LESSON 2:
Deepening One's
Spirituality
Presented by Pamela Sophia Escario
Clarissa Sajut
LEARNING OUTCOMES :
At the end of the lesson, the students must be able to:
Define spiritual intelligence and spirituality;
Demonstrate one's own spirituality:
Value the importance of nurturing one's spiritual
life
Discuss ways of living in the spirit and value the role
of spirituality in the classroom.
Introduction
This lesson deals with the deepening of the spirituality of the
Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) teachers. The
definition of spiritual intelligence and spirituality are
discussed. The nature of spiritual life and the ways to deepen
one's spirituality are also presented. The spirituality of the
teacher and the role of spirituality are discussed to
contextualize the concept of spirituality among the teachers.
Spiritual intelligence
Spiritual intelligence is related to the
relationship between man and the
universe, the world of creation, and
existence inthe world. Spiritual
intelligence is the concept of awareness,
of spirituality as a context for existence or
the power of creative life from evolution.
Abdollahzadeh (2002)
Spiritual intelligence
An attitude of self-awareness as well as our relationship
with God with each other and with a creatures
Depends on the ability to see things more than the
individual aspect and the recognition of the relationship
between perception, faith and behavior.
Finding a meaning for life and avoiding unnecessary events
which means spending time for transcendental goals
4.
regardless of the views of others (Abdollahzadeh,
Baqherpour, Bozhmehrani and Lotfi, 2009).
Spiritual intelligence calls for multiple
ways of knowing and for the
integration of the inner life of mind
and spirit with the outer life of work
in the world. It can be cultivated
through questing, inquiry and
practice.
Spiritual experiences may also
contribute to its development
depending on the context and means
of integration
Spirituality as the on-going,
transformational experience of
intentional, conscious engagement
with the presence of God. This
engagement with divine presence
can be seen to involve three
dynamics: Nurturing or preparing
for interaction with the presence of
God The affective human
experience of interaction with the
presence of God and Intentionally
responding to that presence
Liebert & Dreiter (n.d)
As a future GMRC teachers were
encouraged to:
Lived a life in with holiness
Develop, strengthen and nurture
the spiritual life and in the
process, deepen our own
spirituality.
Nature of Our
Spiritual Life
Henri Nouwen believed that the
nature of our spiritual life consists of a
life apart in solitude with God
(communion), a life shared in Three ways to
community with God's people, and a life in the
life given in ministry to others Spirit: flee, be
(commission).
Heart is the operational focus of
silent, pray
the spiritual life. Nouwen believes
that "our journey to become more
fully human is a spiritual journey
that begins and ends in the heart
of God
PRAYER
The discipline of daily, faithful
communion with the Beloved is the
foundation of the spiritual life
underneath all we do, say, and create.
Represents the true essence of being
one with God
Solitude
Espouses that communing with God is savored
best though by no means exclusively, within the
context of solitude, our experiential union with
God comes alive.
Measure of solitude is the measure of our
capacity for communion
Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a
spiritual life
Solitude and Silence
Silence has to do with the
Solitude and silence notion of rest rest of body
are the context within and mind, in which we
which prayer is become available for him
practiced whose heart is greater than
Solitude invites ours.
silence. Silence is the way to make
solitude a reality, in that it
completes and intensifies
the whole experience.
Silence and prayer
Espouses that communing with God is savored
best though by no means exclusively, within
the context of solitude, our experiential union
with God comes alive.
Measure of solitude is the measure of our
capacity for communion
Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live
a spiritual life
inward presence
It is a presence that will enable us to possess
attentive heart - a heart that empowers us see
and hear clearly the reality of God in us and
around us.
It is a foundational spiritual discipline of
solitude, Once we have committed ourselves
to spending time in solitude, we develop an
attentiveness to God's voice in us
outward presence
Presence in an outward sense means being
with, to, and for the "other" in an attentive way
Cultivation of this type of presence requires
what we learn how to be hospitable "soul
host" to other people, strangers and non-
strangers alike
Being hospitable means the ability to see and
listen to others hospitably with generous
spaciousness. Such expression of hospitality is
a ministry in and of itself.
Godward presence
Final kind of attentive presence is directed to
the Divine Presence.
Godward presence is practiced through the
avenue of prayer, specifically communing
prayer perhaps the highest form of prayer-
which focuses intimately on our union with
God.
The spirituality of the
teacher
The teachers who most deeply influenced and
inspired students, were not necessarily the
ones the most brillant or creative. Rather, they
were the ones who might even call “saintly”,
the ones who presented a genuine warmth
and caring he/she took as an indication of a
healthy spiritual life
teaching spirituality
Teaching spirituality is a process of conveying to
another a life-style, a character, a shaping of a soul.
It is more a process of nurturing formation than
delivering information.
The teacher is more like a mentor on the spiritual
way, a spiritual guide who must have been steeped
in the spirituality taught, so that the student may
also be formed in that way as carefully as possible.
The Role of Spirituality in
the Classroom
One characteristic of teaching is the need to make
meaning out of the lived experience of the
classroom by developing a set of beliefs or concepts
that organize and order the daily interactions with
students
Making and its corresponding set of pedagogical
beliefs that allow educators to make judgments
about which classroom actions are justifiable and
which are arbitrary.
Thank you!
