Spirituality
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Spirituality has become a topic of great interest in recent times in the scientific community. This includes the convergence of advances related to the role of spirituality in self -help groups, health psychology, psychiatry and research research.
Spirituality as a psychological construct and therapeutic factor.
Spirituality has traditionally been considered an elusive concept that is difficult to investigate. Therefore, its role in psychological well -being has been much absent. More recently, however, spirituality has been legitimately placed in contemporary psychology. This includes metateoric propositions that explain it as a legitimate psychological construct, which differs from religiosity and has transcultural applicability.
While spirituality can include religion, it has been defined as an expression of the transcendent ways of performing human potential and as a synonym for constructions such as hope, meaning, integrity, harmony and transcendence (O’Reilly, 2004 ). Spirituality has been recognized as an important characteristic of the therapeutic process and a taxpayer to improve satisfaction with life and well -being and reduce antisocial behavior, substance abuse and suicide rates (Brawer et al., 2002).
For example, recent contributions in scheme therapy, an increasingly popular model adopted by doctors to work with people with multiple disorders, explain spirituality as “a natural wisdom or spirituality that is not necessarily channeled through institutional religion , and that provides a feeling of strength and direction against loss and adversity “(Edwards, 2022, p. 5).
Similarly, recent advances in health psychology have developed measures to evaluate spirituality (Braghetta et al., 2021). A new health framework is proposed for a better understanding of spirituality as an important aspect of health research (by Brito Sena et al., 2021).
Research evidence supporting spirituality
A body of evidence of research indicates that spirituality plays an important role in the treatment of medical and psychological conditions (Stanard et al., 2000) and that any form of psychotherapy that explores the depth of the human psyche will eventually reach spiritual domain ( Elkins, 2005). The methanalitic results of 31 studies that investigate spiritual orientation psychotherapies provide empirical evidence of their benefits for people who experience various psychological conditions, such as anxiety, eating disorders, depression and stress (Smith et al., 2007).
Contemporary contributions in conscience inform the positive and causal associations between spiritual well -being and mental health (Saad et al., 2022), as well as evidence of support for the use of spiritual experiences to treat conditions such as addiction, depression and Anxiety to transform lives positively (Corneille and Luke, 2021).
Recent contributions to psychiatry affirm that “clinical avant -garde psychiatry seeks to provide successful treatment to people with mental illnesses in a comprehensive approach that integrates social and spiritual aspects” (Huber & Schneeberger, 2020, p. 1).
Finally, it has been discovered that recent advances derived from rigorous scientific research that examine the effective for use of substances, as well as effective professional clinical practices (Kelly et al., 2020). Despite the previous doubts and criticisms of the Academy, today, “the evidence of the effectiveness of the 12 -step interventions is convincing” (Greene, 2021, p. 19). Spirituality is a central construction, a therapeutic factor and a mechanism of change inherent in them. (Kelly et al., 2011).
Neuroscience, consciousness and spirituality
Given the progress and convergences outlined so far, it is not surprising that neuroscience and clinical benefits of spiritual practices have become the main drivers of recent scientific research.
The research of contemporary consciousness provides emerging evidence of proof of the concept of spirituality by stating that: (1) the mind is separated from the brain; (2) The spirit and soul are comparable to the energy and information that exist in the emptiness of space; (3) Individuals can receive intuitive information that is precise and useful in their individual and collective lives; and (4) Physical and psychological health can be encouraged through active love spiritual processes.
Spirituality Essential readings
Carl Jung’s wisdom
Almost a century ago, Carl Jung noticed that many people in his time were afflicted by weakening feelings of insignificance, insufficiency and hopelessness. In his complete works, Jung concluded that such feelings were caused by what he called the “the spiritual problem of modern man.”
Spiritual practices – Where to start?
From a personal and professional capacity, I dare to say (without exaggeration) that spiritual practices could save any years of suffering and/or psychotherapy.
It is not surprising that in recent times, multiple authors/spiritual teachers, some of whom have become international bestsellers (for example, Tolle, Singer), have been spreading the message of spirituality.
Finally, an alternative starting point to access its spirituality is to consider the following distinction of the self, provided more than a century ago by William James, founder of the psychological movement. In summary, this refers to the “two types of” me “in self -referential consciousness. The self as” me “(the connoisseur or superior self) is related to the self as a subject of experience (I as a subject), which also also It is related to meditation experiences and studies related to the notion of full attention and other Buddhist constructions.
The causative agent, the thinker or observer who makes the thought or observation, is also responsible for self -awareness and self -knowledge. The “I” (the known self) refers to the self as the object of experience or cognition (the self as an object). This distinction in self -referential consciousness has recently resurfaced in neurocognitive science, particularly in experimental studies that investigate the phenomenological and conscience.
