SPIRITUAL SELF

“The spiritual self is the most intimate, inner subjective part of the self.”

-William James (The Principles of Psychology, 1890)

The simplest way to describe the spiritual self is the unseen part of who we are that provides our
physical self with insights, intuitions and other ways of knowing. It is being beyond with our five
senses experience in the physical world.

Religion

A set of cultural beliefs and practices that usually includes some or all of characteristics:

1. A belief in anthropomorphic supernatural being, such as spirit and gods.

2. A focus on the sacred supernatural refers to a feeling of reverence and hope

3. The presence of supernatural power or energy that is found on supernatural beings as well
as physical beings and objects.

4. The performance of ritual activities that involves the manipulations of scared objects to
communicate to supernatural beings and/or to influence or control events.

5. The articulation of worldviews and moral codes through narratives and other means.

6. Provide the creation and maintenance of social bond and mechanism of social control
within a community; provide explanation for unknown and a sense of control for individuals.

Religious Beliefs and Practices

BUDDHISM – life is not a bed of roses. Instead, there are sufferings, pain and frustrations.

2 TYPES OF MEDITATION

 Samantha, practiced as mindfulness of breathing and development of loving- kindness.

 Vipassana, aim in to developing insight into reality.

CHRISTIANITY- believe in Trinitarian. Eternal life after death will be achieve through the faith
in Jesus Christ.

Practices

 Sacrament of Baptism and Sacrament of Communion

 Christmas and Resurrections ( Easter)

HINDUISM- Hindus believe that existence as a cycle of birth, death and rebirth, governed by
Karma. Karma is a concept where the reincarnated life will depend on how the past life was
spent.

Practices

 Diwali, Festival of Lights

 Navrati, Festival of Nine Nights

which celebrates the triumph of God over evil.

ISLAM- Muslims believe in Allah, who is their “ One God”. Muslims also have a strong sense of
community or “ummah” and an awareness of their solidarity with all Muslims worldwide.

Muslims believes in five pillars of Islam, which are the foundation of Muslim life:

1. SHAHADAH- Statement of faith

2. SALAT- the prayer that is practiced five times a day

3. ZAKAT- monetary hoffering for the benefit of the poor.

4. HAJJ- the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca.

5. SAWM- the fasting.

JUDAISM- Jews believe in the God of Abraham, the same God that liberated the Hebrews slaves
from Egypt to Canaan, the Promised Land through the leadership of Moses and later, Joshua.

There are five majors festivals observed by the Jews;

1. ROSH HASHANAH- The New Year

2. YOM KIPPUR- the Day of Atonement

3. PESACH- Passover

4. SHAVUOT- Pentecost

5. SUKKOT- TABERNACLES- The Jewish Sabbath

Rituals Practices

RITUALS are patterned forms of behavior that have to do with supernatural realm. Another
way to think of them is a belief in action.

* Life- Cycle Rituals

* Pilgrimage
 * Rituals of Inversions

* Sacrifice

Magic, Witchcraft and Religion

Magic and religion serve the same functions of trying to explain the unexplainable and
providing comfort and a coherent view of the world.

Magic, an attempt to make supernatural forces act in specific ways.

2 principles of magic

Imitative based on the assumption that like produces like.

Contagious, based on the principle that things that were once in contact can still influence each
other after separation.

Religion, seen as an attempt to please these forces.

Witchcraft

Idea that certain people have an inborn power to harness spirits or energies for specific
purposes.

Rituals and Offerings

 Rituals of marriage in the philippine

* Pagtatapat( Proposal)

* Singsing/ Paghingi ng kamay ( Engagement)

* Pamanhikan ( The meeting of two families)

* Paninilbihan ( Serving the Family)

* Pa- alam ( Inform the Family)

 PUKPOK - Circumcision in the country is mandatory tradition inspired mainly by religion.

 PENETENSYA

As a catholic nation, we came across a group of men parading the streets and
striking their already bleeding backs with whips. In Pampanga, a bloody crucifixion re-
enactment is held every Good Friday.
 Before tilling and cultivating land for their crops, Cebuanos were known to perform the
ritual of Tamblan. Consisting of meat from a white chicken or white pork along with
wine or Buyo, these offerings would be set on a table in the open field as gifts for the
unseen owner or spirit of the land.
 Certain taboos were also avoided depending on the crop that would be planted. For rice,
one must kill an insect called taga-taga which was believed to possess the soul of the
palay. When planting corn, the first three rows should be done at sundown. An individual
with broken teeth can not go and plant corn for it was believed to bear low quality
grains
 The Kankanaey tribe of western Mountain Province also practiced a ritual sacrifice
called Legleg to appease spirits that may otherwise hinder the growth of their plants. A
chicken would be killed as an offering to all surrounding spirits that might cause the
deterioration or stunted growth of their plants – especially their Bonabon seedling. Four
or five long feathers of the sacrificial chicken would be planted in the site where the
Bonabon seed is located. The ritual was repeated if the growth still remained poor.

 A more elaborate ritual called Lapiraw is done using a windmill made of Bamboo to call
on the winds. Once more, animal sacrifice is a major part of the ritual wherein a pig or
chicken is offered. Some would also catch a Kasili (swamp or rice eel) which was
connected to the belief that there is a huge eel living underneath the earth that causes
landslides when it tries to come out of the ground to swim in the sea.

 In Masbate, blood sacrifice was also made for their boats, although in a lesser and more
‘acceptable’ manner. The prows of their boat would be painted with the blood of chicken
before it would be used for sailing. This ritual was also believed to bring good luck to the
boat. Fishermen from Batanes offered a pig where it was believed all the bad fortune
from the boat would be transferred.