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COURSE: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

MODULE #6 : SPIRITUAL SELF
COURSE FACILITATOR: JEAN D. TORRES
Email address: [email protected]
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Introduction

The word "spiritual" refers to that core dimension of you - your innermost self - that provides you with
a profound sense of who you are, where you came from, where you're going and how you might reach
your goal.
As a human being, you have a desire to look into your innermost self—that is, you can check on
yourselves as both subjects and objects in the universe. Ultimately, this brings questions about who you
are if you are only a speck in this world? What is the nature of your own importance? What is your
purpose in this world?
This module introduces you to another perspective which is the Spiritual self. Also, the various views
about the soul and the human being from different religion. Moreover, the difference of religiosity differs
with spirituality and the factors that shape one’s spirituality, and its impact on oneself.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this module, the student should be able to

● Identified various religious practices and beliefs.
● Examined one’s spiritual self in relation with religious beliefs; and
● Valued purpose in their lives
● Explained ways of finding meaning of life.
● Practiced and applied mindfulness in their lives
● Defined and explained the concept of “Dungan” spirit or soul.
● Explored the indigenous beliefs on the “self”.
● Appreciated the contribution of indigenous beliefs in understanding the self.

Motivation

Activity #1: Share your thoughts about your religious views

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Teaching Input
The two-fold characterization of Faith

Faith – a system of religious belief.

Belief – sets of foundation for one’s action. Belief is not something that can be easily known unless
one declares it or is manifested. Through actions such as praying and religious rituals. It could be
believing a Supreme being
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Tel. No. 454 – 2532

One’s identity of spiritual self is deeply tied to the center of their

religion and worship.

Religion. Rebecca Stein (Stein 2011) works on the definition of

religion “as a set of cultural beliefs and practices that usually
includes some or all of basic characteristics.

These characteristics are:

- a belief in anthropomorphic supernatural being, such as spirit and gods;

- a focus of the sacred supernatural, where sacred refers to a feeling or reverence and
awe;
- The presence of supernatural, where sacred refers to a feeling or reverence and awe;
- the performance of ritual activities that involves the manipulation of sacred object to
communicate to supernatural beings and/or to influence or control events;
- the articulation of worldview and moral codes through narratives and other means; and;
- Provide the creation and maintenance of social bonds and mechanism of social control
within a community; provides explanation for unknown and a sense of control for
individuals.

An individual lives in a society where there are many practice of religion. The choice of religious
belief lies within the Spiritual Self. Although the choice may be influenced by the society and its
culture.

Ritual

- It is the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by a tradition or sacred law (Penner

2017).
- It is a specific, observable mode of behavior exhibited by all known societies.
- Thus, it is possible to view ritual as a wat of defining or describing humans.

Three fundamental characteristics of rituals (Penner 2017).

- a feeling or emotion of respect, awe, fascination, or dread in relation to the sacred;

- dependence upon a belief system that is usually expressed in the language of myth; and
- is symbolic in relation to its reference

.Some World Religious Beliefs and Practices

There are different religions with different beliefs and practices. Some of the major world religions
are Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.
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Buddhism

Beliefs

- It teaches that life is unsatisfactory.

- When experience is unsatisfying, we tend to crave pleasant
experiences and avoid disappointing ones. Our habits tie us
into a reactive cycle of craving and aversion.
- The Buddha taught that a way to break this cycle is to practice
ethics and meditation, and to cultivate wisdom, which is a deep understanding and
acceptance of things as they are.
- believes that life is not a bed of roses. Instead, there are suffering , pain, and frustrations.
When people suffer , they want to experience the goodness of life and avoid
disappointments.it becomes a habit known as the reactive cycle of wanting and hating,
like and dislike,
- This reactive cycle can be broken through the practice of mediation, acquiring more
wisdom and deeper understanding , and acceptance of things as they are.

Customs and Practices

Meditation practices can be divided into two:

 Samatha practices develop calm, concentration, and positive emotion. Also practiced as
mindfulness of breathing and development of loving-kindness(Metta Bhavana).

 Vipassana practices aim at developing insight into reality. Acquiring wisdom

by studying Buddha’s teaching, the Dharma. Through the reflection of Dharma,
Buddhists can achieve a deeper understanding of life. Buddhists believe in
non-violence principle.

 Developing and cultivating wisdom happens through studying and reflecting

the Dharma, the Buddha's teaching.

Buddhists celebrate a number of festivals timed to the full moon: Parinirvana Day in February,
Buddha Day (Wesak) in May, Dharma Day in July, Padmasambhava Day in October and Sangha
Day in November. All are important events to celebrate together and to contemplate key teachings of
the Buddha.

Christianity

Beliefs

 Christians believe that God became fully present in the world

in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

 Christians believe that Jesus Christ’s dying on the cross,

made Him a sacrifice to reconcile all humanity with their
Creator.

 Believe in Trinitarian God. God the Father(Creator), God the

Son (Savior) and God the Holy Spirit (Sustainer).

 Eternal life will be achieved through acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

 Believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross and rose after three days and will come again to
judge the living and the dead.

 Teachings is based on the Holy Bible

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Tel. No. 454 – 2532

Customs and Practices

 One becomes a Christian through the Sacrament of Baptism (water ceremony) that symbolizes
a sharing in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

 They also follow Jesus’ instruction of taking bread and wine, and declaring these as his body
and blood offered in sacrifice for all through the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

The principal Christian festivals are:

 Christmas. It is when the birth of Jesus is remembered.

 Easter. It is when Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is celebrated.

 Lenten Season commemorates of the death of Jesus Christ

HINDUISM

Beliefs

 The term “Hinduism” was coined as recently

as the 19th century to cover a wide range of
ancient creeds, textual traditions, and
religious groups.

 Hinduism is best understood as a complete

way of life, a path of sanctification, and
discipline that leads to a higher level of
consciousness.

 Hindus revere a body of texts as sacred scriptures known as the Vedas.

 Hindus believe that existence is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth, governed by Karma.

 Karma is a concept where the reincarnated life will depend on how the past life was spent.

 Krishna is the ultimate god of the hindus. He is born as a human and was enlightened from birth

 Brahma the Creator, Shiva the destroyer and Vishnu as the sustenance.

 Mahabharata and Ramayana are two other important texts of the Hindus.

Customs and Practices

The main festivals are celebrated in different ways by different communities.

The most commonly celebrated festivals are Diwali - the Festival of Lights, and;

Navrati - nine nights which celebrate the triumph of good over evil. This takes
place twice a year.

Islam

Beliefs

 Islam is an Arabic word which means willing submission to God.

 The root of the word Islam comes from a word meaning peace and
Muslims believe it is the way of peace as laid down in the Quran.

 The Arabic word Allah means “One God”.

 Ummah-awareness of their solidarity with all Muslims worldwide,

 Islam means “willingness submission to God”.

 Muslims believe that Mohammed is the last and final prophet sent by God.
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Tel. No. 454 – 2532

 Quran –Holy Book of islam

Customs and Practices

 Muslims believe in the five pillars of Islam, which are the

foundation of Muslim life: Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Hajj, Sawn

 Eidul-Fitr is the celebration at the end of Ramadan.

 Eidul-Adha is celebrated within the completion of the

Pilgrimage, the hajj.

Judaism

Beliefs

 The Jewish people believe themselves to be descended from a

Semitic tribe that originated in the land of Canaan in the Middle East.

 Jews believes of the coming of the Messiah, the Savior.

 Study and interpretation of the Torah is an integral part of Jewish life.

 The Jews believe in t that he God of Abraham, the same God that
libetatedthe the Hebrew slaves from Egypt to Canaan, the Promised
Land through the leadership of Moses and later, Joshua.

 The Jews believe in the coming of Messiah, the Savior.

 Torah or the Law-sacred scripture of the Jews

 The study and interpretation of Torah is part of the Jewish culture.

Customs and Practices

The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday evening at the sunset and is an

important time when families gather for the Shabbat meal.

Major festivals observed by Jews:

1. Rosh Hashanah- the New Year

2. Yom Kippur- the Day of Atonement

Three Pilgrim festivals:

Passover (Pesach) in the spring,

Pentecost (Shavuot) occurs seven weeks later and

Tabernacles (Sukkot) takes place in the autumn.

- Jewish food laws are highly complicated, prohibiting certain animals and shellfish.
- The Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday evening at sunset and is an important time when
families gather for the Sabbath meal.
- Religious beliefs, rituals, practices, and customs are all part of the expression of the spiritual
self. What to believe and how to manifest the belief is entirely dependent on the individual, to
the self.
- Religious beliefs and practices, therefore, are formed relative to its content and culture.
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Ramon Gonzaga Compound
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Tel. No. 454 – 2532

THE CONCEPT OF “DUNGAN” SPIRIT OR SOUL

Animate or inanimate creatures have “souls” or “life force.” Our ancestors believed in the spirit
beings in the environment, deceased ancestral souls, and to forces in nature (wind, moon, stars)
which are invoked for help. This makes it clear that central to the tradition of our ancestors, there is
that belief for “soul” that is a “life force”.

From the point of view of the “babaylan”:

Inside the body of a living person dwells the “dungan” and

“ginhawa”. Dungan gives life, animation, and sensibilities to
a person while “ginhawa” is the breath of life.

“Ginhawa” and “dungan” should be together. “Ginhawa”

provides the vital life force while “dungan” provides the
intellect, emotion, and consciousness. The two entities are
there together lodged in one person.

The dungan or soul of the Ilonggos, according to Alicia

Magos (1986), is not normally seen by the human eye.
Sometimes, however, it comes out of the body and takes on
a visible form such as that of an insect (a housefly or a moth)
or a small animal like a lizard.

That is why lolas are always telling their children “to eat even just a little before going to bed.” For if
the child’s dungan “gets hungry at night, it might go to the pot of rice in the kitchen and be mistaken
for an insect.” And be killed.

The dungan is ethereal – something light and airy since it travels with the air or the wind. Prior to its
entry and habitation of a human body, the dungan is believed to inhabit the region above the surface
of the earth together with other dungan. It awaits the time when it can enter a body. The dungan
then takes a special interest in the “unborn” being, usually a relative, which it has chosen to inhabit.

An involuntary departure of the soul happens when it is lured or captured by bad spirits or engkantu.

It may be imprisoned, they say, in a spirit cave guarded by old Tan Mulong whose spirit dog has one
mammary gland and two genitals. If the imprisonment is temporary the person gets listless or sick, in
which case the dungan has to be lured out by a skillful shaman. If it is too deep in the cave (such as
in the third or fourth compartment), the person dies. Sickness is the temporary loss of the soul. Its
permanent loss is death.

Moreover, it is said that life is seen as a constant battle for ascendancy between and among people
of varying levels of “dungan.”

“naunahan dungan”

“usog” - an adult causes a newly-born infant to get sick because an

adult’s fully-developed “dungan” supposedly overwhelms a baby’s still
weak “dungan.” Thus, to prevent “usog,” old folks believe that parents
should apply a dab of their saliva on the forehead of their baby or put
on pangontra usog charms.

The 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 person with a lot
of willpower is said to “have a strong dungan.” A person who has a weak “dungan” should ask the
“babaylan” to give him a “batak-dungan” (upgrading).
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Finding Meaning in Life

The Humanist Concepts of Life

 The humanists idea places greater emphasis on the meaning that people attribute to the
experience or event in their life.

 It is not the experience per se that makes or unmakes the person.

 Rather it is the meaning that people attribute to this experience influenced by the person’s
perception or paradigms.

For instance

 the loss of loved one, a failure or disappointment can be viewed as a trauma where the person
sees himself as a miserable victim, thereby nurturing self-pity and hatred.

 Or the experience can be viewed in the light of Christian values as purification or learning
experience that can make one closer to God. If there is a positive “meaning” attributed to the
experience, no matter how unpleasant it is, the person will unlikely develop negative emotions
like depression or frustration.

 Viktor Frankl , who was an advocate of the Humanistic theory was

a witness to the significant effect of paradigms in a person’s life.
He experienced one of the worst tortures at the prison camp
during the Nazi regime in Germany.

 He contended that while man may experience events beyond his

control like what happened to him as a prisoner, he has the capacity to control the
consequences

 He has the options to decide whether to allow these experiences to destroy him or to make him
a better, stronger person.

 Frankl decided to make positive consequences out of his painful experiences. He promised
himself that he will turn his ordeal into a meaningful experience. And he did.

 He became a source of inspiration and consolation to other prisoners as he projected a positive

disposition in the midst of crisis.

 Viktor Frankl opted for re-directing man’s mind to a search for meaning as he encounters the
day to day ordeal and crisis in life. This meaning that he attributed to events can trigger a
paradigm shift from negative to a positive outlook.

 Positive thinking will bear positive feelings and positive behavior.

 The “meaning” that a person attributes to events in his life is conditioned by his paradigms,
beliefs and values. This in turn determines his decision.

 People with positive outlook can find meaning in an unpleasant experience and turn it into an
opportunity for growth while those with negative outlook usually look at negative events with
prejudice and bitterness that they become miserable, bitter and depressed.

 Many young people and adults have lost meaning in their lives and choose to rut and stagnate
after undergoing a series of crisis in their life.

 Looking at their situation negatively with disappointment and despair, they end up bitter, mad, at
the world and with themselves. As a result, they become maladjusted and unhappy. And, worst
of all they blame other people for the misery which they themselves created and perpetuated.
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Understanding Logotherapy

 Viktor E. Frankl validated a revolutionary approach to psychotherapy known as logotherapy.

Logotherapy has become known as the “Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy,” after that of
Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler.

 Frankl believed that humans are motivated by

something called a "will to meaning," which
equates to a desire to find meaning in life. He
argued that life can have meaning even in the
most miserable of circumstances, and that the
motivation for living comes from finding that
meaning. Taking it a step further, Frankl wrote:

 Everything can be taken from a man but one

thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose
one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.

 This opinion was based on his experiences of suffering, and his attitude of finding meaning
through the suffering. In this way, Frankl believed that when we can no longer change a
situation, we are forced to change ourselves.

Logotherapy proposes that meaning in life can be discovered in three distinct ways:

 By creating a work or doing a deed.

 By experiencing something or encountering someone.

 By the attitude that we take toward unavoidable suffering.

Frank's Sources of Meaning

There are three possible sources of meaning of life:

1. Purposeful work - To find the meaning of life starts with holding a future
goal.

2.Courage in the face of difficulty - Recognizing suffering, pain, and death as part of life and to
have the courage to face these life difficulties.

3. Love

Frankl considers the transcendental power of love: “Love goes very far beyond the physical
person of the beloved.” Frankl contributes to history’s richest definition of love: Love is the only way to
grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality.
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Ramon Gonzaga Compound
1084 Araneta St., Bgry. Poblacion
Bago City, Negros Occidental
Tel. No. 454 – 2532

Learning Activities

Exam: ACTIVITY #2: Religious Matrix

Discuss and identify their respective religious practices and beliefs (3Pts each answer in each
column)

RELIGION BELIEF CUSTOM AND TRADITION

HINDUISM

BUDDHISM

JUDAISM

CHRISTIAN

ISLAM

Quiz: Activity#3: Counting my blessings

Coherence of Ideas: 5 pts
Content and Relevance to the topic/self: 5pts.

Who are the people/What are the things that you are thankful for? Explain
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What/Who gives meaning to your life? Explain?
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