CAITLIN MARLO F.
PEÑERA, MS-PSYCH, RPM
Objectives
To explore the practice of
religion and spirituality in
defining the sense of self.
Objectives
To examine the functions of
rituals, ceremonies, culture and
traditional traits in shaping one’s
spiritual self
Learning Outcome/s
At the end of the module, it shall move you to
look into your personal ways of discovering
meaning in your life. The topics in this module
shall include the concept of spirituality, Viktor
Frankl’s Search for Meaning, and Carl Jung’s
Archetypes.
The Spiritual Self is said to be the
subjective and most intimate
dimension of the self. It is
experienced and understood by
the person him/herself, and it
would be difficult to explain this
experience to others. The
Spiritual Self is who we are at our
core.
The spirit and the soul are sometimes
seen as one and the same. The
concept of the soul is the non-physical
aspect of the person that manifests
consciousness, thought, feeling, and
will. It is the person’s moral and
emotional nature, where one’s most
private thoughts and feelings are kept.
SPIRITUALITY VS. RELIGION
a way of seeking and expressing the
meaning and purpose of one’s life. It
speaks of the quality of one’s
relationships with others and with the
Divine. It embraces all faiths and
social and political ideologies.
Spirituality reflects great refinement
or a high level of Christian maturity
and concern with, as well as direct
and personal connection with the
Divine or Sacred.
SPIRITUALITY
the belief in and worship of a
personal God or gods. It is
referred to as a set of beliefs,
feelings, dogmas, and practices
that define the relationship
between human beings and the
Sacred.
RELIGION
VIKTOR EMIL FRANKL
“Meaning is
something
to discover
rather than
to invent”
FRANKL,
V.E.
EXISTENTIAL
VACUUM explains
how one may find
that life is empty,
meaningless, or
aimless. Because of
this, one may fill
his/her life with
pleasure, which is
oftentimes
destructive.
FRANKL PROPOSED THREE WAYS OF
DISCOVERING MEANING IN LIFE
1) EXPERIENTIAL VALUES - experiencing something or
someone we value; the most important experiential value
could be the love we feel towards others – our family, friends,
and other significant people.
2) ATTITUDINAL VALUES – involves practicing virtues and
values such as compassion, courage, a good sense of humor,
humility, etc. For Frankl, the most famous example is achieving
meaning by way of suffering, where the ultimate goal is self-
transcendence.
3) CREATIVE VALUES - becoming involved in projects, and
the creativity and passion involved in art, music, writing, and
work.
Seatwork
• Group yourselves to 3 and on a 1/2 crosswise sheet of pad
paper, answer the following:
In Frankl's finding meaning in 3 ways (attitudinal, creative,
and experiential), give an example for each. Either your
example reflects your own experience or the experience
of others. You can also cite a discrepant example, i.e., how
one's meaning and direction was lost due to a lack of any
of these 3 sources. Briefly describe your answer (e.g., had
coffee with a friend and helped her figure out her career
directions - EXPERIENTIAL VALUE) .
CARL JUNG
COLLECTIVE
UNCONSCIOUS refers to a
structural layer of the
human psyche containing
inherited elements. It
contains the whole
spiritual heritage of
mankind’s evolution, born
anew in the brain
structure of every
individual.
COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS also
contains ARCHETYPES.
*Archetypes
-Fundamental personalities and roles
that we draw from to develop our own
unique personality.
ANIMA AND ANIMUS
*FEMININITY AND MASCULINITY*
HERO
*COURAGE AND WILL FOR SELF-
SACRIFICE*
THE SHADOW
*CREATIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE*
PERSONA (MASK)
*CONFORMITY ARCHETYPE*
WISE OLD MAN/ WISE OLD WOMAN
*MEANING AND WISDOM*
THE GOOD MOTHER
*GROWTH/FERTILITY*
CARL JUNG DEFINES
INDIVIDUATION AS FINDING
MEANING IN LIFE.
Individuation refers to increasing awareness of one’s
unique psychological reality, including ones
personal strengths and limitations, and a deeper
appreciation of humanity in general.
The goal of the individuation process is the
synthesis of the self.
