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The importance of spiritual growth
The importance of spiritual growth
Relationship of religion and spirituality
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Spiritual Needs Every human being has to feel the love from his own self, from others and of course the ultimate source. The vital beliefs the person possesses form the ultimate source gives him some hope during losses, tragedies and failures. The values and priorities in life makes him responsible personally and socially. It is very amazing to know the wonderful web of all living things. This creates oneness with other people and living beings. Spiritual experiences help us to improve our self-esteem, hope and joy in life. One should understand that spirituality is different from religion but are closely relative. Both makes us wonder and revere the world around. Spirituality is more of a personal experience as it purely depends on one’s own experiences, culture and community. It is a sense of connection with something higher than ourselves and involve a search for meaning in life. Spirituality depends on how you view it, for some it may be the association with their religious beliefs, for some it can be the purpose of …show more content…
This includes prayer and meditation, massage therapy, visualization and counselling. Spiritual therapies are not limited to a single religious belief system or prayer directed toward a particular deity. Burning incense and listening to guided meditation is just as effective a way of meeting spiritual needs as praying in church or talking to a religious leader. Material needs such as the basic food, clothing and shelter and other economic growth are very important and must be address properly and not to be neglected. But this must be in line with the principles of spirituality. It is often heard that the earth's resources can supply man with all its basic needs but not man's greed. In order to have a successful nation or country, the people in that nation must peaceful with themselves and peace can only be achieved if the people are
In all dominations there are people who may consider themselves spiritual because that is how we connect as human beings. For example, those of the Pentecostal faith, view the “holy ghost” as their spiritual higher power. A Buddhist may not look at Buddha as necessarily their God, but a higher power as well. A female person of the Islamic faith will have her head covered; that is religion. In this chapter authors have given examples supporting this concept, however, in theses readings, my understanding of spiritually does allude to religion as the foundation. Additionally, it would be safe for me to view spirituality with a connotative meaning. Spirituality transcends religious practices; therefore, religion expresses how one worships. Yes, according to our readings they are very separate; however, it is my belief they carry the same foundation. This is where the theme of spirituality was somewhat weak to
Spiritual life makes us feel peace and accomplished. In spirituality there is always a God that lead people to the correct way of living. The God they follow and adore tells them the right way to go and gives advice. At the end, people who see success through this point of view believes God is the only one who takes them to succeed in despite any lack or problem they can ever face.
With this in mind whatever method is chosen, modern medicine or alternative, spiritual healing is a crucial part of the whole process of healing.
Worthington et. al. (2011) says historically, religiousness involved individual and institutional elements; however, now spirituality is thought of as an individual phenomenon and linked with meaningfulness, New Age beliefs, and personal transcendence. Additionally, spirituality is described in personal terms like one’s relationship with God, and as a result, spirituality is more highly regarded than religion. The authors define spirituality as a feeling of closeness and having a relationship or dedication to God or a higher power; this can be a religious experience or a nonreligious one. They state that what one considers sacred is usually related to the awareness of social influences. According to the authors, four types of spirituality have been identified based on closeness to God. First, is religious spirituality. Religious spirituality’s connectedness to God is based on one’s specific denomination and the closeness is specific to the deity identified. Second is humanistic spirituality. Humanistic spirituality involves closeness to humans. This type of spirituality fosters a loving connection with a specific group of people and a sense of selflessness and concern
Throughout history, it seems that medicine and spirituality have been linked in many circumstances. In a study looking at the use of complementary and alternative therapies in cardiac patients, spiritual healing was one of many practices patient sought to utilize. In another study, 29% of participants chose to use prayer or premeditation as a way to cope with their chronic illness. In both studies, prayer or meditation was more likely to be used by individuals who had a large social network, as well as support from another person in the same health situation. Based on these studies, it seems that many individuals (not just cardiovascular patients) turn to their spirituality in times of health distress.
Spirituality and religion are two things that embody each other in many ways. These tenets have been around since the beginning of man. The practice of spirituality or religion takes place in almost everyone’s life at one time or another. Pope Francis at Apostolic Palace 00120, Vatican City, is the top religious leader of the day. Dalai Lama of Thekchen Complex, Teapc Road, P. O. Mcleadgani, Hemachal Pradesh, India, is the top spiritual leader. People need spirituality and religion in their lives for structure, enlightenment, joy, and happiness. These faiths are sometimes mistaken for the same thing, but spirituality and religion have very different meanings. Spirituality is the best way to practice a faith based way of life.
Spirituality refers to the perspective of that which is valued in life, and that which must to be upheld and defended under any and all circumstances, regardless of the social environment and surrounding conditions.
Spirituality hasn’t played an important role in my life thus far, as my initial understanding of the concept has always been related to religion. Growing up, my mother’s sides of the family were firm believers in god, and Christianity. Neither my mother, nor my father ever included religion into their lives, or mine. In fact, religion created a barrier within our family dynamics for as long as I can remember. My aunt was married to a priest and during our family dinners he would pull me aside to read bible versus. My parents were not happy once they realized that my uncle was doing this with me behind their backs. This marked the beginning of divergence between my mother and aunt’s side of the family. It wasn’t until my grandparents passed
Spiritual formation is a process that morphs as we grow and change. There is no one singular correct path this type of journey takes because each journey is as individual as the person who is experiencing it. Most obvious, the journey will be different from those who identify as religious and those who do not and will diversify with in each category. For example, the spiritual journey a Buddhist takes will be different from that of a believer in Judaism or Christianity. In fact, the journey will continue to diversify between Christians, male and female, age groups, even by demographic location. Consequently, the spiritual formation process is as diverse as it is intricate and we may never be able to discover all the journey options. Although individuals may not actively recognize they are experiencing spiritual formation it is a process that affects all. Because it is in human nature to question, learn, grow, and act, everyone to a certain extent is exposed to a unique spiritual formation journey.
In his book, Spirituality and Prayer, Kevin defines spirituality as a movement that entails the coming to know God by humans and their response to God. This suggests a calling by one party, God, and the responding of another party, Human beings, which ends up into a relationship. A Relationship, among human beings, is a sort of significant connection between two or more parties. This involvement with one another could be emotional. In other words, human relations involve dealings, associations, affairs, contact and even interactions. With this in mind one can more or less easily build a relationship with God that can be referred to as a spirituality. A spirituality is grounded in a specific understanding about God, about God’s relationship with the world and about the human person in that world.
Spiritual formation is one subject that I like to discuss in that it really helps one reflect on their own spiritual journey and where they are in that journey. The devil wants to steal, kill, and destroy any step forward towards God. He is not after anything tangible that we possess, rather, he is only after our faith in God and belief in Jesus. Knowing this is part of our spiritual journey as fighting against the enemy requires spiritual warfare in which the only one that can help is Jesus. A transformation in our character to be like Jesus is essential to our spiritual growth. This cannot be done without being intentional with our time, finances, and disciplines.
“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” According to Buddha, everyone needs some form of spirituality to define his or her life and existence. Webster Dictionary defines spiritualism as “a system of beliefs or religious practices based on supposed communication with the spirits of the dead, often times through mediums.” Though this is one general definition of spiritualism, this concept is one that does not hold a conclusive meaning. Each and every single person has the ability and right to create and practice their own idea of spiritualism. From ancient times to present day, the term and practice of spirituality has transformed, particularly from region to region. Despite the discrepancies in practices and overall understanding of this idea, spirituality has had an effect and impact upon all of humanity since the creation of time. This religion that is believed to have been established in the early eighteen hundreds, after two little girls claimed to have the ability to talk to spirits, sparked interest in this spiritual movement, allowing it to spread rather rapidly over many geographical locations. Aside from being recognized as a religion, spiritualism is also believed to be a form of philosophy and a science in which spiritualists believe that there is life after death and try to demonstrate this through the ability of attempting to communicate with those that have passed on. Spiritualism was socially different from other religions in existence at the time because it presented followers with a more tolerant belief system that assimilated the principles and facts from a selection the world's religions. Spiritualism also made it acceptable for women to play a disti...
Every person is on a journey of spiritual formation (Mulholland, 1993). What 's frightening is how this process can happen with or without our intention. Taking this a level deeper, every human is formed with an innate desire to worship (Warren, 2002). Putting this all in perspective; whether a person intends to or not, they are worshipping someone or something, and in so doing are being formed into the likeness of this person or thing. Knowing this, it is easy to see the importance of spiritual formation on the psychological health of a person. For example: if someone is being formed into the likeness of a demanding spouse, they will quite possibly grow into someone defined by bitterness or feelings of insufficiency. Therefore, it is vital
Ganga and Kutty stated (2013) spirituality refers to a path of life that enables people to seek reason of their existence and helps people explore challenges. Ganga and Kutty (2013) conducted a study on adults to see if spirituality had positive effects on their life, meaning did their life have purpose or value. Each participant partook in a study that asked questions about their life and purpose. The study consisted of a daily spiritual experience scale, it was a point scale that consist of 16 items to be rated on a 6-point scale. The results concluded that spirituality has positive effects on their life when seeking their purpose. Each participant felt that he/she had a purpose and that their life was valuable and meaningful (Ganga and Kutty, 2013). According to Ganga and Kutty (2013), spirituality is a way for people to discover the meaning of their life. Spirituality is a personal adventure to understand answers to the questions they seek to find about their spirituality and purpose in life. It says spirituality is a set of beliefs and practices that concludes with life changing paths that make a person’s life meaningful. Spirituality has been viewed as an important factor when realizing the purpose of life. Ganga and Kutty (2013) expressed spirituality enhances our emotions, thoughts, beliefs, relieves stress and it finds meaning and purpose of one’s life. I believe
Spirituality can have many different definitions, depending on who is asked. It can be something as simple as looking for a higher meaning to life, or something so complex that one can base their beliefs, religion and overall life around it. There are several different ways to express one's spirituality; rituals, songs, dances, stories, and writings are all common methods of expression.