Dimensions of Human Behavior: Person and Environment Chapter 6 The Spiritual Person

Dimensions of Human Behavior: Person and Environment

Chapter 6

The Spiritual Person

KEY POINTS ADDRESSED

Chapter 6: Spiritual Person

Spirituality Defined Toward Transpersonal Theories

Associated Themes: Fourth Force Stages of Faith: Fowler Model of Consciousness: Wilber Fowler and Wilber: Comparison and Contrast

Spirituality and the Human Experience Spirituality in the Lives of Persons of Color and

Other Marginalized Ethnic Groups The Religions Among Us: Test Your Knowledge

Spirituality Defined

Transpersonal theory: posits that states of human consciousness and potential “go beyond” our traditional views of health and normality; to “go beyond” the self toward higher levels of consciousness


Spirituality: Search for purpose, meaning, and connection between self, others, the universe, and ultimate reality;both religious and non-religious expressions Religion: A systematic set of beliefs, practices, and traditions experienced within a particular social institution over time Consciousness – a quality of

the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and one's environment

*wikipedia.org

Themes Associated with Transpersonal Theory

Sense of connection with nature, others, ultimate beings and the divine

Existence beyond ‘humanness’ … beyond self and ego

Higher level of consciousness

Heightened awareness of relationship between self and environment

Fourth Force therapeutic approach


Fourth Force Emergence First force, the psychodynamic perspective behavior determined by unconsciousness, instinctual needs to seek pleasure and avoid pain

Second force, the behavioral perspective behavior determined by environmental forces

Third force, the humanist perspective behavior determined by need for self-actualization, fulfilling human potential to love, create, etc.

Fourth force, based on transpersonal theories specifically targeting the spiritual dimension


Key Concepts of Fowler’s Stages of Development

FAITH: a universal aspect of human existence gives coherence and direction to people’s lives

links them in shared trusts and loyalties with others

grounds personal stances and communal loyalties in a sense of relatedness to a larger frame of reference

enables people to face and deal with the limited conditions of life, relying upon that which has the quality of ultimacy in their lives

ULTIMATE ENVIRONMENT: highest level of reality


Stages of Faith (Fowler):Evolving Relationship with Ultimate Environment

Early experiences set the stage for later faith development

Understanding a person’s values, beliefs, and sense of meaning can help us better appreciate the tasks, tensions, and challenges at various points in life


Stages of Faith (Fowler):How a Child Comes to Know a Spiritual Being Outside of Self

Primal faith – pri-image sense of security; being taken care of by ultimate environment

1. Intuitive/projective – magical, intuitive, symbolic – beginning sense of ‘other’

2. Mythic/literal – understand concept of belonging – concrete; stories are meaningful; age of reason

3. Synthetic/conventional – acceptance of what’s been taught; integrating that sense of belonging; identifying with it; developing compassion

4. Individuation/reflective – analysis of previous held beliefs in order to make more sense out of the ultimate environment and personal meaning

5. Conjunctive –reaches to ‘deeper self’; awareness of community of ‘all living things’; self is part of larger whole cosmos

6. Universalizing – understands that threat to any living thing or individual is threat to whole; Actively involved in remediating injustice


Consider:

Think about the stages of development proposed by Erikson and Piaget. Compare and contrast these stages with Fowler’s stage of faith development.


An American writer who has advanced an integral theory of consciousness which draws on psychology, sociology, philosophy, mysticism, postmodernism, empirical science and systems theory to form a picture of what he calls the 'Kosmos'.

A self-described storyteller and mapmaker, Wilber attempts to integrate various perspectives of the cosmos. Although he was at one time a major proponent of the transpersonal school of psychology, he has since disassociated himself from it.

In 1998, Wilber founded the Integral Institute, a think tank for studying issues of science and society in an integral, or non-reductive, way. He has been a pioneer in the development of Integral psychology and Integral politics.

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Wilber

Ken Wilber: A Snapshot

Chapter 6:Spiritual Person

He is a practicing Buddhist: the beliefs of Madhyamika Buddhism, particularly as articulated in the philosophy of Nagarjuna, underpin his work.

Important Concepts in Wilber’s Transpersonal Theory: Spectrum and Holon

The spectrum consciousness spans from pre-personal, to personal, to

transpersonal “great chain of being” means from matter to the body, to the

mind, to the soul, to the spirit

The holon Every thing, person, idea is simultaneously a whole and a part

of some other whole, i.e. a letter is a whole and also part of a word

human beings are “holons” in the sense that the brain is a whole AND a part of the body; the body is a whole AND a part of self; the self is a whole and part of a family; the family is a whole and part of the community


Important Concepts in Wilber’s Transpersonal Theory: Levels of Consciousness

The spectrum of consciousness

an ordering of holons by increasing levels of complexity and

wholeness throughout the developmental process from the

pre-personal, to the personal, to the transpersonal

Levels (or waves) of consciousness the various developmental milestones that unfold within the

human psyche:pre-personalpersonal transpersonal


Important Concepts in Wilber’s Transpersonal Theory: Levels of Consciousness (cont.)

The spectrum of consciousnessFulcrum

the turning point at a different level on the developmental spiral

a three-step process:1. the self becomes comfortable and eventually identifies with the

basic functioning of that level

2. new experiences begin to challenge the way of being at this level, and the self begins to differentiate or “dis-identify” with it

3. the self begins to move toward an identify with the next level while integrating the functioning of the previous basic structure into the new organization


Levels of Consciousness


• Pre-personal Phase

• Personal Phase

• Transpersonal Phase: the awareness of mind and body as something ‘more than ’ self…

heightened level of consciousness of self as one with -- as opposed to ‘in relation ’ to -- the universe

Consists of the psychic, the subtle, and the causal stages.

Comparable to Fowler ’sfirst 5 stages

andto stages of

human development

• Pre-personal Phase

• Personal Phase

• Transpersonal Phase: the awareness of mind and body as something ‘more than ’ self…

heightened level of consciousness of self as one with -- as opposed to ‘in relation ’ to -- the universe

Consists of the psychic, the subtle, and the causal stages.

Psychic: strong interconnectedness of self with nature Subtle: sense of connection and identification extended to

communion with the Deity, or God, by whatever name Causal: transcends all distinctions between subject and object

(even self and God) Nondual: condition or reality of all stages… simultaneously the

source, the process, and the realization of consciousness

Important Concepts in Wilber’s Transpersonal Theory: The Four Quadrants

The Four Quadrants based on the concept of the self as a holon a comprehensive understanding of consciousness and reality

Interior-Individual

Concerned with personal meaning and sense of self that emanate from inside the individual

Exterior-Individual

Concerned with the physical body and observable behaviors that can be observed outside the individual

Interior-Collective

Concerned with the culture and shared values that are embedded within groups of people

Exterior-Collective

Concerned with the institutions, systems, and nature that are observable facets of the society


Fowler and Wilber: Compared and Contrasted Both built on other theories of human

development and human behavior but go beyond traditional biopsychosocial framework

Both ‘slight’ social, economic, and cultural differences between various groups

Both pose serious difficulties in providing ‘empirical’ basis for their theoretical approach.


Fowler and Wilber: Compared and Contrasted (cont)

Fowler provides more specification about content and process of spiritual development at the pre-personal and personal levels but less about pitfalls at each stage.

Wilber provides more substance and specification description and evolution of what transpersonal levels of development look like and how they evolve and more insight about pitfalls.

In terms of their utility for social work practice, Fowler’s model is more descriptive and Wilber’s more prescriptive.


Spirituality and the Human ExperienceAlthough ‘transpersonal models’ are

difficult to ‘operationalize’ and measure, much research suggests strong, (but NOT causal) relationships between various ‘problems of living,’ ‘ways of coping,’ and an individual’s ‘sense of spirituality.’


Sense of Spirituality Associated With:

Physical and mental health outcomes: Depression, anxiety, helplessness, suicide Self-esteem, hope, optimism, life satisfaction,

general well-being Diseases of immune system

Coping mechanisms and treatment for: Substance abuse Sexual assault/violence War trauma


In Application

Assessment must also be able to distinguish between a religious/spiritual problem and a mental disorder.

Social workers need to assess both the positive and negative aspects of client’s religious or spiritual beliefs and practices.


Spirituality in the Lives of Persons of Color and Other Marginalized Ethnic Groups

Women More likely than men to report being religious, church-affiliated, and frequent users of

prayer; closeness to God

Historically, women in leadership positions or performing certain religious rites and ceremonies have been significantly restricted in many denominations in which they are active members

African –Americans Black churches – a haven from racism and oppression, source of social support, race

consciousness, inspiration, leadership training, human services, and empowerment and social change

Afrocentric spirituality stresses the interdependence between God, community, family, and the individual

GLBT persons have had to struggle with religious teachings that tell them their feelings and

behaviors are immoral or sinful


The Religions Among Us: Test Your Knowledge True or False – The United States is considered to be

the most religiously diverse country in the world today with more than 1,500 religious groups

What was the fastest growing religion in the U.S. between 1990 and 2000?

Is the percentage of the population who express the need to experience spiritual growth increasing or decreasing in the U.S.?

What percent of the world’s population is Islam?

What percent is non-religious?



The Religions Among Us

What is meant by the term “sacred canopy”?

Think about the meaning of the term ‘globalization’ as the sense of the world being “a single place” and then,

Develop a hypothesis using these two terms to explain religious conflict in the world today.

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Dimensions of Human Behavior: Person and Environment Chapter 6 The Spiritual Person