Section 1:

The Inner Soul

Spirituality

The concept of the “whole person” is usually associated to the idea of human beings
as having physical ans psychological aspects.
 Highlighting the mind-body-spirit connection, the spiritual self is an ongoing,
personal life journey, contextualizer by the belief in a higher being, culture,
relationships, nature, and the discovery of meaning in one’s life.
Several definitions that have been formulated
regarding spirituality.
Puchalski (2014), spirituality is the aspect of tbe self that is associated to an
individual’s process of seeking and expressiny meaning and how he or she is
connected to the self, to others, to the moment and to everything else that composes
his/her environment, including the sacred and significant.
Beauregard and O’Leary (2007), spirituality is any experience that is thought to
bring the experiencer in contact with the divine; it is not just any experience that
feels meaningful.
Sinnott (2002), spirituality is also posited as the indivudual’s personal relation to the
sacred or transcendent, a relation that then informs other relationships and the
meaning of one’s own life.
 Myers and his colleagues (2000), spirituality is the “personal and private beliefs
that transcend the material aspects of life and give a deep sense of wholeness,
connectedness, and openness to the infinite.”
What do these definitions have in common
with regard to spirituality?

Spirituality talks about meaning and purpose that go beyond the physical realities of
life. Going through development, people are inevitably programmed to make
realizations about life, and those insights are not always about observable
phenomena or environmental experiences.
Spirituality is focused on a person’s connections to different aspects of his/her
existence: to other people, to nature, and to sacredness and divinity. In the pursuit of
and applying meaning to one’s life, relationships are created and sustained not only
with people but with other life forms or with a higher being.
 Spirituality talks about the sacred and transcendent. It is a general belief that in
this vast universe, there is a force higher than the self.
Religiosity

Defined as the adherence to a belief system and practices associated with a tradition
in which there is agreement about what is believed and practiced. It is a formal
attachment to the set of beliefs, values, and practices of a particular religious sect. It
includes specific practices, proscriptions (what should not be done and avoided),
and participation in a specific community that shares the same beliefs and practices.
 However, as one grows older, he/she begins to form questions that are rooted in
religious orientations, slowly making realizations and insights until his/her
search for meaning and transcendence goes beyond his/her religious orientation.
Religiosity vs. Spirituality

 If religiosity is communal, then spirituality is individual.

 In religiosity, beliefs and practices are within religious groups, and religious
commitment, conservatism, and skepticism are manifested. Spiritual attributes
include the need for spiritual quest, ecumenical worldviews, compassion,
service, and inner peace.A person can possess spirituality even his/she doed not
subscribe to any religion. Spiritual models are present everywhere. They
function for respondents as exemplars or spiritual qualities, such as compassion,
self-control, or faith. Thus, q person can be spiritual without being religious.