[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-238826-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-238826-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","what-is-spirituality-a-personal-exploration","What is spirituality - A personal exploration","","Spirituality is explored as an awareness that something greater than the self exists and that human life has meaning beyond everyday biological drives. It involves engagement with universal themes such as love, compassion, altruism, wisdom, truth, and life after death, often inspired by saints or enlightened individuals. The text addresses healing, affirmation of the ego, the role of the heart, contemplative disciplines like prayer and meditation, and how religion can both support or distort spiritual growth.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/religion-spirituality/","Religion & Spirituality",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/what-is-spirituality-a-personal-exploration/238826/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/what-is-spirituality-a-personal-exploration/238826.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"supergirl","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-20","2026-09-11",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What does spirituality mean in this text?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Spirituality is the recognition of a sense or belief that there is something greater than the self, and that life holds meaning beyond purely sensory or biological experience. It frames humans as part of a purposeful, cosmic or divine whole.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the spiritual journey begin according to the text?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The journey begins with healing and affirming the ego so positive states become more accessible, reducing ego-based defenses. Opening the heart is described as essential to genuine spirituality.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What role do religion and spiritual practice play?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Contemplative practices such as prayer and meditation are presented as a common foundation for spirituality across religions. Religion is also discussed as sometimes guiding spiritual development but at other times becoming sidetracked into pride or guilt-based practices.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},238826,1789139874,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":116,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":33,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":80,"read_time":123},962088121634,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","What is spirituality? A personal exploration  \nDr Maya Spencer  \nSpirituality involves the recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than myself, something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater whole of which we are part is cosmic or divine in nature.  \nSpirituality means knowing that our lives have significance in a context beyond amundane everyday existence at the level of biological needs that drive selfishness and aggression. It means knowing that we are a significant part of a purposeful unfolding of Life in our universe.  \nSpirituality involves exploring certain universal themes – love, compassion, altruism, life after death, wisdom and truth, with the knowledge that some people such as saints or enlightened individuals have achieved and manifested higher levels of development than the ordinary person. Aspiring to manifest the attributes of such inspirational examples often becomes an important part of the journey through life for spiritually inclined people.  \nThe spiritual journey involves first healing and affirming the ego so that positive states are experienced; with secure self-esteem, belief in self-worth and a capacity for love and generosity, a person becomes less constrained by ego defences. An opening of the heart is an essential aspect of true spirituality. In this regard one may question the spiritual nature of masochistic religious practices such as selfflagellation, which is based on a belief in the wickedness inherent in the body rather than on any real connection with , and therefore compassion for, the body. This illustrates the fact that religion does not always serve the progress of spiritual development but may get side-tracked into practices that create pride, feelings of superiority etc. or else lead to a person becoming bogged down in unworthiness, guilt and shame - all of which emotions are commonly suffered by psychiatric patients. In short, religion will be taken up by a person in a way that inevitably reflects their own level of development and maturity.  \nThe development of spirituality is generally recognised as requiring some sort of practice or discipline in order to make ‘progress' . This can involve the aspirant in paradoxes such as non-striving, the gateless gate, or coming home to oneself. Contemplative practices such as prayer and meditation are the common denominator of many religions and the foundation of spirituality. Without them, personal growth is much slower and haphazard. A teacher or mentor is usually recommended.  \nSpiritual development often involves spontaneous happenings that cannot be accounted for scientifically and that may be attributed to an external force , for example: grace, or angelic or divine interventions. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus is one such dramatic example. Development may not  \nnecessarily be an instantaneous event but can happen more gradually as when going through an experience of severe illness, or a terminal diagnosis, when the fragility of life is revealed and a person re-evaluates the meaning of their life.  \nWhether there is any objective reality to the beliefs of spiritually inclined people is an area of debate and controversy, often taking place in the arena of philosophy as a discipline independent of the beliefs that supposedly taint the intellectual capacities of those who are spiritually inclined. As a sociologist friend said when he was studying the devotees of Prem Rawat , who founded the Divine Light Mission in the early 1970s: ‘ If you are inside the group you don’t have the objectivity to study the phenomena, but if you are outside the group you don’t really know what it is you are studying.’ So research often stays in the safe arena of behaviour , which is superficial and can be uninformative or misleading. A documentary film was made for television about the Rajneesh commune in 1984, showing people in Dynamic Meditation jumping up and down in n","cbCaico384z7oCPK","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaico384z7oCPK","pdf",110846,"English","# What is spirituality?\n## Core meaning and universal themes\n## Spiritual journey, healing, and practice\n## Religion, belief, and ongoing debate","[{\"question\":\"What does spirituality mean in this text?\",\"answer\":\"Spirituality is the recognition of a sense or belief that there is something greater than the self, and that life holds meaning beyond purely sensory or biological experience. It frames humans as part of a purposeful, cosmic or divine whole.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the spiritual journey begin according to the text?\",\"answer\":\"The journey begins with healing and affirming the ego so positive states become more accessible, reducing ego-based defenses. Opening the heart is described as essential to genuine spirituality.\"},{\"question\":\"What role do religion and spiritual practice play?\",\"answer\":\"Contemplative practices such as prayer and meditation are presented as a common foundation for spirituality across religions. Religion is also discussed as sometimes guiding spiritual development but at other times becoming sidetracked into pride or guilt-based practices.\"}]","What is spirituality - A personal exploration | PDF"]