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Spirituality is, in a broad sense, a concern with matters of the spirit, but it is also a wide term with many available readings. It may include belief in supernatural powers, as in religion, but the emphasis is on personal experience.
The spiritual and the religious
An important distinction needs to be made between spirituality in religion and spirituality as opposed to religion.
In recent years, spirituality in religion often carries connotations of the believer's faith being more personal, less dogmatic, more open to new ideas and myriad influences, and more pluralistic than the faiths of established religions. It also can connote the nature of a believer's personal relationship with god, as opposed to the general relationship with god understood to be shared by all members of that faith.
Those who speak of spirituality as opposed to religion generally believe that there are many "spiritual paths" and that there is no objective truth about which is the best path to follow. Rather, adherants of this defnintion of the term emphasize the importance of finding ones own path to god, rather than following what others say works. The best way to describe this view is a variation on Ockham's Razor: The path which makes the most sense is the correct one (for oneself). Many adherents of orthodox religions who consider spirituality to be an aspect of their religious experience are more likely to contrast spirituality with secular "worldliness" than with the ritual expression of their religion.
Others of a more New Age disposition hold that spirituality is not religion, per se, but the active and vital connection to a force, power, or sense of the deep self (See the full New Age article for more information on that particular brand of spirituality).
Directed spirituality
One aspect of 'Being spiritual' is goal-directed, with aims such as: simultaneously improve one's wisdom and willpower, achieve a closer connection to god/the universe, and remove illusions or false ideas at the sensory, feeling and thinking aspects of a person. The 'Plato's cave' analogy in book VII of The Republic is one of the most well known descriptions of the spiritual development process, and thus, an excellent aid in understanding what "spiritual development" exactly entails.
Others say that spirituality is a two-stroke process: the "upward stroke" is inner growth, changing oneself as one changes his/her relationship with god, and the "downward stroke" is manifesting improvements in the physical reality around oneself as a result of the inward change.
Spirituality and personal well-being
Due to its broad scope and individual nature, spirituality is perhaps better understood by highlighting a number of key concepts that arise for people when asked to describe what spirituality means to them. Research by Martsolf & Mickley (1998) highlighted the following areas as worthy of consideration:
- Meaning – significance of life; making sense of situations; deriving purpose.
- Values – beliefs and standards that are cherished.
- Transcendence – experience and appreciation of a dimension beyond self.
- Connecting – relationships with self, others, God/Higher Power, and the environment.
- Becoming – an unfolding of life that demands reflection and experience; includes a sense of who one is and how one knows.
Spirituality, according to most adherants, is an essential part of an individual's holistic health and well-being, by developing an awareness of a "transcendent dimension" to life.
Spiritual communities
See also
External links
References
- Azeemi,K.S.Muraqaba: The Art and Science of Sufi Meditation. Houston: Plato, 2005.(ISBN 0975887548)
- Bolman, L. G., and Deal, T. E. Leading With Soul. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995.
- Borysenko, J. A Woman's Journey to God. New York: Riverhead Books, 1999.
- Cannon, K. G. Katie's Canon: Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community. New York: Continuum, 1996.
- Deloria, V., Jr. God is Red. 2d Ed. Golden, Co: North American Press, 1992.
- Dillard, C. B.; Abdur-Rashid, D.; and Tyson, C. A. "My Soul is a Witness." International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 13, no. 5 (September 2000): 447-462.
- Dirkx, J. M. "Nurturing Soul in Adult Learning." in Transformative Learning in Action. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education No. 74, edited by P. Cranton, pp. 79-88. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.
- Eck, D. A New Religious America. San Francisco: Harper, 2001.
- Elkins D.N. et al (1998)Toward a humanistic-phenomenological spirituality: definition, description and measurement. Journal of Humanistic Psychology 28(4), 5-18
- English, L., and Gillen, M., eds. Addressing the Spiritual Dimensions of Adult Learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, No. 85. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.
- Holtje, D. (1995). From Light to Sound: The Spiritual Progression. Temecula, CA: MasterPath, Inc. ISBN 1885949006
- Martsolf D.S. & Mickley J.R. (1998) The concept of spirituality in nursing theories: differing world-views and extent of focus. Journal of Advanced Nursing 27, 294-303
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