Spiritual Sense Research Articles

Stanislavski training and mindfulness – being in the moment

ABSTRACT ‘I understand that an artist must be capable of stopping time and allowing for spaciousness, but now I realise that to welcome and cultivate stillness and quiet into my work, I must welcome and cultivate stillness and quiet into my own life.” Stanislavsky’s “creation of the life of the human spirit” is an exciting aspect of his work and the underlying spirituality is something that he kept partially hidden in his writing due to the political situation and Soviet ideology that he was living through at the time. It is this sense of spirituality and a meditative approach to the work of the actor that this paper explores. Specifically, an exploration of mindfulness and drama techniques. Mindfulness helps us to increase our awareness. We learn to do this by paying full attention to all our experiences, including our bodies, thoughts, moods, and emotions and to the small changes within them. There are many parallels between mindfulness and Stanislavsky’s thoughts on acting, from the need for an attitude of openness and curiosity and being in the moment through to an awareness of our physical sensations and a control over our attention. Bogart’s ideas of spaciousness also influence this examination of the practice of mindfulness and concentration. This article analyses the calmness that mindfulness can bring through the teaching and learning of Acting and Performance students at London South Bank University, and how we can use it to focus on being grounded in our body and the world around us, going about our everyday business in life and on stage. “Let the tenseness come, he says, if you cannot avoid it. But immediately let your control step in and remove it.”

Workplace spirituality: Reflections on generating meaning through Jewish perspectives of kedusha (Holiness)

ABSTRACT Interest in spirituality in the workplace continues to grow. Research has shown how experiencing spirituality in the workplace is associated with finding meaning from work, which has been, in turn, associated with both personal and organizational benefits. This article reflects on how an understanding of kedusha (holiness) in both traditional and contemporary Jewish sources can augment a sense of workplace spirituality. Specifically, it illustrates how the Jewish understanding of kedusha highlights both the need for individual agency and a sense of community for the achievement of spirituality in the workplace. Some implications of this for contemporary organizations are presented for consideration.

An investigation of factors affecting compassion levels of midwives.

INTRODUCTIONThe profession of midwifery is seen as a genuinely individual-centric catalyst transforming compassion to care. Due to this, compassionate care should be the basis of midwives’ care, especially for those who care for women and children. This research investigated the compassion levels of midwives to determine the factors affecting them.METHODSThis descriptive research was conducted between 10 February and 29 May 2020, with 119 midwives working in a training and research hospital in Istanbul. The data were collected using the ‘Compassion Scale’ and analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test and logistic regression model.RESULTSThe total mean score on the compassion scale of midwives participating in the study was found to be 71.46 ± 9.60. Sociodemographic data and vocational belongings of participants were compared with the mean scores of the compassion scale sub-dimensions. It was determined that as the age of the midwives increased, they showed more kindness and awareness of compassion (p<0.021, p<0.023, respectively). It has been determined that as the education level of midwives decreases, their compassion level also decreases and they become more insensitive (p<0.044). It was found that being married increased the kindness (p<0.023) and common humanity characteristics (p<0.032) that affect compassion. It was found that the levels of kindness (p<0.020) and awareness (p<0.048) increased for those who had children, and compassion was associated with having a child. In addition, a statistically significant relationship was found between the professional commitment and kindness of the midwives participating in the study (p<0.034). It was found that midwives’ knowledge of rules related to professional ethics increased their compassion scale scores by 1.2.CONCLUSIONSMidwifery is a profession with a high sense of spirituality. However, professional belonging, love of the profession and professional development positively affect midwives’ levels of compassion. Improving midwives’ feelings of belonging and their professional development will also contribute to the quality of maternal and infant health.

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Now

DELALETÊN RENGAN DI HELBASTÊN MUEYED TEYIBÎ DA

The current study focuses on one of nature's most appealing phenomena, which is regarded as the most valuable marvels by many scientists, writers, philosophers, and psychologists. As a matter of fact, whenever the word "color" is directly addressed, we think of life because it provides a sense of spirituality and a distinct flavor to our lives that we cannot imagine our world without. In this regard, many poets have utilized color as a means of expressing their personal feelings, creating literary imagery, and also it enables them to provide a metaphorical meaning in terms of psychology, sociology, religion, dreams, and imagination thus the theory of color intended to offer an authentic sense to literary content. Undeniably, colors have an important role in Moayed Tayeb's poetry as he employs the theory of color to represent his social, religious, philosophical, and psychological perspective on every aspect of our life, as well as to communicate his philosophical and spiritual messages to readers.

\u201cMy life became more meaningful\u201d: confronting one\u2019s own end of life and its effects on well-being\u2014a qualitative study

BackgroundThe perception of being closer to death can be experienced due to old age or life-limiting diseases, and can pose profound existential challenges. Actively confronting death-related issues and existential questions may increase psychosocial comfort and stimulate personal growth, whereas dysfunctional coping may lead to existential distress.To date, research on individual and (semi-)professional approaches to confronting the own end of life and the effects on one’s well-being remain scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore individual strategies and wishes in order to derive ideas for appropriate support concepts.MethodsTwenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with people over the age of 80 (n = 11) and with a life-limiting disease (n = 10). The interviews were transcribed verbatim and independently coded by two researchers according to Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis approach.ResultsWhile the use of (semi-)professional approaches (e.g., therapeutic support) to confronting existential questions in the shape of one’s impending death was rare, individual coping strategies did have a positive impact on psychosocial comfort. There were hardly any significant differences between the participants aged 80 and over and those with a life-limiting disease in terms of individual coping strategies or how they approached the ends of their lives. Both groups reported that theoretical education, preparing for the ends of their lives (e.g., funerals), talking about death-related topics, reflecting on death-related topics, and contemplating death in a spiritual sense had positive effects on their assurance, self-determination and relief. The necessity of confrontation and a desire for low-threshold, accessible and flexible services to meet their existential and spiritual needs were highlighted.ConclusionsThere is both a desire and a need for the addressing of existential questions. Outside of private contexts, however, the participants possessed little awareness of support services that focused on confronting end-of-life issues, and rarely used such services. Efforts to raise awareness for psychosocial and spiritual needs should be implemented within the care system, together with low-threshold support concepts, in order to increase psychosocial well-being. More research evaluating individual approaches to confronting the own end of life are needed to better understand this determinant of well-being and its mechanisms of action.Trial registrationwww.germanctr.de, DRKS-ID: DRKS00020577.

Using brain waves to assess the colour effect on promoting spirituality in the mosque architecture

The paper examines how emotional reactions (spiritual sense) to colour within religious architectural like mosque can be empirically measured and the best colour palette for mosques proposed. First, the concept of colour and its status in the Nasir Al-Molk mosque is defined based on a descriptive-analytical approach. Then, an experiment has been performed using quantitative electroencephalography waves (brain map), between the statistical population with 18 people sample size. The analysis of the data extracted showed a significant difference between the two conditions (Normal) and (Test) in the frequency of beta, theta and alpha. ‘The highest increase in alpha’ and ‘the highest decrease in the theta/beta parameter’ (Two criteria for promoting spirituality) belong to the ‘North Porch’ image. Other priorities, respectively, are South Porch, Eastern Corridor, Eastern Shabestan and Western Shabestan. So ‘turquoise’, ‘green’ and ‘blue’ colours (colour spectra of image ‘North Porch’) increase the spiritual sense.

Ethical leadership, workplace spirituality, and job satisfaction: moderating role of self-efficacy

PurposeIn the 21st century, spirituality is becoming an interesting phenomenon in the workplace and has been discussed by academicians, researchers, and practitioners alike. This growing knowledge offers important insights and calls for conceptual and empirical studies on workplace spirituality. Accordingly, the current research aims to examine how ethical leadership (EL) helps to foster workplace spirituality and job satisfaction (JS) in the information technology (IT) industry. Additionally, it investigates the mediating role of workplace spirituality and moderating role of self-efficacy (SE) in the relationship between EL and JS.Design/methodology/approachUsing a cross-sectional design, the data were collected from 268 employees in the IT industry and analyzed on SmartPLS 3.2 using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings indicated that EL promotes a sense of spirituality and increases JS. Additionally, results suggested that workplace spirituality partially mediates, and SE moderates the relationship between EL and JS.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that the top executives should work on identifying and developing ethical qualities to promote a sense of meaningfulness (workplace spirituality) and increase JS.Originality/valueThe research provides an important contribution to the academic literature by exploring the role of EL in fostering spirituality among employees and the moderation of SE on the relationship between EL and JS in the services industry.

Концепт «дорога» в исламе

The article provides a religious and philosophical analysis of the concept of road within the framework of Islamic doctrine. Relying on dogmatic sources (the Qur’an and Hadith), as well as on the three dimensions and characteristics of the concept of road – conceptual, figurative and axyolog-ical ones, the author reveals the content of this phenomenon. The research has shown the presence of spiritual and physical understanding of road or path in the Islamic creed. At the conceptual level and in the spiritual sense, path is interpreted as a vector of spiritual development through religion, as a model of life or a way of life. In its physical meaning, road or path is mentioned when describing significant Quranic events, and as an element of cataphatic practice in Islam. Both these are basic meanings in the axiological and figurative dimensions of the concept of road. In the first case, the phenomenon of road is actualized in some of the practice-transforming components of the Islamic creed. In the second case, it is derived from the religious and philosophical analysis of one of the key works of Jalaladdin Rumi – Poem about the hidden meaning (Masnaviyi ma'navi). Conceptually, fig-urative representations of road/path in this work are also analyzed in the physical, spiritual and eschatological sense.

A “random group of misfits” or being “part of something bigger”? Exploring experiences of attending a non-religious congregation

ABSTRACT Purpose Religion is an important part of many people’s lives and there is some evidence that attending church or other religious congregations is positively associated with psychological well-being. However, religious participation is declining in Western Europe and North America. Sunday Assembly is a non-religious gathering that intends to provide a similar communal experience and a sense of spirituality to the church, but without the religious element. In the current study, we aimed to explore the experiences of and motivations for attending a non-religious congregation in relation to well-being. Methods A qualitative approach was taken, gathering data through semi-structured interviews with participants from Sunday Assembly congregations across England. Results Thematic analysis was used and three key themes were found: (1) searching for meaning and community, (2) Sunday Assembly as protective of mental health, and (3) loneliness in a crowd. Conclusions Sunday Assembly can provide a sense of belonging and improvement in mental health through shared experience and spirituality, and it can act as a coping mechanism during difficult times. Further research could explore the benefits of Sunday Assembly upon attendee’s mental health, test the effectiveness of Sunday Assembly as a coping mechanism, and whether continued attendance improves mood over time.

Toplumsal Gerçekçi Bir Yazar Olarak Mustafa Kutlu’nun Edebî Şahsiyetinin Hikâyeleri Çerçevesinde İncelenmesi

Various elements are involved in the formation of an author's literary personality. The first of these elements is the author's own personality. As a person, the fact that a person develops himself in an intellectual, moral and spiritual sense and achieves a certain level is considered to be the main element affecting the products that this person will put forward. Based on the stories of Mustafa Kutlu, we get an idea of his literary personality and, of course, his personality, and we see that he has created a strong identity before his stories. Kutlu, as a thinker who questions, criticizes and observes justice in doing so, has no bigane left to the social events that he has experienced or witnessed. Considering the 1960s-80s, when his literary life began and developed, we can see that he witnessed the depression periods in which Turkish society was located, and he also related this to his stories. In the light of these evaluations and determinations, we see that Kutlu is a name that fills important gaps in Turkish storytelling. Kutlu, who took a rather separate place in the Turkish story after 1970 in terms of the issues he covered and his style, drew attention to the religious, cultural and identity corruptions occurring in society and individuals by describing the change and transformation of Turkish society in a realistic style. In his stories, he especially blessed the countryside where tradition is assumed to live / live by giving space to the changes and transformations that people who came by migration have undergone in the city in a bad way. It can be said that the village is a place of virtue and the city is a place of alienation in Kutlu's stories, which observe depressions in urban people who have been defeated, torn from traditional values and life, whose mind and psychology have been tarumar. Keywords: Literary Personality, Social Realism, Turkish Storytelling

The Guilty Veteran: The Spiritual Implications of Veteran’s Guilt

Guilt is a very old and powerful force in humanity that crosses most boundaries of culture and religion. Feeling guilty or fearing pronouncement of guilt can significantly influence a veteran’s mental health. It can be manifested in several ways, including flashbacks, terrifyingly vivid dreams, and startle responses, all of which blur distinctions between past and present realities. It also has a powerful spiritual dimension and the relationship between guilt-sin-punishment-redemption is a feature of many religions and faith groups. This paper seeks to outline the spiritual implications of guilt for veterans and their families. To achieve this, it will be necessary to initially understand guilt in both a general and spiritual sense. From this basis, the potential sources of guilt can be examined, and then critical spiritual implications can be understood. Management of veterans and their families with guilt issues must always be a collaborative effort, undertaking trained and accredited professionals in all of these areas.

Associations between a sense of connection and existential and psychosocial outcomes in gynecologic and breast cancer survivors.

BackgroundA cancer diagnosis may lead to existential despair but potentially also to perceived inner growth. This growth may be fostered through meaningful connections with others. We sought to describe existential and related psychosocial outcomes and their association with a sense of connection with others in individuals with gynecological and breast cancers.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data from two ongoing cohort studies of gynecologic (N = 236) and breast (N = 62) cancer survivors at the University of Minnesota. We summarized self-reported post-traumatic growth (PTG), sense of meaning, peace, spirituality, hopelessness, loneliness, and three exploratory measures of sense of connections with others, and used multivariate linear regression models to describe the associations between them.ResultsHope, sense of meaning, peace, and spirituality were generally high among participants, but PTG and loneliness scores varied more. Sense of connection with others was consistently associated with greater PTG and decreased loneliness with medium effect sizes: for example having positive interactions with most/all versus nobody on one’s medical team, PTG (coefficient 10.49, 95% CI: 4.10, 16.87, Cohen’s D 0.44); loneliness (coefficient − 0.85, 95% CI: − 1.36, − 0.34, Cohen’s D 0.43). Those who knew someone in a similar life situation felt a strong sense of connection with such a person; however, 28% of participants had not met anyone in a similar situation.ConclusionsThere may be untapped opportunities to nurture beneficial existential outcomes in cancer survivors. Potential interventions include connecting survivors with one another and creating opportunities for more authentic patient-provider relationships, for example, within palliative care.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00520-021-06784-8.

Life changes after the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, including a deeper sense of spirituality

ABSTRACT While it is widely known that pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago changes people, there is limited research exploring the transformative aftereffects of the experience. The purpose of this article is to contribute to filling this research gap by comparing life changes in beliefs, philosophy and behavior to life changes after three different kinds of exceptional human experiences (EHEs) from methodologically similar studies. Life changes after the pilgrimage experience are compared with life changes after unitive/mystical experiences (U/MEs), combat near-death experiences (cNDEs), and hypnotically-induced death experiences (HDEs). To measure life changes reported by pilgrims who had traveled the Camino de Santiago, an online survey (n = 630) was conducted using the established instrument for assessing aftereffects of the EHE, the ‘Life Changes Inventory-Revised’ (LCI-R). Findings suggest that pilgrimage experience may be comparable in aftereffects to other types of EHEs. In all four comparative studies, the most striking changes involve an increase in appreciation for life; a heightened quest for meaning and sense of purpose; more concern for others; greater self-acceptance; as well as a deeper sense of spirituality. Also, all four yielded a decrease in concern with worldly achievement. In the present study this decrease tends to be strongly associated with an increase in spirituality but not religiousness.

Prioritizing the effect of “Light” in the religious places and environments with an emphasis on the sense of spirituality

The current study aimed to study the light and its intensity in the case study (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore). In the first section, the research method was field research and descriptive-analytical, and in the second section, the study was conducted using Analytic Hierarchy Process. The statistical population included experts in Islamic architecture, environmental psychology, and conservation. The research tools were visual questionnaires and the available software in this regard to analyze the data and simulate the lux intensity. The lighting confusion in the religious places, such as churches, caused issues that made the researchers consider developing codified principles and regulations to measure the required light in the interior environment of these buildings and direct the interior quality of the religious places to improve the spiritual aspect based on these principles.

ТОСКА ПО ДОМУ И ТЯГА К СТРАНСТВИЯМ КАК ДВА ПОЛЮСА ЧЕЛОВЕЧЕСКОГО БЫТИЯ

The article considers the need to have your own home as a private space, sheltered from the anxieties and dangers of the outside world. In the mind of a person, there has always been a longing for the state of peace, warmth and carelessness of his native home. However, at the same time, he has an inherent craving for risk, overcoming oneself, and long-distance wanderings. Without this aspiration, it would be impossible to develop the history of the individual and society as a whole. Both of these desires exist both in a physical and spiritual sense. For a full-fledged human existence, both of these poles are necessary: home (stability) and path (change). Home and path correlate with each other as peace and restlessness, comfort and homelessness, sedentariness and wandering.

On being uniquely human in the world: a reflection on the contributions of J. Wentzel van Huyssteen

This article recognises the suspicion and tension between theology and modern science as two distinct areas of discipline. In this instance, the contributions of J. Wentzel van Huyssteen are taken seriously, in order to illustrate how a bridge has been constructed instead of a separating wall between these disiplines. Van Huyssteen spent his life in the pursuit of the love of life and the uniqueness of being human in the world. He used an interdisciplinary approach to stimulate the interface between theology and modern science. Van Huyssteen’s life and work have revolutionised the discussion on human life, the originof religion, the quest for religion, and the constructive sense of rationality and spirituality as important ways of understanding the meaning and function of human uniqueness in terms of the reality of the image of God (imago Dei) in human beings. This article was initially meant to celebrate Prof. van Huyssteen’s 80th birthday on 29 April 2022. Now it remains a token of appreciation in memory of his admirable life and lasting legacy.

Dream, Bliss, and the Shaping of Emotional Meaning in Beowulf

<i>Dream</i>, <i>Bliss</i>, and the Shaping of Emotional Meaning in <i>Beowulf</i>

A philosophical discussion on death and the meaning of life

A philosophical discussion on death and the meaning of life

Ecology in De Genesi ad litteram libri XII

The De Genesi ad litteram constitutes one of the mature works of Augustine, and in spite of the fact that for many years it has remained forgotten, it deserves a place of honor among what are considered to be the great Augustinian works. The present article highlights creation as the work of the Trinity, Augustine’s interpretation of the text of Wis 11:22 in Book IV of De Genesi ad litteram, the relationship between the spiritual sense of Scripture and ecology, the fact that animals are simply creatures, the characteristics of animals that Augustine exemplifies with the fish of Bulla Reggia, the relationship between animals and the four elements, the question of spontaneous generation, the relationship that animals have with the ordo of creation, the mystery of life, the presentation of the seminal reasons or eternal reasons, the superiority of man over other creatures, the mission of the human being to care for and cultivate the world created by God.