MODULE 1: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

Lesson 7 SUPERNATURALS: BELIEVE IT OR NOT!

“The supernatural is the natural not yet

understood.”
~ Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Hubbardes not in possessions, and not in
gold, happiness dwells in the soul."
~ Democritus

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, you are able to:
1. Identify various religious practices and beliefs
2. Understand the self in relation with religious beliefs
3. Explain ways of finding the meaning of life

INTRODUCTION
This lesson talks about the different religious practices around the world and how
does it contribute to the individuals’ understanding the self. You would probably think
about what are your religious beliefs that helps you grow as an individual and create your
own identity based on what you believe in.

ACTIVITY
Activity No. 7.1

DIRECTION: Recall on your childhood and think of some religious beliefs you know
that helps you grow your identity in the society. Write down your answers on the space
provided.

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ANALYSIS
Questions:

1. Do you believe in higher being?

2. What made you believe that there is a higher being?

3. When was the first time you believed that there is a higher being?

4. Does believing in higher being contributes to your self-development? Why or why

not?

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ABSTRACTION

Supernatural is defined as something that cannot be explained scientific

understanding or the law of nature.

Spiritual self is one of the four constituents of the self and is the most intimate, inner
subjective part of self. – William James (The Principles of Psychology)

THE FOUR CONSTITUENTS OF SELF

• Material Self
• Social Self
• Spiritual Self
• The Pure Ego

WHO IS WILLIAM JAMES?

He was a psychologist and philosopher who had a major influence on the

development of psychology in the United States. Among his many accomplishments, he was
the first to teach a psychology course in the United States and is often referred to as the
father of American psychology.

RELIGION
Rebecca Stein (2011) defines 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 on the sacred supernatural, where sacred refers to a feeling of
reverence and awe;
• The presence of supernatural power or energy that is found on supernatural
beings as well as physical beings and objects;
• 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;
• Provide the creation and maintenance of social bonds and mechanism of
social control within a community; provide explanation for the unknown and
a sense of control for individuals.

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TYPES OF RELIGION
1. Animism. An extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source.
2. Polytheism. Is the worship of or belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into
a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals.
3. Monotheism. Belief in the existence of one God, or in the oneness of God.
4. Animatism. Belief in the existence of one God, or in the oneness of God.
5. Mana. Among Malenesian and Polynesian peoples, a supernatural force or power that
may be ascribed to persons, spirits, or inanimate objects.

RITUAL

Refers to the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by a tradition or sacred law.

Ritual is a specific, observable mode of behavior exhibited by all known societies.

THREE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RITUALS ACCORDING TO

HANS PENNER

• 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.
• Is symbolic in relation to its reference.

The self can be described as a ritual being who exhibits a striking parallel between
their ritual and verbal behavior. Just as language is a system of symbols that is based upon
arbitrary rules, ritual may be viewed as a system of symbolic acts that is based upon arbitrary
rules. Participation in rituals is expressions of religious beliefs.

WHO IS HANS PENNER

A leading scholar of comparative religion, died on Saturday in Fletcher Allen Hospital

in Burlington. Penner was a member of Dartmouth's Religion Department for 36 years and
served from 1980- 84 as Dean of Dartmouth's Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Magic is an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source.

FUNCTIONS OF MAGIC

1. Illusions - is an image that deceives the mind by producing a false

impression of reality.
2. Paranormal - belief in the soul, or in extrasensory perception.
3. Witchcraft - rituals and practices that incorporate belief in magic.
4. Sorcery - the practice of malevolent magic

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TYPES OF RITUAL
a. Imitative. All rituals are dependent upon some belief system for their complete
meaning. A great many rituals are patterned after myths.
b. Positive and Negative. This model represents a dual classification of rituals as
positive or negative. Most of the positive rituals include the concepts of
consecration, purification or renewing an object or an individual while the
negative rites describe the prohibited actions or behaviors.
c. Sacrificial. One of the most important rituals is the sacrifice offering acts, which is
classified as the first stage of ritual ceremonies and is considered as the earliest form
of religion.
d. Life Crisis. The last category contains the very important rites of passage from one
stage of life into another, which can be found in almost all ancient cultures and
traditions.

SOME WORLD RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

I. BUDDHISM

• Originated in India, 2500 years ago

• Based around the teachings of Buddha
• Buddha - also known as Gautama Buddha or Lord Buddha which is the founder of
Buddhism
• Buddhist - those who practice Buddhism and believe that death is not the end rather
a person is reborn after they pass away.
• 535 million people practice Buddhism which is equivalent between 8 - 10 percent of
the world's total population (World Population Review)
• Buddhism teaches that life is unsatisfactory. Life can be experienced as painful and
frustrating, impermanent and fleeting, or insubstantial.

A. THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

It was these four principles that the Buddha came to understand during his
meditation under the bodhi tree.

• (Dukkha) The truth of suffering.

a. Old age
b. Sickness
c. Death
• (Samudaya) The truth of the origin of suffering.
• 3 ROOTS OF EVIL
a. Greed and Desire ~ represented in art by a rooster.
b. Ignorance or Delusion ~ represented by a pig.
c. Hatred and Destructive urges ~ represented by a snake.
• (Nirodha) The truth of the cessation of suffering.
a. Nirvana
• (Magga or Marga) The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering.

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B. THE EIGHT NOBLE PATHS (DHARMA WHEEL)

▪ Right Understanding (Know the Truth)

▪ Right Intention (Free your mind of Evil)
▪ Right Speech (Say nothing that hurt others)
▪ Right Action (Work for the Good of others)
▪ Right Livelihood (Respect life)
▪ Right Effort (Resist Evil)
▪ Right Concentration (Practice Meditation)
▪ Right Mindfulness (Control your thoughts)

C. CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES

Types of Meditation:

o Samatha - practices mindfulness of breathing and development of

loving kindness.
o Vipassana - practices aim at developing insight into reality.

Theravada Countries - Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar

Mahayana Countries - Tibet, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Mongolia

II. CHRISTIANITY

A. BELIEF

• Christians believe that God became fully present in the world in the person of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
• A Jew himself, he summarized the law as loving God and neighbor, but he
extended the message of God's redemption to all people.
• Christians believe that Jesus Christ's dying on the cross, made Him a sacrifice to
reconcile all humanity with their Creator.
• They believe he rose from the dead and has sent the Spirit of God to renew and
inspire people in the world today.
• As a result, Christians have a distinct understanding of God as a trinity:
o Father (Creator)
o Son (Redeemer)
o Holy Spirit (Sustainer)

While still emphasizing the unity of God, these three persons have equal status
and are equally divine.

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B. FOUR DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS OF THE LIFE OF JESUS (GOSPELS)

1. Matthew. His Gospel demonstrates that Jesus is the rightful heir to the
kingdom that was promised to David and his descendants and sets the tone
for the book.
2. Mark. Mark's Gospel is a Gospel of action. In Mark’s gospel Jesus is portrayed
as the servant of the Lord doing that job that God has sent Him to do.
Consequently, Mark's gospel records more miracles of Jesus than Matthew,
Luke, or John.
3. Luke. Luke is not writing as an eyewitness but as one who is recording
eyewitness testimonies. His portrayal of Jesus is as the perfect man. He focuses
on those events in Jesus' life that stress His humanity.
4. John. He was an eyewitness to the life of Jesus. The things he recorded were for
the purpose of establishing the fact that Jesus was the eternal God who
became a man. He wanted his readers to exercise faith toward Jesus.

C. CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES

• One becomes a Christian through the Sacrament of Baptism (water

ceremony) it symbolizes a sharing in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
- It is also an initiation into the life of the Church which Christians believe
to be the body of Christ in the world today.

• Christians pray, worship, and read and study the Bible together.
• 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.
• Jesus identified himself with the poor and homeless and was criticized for
associating himself with others who were socially outcast.
• So, Christians believe that aside from teaching others about Jesus, they
should work for peace and social justice.

o Child Baptism. It is a practice of baptizing infants or young children.

o Holy Communion Symbols. Consists of bread, wine and the white
garment.
- Bread is a symbol of the Eucharist because it represents life.
- The wine is given to us as the blood of Jesus, wine also
symbolizes joy.
- The white garment is used as a symbol of Eucharist because
white is used as the Christian color for baptism. Because
white symbolizes purity and cleanliness of sin.

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III. HINDUISM

A. BELIEF

• 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 has no single founder, doctrine, or religious authority.
• World’s oldest religion.
• Hinduism is best understood as:
o A complete way of life.
o A path of sanctification.
o Discipline that leads to a higher level of consciousness.
• This path is known as Dharma, the ancient law.
- Dharma is the religious and moral law governing individual conduct
and is one of the four ends of life.
• Hindus are often thought to be polytheists, but most claim to believe in one
supreme god who is incarnated in many forms. Hindus revere a body of
texts as sacred scriptures known as the Vedas.
• Veda is a Sanskrit word meaning knowledge and many of these scriptures are
concerned with Dharma Other important texts include:
o Mahabharata
o Ramayana
• Hindus believe in the existence of Sansara which the cycle of birth, death and
rebirth is, and is governed by Karma. which is a concept whereby beneficial
effects are derived from past beneficial actions.
• Hindus believe that the soul passes through a cycle of successive lives and its
next incarnation is always dependent on how the previous life was lived.

B. CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES

• Hindus follow the lunar calendar and particular days are set aside during the
week and month to honor particular manifestations of God.
• The main festivals are celebrated in different ways by different communities.
• The Most Commonly Celebrated Festivals are:

o Diwali (Festival of Lights)

- Diwali is one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus
- The festival usually lasts five days and is celebrated during the
Hindu lunisolar month Kartika (which is between mid-October
and mid-November).
- Diwali celebrates Rama's eventual defeat of the evil spirit Ravana,
and his triumphant return to his home.
- The celebration symbolizes the spiritual "victory of light over
darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance".

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o Navratri (Nine nights which celebrates the triumph of good over evil.)
- The festival of Navratri occurs twice every year. One is called
Ashwina Navratri falling in the month of Ashwina (September –
October) and the other is named as Chaitra Navratri observed in
the month of Chaitra (March – April).
- Navaratri is a Hindu festival that spans nine nights (and ten days)
and is celebrated every year in the autumn.
- Navratri is a time when Hindus celebrate the goddess Durga for
killing the demon, Mahishasura.
- During these nine days, nine forms of Goddess Durga, namely
Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda,
Skanda Mata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri,
are worshipped by her devotees.

IV. ISLAM

A. BELIEF

• Islam means “submitting”.

• Muslims means “one who submits”.
• Quran
- Holy book of the Muslims
- God's revelation to Mohammad
- 114 chapters (suras)
- In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful.
- Any translation of the holy book is seen as inadequate.
• Mecca - The holy city of the Muslims.
- Where prophet Muhammad is born
- Where Islam started
- Only Muslims are allowed to enter.
• Ka’ba - located at the center of Mecca.
- Is the most holy site in the Islamic region
- Also known as the house of Allah
• Mosque - Place of worships of the Muslims.

B. CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES

Five Pillars of Islam

a. Shahada.
- “There is no God but the one true God and Mohammad is his messenger.”
- Also known as “testimony of faith” and is recited once a day.
b. Salat.
- Praying 5 times a day.
- They should be facing mecca (east) when praying.
- They use a prayer mat called Sajjada.

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c. Zakat.
- “Charity” Muslims are required to give 2.5% of their income to the poor or
needy.
- Believe all of their belongings are Allah’s.
d. Sawm.
- “Fasting” Muslims cannot eat, drink, smoke, or do secual activities during
daylight hours (6am-6pm).
e. Hajj.
- Muslims make a pilgrimage to mecca once in their lifetime.

V. JUDAISM

A. BELIEF

• Jewish people believe themselves to be descended from a Semitic tribe.

- Land of Canaan in the Middle East

• Their early history is told in the Hebrews scriptures which recount how God
promised to Abraham.
o 12 grandsons who became ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel.

- Enslaved in Egypt
- Exodus
- God revealed to Moses, the Torah

• Jews believe in the coming of the Messiah, the savior.

B. CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES

• Sabbath - Jewish day of rest. They are forbidden to do at work including

household chores and are encouraged to have a bible study.

FINDING AND CREATING MEANING OF LIFE

A. THE PSYCHIATRIST

• VICTOR E. FRANKL. Born in Vienna, Austria on March 26, 1905. He died in 1997 in
Vienna, Austria, due to heart failure. He was a professor in neurology and psychiatry.
One of his most powerful books is “Man’s Search for Meaning.” This book chronicles
his experiences as an Auschwitz concentration camp inmate during WWII. During his
time in camp, he is tortured, beaten, worked to the brink of death, not given enough
food or proper clothes/ shoes during freezing temperatures. He paints a truly horrific
existence of his day-to-day camp life. Daily, people drop dead all around him and

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are
executed for no reason at all. His mother, father, brother, and wife were all killed in
the camps.

B. LOGOTHERAPY

• Focuses on the meanings to be fulfilled in the future.

• Aids the patient in finding meaning in their life.
• It’s a form of psychotherapy that is focused on the future and on our ability to endure
hardship and suffering through a search of purpose.

C. BASIC CONCEPTS OF FRANKLIAN PSYCHOLOGY

• Life has a meaning under all circumstances.

- That meaning is unique to each one of us. Thus, our duty as conscious and
responsible beings is to discover our own version of this meaning under all
circumstances.

• Main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life.

- Our primary motive is to search for meaning or purpose in our lives.
- Frustration, aggression, addiction, depression and suicidality arise when
individuals cannot realize their will to find meaning in life.

• Freedom to find meaning.

- States that humans are free to decide and can take a stance toward both internal
and external conditions.
- Freedom to choose our responses no matter our circumstances.

D. LOGOTHERAPY ASSUMPTIONS

• The human being is an entity consisting of body, mind, and spirit.

- Body (soma)
- Mind (psyche)
- Spirit (noos)
o According to Frankl, the body, mind is what we have, but the spirit is what
we are, or our identity and essence.

• Life has a meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable.
- This means that even when situations seem objectively terrible, there is a higher
level of order that involves meaning.
- According to Frankl, “if there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a
meaning in suffering.”

• People have a will to meaning.

- When we see meaning, we are ready for any type of suffering.

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• People have freedom under all circumstances to activate the will to find meaning.
- Based on Frankl’s experiences of pain and suffering on how he chose his attitude
in a situation that he could not change.

• Life has a demand quality to which people must respond if decisions are to be
meaningful.
- This assumption argues that for the decisions to be meaningful, individuals must
respond to the demands of daily life in a way that matches the values of society
or their own conscience.

• The individual is unique.

- This assumption deals with one’s sense of meaning. This is enhanced by the
realization that we are irreplaceable.

E. FRANKL’S SOURCES OF MEANING OF LIFE

• Purposeful Work
- Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its
problems and to fulfill the tasks, which it constantly sets for each individual.
o Without this work, us people will easily fall into an aimless existence.
o It’s not about what life can do for you, it’s about what you can do for life.
o Life something out of you, go find it.

• Courage in the Face of Difficulty

- Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even
in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress.
- “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, to choose
one’s own way.” - Viktor E. Frankl.”
o It doesn’t matter what life throws your way, what matters is how you
respond to the situation.
o It is your attitude toward your existence that makes all the difference. You
decide what your life will be in the next moment once you choose.
o A man is capable of changing the world and can change himself for the
better where you can be happy now with what you already have, if you
choose to be.
o It's either we look at it as a challenge to be overcome or ignore the
challenge and simply fade away.

• Love
- In examining the “intensification of inner life” that helped prisoners stay alive, he
considers the transcendental power of love:

“Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest
meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present,
whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance.”

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o Frankl illustrates this with how his feelings for his wife gave him a sense of
meaning. He used his love for his wife to keep up his spirits and also noticed
that the other prisoners used their connection with others to stay positive
in the face of extremely negative circumstances.
o Love conquers all.

“Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his
personality.” - Viktor E. Frankl

- Costello (2015) captured Viktor Frankl’s message. The “ultimate secret on the
spiritual foundation of life is that Love is salvation and joy eternity.

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APPLICATION
Activity No. 6.2

DIRECTION: Answer the following questions below.

1. How is your belief on higher being related to yourself?

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2. Do you consider having a spiritual self? Why or why not?

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3. In what way does your religious belief help you develop your whole being?

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ASSESSMENT

DIRECTION: Create/make a collage about the existence of higher being in your own
religious beliefs. Attach here your work or you can directly create on the space provided
below. Use the Rubric below as a guide.

Collage Rubric
CATEGORY 5 3 2 0

Creativity All of the graphics Most of the graphics Only a few graphics None of the graphics or
or objects used in or objects used in or objects reflect objects reflects student
the collage reflect a the collage reflect student creativity, creativity.
degree of student student creativity in but the ideas were
creativity in their their display. typical rather than
display. creative.

Design Graphics are cut to 1-2 graphics are 3-4 graphics are Graphics are not an
an appropriate size, lacking in design or lacking in design or appropriate size shape.
shape and are placement. There placement. Too Glue marks evident.
arranged neatly. may be a few much background Most of the background
Care has been smudges or glue is showing. There is showing. It appears
taken to balance marks. are noticeable little attention was
the pictures across smudges or glue given to designing the
the area. Items are marks. collage.
glued neatly and
securely.

Title and The title is catchy A title is provided Title and No title or explanation!
Explanation and creative and that relates to the explanation are
related to the collage. The incomplete and
collage. The explanation partially relate to
explanation describes the the collage.
provides insight to purpose and process
the of creating the
purpose/meaning collage.
and design of the
collage; 1
paragraph or more.

Overall Grade: _____________________

15 pts. total

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