature as they refer to it as their god. If a person got sick during that time, they often say that he/she was punished by god hence they must offer tributes in nature to cure his/her illness with the help of their Babaylan. In psychology, this connection with nature is called ecopsychology which is concerned with the fundamental interconnections between humans and the natural world through a phenomenological and sensorial link. How can we improve our connections with nature? First, we need to start the change within ourselves, we need to be sustainable and environmentally friendly like refuse to use plastics and switch to eco-bags. Second, due to the rapid increase in the use of technology, most children are focused on their gadgets and forget other outdoor activities like biking and swimming, but because of the pandemic it is dangerous to go outside, thus parents must introduce and teach their children in the environment through the use of technology e.g., advised them to watch environmental videos in YouTube. Lastly, as responsible citizens, we must perform proper segregation and disposal of our garbage to avoid spreading our trash in natural sources of our food like forests and oceans.

Discovering Life's Meaning

In economics, we are taught Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and one of my professors said that if you passed or have the four stages: Physiological Needs, Safety Needs, Social Needs, Esteem Needs, and achieved the fifth stage which is Self-actualization then your life is very meaningful. But life does not end there, one philosopher said that "existence precedes purpose," thus we need to be born to have a purpose in life, and death is not the end of our existence yet the fulfillment of our life. Every individual has their own purpose, and what we did not see while we are searching for this purpose is it also led us to our life satisfaction, which is our eagerness to change one's life, mindful that we live in present, and give importance on the point of view of others.

Keep reading~ because we are down to our last topic which is the Emergent Self that will tackle the Political Self and Digital Self.

Thank you!