Understandin

g the Self

Lesson IV –
The Spiritual
Self
 Reflect on!
• Do you believe that there is a HIGHER BEING than
you or us?
• When was the first time you realized that there is
a HIGHER BEING than yourself?
• How old were you then?
• What made you believe that there is a higher
being?
 Spiritual Self
– is one of the four constituents of the “self” according
to William James
– is the most intimate, inner subjective part of the self;
most intimate version of the self because of the
satisfaction experienced when thinking one’s ability
to argue or discriminate of one’s moral sensibility
and conscience, and our conquerable will is purer
that all other sentiments of satisfaction (Green,
1997)
 Spiritual Self
– ability to use moral sensibility and
conscience
üexpression of religion, its beliefs, and practices
ücultural rituals and ceremonies are some
manifestations what people believe in
 Belief in Supernatural Being
and Power
• We experience Him in many ways.
• We see God as the source of life, love, faith, and hope.
• We experience God in creation.
• We experience God through the love of people who are
parts of our life. (mediated love)
• We see God in positive or negative experiences.
- victories, joys, laughter, achievement
- pain, defeats, failures, illnesses and death
 Belief in Supernatural Being
and Power
• We see God in our church or the religious
community we belong.
• We encounter God in the sacraments, in the
sacraments, in table fellowship, in prayers, and
liturgy.
• We encounter God in different forms of religion
because these are paths towards Him.
 Belief in Supernatural Being
and Power
Christians : God is alive in Jesus
Moslems : God as Allah
Hindus : God as Brahma
Buddhists : Enlightenment of Siddhartha
Gautama
World religions and different Christian denominations
exist because of their connection to God and His
revelations.
 The Concept of Spirit or Soul

• To understand the spiritual self à to know the role

of the spirit of a Sacred or of a God
• Contemporary world à belief in the presence of
spirits
• beliefs – is not separated from our identity; shape
the Filipino personality
 The Concept of Spirit or Soul
We need to go back to the spirit world to understand this
part of our spiritual self.
1. The Soul (Indigenous Filipino)
- belief in animism
- concept of soul or spirit of a person is present
in different regions and ethnic groups in the
country
 The Concept of Spirit or Soul

Tagalog : kaluluwa
Ilocanos : kararua
Bagobos : gimokud
Bukidnons : makatu
Ilonggos : Dungan
 The Concept of Spirit or Soul
Dungan or soul of the Ilonggos (Alicia Magos, 1986)
ü is not normally seen by the human eye
ü comes out of the body and takes on a visible form such as an insect
(moth) or a small animal (lizard)
ü is the essence of life and existence
ü spirit that is not seen which gives animation and vitality to a person
ü is ethereal
ü an entity with a free will – it can leave the body voluntarily when
the person is asleep; involuntarily when it is attracted by any other
spirit
 The Concept of Spirit or Soul
How does Dungan enter the body?
üa belief that the Dungan to inhabit the region above the
surface of the earth together with other Dungans
übefore it enters the body, the Dungan takes a special
interest in the unborn child being which it has chosen to
enter
üafter a child is born, the Dungan is lodged inside the
baby’s body – incomplete; weak
 The Concept of Spirit or Soul
üsince the Dungan is weak at birth, it should be protected,
nurtured, and cared for because it can be stolen, or held
captive
üwhen the Dungan travels outside the body, it can be
stolen or held captive à affects the body leading to
sickness or physical ailments
üDungan can travel or journeys to some other regions.
üThe final departure of the Dungan à when a person dies
 Rituals, Ceremonies, Religion,
Magic, and Witchcraft
ü It is in the belief of spirits and supernatural powers that
rituals and ceremonies are formed.
e.g. rituals are performed to welcome, nurture, or
return the Dungan back to the human body
ü Rituals and ceremonies – series of actions performed
according to a prescribed order; can be secular or religious,
personal or communal
e.g. flag ceremony, celebration of events, sacraments
 Rituals, Ceremonies, Religion,
Magic, and Witchcraft
Emile Durkheim (1965)
ü the reference or object of ritual is the belief system of a
society which is constituted by a classification of everything
into the two realms of the sacred and the profane – universal
feature of a religion
A.R. Radcliffe Brown points out the primary functions of rituals:
a) give expression to the collective sentiment of a society
b) contribute to the social cohesion or unity and maintain social
system
 Rituals, Ceremonies, Religion,
Magic, and Witchcraft
• Religion and magic serve the same functions.
ü explain the unexplainable and provide a coherent view of the
world
• Most cultures have religious beliefs that supernatural powers
can be influences to act in certain ways for good or evil
purposes, ritual formulas are used – use of magic.
• By performing magic à land may be abundant, illness maybe
avoided, healing can be experienced, crops maybe improved,
people maybe fertile and have children, can harm people
 Group Activity for Material Self
• Create a collage of your treasured possessions
including your current clothing style. You may use
symbols or pictures of your treasured possessions. Put
a short explanation why you treasure the items. Be
resourceful and creative!
 Group Activity for Spiritual
Self
• Think of a creative way on how to present the following
topics
a) Filipino rituals and ceremonies covering all regions of the
Philippines
b) Filipino indigenous religious practices featuring different
tribes from Luzon, Visayas, or Mindanao.
c) Modern day expression of spiritual being.