Idealized State a/k/a authentic self. Metaphysical Perspective of Spirituality.

Idealized State a/k/a authentic self














Metaphysical Perspective of Spirituality


Actual State

of self

Actual State

of self

RELIGIOSITY: Behaviors which indicate engagement with organization and with rituals, customs, practices of Religion

SPIRITUALITY: Motivations, aspirations, and ideas align with idealized state as understood in socio/cultural setting

Idealized State a/k/a

authentic self

Actual State

of self

Actual State

of self

RELIGIOSITY: Behaviors which indicate engagement with organization and with rituals, customs, practices of Religion

SPIRITUALITY: Motivations, aspirations, and ideas align with idealized state as understood in socio/cultural setting

PERSPECTIVES: Understanding underlying cosmology and religious philosophy inform an awareness of a person’s religiosity and/or spirituality

One of the roles or religious leaders is the communication of truths about metaphysical realities. Among these truths is an explication of the human metaphysical or spiritual nature. This explanation almost always involves an attempt at describing the idealized self. Often significant historical figures such as Mohammad, Buddha, Gandhi, or Jesus are used as exemplifiers of this behavior.

Educators can examine and study the idealized self by seeking insights into the socio/cultural historical understandings which have been put forth from within those various cultures.

They can also explore commonalities amongst the various socio/cultural historical and religious understandings which have been put forth.


Accepting that spirituality exists apart from religion and spirituality is centered in personal experience regardless of whether or not these experiences find their source in the metaphysical then religion can be seen as the human attempt to understand and rationalize these experiences in such a way as to give form or shape to the experiences and to provide some path for others likewise seeking to understand spirituality. Religion can be seen as asking the questions:

In light of our experiential understanding of interconnectedness with something greater than ourselves, how then should we live? What idealized state should we seek to attain? and What behaviors, practices, customs or rituals will assist us in reaching it?

Also, if we accept the validity of these meaning making experiences in our lives do we have any obligation to introduce these meaningful experiences into our day to day existence?


The reality is that the current lines of spirituality discourse actually are themselves no more than another way of codifying an understanding of the idealized state and of attempting to provide ideas for practice which can be used to promote individual attainment of that idea. For all practical purpose they are no different from many other forms of unitarian religious understandings.

Essentially, when educators attempt to present a unified developed image of anidealized state to which students should aspire and which exists as a universal human truth, which they recognize as “spiritual” then those educators assume the role of a religious leader

Our schools, in bringing together those of different nationalities, languages, traditions, and creeds, in assimilating them together upon the basis of what is common and public in endeavor and achievement, are performing an infinitely significant religious work. They are promoting the social unity out of which in the end genuine religious unity must grow.

John Dewey

Spirituality Training

Likewise employers can engage in understanding how all of an employee’s identities, including those driven by gender, culture, disability, and religion influence him or her. They can consider ways of creating “space” within which the employees can integrate their full selves into their work as a means of attempting to create a more humane and friendly and even productive work environment.

However, when employers attempt to present a unified developed image of an idealized state to which employees should aspire and which exists as a universal human truth, which they recognize as “spiritual” then those employers assume the role of religious leaders

Spirituality Training

The symbols of religion carry deeply emotional components since they tie into significant life moments and experiences and they often have strong metaphysical understandings associated with them regarding life/death and the continuity of the human essence and experience.

By association even the symbols, rituals and language of other religions and faith traditions are seen as having significant meaning. Integration of any of these symbols, rituals, or language into a context where they would not normally be deployed lends that context an air of importance which it otherwise may not have.

The danger of attempting to create a concept of spirituality which is divorced from the specific socio/cultural historical religious understandings which gave birth to that understanding is the educator or employer can misappropriate the symbols, images, rituals, and understandings which have been fostered and nurtured within the student’s or employee’s socio/cultural historical setting and use those symbols, images, rituals, and understandings to by association embed in the consciousness of their students and employees a new concept of idealized self which contains the strength of religious belief but which is easily manipulated for the use of the academy or industry in order to promote its own ends.

Ultimately manipulation of the conceptual idealized self results in enabling employers to vocationalize most tasks and further invade employees personal lives through introduction of psychological supports which foster compliance with management decisions and introduces strong guilt for failure.

The best way to integrate spirituality into the classroom is to recognize the influence the socio/cultural historical religious understandings have had on knowledge development of students and educators.

Honoring the faith traditions and understandings of both the teacher and the student while recognizing the context of their separate socio/cultural historic and religious settings allows for recognizing the influence these ideologies play in the knowledge development of those individuals.

Spirituality

Psychological Spirituality Socio/Cultural Historical Religious SpiritualityMetaphysical Spirituality

Socio/Cultural Secular Religious Spirituality Socio/Cultural Metaphysical Religious Spirituality

Idealized State a/k/a authentic self. Metaphysical Perspective of Spirituality.

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