Spirituality

Spirituality, in a broad sense a concern with matters of the spirit, is 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

What is referred to as "religion" and what is referred to as "spirituality" are often the same. In recent years, spirituality in religion has often carried 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. Those given to speaking of "spirituality" rather than "religion" are apt to believe that there are many "spiritual paths" and that there is no objective truth about which is the best path to follow. On the other hand, there are many adherents of orthodox religions who consider spirituality to be an aspect of their religious experience, and they 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.

Directed spirituality

Being spiritual is often discussed as goal-directed, with aims such as: to simultaneously improve one's wisdom, willpower and communion with God/universe, which necessitates the removal of illusions at the sensory, feeling and thinking aspects of a person. The Platos cave' analogy in book VII of The Republic is one of the most well known descriptions of the spiritual development process. Other spiritual proponents indicate that spirituality is a two-stroke process. The upward stroke relates to inner growth and the downward stroke relates towards manifesting improvements in the world/reality around us 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 have arisen 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 is often viewed as an essential part of an individual's holistic health and well-being, which is developed by an awareness of a transcendent dimension to life.

Spiritual communities

External links

References

Azeemi,K.S.''Muraqaba: The Art and Science of Sufi Meditation''. Houston: Plato, 2005.( Order: 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.
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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