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Spiritual Psychology Under The Light Of Theories And Researches
Well, I am not spiritual nor a very religious person. I am just a regular person whose field and working experience is related with Psychology. I have respect for all religions and appreciate others views and experience.
Today I want to share all this because I was reading and thought you guys will enjoy it too. As you know everyday is the new day. We learn something new. Human being is a social animal but a weak creature. Human being always needs to a way where they will get security,satisfaction and passion. To be very truthful whenever I have any peak loads in my daily life I always run to get help or guidance from different sources. It depends on my approach and the availability. This is very natural.
Spirituality is a feature of human existence whereas psychology is the study of human mind and behavior. Spirituality is as important for psychological study because of its centrality in many social contexts and its behavioral expressions in many domains of life. Several common themes became evident during review of the relevant literature, including: (a) sacredness, (b) an inherent human (c) meaning and purpose in life, (d) transcendence, (e) faith, (f)interconnectedness with a divine source, (g) interconnectedness with others, and (f) respect for life, values, and dignity.
An essential defining characteristic of spirituality encompasses the idea of sacredness. Sacred is holiness or being “dedicated to or set apart for worship”where worship is defined as “reverent
love and devotion for a deity or sacred object” and the “ceremonies or prayers by which this is expressed” Some have argued that spirituality is an innately human characteristic. Innate is that of being “inborn” or “natural”.Using this definition, spirituality is a feature of human existence whereas photosynthesizes model allows for a “super conscious” that rises above usual thoughts and experiences. A new field of study entitled neurotheology postulates transcendence as being a function of the brain in response to spiritual experiences such as mediation.
Faith is yet another word that has been closely associated with spirituality and religion. Faith is defined as: (a) “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”; and (b) “strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof”Undifferentiated faith is characterized by symbolic understanding and learning to trust others and is followed by intuitive-projective faith, consisting of active imagination and the use of stories to develop a sense of intuition regarding the way in which the world works. Mythic-literal faith is a time of taking personal and literal meanings in the stories told to individuals and the development of a worldview of fairness and justice.
Synthetic-conventional faith is marked by the development of interpersonal relationships in which self-identity is gained by the acceptance of others.previous experiences leads to deeply held beliefs, however the individual is not able to examine them from an objective perspective. Individualistic-reflective faith is characterized by differentiation from the judgments of others with more self-confidence of one’s own views, both in self-identity and worldview. Also during this stage, a transition from symbols to conceptual meanings emerges.
The final stage, universalizing faith, is one that, according to Fowler, few individuals achieve.The attributes of persons in this stage are their ability to transcend reality and advocate justice, often at personal risk and occasionally resulting in martyrdom. Some have described the behavioral aspects of spirituality as being external manifestations of the internal cognitive and affective domains.
Jung’s psychological formulation included the external psyche as a behavioral expression of spirituality when the internal psyche is transformed from darkness into light (1933). Prayer often has been included as a behavioral expression of spirituality.A related term, meditation, also has been incorporated into behavioral definitions.The intensity of this effort has escalated in recent years as interest in spirituality has increased. Several common definitional themes have begun to emerge and have been examined within this section. Spirituality has been characterized as an inherent feature of humans.In addition to cognitive and affective characteristics, James opined that spirituality functions behaviorally by prompting the actions of those who follow its paths.
Freud (Brill, 1918/1931) proposed that religion was one aspect of a three-fold worldview,the others being animistic drives and scientific endeavors. Freud viewed animism as a prelude to religion and described. Richards and Bergin (1997) proposed a theistic model of spirituality containing several basic features, including that: (a) God exists, (b) humans embody mind and spiritual (c)communication with God is possible, (d) humans have freedom of choice and are responsible to God and others for their choices, and (e) individuals’ well-being should result from spiritual tendencies. Martin and Carlson (1988) supported a theistic view of spirituality. Review of the extant literature both topically and chronologically was productive in identifying common themes across psychological orientations. Of these themes, a search for the sacred, inheritances, and faith define the fundamental nature of spirituality, i.e., what spirituality is. The remaining themes constitute what spirituality does or the potential consequences of spirituality. Spirituality as a search implies a journey or a process rather than a final destination. Experiences on the journey may include such phenomena as transcendence and spiritual insights, but they do not convey the essence of spirituality itself. Therefore, the conceptual definition of spirituality guiding this research is that spirituality is a faith journey of humankind in search of the sacred.
Early in the psychological development of spirituality, James (1982) spoke of religion as an aspect of one’s personality and Fromm (1942) considered faith a character trait. Other isolated references to a state-trait conceptualization of spirituality have appeared in the literature.
Religion is defined as “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods…” and “…a particular system of faith and worship…” (New Oxford American Dictionary, 2001, p. 1439). The second part of this definition has come to prevail as religiosity in the psychological literature. Levin and Schiller (1987) proposed four factors in religion: (a) belief, (b) background, (c) rituals, and (d) commitment. Therefore, religion as a psychological construct appears to focus on affiliation with and participation in organized, institutionalized belief systems.
Keep smiling and God bless!
Today I want to share all this because I was reading and thought you guys will enjoy it too. As you know everyday is the new day. We learn something new. Human being is a social animal but a weak creature. Human being always needs to a way where they will get security,satisfaction and passion. To be very truthful whenever I have any peak loads in my daily life I always run to get help or guidance from different sources. It depends on my approach and the availability. This is very natural.
Spirituality is a feature of human existence whereas psychology is the study of human mind and behavior. Spirituality is as important for psychological study because of its centrality in many social contexts and its behavioral expressions in many domains of life. Several common themes became evident during review of the relevant literature, including: (a) sacredness, (b) an inherent human (c) meaning and purpose in life, (d) transcendence, (e) faith, (f)interconnectedness with a divine source, (g) interconnectedness with others, and (f) respect for life, values, and dignity.
An essential defining characteristic of spirituality encompasses the idea of sacredness. Sacred is holiness or being “dedicated to or set apart for worship”where worship is defined as “reverent
love and devotion for a deity or sacred object” and the “ceremonies or prayers by which this is expressed” Some have argued that spirituality is an innately human characteristic. Innate is that of being “inborn” or “natural”.Using this definition, spirituality is a feature of human existence whereas photosynthesizes model allows for a “super conscious” that rises above usual thoughts and experiences. A new field of study entitled neurotheology postulates transcendence as being a function of the brain in response to spiritual experiences such as mediation.
Faith is yet another word that has been closely associated with spirituality and religion. Faith is defined as: (a) “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”; and (b) “strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof”Undifferentiated faith is characterized by symbolic understanding and learning to trust others and is followed by intuitive-projective faith, consisting of active imagination and the use of stories to develop a sense of intuition regarding the way in which the world works. Mythic-literal faith is a time of taking personal and literal meanings in the stories told to individuals and the development of a worldview of fairness and justice.
Synthetic-conventional faith is marked by the development of interpersonal relationships in which self-identity is gained by the acceptance of others.previous experiences leads to deeply held beliefs, however the individual is not able to examine them from an objective perspective. Individualistic-reflective faith is characterized by differentiation from the judgments of others with more self-confidence of one’s own views, both in self-identity and worldview. Also during this stage, a transition from symbols to conceptual meanings emerges.
The final stage, universalizing faith, is one that, according to Fowler, few individuals achieve.The attributes of persons in this stage are their ability to transcend reality and advocate justice, often at personal risk and occasionally resulting in martyrdom. Some have described the behavioral aspects of spirituality as being external manifestations of the internal cognitive and affective domains.
Jung’s psychological formulation included the external psyche as a behavioral expression of spirituality when the internal psyche is transformed from darkness into light (1933). Prayer often has been included as a behavioral expression of spirituality.A related term, meditation, also has been incorporated into behavioral definitions.The intensity of this effort has escalated in recent years as interest in spirituality has increased. Several common definitional themes have begun to emerge and have been examined within this section. Spirituality has been characterized as an inherent feature of humans.In addition to cognitive and affective characteristics, James opined that spirituality functions behaviorally by prompting the actions of those who follow its paths.
Freud (Brill, 1918/1931) proposed that religion was one aspect of a three-fold worldview,the others being animistic drives and scientific endeavors. Freud viewed animism as a prelude to religion and described. Richards and Bergin (1997) proposed a theistic model of spirituality containing several basic features, including that: (a) God exists, (b) humans embody mind and spiritual (c)communication with God is possible, (d) humans have freedom of choice and are responsible to God and others for their choices, and (e) individuals’ well-being should result from spiritual tendencies. Martin and Carlson (1988) supported a theistic view of spirituality. Review of the extant literature both topically and chronologically was productive in identifying common themes across psychological orientations. Of these themes, a search for the sacred, inheritances, and faith define the fundamental nature of spirituality, i.e., what spirituality is. The remaining themes constitute what spirituality does or the potential consequences of spirituality. Spirituality as a search implies a journey or a process rather than a final destination. Experiences on the journey may include such phenomena as transcendence and spiritual insights, but they do not convey the essence of spirituality itself. Therefore, the conceptual definition of spirituality guiding this research is that spirituality is a faith journey of humankind in search of the sacred.
Early in the psychological development of spirituality, James (1982) spoke of religion as an aspect of one’s personality and Fromm (1942) considered faith a character trait. Other isolated references to a state-trait conceptualization of spirituality have appeared in the literature.
Religion is defined as “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods…” and “…a particular system of faith and worship…” (New Oxford American Dictionary, 2001, p. 1439). The second part of this definition has come to prevail as religiosity in the psychological literature. Levin and Schiller (1987) proposed four factors in religion: (a) belief, (b) background, (c) rituals, and (d) commitment. Therefore, religion as a psychological construct appears to focus on affiliation with and participation in organized, institutionalized belief systems.
Keep smiling and God bless!
Posted byIrum Khan
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Wonderful, now it is quite clear that religion and spirituality cannot be separated. Hence we can also infer that religion and psychology is also inter related. Irum please correct me, if I have not appropriately interpreted.