معنویت

معنوی و معنویت Spirituality به هرآنچه که شامل یا مربوط به معنی و روح باشد گفته می‌شود و مخالف با ظاهری و مادی است. هر آنچه مادی نباشد را معنوی گویند. از دین به معنویت استعاره می شود.[۱] به روال سنتی ، بسیاری از ادیان معنویت را یکی از ابعاد صحیح تجربهٔ دینی می‌دانند. بعضی هم دین را معادل معنویت می‌دانند ، اما کاهش پیروان دینی با رشد سکولاریسم در جهان غرب سبب رشد دیدگاه‌های وسیعی از معنویت شده است. معنویت به حقیقت نهایی اشاره دارد که نگاهی ماورای نگاه مادی می باشد. راهی درونی که شخص را قادر به کشف ماهیت هستی یا عمیق‌ترین ارزشها و معانی زندگی مردم می‌سازد؛ تمرینهای معنوی شامل مدیتیشن، نماز و مراقبه هدفشان زندگی درونی شخصی است. چنین تمرینهایی به تجربه یا ارتباط با حقیقت برتر کمک می‌کنند؛ یعنی فهم بهتر خود در ارتباط با اشخاص دیگر یا با جامعهٔ انسانی ، با طبیعت یا جهان یا با عرصهٔ روحانی... معنویت غالباً به عنوان انرژی در جهت‌یابی برای زندگی بهتر قلمداد می‌شود. می‌توان آن را توجه به همه ی حقایق موجود غیرمادی و مادی در جهان دانست. محتویات [نمایش] معنویت از دیدگاه‌های مختلف [ویرایش] روانشناسی دین [ویرایش] روانشناسی دین به عنوان رشته‌ای علمی مبتنی است بر تعریف‌هایی عملیاتی؛ در این رشته تعاریف متعددی برای «معنویت» و معیارهای مختلفی برای سنجش معنویت افراد وجود دارد. جای بحث دارد که معنویت را باید جدا از دین لحاظ کرد یا نه، به عنوان شاخه‌ای از دین قابل مطالعه است. این بحث البته وابسته است به اینکه معنویت را چگونه تعریف کنیم. معنویت سکولار [ویرایش] معنویت سکولار می‌کوشد جنبه‌هایی از زندگی و تجربهٔ انسانی را که با دیدگاه‌های ماتریالیستی و مکانیکی صرف به دست نیامده است، تشخیص دهد بدون آنکه به معنویت اعتقاد داشته باشد. این رشته ممکن است انواعی از تمرینهای معنوی مانند مدیتیشن یا تمرکز حواس را برای انسان مفید یا حتی لازم بداند بدون آنکه اعتقادی به توضیحات یا توجیهات فراطبیعی در انسان داشته باشد. در واقع اصلاً ارتباطی بین معنویت و اعتقاد در کار نیست. کلمه «معنویت» صرفاً به دیدگاه‌های مذهبی غالباً شخصی و غیرنظام‌مند که ویژگی کثرت‌گرایانه دارند مربوط است تا به اعتقادات نظری و ادیان نظام‌یافته؛ اگرچه شاید این دیدگاه سکولار قابل تردید باشد. خداناباوری [ویرایش] اما با توجه به اینکه خداناباوران تمایل به شکاکیت درباب ادعاهای فراطبیعی و وجود واقعی روح دارند‌، برخی از آنها معنویت را افکار، احساسات، کلمات و رفتارهای پیشرفته‌ای می‌دانند که به‌گونه‌ای با کل کائنات در ارتباط است، ولو با نوعی رابطهٔ ضعیف علی و معلولی. برخی از نسخه‌های بودیسم یک چنین چیزی است اگرچه باید در نظر داشت فراطبیعی لزوماً به معنای خداباورانه نیست. مکتب نیو ایج [ویرایش] در مقابل پیروان نیوایج (New-Age) ــ‌یعنی مسیحیت متمایل به هندوئیسم‌ــ برآن‌اند که معنویت ارتباطی با روح/قدرت/ انرژی‌ای فراهم می کند که سبب درک عمیق‌تر از خود می‌شود. معنویت تاحدی شامل خودنگری و بهبود زندگی درونی از طریق تمریناتی مانند مدیتیشن، نماز و مراقبه است. برخی مکاتب جدید معنویت را درهر چیزی موجود می‌دانند؛ مانند دو مکتب همه‌خداباوری و همه‌خداباوری جدید. همین‌طور «طبیعت‌گرایی دینی» هم نگاهی معنویت‌مدار دارد و معنویت را در جهان طبیعت پنهان می‌داند. راه معنوی [ویرایش] معنویت در انواع مختلفی از مفاهیم فرهنگی و دینی شامل راهی معنوی تلقی می‌شود که در آن فرد می‌تواند به چیزی مثل سطح بالایی از هوشیاری یا انسان کامل شدن یا رسیدن به حکمت یا اتحاد با خدا یا خلقت دست یابد. تمثیل غار افلاطون که در کتاب هفتم جمهوری آورده شده است شرحی از یک سفر است (چنان‌که در نوشته‌های ترزای آویلایی آمده است). سفر روحانی مسیری است که بعد ذهنی و فردی دارد. سفر معنوی برای رسیدن به هدفی معلوم می‌تواند دوره‌ای کوتاه یا طولانی داشته باشد. هرحادثه زندگی بخشی از این سفر است اما می‌توان به طور خاص لحظاتی مشخص یا برجسته هم داشته باشد مانند تمرینات مختلف معنوی (از قبیل مراقبه، نماز و روزه)؛ ارتباط با فردی که تجربه‌های عمیق معنوی را از سر گذرانده (که به او استاد، پیر، مرشد روحانی یا گورو می‌گویند بسته به اینکه در چه فرهنگی باشد)؛ رویکرد شخص به متون مقدس و ... اگر مسیر معنوی همه تاحدی یا کاملاً یکی باشد در ابتدای راه ممکن است این حالات به صورت آزمایش یا غلبه باشد، چنین آزمونهایی غالباً پیش از نتیجهٔ اجتماعی امتحانی‌اند برای خود فردی که به آنها رسیده است. معنویت می‌تواند دو بعد داشته باشد: یکی رشد درونی، دیگری ابراز نتیجهٔ این رشد در جهان. دین [ویرایش] اگر چه دو واژه معنویت و دین هردو می‌توانند به معنای مشترک جست‌وجوی امر مطلق یا خداوند دلالت کنند، شمار فزاینده‌ای از مردم این دو را دو هویت جداگانه تلقی می‌کنند دین تنها یک راه برای رسیدن به تجربه‌های معنوی است. ویلیام ایروین، مرتاض و مورخ فرهنگ معتقد است «دین همان معنویت نیست؛ بلکه دین شکلی است که معنویت در جریان تمدن به خود گرفته است». بابی مانجو نیز گفته است: «دین پایان و معنویت آغاز است». کسانی که از معنویت خارج از دین سخن می‌گویند غالباً خود را افراد معنوی غیردینی می‌خوانند (SBNR: spiritual but not religious) طبق یک نظرسنجی حدود یک‌‌چهارم مردم آمریکا خود را افرادی معنوی ولی غیردینی می‌دانند. می‌توان چنین گفت که دین نوعی جست‌وجوی بیرونی رسمی است درحالی که معنویت جست‌وجوی درون است. معنویت به این معنا با شکاکیت درباره عالم ماورا سازگار است. می‌توان گفت معنویت به جای آنکه هدف باشد خود مسیر است؛ یعنی گرایش و شیوه‌ای که فرد برای زندگی برمی‌گزیند نه هدفی که باید به آن برسد. پانویس [ویرایش] ↑ وب‌گاه لغت‌نامهٔ دهخدا مشارکت‌کنندگان ویکی‌پدیا، «Spirituality»، ویکی‌پدیای انگلیسی، دانشنامهٔ آزاد (بازیابی در ۶ فوریهٔ ۲۰۱۱). این یک نوشتار خُرد است. با گسترش آن به ویکی‌پدیا کمک کنید. رده‌های صفحه: معنویت روان‌شناسی مثبت قس عربی الروحانیة، هو توجه أو اهتمام للإنسان نحو کل ما یتعلق بالأمور الروحانیة المتعلقة بالروح. تهتم الروحانیة بالقیم الأبدیة وکل ما یمکن أن یسر أو یشرح الطبیعة الکلیة (الکبرى) للإنسان والخلق والعالم، لذلک فهی تقع على طرف نقیض مع الزمنی الراهن، والمادیة الطبیعیة، فهی غالبا ما تهتم بوضع نظریات میتافیزیقیة تتضمن الإیمان بقوى فوق-طبیعیة، تماما مثل الأدیان، لکن تأکیدهم وبرهانهم على هذه النظریات ووجود القوى فوق الطبیعیة یکون عن طریق رسالات أو کتب سماویة (مثل الدیانات السماویة) أو برهان عقلی (مثل المیتافیزینیا الفلسفیة) وأنما عن طریق التجربة والخبرة الشخصیة التی تکتسب عن طریق ممارسات تعبدیة معینة. قد تکون الروحانیة تعبیرا عن شعور بالحیاة أکثر أو اقل تعقیدا وأکبر من مجرد الإحساس الیومی بالأشیاء بل یجب أن یکون فهمنا للحیاة مترافقا مع رؤیة للعالم تتضمن موقفا من الکثیر من القضایا الإنسانیة. وصایا الرب العشر شاهد المزید من الصور والملفات فی ویکیمیدیا کومنز حول: روحانیة هذه بذرة مقالة عن شخصیات أو مصطلحات متعلقة بالفلسفة تحتاج للنمو والتحسین، فساهم فی إثرائها بالمشارکة فی تحریرها. و مصادرها من الکتب العربیة الروحانیة تصنیفان: روحانیةمصطلحات فلسفیة قس ترکی استانبولی Spiritüalizm (öte âlemcilik) terimi Latince “ruh” anlamına gelen “spiritus” sözcüğünün sıfatı “spiritualis” sözcüğünden türetilmiş olup ruhçuluk anlamında kullanılmaktadır. Türkçe'de tinselcilik olarak da adlandırılmaktadır. Günümüzde dinsel, mistik ve felsefi alanlarda pek çok akım, ekol ve gruplar kendilerine spiritüalist adını vermekteyse de aralarında ilke, görüş ve kavram bakımından önemli farklar bulunmaktadır. Aralarındaki temel ortak nokta, ruh denilen manevi bir unsurun varlığını kabul etmeleridir. Fakat bunlardan bir kısmı, ruhun orijinal ve kendine özgü olduğunu kabul etmez, bir kısmı ruhun sürekli gelişim içinde olduğuna karşıdır, bir kısmı ise ruhun sürekli olarak tekrar bedenlendiğini kabul eder. Bu yüzden kimi ansiklopedilerde spiritüalizm denen ruhçuluk iki kısımda ele alınır: 1-Felsefi spiritüalizm. Antik çağdan beri pek çok filozof ruh denilen bir cevherin varlığını savunmakla birlikte, bunlardan bazıları ruhların kendilerine özgü orijinal cevherler olduklarını kabul etmemişlerdir. 2-Deneysel spiritüalizm. Platon ve Pisagor gibi filozofların döneminden 19. yüzyıla dek sistemsiz bir şekilde dalgalanan, reenkarnasyonu kabul eden ruhçuluğun, Fransa’da Allan Kardec tarafından kurulan ilk sistemli biçimidir. Fransa gibi kimi Avrupa ülkelerinde Spiritizm adıyla da bilinir. Latin Amerika ülkelerinde ise kurucusuna ithafen, Kardesizm adını almıştır. Konu hakkında yeterince bilgili olmayanlar spiritüalist sözcüğünün kullanıldığı her akım, ekol ve grubun reenkarnasyonu kabul ettiğini sanmaktadırlar. Oysa bu, ruhun varlığını kabul edenlerce kullanılan çok genel bir terimdir. Örneğin A.B.D.’de adında spiritüalist sözcüğü bulunan, sayıları yüzü aşkın Hıristiyan kurum, kuruluş, örgüt ve tarikat bulunmakta olup, reenkarnasyon ilkesini kabul etmezler. Kimileri ise ruhçuluğu maddeciliğin karşıtı olarak ele alır. Bu, felsefi alanda bazı spiritüalist akımlar için geçerli olmakla birlikte, tüm spiritüalist görüşler için geçerli değildir. Örneğin neo-spiritüalizm, ruh ve maddenin ayrılığını değil, birliğini savunur ve materyalist görüşten tümüyle kopuk ruhçuluğu eleştirir. Konu başlıkları [göster] Genel [değiştir] Spiritüalizm geniş anlamda tinselcilik (ruhçuluk) anlamında olup, ruhani tüm konuları kapsar; dar anlamda da dini bir kavram olmaktadır. Spiritüalizm’in dini anlamı öteki dünya veya sonsuzluk gibi manevi kavramlarla bağdaştırılabilir. Spiritüalizm’in sadece kesin sınırları ve temel anlayışı diğer manevi düşünce alanlarından farklıdır. Fakat çoğu sözcüklerde (özellikle İngilizce sözcüklerde) anlayış olarak birbirlerinden farklı olmalarına rağmen dindarlık ve spiritüalizm (tinselcilik) eşanlamlı olarak verilir. Spiritüalizm anlamı bazı yerlerde ruhçuluk, ruhaniyet, ruhani oluş olarak geçer. Materyalizm‘in (maddecilik) karşıt anlamı olarak verildiği yerler de vardır. Spiritüalizm büyük dinlerde de yer yer geçmektedir. Bu bağlamda tinselcilik; takva tanrıya giden bir yol olarak da ele alınabilir. Kimi psikologlar spiritüalizm’i, varoluşun en önemli ayrıcalıklarını bilmek, özellikle kişinin kendi varlığının kendi gücünün farkındalığını yaşamak olarak tanımlar. Yani kısaca spiritüalizm, bir insanın, dinsel öğeleri manevi biçimde yaşaması demek değildir. İnsan materyalizmden kopuk yaşamaya da bilir. Spiritüalizm kişinin benliğini aşan sanal gerçeklik ve maksimum derecede önemliliği savunur. Kimi kitaplarda da spiritüalizm, maddesel olmayan, madde ötesi ruhsal, fakat anlaşılır gerçekliktir. Tanrı varlık en büyük güç ya da uyanış, anlayış tanıma gibi konuları ele alır. Bu inanışta sorgulayıcı tutum, inanarak kabul etme, bilinçli olarak edimlerde bulunma savunulmaktadır. Spiritüalizm aşağıdaki 7 maddeyle açıklanabilir: Dua, tanrıya inanma, anlama Tanıma, bilme, anlama Maneviyat, inanç Hissetme, geniş düşünme, hoşgörü Dünyayı ve kendini bilerek dış çevreyi doğru algılama Derin saygı ve düşünceli olma Soğukkanlılık ve meditasyon Birçok felsefeci yukarıdaki özelliklere sahip olunarak insanın kendi hayatının önemini, mantığını kavrayabilir. Hangi tanrıya (Allah, Tao, Brahman, Praina) inanılırsa inanılsın eğer bir kişi bu özelliklere sahipse içindeki maneviyatı yakalayacağına inanılır. Spiritüalizm, aracı olmadan belli bir gruba dahil olunmadan etnik olan yaşam tarzını sürdürülebilir olduğunu savunur. Din psikologları spiritüalizmin ana düşüncesinin maneviyata yönelme olarak da tanımlar. Onlara göre spiritüalizm bencillikten tamamen uzak, materyalist olmayan bir düşüncenin merkezinde olmaktır. Transpersonel psikologlar da Spiritüalizm’i, tek bir gerçeğin olduğunu algılama ve ruhsal gerçekliği bilme olarak tanımlar. Temel terimler [değiştir] Klasik Spiritüalizm'in içerdiği fenomenler, konular ve alanlarla ilgili olarak kullanılan temel terimler: Akışkanlar (sinirsel akışkan, yaşamsal akışkan) Animizm Apor Bağlı şuur Dedublüman Demateryalizasyon Dezenkarnasyon Doğum işareti Duble Ekminezi Ektoplazma Hami varlık Hipnoz Fantom Kendiliğinden imajinasyon Materyalizasyon Medyumluk Metapsişik Obsesyon Obsedör Operatör Perispri Psişik yetenek Reenkarnasyon Ruh Seans Serbest şuur Spatyum Tekamül Teleportasyon Trans Teşevvüş Yaşam Planı Uyurgezerlik Dinlere göre spiritüalizm [değiştir] Spiritüalizm son zamanlarda kişiye özgü olarak ele alınır. Çünkü maneviyatta yaşayan her bir kişi hayat ya da deneyim açısından farklı boyutta ve şekildedir. Böylece dinler ve mezhepler farklı manevi etkileşimler yaratır. Bu da dini boyutta ve dini gerçeklerde farklı deneyim, tasvir ve adlandırmaya sebebiyet verir. Örneğin tanrı (İslam dininde Allah), Tao, Brahman, Maha-Atman, Shunyata, Kutsal ruh Pneuma, Prajna, Maha-Puruşa, Sugmad aslında tek bir gerçeklik, tek bir inanıştır. Şimdilerde büyük din grupları ve mezhepler farklı bir şekilde manevi akımlar ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Manevi inanışlar ve farklı dinler birbirlerinden etkilenerek birbirlerini kabul ederek adaptasyon sağlayarak farklı din grupları yaratabilir. Buna örnek olarak Hristiyan dininin ve Zen inanışının ortaya çıkması gösterilebilir.Bu da farklı dinlerin ortak noktada birleşmelerinin imkânsız olmayacağını göstermektedir. Dinlerin spiritüal ritüelleri [değiştir] İslam: Dua, abdest, Hac görevi, oruç tutma, zekât. Hristiyanlık: Bedensel ve ruhsal ibadet, meditasyon, İncil’den bölümler anlatan dramalar. Budizm, Hinduizm, Taoizm, Jainizm: Esas olarak insanı güzelliğe, gerçekliğe, mutluluğa, empatiye yönelten manevi davranışlar, meditasyon, konsantrasyon, yoga. Spiritüalizmle ilişkili görülen alanlar [değiştir] Ezoterizm Mistisizm Okültizm Parapsikoloji Teozofi Senkretizm Tinsel Metafizik Ayrıca bakınız [değiştir] Spiritizm Neo-spiritüalizm Aura Dış bağlantılar [değiştir] Spiritüalist terimler sözlüğü Spiritüalist bülten (türkçe) Kaynakça [değiştir] Ruhçuluk Nedir,Mehmet Ali Usta Encyclopedia of Mystical& Paranormal Experience, Rosemary Ellen Guiley Dharma Ansiklopedi, Dharma Yayınları [gizle] g · t · dTanrı kavramı hakkındaki inanç ve öğretiler Akosmizm · Agnostisizm · Animizm · Antiteizm · Ateizm · Biniteryanizm · Deizm · Determinizm · Duoteizm · Ezoterizm · Euteizm ve disteizm · Gnostisizm · Henoteizm · Hümanizm · İgnostisizm · Katenoteizm · Mistisizm · Monizm · Monoteizm · Monolatrizm · New Age · Nondualizm · Nonteizm · Omniteizm · Pandeizm · Panendeizm · Panenteizm · Panteizm · Polideizm · Politeizm · Spiritüalizm · Teizm · Telema · Teopanizm · Teozofi · Transandantalizm · Transteizm · Triniteryanizm · Üniteryanizm Din ile ilgili bu madde bir taslaktır. İçeriğini geliştirerek Vikipedi'ye katkıda bulunabilirsiniz. spiritüalizm portali Kategoriler: Din taslaklarıSpiritüalizm قس پشتو روحانیت چې په عربی کې ورته (الروحانیة) او انګرېزی کې یې (Spirituality) ګڼی، هر هغه څه ته پام او زیار کول دی چې اروا پورې اړوند وی. روحانیت زیاتره پام هغو ابدی او تل تر تله ارزښتونو ته کوی چې د انسان، خلق او عالم ټولیز طبیعت تشرېح کوی. نو پدې توګه روحانیت له مادی طبیعت سره په جګړه کې وی. نو په غالب ګومان روحانیت، د میتافزیکی نظریاتو ایمان لرل په طبعی توان سره. یا په بله مانا: روحانیت هغه ژوره مانا او ارزښتونه دی چې خلک پرې ژوند کوی. [سمول]سرچینې و مصادرها من الکتب العربیة الروحانیة [پټول] ک • خ • س فلسفه لوېدیځه فلسفه · ختیځه فلسفه تاریخ لرغونې بودایی · چینایی · یونانی · هېلېنیستی · هندی (هندوان · جاینیزم) · پارسی منځنۍ عیسوی (Scholasticism) · اسلامی (لومړنی اسلامی پېر) · یهودی (یهودی -اسلامی) نوې اندیینه · رېشنالیزم معاصره شننیزه · لویه وچه لړلیکونه بهر لیکه · لیکلړ · ښونځی · وییپانګه · فیلسوفان · خوځښتونه · خپرونې څانګې مېټافیزیک · پوهنپوهنه · منطق · اخلاق · ښکلاپوهنه فلسفه د · چاره · هنر · ژونپوهنه · کیمیا · فلم · زده کړه · وټه · چاپېریال · جغرافیه · مالومات · روغتیا · تاریخ · انسانی طبیعت · مزاح · ژبه · قانون · ادبیات · شمېرپوهنه · عقل · موسیقی · شته والی · فلسفه · فیزیک · سیاست · ساپوهنه · مذهب · ساینس · ټولنیزې پوهې · تخنیک · جګړه د فکر ښوونځی Africana · انارشیزم · Aristotelianism · Averroism · ابن سینیزم · کلاسیک لېبرالیزم · کره کتنیزه تیوری · Cynicism · Deconstructionism · ډئیزم · Deontology · Dialectical materialism · Dualism · Egoism · اپیکوریزم · Epiphenomenalism · Existentialism · فېمینیزم · Functionalism · Hedonism · Hegelianism · هرمنېټېکس · هیومانیزم · آندپوهنه · کانتیزم · کیوټو مکتب · قانونی مثبتیت · منطقی مثبتیت · مارکسیزم · مټریالیزم · موډرنیزم · Monism · Naturalism · نیوپلاټونیزم · نوی فیلسوفان · Nihilism · Ordinary language · Particularism · Peripatetic · ځلیزپوهنه · Platonism · Posthumanism · Postmodernism · Post-structuralism · پراګماتیزم · Presocratic · Process · Psychoanalysis · Solipsism · ریالیزم · نسبیت · Scholasticism · Skepticism · Stoicism · Structuralism · Thomism · Utilitarianism · more... تانبه · وېشنیزه · ویکی پروژه · بدلونونه وېشنیزې: روحانیت فلسفی ویی قس انگلیسی Spirituality refers to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality;[1] an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the "deepest values and meanings by which people live."[2] Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop an individual's inner life; spiritual experience includes that of connectedness with a larger reality, yielding a more comprehensive self; with other individuals or the human community; with nature or the cosmos; or with the divine realm.[3] Spirituality is often experienced as a source of inspiration or orientation in life.[4] It can encompass belief in immaterial realities or experiences of the immanent or transcendent nature of the world. Contents [show] [edit]Definition Traditionally, many religions have regarded spirituality as an integral aspect of religious experience. Among other factors, declining membership of organized religions and the growth of secularism in the western world have given rise to a broader view of spirituality.[5] The term "spiritual" is now frequently used in contexts in which the term "religious" was formerly employed; compare James' 1902 lectures on the "Varieties of Religious Experience".[6][7] Secular spirituality emphasizes humanistic ideas on qualities such as love, compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, responsibility, harmony, and a concern for others[8]:22, aspects of life and human experience which go beyond a purely materialist view of the world, without necessarily accepting belief in a supernatural reality or divine being. Spiritual practices such as mindfulness and meditation can be experienced as beneficial or even necessary for human fulfillment without any supernatural interpretation or explanation. Spirituality in this context may be a matter of nurturing thoughts, emotions, words and actions that are in harmony with a belief that everything in the universe is mutually dependent; this stance has much in common with some versions of Buddhist spirituality. A modern definition is as follows: "Spirituality exists wherever we struggle with the issues of how our lives fit into the greater scheme of things. This is true when our questions never give way to specific answers or give rise to specific practices such as prayer or meditation. We encounter spiritual issues every time we wonder where the universe comes from, why we are here, or what happens when we die. We also become spiritual when we become moved by values such as beauty, love, or creativity that seem to reveal a meaning or power beyond our visible world. An idea or practice is "spiritual" when it reveals our personal desire to establish a felt-relationship with the deepest meanings or powers governing life."[9] The psychology of religion uses a variety of metrics to measure spirituality.[10] [edit]Spiritual path In a wide variety of traditions, spirituality is seen as a path toward one or more of the following: a higher state of awareness, perfection of one's own being, wisdom, or communion with God or with creation. Plato's Allegory of the Cave, which appears in book VII of The Republic, is a description of such a journey, as are the writings of Teresa of Avila. The Vedas and Upanishads also describe such a path of transformation. Disciplines such a path entail may include meditation, prayer, and the contemplation of sacred texts; ethical development;[8]:33 and some sort of spiritual transmission, sometimes through a preceptor. Spirituality aims both at inner growth and outward manifestations of this growth. Love and/or compassion are often described as the mainstay of spiritual development.[8][11] [edit]Religion Whilst the terms spirituality and religion both relate to a search for an Absolute or God, and thus have much overlap, there are also characteristic differences in their usage. Religion implies a particular faith tradition that includes acceptance of a metaphysical or supernatural reality;[8]:22, whereas spirituality is not necessarily bound to any particular religious tradition. Thus William Irwin Thompson suggest that "religion is the form spirituality takes in a civilization."[12] Those who speak of spirituality outside of religion often define themselves as "spiritual but not religious" and generally believe in the existence of different "spiritual paths," emphasizing the importance of finding one's own individual path to spirituality. According to one poll, about 24% of the United States population identifies itself as spiritual but not religious.[13] [edit]Spirituality within particular religious traditions In the Catholic Church, spirituality is generally seen as an integral part of religion, as much for the laity as for the 'religious' (i.e. those who have taken vows to the Church). There is a variety of charisms that emphasize particular ways to serve God and humanity. See Catholic spirituality, Ignatian spirituality. For Anglican spirituality, see Anglican devotions. [edit]Science Since the scientific revolution, the relationship of science to religion and spirituality has developed in complex ways.[14][15] Historian John Hedley Brooke describes wide variations: "the natural sciences have been invested with religious meaning, with antireligious implications and, in many contexts, with no religious significance at all."[15]:16 The popular notion of antagonisms between science and religion[16][17] has historically originated with "thinkers with a social or political ax to grind" rather than with the natural philosophers themselves.[15]:13 Though physical and biological scientists today avoid supernatural explanations to describe reality[18][19][20] (see naturalism), many scientists continue to consider science and spirituality to be complementary, not contradictory.[21][22] Neuroscientists are trying to learn more about how the brain functions during reported spiritual experiences.[23][24] During the twentieth century the relationship between science and spirituality has been influenced both by Freudian psychology, which has accentuated the boundaries between the two areas by accentuating individualism and secularism, and by developments in particle physics, which reopened the debate about complementarity between scientific and religious discourse and rekindled for many an interest in holistic conceptions of reality.[15]:322 These holistic conceptions were championed by New Age spiritualists in a type of quantum mysticism that they claim justifies their spiritual beliefs,[25][26] though quantum physicists themselves on the whole reject such attempts as being pseudoscientific.[27][28] See also: Relationship between religion and science [edit]Personal well-being In keeping with a general increase in interest in spirituality and complementary and alternative treatments, prayer has garnered attention among some behavioral scientists. Masters and Spielmans[29] have conducted a meta-analysis of the effects of distant intercessory prayer, but detected no discernible effects. Spirituality has played a central role in self-help movements such as Alcoholics Anonymous: "...if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead...."[30] If spirituality is understood as the search for or the development of inner peace or the foundations of happiness, then spiritual practice of some kind is essential for personal well being. This activity may or may not include belief in supernatural beings. If one has such a belief and feels that relationship to such beings is the foundation of happiness then spiritual practice will be pursued on that basis: if one has no such belief spiritual practice is still essential for the management and understanding of thoughts and emotions which otherwise prevent happiness. Many techniques and practices developed and explored in religious contexts, such as meditation, are immensely valuable in themselves as skills for managing aspects of the inner life.[31][32] [edit]Near-death experience (NDE) Main article: Near death experience If consciousness exists apart from the body, which includes the brain, one is attached not only to the material world, but to a non-temporal (spiritual) world as well. This thesis is considered to be analyzed by testing the reports from people who have experienced death. However, some researchers consider that NDEs are actually REM intrusions triggered in the brain by traumatic events like cardiac arrest.[33] [edit]Sacredness Social scientists have defined spirituality as the search for "the sacred," where "the sacred" is broadly defined as that which is set apart from the ordinary and worthy of veneration. Spirituality can be sought not only through traditional organized religions, but also through movements such as the feminist theology and ecological spirituality (see Green politics). Spirituality is associated with mental health, managing substance abuse, marital functioning, parenting, and coping. It has been suggested that spirituality also leads to finding purpose and meaning in life.[34] [edit]Origin See Timeline of religion and Evolutionary origin of religions [edit]History See also: History of religion Words translatable as 'spirituality' first began to arise in the 5th century and only entered common use toward the end of the Middle Ages.[35] Spiritual innovators who operated within the context of a religious tradition often became marginalized or suppressed as heretics or separated out as schismatics. In these circumstances, anthropologists generally treat so-called "spiritual" practices such as shamanism in the sphere of the religious, and class even non-traditional activities such as those of Robespierre's Cult of the Supreme Being in the province of religion.[36] Eighteenth-century Enlightenment thinkers, often opposed to clericalism and skeptical of religion, sometimes came to express their more emotional responses to the world under the rubric of "the Sublime" rather than discussing "spirituality". The spread of the ideas of modernity began to diminish the role of religion in society and in popular thought.[citation needed] Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was a pioneer of the idea of spirituality as a distinct field.[37] Important early 20th century writers who studied the phenomenon of spirituality, and their works, include William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), and Rudolph Otto, especially The Idea of the Holy (1917).[citation needed] The distinction between the spiritual and the religious became more common in the popular mind during the late 20th century with the rise of secularism and the advent of the New Age movement. Authors such as Chris Griscom and Shirley MacLaine explored it in numerous ways in their books. Paul Heelas noted the development within New Age circles of what he called "seminar spirituality":[38] structured offerings complementing consumer choice with spiritual options. [edit]Study In the late 19th century a Pakistani scholar Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi wrote of and taught about the science of Islamic spirituality, of which the best known form remains the Sufi tradition (famous through Rumi and Hafiz) in which a spiritual master or pir transmits spiritual discipline to students.[39] Building on both the Western esoteric tradition and theosophy,[40] Rudolf Steiner and others in the anthroposophic tradition have attempted to apply systematic methodology to the study of spiritual phenomena,[41] building upon ontological and epistemological questions that arose out of transcendental philosophy.[42] This enterprise does not attempt to redefine natural science, but to explore inner experience – especially our thinking – with the same rigor that we apply to outer (sensory) experience. [edit]See also Spirituality portal Afterlife Deities Parapsychology Quantum mysticism Reason Religion Skepticism Spiritual But Not Religious Supernatural Superstition [edit]Notes and references ^ Ewert Cousins, preface to Antoine Faivre and Jacob Needleman, Modern Esoteric Spirituality, Crossroad Publishing 1992. ^ Philip Sheldrake, A Brief History of Spirituality, Wiley-Blackwell 2007 p. 1-2 ^ Margaret A. Burkhardt and Mary Gail Nagai-Jacobson, Spirituality: living our connectedness, Delmar Cengage Learning, p. xiii ^ Kees Waaijman, Spirituality: forms, foundations,methods Leuven: Peeters, 2002 p. 1 ^ Michael Hogan (2010). The Culture of Our Thinking in Relation to Spirituality. Nova Science Publishers: New York. ^ James, W. (1985). The varieties of religious experience. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1902) ^ Gorsuch, R.L., & Miller, W. R. (1999). Assessing spirituality. In W. R. Miller (Ed), Integrating spirituality into treatment (pp. 47-64). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ^ a b c d Dalai Lama, Ethics for the New Millennium, NY:Riverhead Books, 1999 ^ Fuller, Robert C. Spiritual, But Not Religious. beliefnet.com. Retrieved on: 2011-12-03 ^ Afton N. Kapuscinski & Kevin S. Masters (2010). "The current status of measures of spirituality: A critical review of scale development". Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (American Psychological Association) 2 (4): 191–205. DOI:10.1037/a0020498. ISSN 1941-1022. ^ Kalchuri, Bhau: Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, the Biography of the Avatar of the Age Meher Baba, Volume Eight, Manifestation, Inc., 1986, p. 22987. ^ Thompson, William Irwin (1981). The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality, and the Origins of Culture. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-312-16062-3. ^ http://www.beliefnet.com/News/2005/08/Newsweekbeliefnet-Poll-Results.aspx#spiritrel ^ Gascoigne, John (1988). Cambridge in the Age of the Enlightenment: Science, Religion and Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 300. ^ a b c d Brooke, John Hedley (1991). Science and religion: some historical perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ^ Applebaum, Wilbur. Encyclopedia of the scientific revolution: from Copernicus to Newton Volume 1800 of Garland reference library of the humanities. Psychology Press, 2000 ISBN 0-8153-1503-1, ISBN 978-0-8153-1503-2 ^ R. Cruz Begay, MPH, DrPH, Science And Spirituality March 2003, Vol 93, No. 3 | American Journal of Public Health 363 American Public Health Association ^ Clarke, Steve. Naturalism, Science, and the Supernatural in Sophia From the issue entitled "Special APRA Issue" Volume 48, Number 2, 127-142, doi:10.1007/s11841-009-0099-2 ^ Dawkins, R. (1986). The blind watchmaker. New York: Norton. ^ Stroud, B. (2004). The charm of naturalism. In M. De Caro & D. Macarthur (Eds.), Naturalism in question (pp. 21–35). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ^ Richardson, W. Mark. Science and the spiritual quest: new essays by leading scientists Psychology Press, 2002 ISBN 0-415-25767-0, ISBN 978-0-415-25767-1 ^ Giniger, Kenneth Seeman & Templeton, John. Spiritual evolution: scientists discuss their beliefs. Templeton Foundation Press, 1998. ISBN 1-890151-16-5, ISBN 978-1-890151-16-4 ^ Alper, Matthew, The "God" Part of the Brain: A Scientific Interpretation of Human Spirituality and God Sourcebooks, Inc., 2008 ISBN 1-4022-1452-9, ISBN 978-1-4022-1452-3 ^ Talan, Jamie Science Probes Spirituality February/March 2006: Scientific American Mind. [1] ^ Capra, Fritjof (1991 (1st ed. 1975)). The Tao of Physics: an exploration of the parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism, 3rd ed.. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0-87773-594-8 ^ Laszlo, Ervin, "CosMos:A Co-creator's Guide to the Whole World", Hay House, Inc, 2008, ISBN 1-4019-1891-3, pg. 53-58 ^ Sheremer, Michael, Quantum Quackery in Scientific American (January 2005), 292, 34. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0105-34 ^ Silverman, Mark P. Quantum superposition: counterintuitive consequences of coherence, entanglement, and interference Frontiers collection. Springer, 2008 ISBN 3-540-71883-4, ISBN 978-3-540-71883-3. p. 25 ^ Masters, K.S.; Spielmans, G.I (2007). "Prayer and health: review, meta-analysis, and research agenda". Journal of Behavioral Medicine 30 (4): 329–338. DOI:10.1007/s10865-007-9106-7. PMID 17487575. ^ Alcoholics Anonymous, p.14-15. ^ "The lost Art of being happy - spirituality for skeptics" Wilkinson 2007 ^ "Happiness, a guide to one of life's most important skills" Ricard 2007 ^ http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-life-after-death.htm ^ Snyder, C.R.; Lopez, Shane J. (2007). "11". Positive Psychology. Sage Publications, Inc.. ISBN 0-7619-2633-X ^ Jones, L. G., ""A thirst for god or consumer spirituality? Cultivating disciplined practices of being engaged by god," in L. Gregory Jones and James J. Buckley eds., Spirituality and Social Embodiment, Oxford: Blackwell, 1997, 3-28, p4, n4. ^ Jordan, David, "The Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre", University of Chicago Press, 1989, ISBN 0-226-41037-4, pg. 201 ^ Schmidt, Leigh Eric. Restless Souls : The Making of American Spirituality. San Francisco: Harper, 2005. ISBN 0-06-054566-6 ^ Paul Heelas, The New Age Movement: The Celebration of the Self and the Sacralization of Modernity. Oxford: Blackwell, 1996, page 60. Cited in Anthony Giddens: Sociology. Cambridge: Polity, 2001, page 554. ^ Azeemi,K.S., "Muraqaba: The Art and Science of Sufi Meditation". Houston: Plato, 2005. (ISBN 0-9758875-4-8), Pg. xi ^ Olav Hammer, Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New Age, ISBN 90-04-13638-X ^ Robert McDermott, The Essential Steiner, ISBN 0-06-065345-0, pp. 3-4 ^ Jonael Schickler, Metaphysics as Christology: An odyssey of the Self from Kant and Hegel to Steiner (Ashgate New Critical Thinking: 2005) pp. 138ff [edit]Further reading A Course in Miracles. 2nd ed., Mill Valley: Foundation for Inner Peace, 1992, ISBN 0-9606388-9-X. Azeemi, K.S.Muraqaba: The Art and Science of Sufi Meditation. Houston: Plato, 2005. (ISBN 0-9758875-4-8) Baba, Meher (2000). The Path of Love. Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Press. ISBN 1-880619-23-7. Bjelica, Drago The Bible For The New Age (Online). 2009. Bolman, L. G., and Deal, T. E. Leading With Soul. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995. Borysenko, J. A Woman's Journey to God. New York: Riverhead Books, 1999. Cannon, K. G. Katie's Canon: Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community. New York: Continuum, 1996. Cappel, Constance, Dera Poetry, Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris, 2007. Cheroff, Seth, The Manual For Living. CO Spirit Scope, 2008. Clift, Jean Dalby (2008). The Mystery of Love and the Path of Prayer. ISBN 978-1-4404-6637-3. Deloria, V., Jr. God is Red. 2d Ed. Golden, Co: North American Press, 1992, ISBN 1-55591-904-9. Dillard, C. B.; Abdur-Rashid, D.; and Tyson, C. A. "My Soul is a Witness." International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 13, no. 5 (September 2000): 447-462. Dirkx, J. M. "Nurturing Soul in Adult Learning." in Transformative Learning in Action. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education No. 74, edited by P. Cranton, pp. 79–88. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997. Downey, Michael. Understanding Christian Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 1997. Eck, Diana L. A New Religious America. San Francisco: Harper, 2001. Elkins D.N. et al. (1998)Toward a humanistic-phenomenological spirituality: definition, description and measurement. Journal of Humanistic Psychology 28(4), 5-18 English, L., and Gillen, M., eds. Addressing the Spiritual Dimensions of Adult Learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, No. 85. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000. Goddart, Michael. Spiritual Revolution: A Seeker's Guide; 52 Powerful Principles for Your Mind & Soul, DeVorss, 1997. Haisch, Bernard The God Theory: Universes, Zero-point Fields, and What's Behind It All, (Preface), Red Wheel/Weiser, 2006, ISBN 1-57863-374-5 Hein, David (1997). "Christianity and Traditional Lakota / Dakota Spirituality: A Jamesian Interpretation". The McNeese Review 35: 128–38. Hein, David, and Edward Hugh Henderson, editors. Captured by the Crucified: The Practical Theology of Austin Farrer. New York and London: Continuum / T & T Clark, 2004. About the spiritual theology of Austin Farrer; includes chapter on "Farrer's Spirituality" by Diogenes Allen. Hein, David, and Charles R. Henery, editors. Spiritual Counsel in the Anglican Tradition. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock; Cambridge, UK: James Clarke & Co., 2010. Holtje, D. (1995). From Light to Sound: The Spiritual Progression. Temecula, CA: MasterPath, Inc. ISBN 1-885949-00-6 Martsolf, D.S.; Mickley, J.R. (1998). "The concept of spirituality in nursing theories: differing world-views and extent of focus". Journal of Advanced Nursing 27 (2): 294–303. DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2648.1998.00519.x. PMID 9515639. Masters, K.S.; Spielmans, G.I (2007). "Prayer and health: review, meta-analysis, and research agenda". Journal of Behavioral Medicine 30 (4): 329–338. DOI:10.1007/s10865-007-9106-7. PMID 17487575. Percival, Harold W. Thinking and Destiny, ISBN 0-911650-06-7 Perry, Whitall N. A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom: An Encyclopedia of Humankind’s Spiritual Truth. Louisville: Fons Vitae books, 2000, ISBN 1-887752-33-1 Ram Chandra(Shajahanpur). Reality at Dawn. Roberts, Jane (1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. reprinted (1994) Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-06-8 Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That, Acorn Press, 1990, ISBN 0-89386-022-0 Schmidt, Leigh Eric. Restless Souls : The Making of American Spirituality. San Francisco: Harper, 2005. ISBN 0-06-054566-6 Sandra M. Schneiders (1989). "Spirituality in the academy". Theological Studies 50 (4): 676–697. ISSN 0040-5639. Shahjahan, R. A. (2005). "Spirituality in the academy: Reclaiming from the margins and evoking a transformative way of knowing the world". International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 18 (6): 685–711. DOI:10.1080/09518390500298188. Shahjahan, R.A. (2010). "Toward a spiritual praxis: The role of spirituality among faculty of color teaching for social justice". The Review of Higher Education 33 (4): 473–512. DOI:10.1353/rhe.0.0166. Sheldrake, Philip (1998). Spirituality and history: Questions of interpretation and method. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis. ISBN 1-57075-203-6. Steiner, Rudolf, How to Know Higher Worlds: A Modern Path of Initiation. New York: Anthroposophic Press, (1904) 1994. ISBN 0-88010-372-8 Steiner, Rudolf, Theosophy: An Introduction to the Supersensible Knowledge of the World and the Destination of Man. London: Rudolf Steiner Press, (1904) 1994 Spenard, Michael (April 11, 2011) "Dueling with Dualism: the forlorn quest for the immaterial soul", essay. An historical account of mind body duality and a comprehensive conceptual and empirical critique on the position. ISBN 978-0-578-08288-2 Thompson, William Irwin, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality, and the Origins of Culture (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1981). Wapnick, Kenneth, The Message of A Course in Miracles. Roscoe, NY: Foundation for A Course in Miracles, 1997, ISBN 0-933291-25-6. Wakefield, Gordon S.(ed.), A Dictionary of Christian Spirituality. London: SCM, 1983. Wilkinson, Tony, The Lost Art of Being Happy - Spirituality for Sceptics Findhorn Press 2007, ISBN 978-1-84409-116-4 Zagano, Phyllis Twentieth-Century Apostles: Contemporary Spirituality in Action (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1999) Zagano, Phyllis "Woman to Woman: An Anthology of Women's Spiritualities (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical PRess) 1993. Zajonc, Arthur, The New Physics and Cosmology Dialogues with the Dalai Lama. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004,ISBN 0-19-515994-2. 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