Spiritual values. List of spiritual and moral values

Human life is a path into the unknown. How to walk along it and where to arrive. who to choose as travel companions, what to focus on, so that the result of the journey meets expectations and bestows upon us the rewards and gifts we deserve. How to distinguish real valuable life gifts from fake ones.

In this article we will try to reveal the depth of the concept of spirituality and realize that it is the light that illuminates the traveler’s path in the darkness and twilight on the beaten roads of life, the energy that gives him the strength to move on when there are almost none left. We will talk about what riches within us can be illuminated by this light and characterize each of them in order to answer the question: “What is the spiritual path?”

Why is spiritual development needed?

People need to experience joy and excitement more often to get the most out of everything they do, feel superior, and be open to new opportunities. Don't neglect the people around you.

If you often do bad things, constantly get angry and complain about life, the likelihood of getting pleasure decreases to zero. Such people do not feel harmony with the world around them; they increasingly withdraw into themselves, and then become hostages of their own negative feelings. (See table of feelings and emotions). Most likely, such a person will not be able to experience true happiness.

Spiritual development is a very important stage in life’s journey. A person who has no desire to improve is doomed to constant torment and suffering. Usually such people cannot achieve any success, and begin to sow hatred in the world around them.

Spiritual development provides an excellent chance to experience more positive emotions and simply enjoy life every day. Starting the path of enlightenment, every person must cleanse himself of all negative ideas and bad thoughts. The inner world of a positive person allows him to receive inspiration from everything that happens around him. Thanks to spiritual development, each of us can create incredible conditions for our own lives, as well as for everyone around us.

Spirituality is not just a word, but a real way of life. All actions must be aimed at good purposes. Encourage a person to take actions that bring positive and useful results.

Questions that reveal spiritual values

Are you able to stop trying to control the outcome?

In general, people have little control - from the place, time of birth, to the time when life ends.

It is worth being in the present moment, accepting it as it really is. Don’t try to imagine “what it could have been like if you had done something differently in the past

Convince yourself that no matter what happens, everything will work out as it should. You can feel a huge weight being lifted from your shoulders. Not immediately, but until such an attitude becomes part of your permanent worldview.

Do you think there is something greater than us?

There are many extraordinary things in the world that cannot be controlled . Examples: the birth of children, the instinctive behavior of migratory birds, moths, cycles of renewal of living nature on Earth.

Every person is a unique miracle.

When people open their eyes to all their talents and abilities, they begin to understand how they can be used to benefit other beings. Then the necessary flexibility appears, allowing you to be an integral part of something larger and extraordinary.

Are you filled with a sense of oneness with everything?

No matter what people think about the existence of a higher power, whether they recognize it or deny it, there is no doubt that they want to feel a connection with it. This force can be understood as: the Universe, the Great Spirit, the Divine or God.

This helps to feel that people are not alone in life, regardless of what is happening in it.

If you are grateful every day and learn to express your gratitude to this unity, a greater sense of connection and love will be available to a person.

What spiritual qualities do you admire in other people?

People feel the need for other people. One of the most important steps in a person's spiritual development involves learning to communicate with others on a deep level. Thanks to such changes, life gains meaning.

Compassion, gratitude and generosity are universal values ​​that serve the greater good.

When a person dedicates his life to serving others, he has a clear vision of purpose . Because energy is directed to really important things, and not wasted on unimportant ones.

The spiritual world for a person is the basis of harmony in life

Many people think that living in complete harmony with the world around them is impossible, but this is not so. Despite all the barriers and obstacles that come our way in life, there is always the opportunity to overcome them and not stop. At the same time, always remain in a positive mood, constantly rejoice or admire achievements.

Surely there is a person in your circle who adheres to spiritual values. Such people never fall into a desperate state; they are always ready to move forward and achieve their goals. Even in those moments when something doesn’t work out for them.

When, in the midst of gray everyday life, you see such a person in your environment, all everyday problems and work routine are smoothed out. A spiritual person charges everyone around with his positive energy and you don’t feel so sad. Everyone around begins to do more good and right things.

When the team is filled with positive energy, when everyone becomes kinder to each other, then the spiritual life of the society around us is formed.

In order for a person’s spiritual world to comply with all the norms and rules of spirituality, it is necessary to work well on one’s own mistakes. First, try to understand yourself and start changing something, then you will understand the full power of this teaching

Spirituality of any person is not just a word! It lies in harmony with yourself and your environment. The soul of such people is filled with light and love. In the spiritual world there are no such feelings as:

• Envy;
• Anger;
• Contempt;
• Humiliation;
• Anger, etc.

At all times, spiritual and moral canons were observed thanks to proper upbringing, from childhood. Spiritual life in modern society can lead all of humanity to new discoveries. Spirituality is the path of every person who strives for creation and knowledge of the unknown secrets of existence.

In the world of good there is no negativity or failure. Here everyone is ready to help each other. No one will leave someone in need of support in trouble. The real spiritual world of a person consists only of the positive qualities of a person. The inner state of the soul of such people is very vulnerable, since these people are always open to others. They try to avoid any negative events towards themselves and the world around them.

Spirituality is a definition of the inner state of the human soul, which is always based on the moral and ethical relationships between people and the environment.

Do not blindly follow religious scriptures or philosophical teachings. Each person must independently determine their own boundaries in order to make this world more colorful and kind. There is no need to become a religious fanatic, because this will only lead you to disappointment and self-destruction.

It is worth considering that spiritual development can lead a person to rash actions, which, in an unconscious state and without any intent, can harm one’s own well-being. This applies to those people who are fanatical about such teachings of spirituality. Of course, we must constantly improve, but the knowledge we gain must be used wisely and carefully. Spiritual development should not become a tool for hiding one’s complexes or shortcomings.

The main task is not to just blindly follow what some leader says or believe everything that is said in the religious scriptures. First of all, you need to look into the depths of your soul and find all the vulnerable spots. In order to further protect ourselves from injustice, anger or hatred, which shrouds our entire world. On the path of every person there are obstacles and obstacles that at first glance cannot be overcome. However, this is a false perception of what is happening. In fact, there is nothing in our world that could prevent us from making our lives more fun and useful.

Spirituality in German and Christian psychology

The founders of the German, or “understanding” movement (German psychologists Spranger, Dilthey) fought for the use of understanding means of penetration into human souls (the human mental world). According to their theory, all cultural heritage, history, and art influence the emergence of spirituality in an individual.

The opposite point of view is defended by Christian psychology: morality in everyone is from God, it is manifested in faith, actions towards others and lifestyle. It is wrong to equate serving God with spirituality. Those who have achieved success in moral development are not always religious. He:

1. considers himself free from unquestioning obedience to the church, will not observe certain laws (fasts, church rituals) if they contradict his views;
2. does not feel fear of higher powers, but receives support by turning to God;
3. inquisitive, seeks answers in science, not content with religious doctrine alone;
4. totalitarian towards another religion;
5. does not force himself to be condescending and kind only out of necessity. Helps others because his conscience dictates so;
6. does not imitate others and lives according to someone else's orders. It’s normal for him to make mistakes and draw conclusions.

Summarizing all the above definitions of spirituality, we see that it relates to the inner world of a person and contains individual prerequisites. It is associated with world cultural values ​​or divine teachings.

The word spirituality, what does it mean?

If we pay attention to the interpretation of the word “spirituality” in different dictionaries of the Russian language, we will see that the meaning of this internal state of a person will be somewhere between the religious and moral understanding of this state.

In fact, that's how it is!

Practice more to know your own soul. Only through practice can you fully learn to control your emotions and achieve perfection in everything. The teaching of a person’s inner spirituality does not imply anything bad. Both in religious scriptures and in various scientific works of famous philosophers. The spiritual world is described as something high and perfect.

By following the basic rules and principles, you can achieve maximum perfection of your own will and state of mind. But it is also worth considering the fact that, depending on national characteristics, each country has its own moral principles and rules. Based on this, it is necessary to highlight the main similarities in all scriptures and teachings. The concept that is embedded in the understanding of spirituality has its similarities everywhere.

It is in this way - by comparing different interpretations, that one can comprehend the real spiritual truth. That is, to understand the very essence of spirituality throughout the world. The word “compassion” is found in many sources, both religious and philosophical teachings. It may look a little different, or be called by other words, but still the main task is to teach all people to understand and show a sense of compassion.

A spiritual person, finding harmony with his inner world, begins to feel stronger and more necessary for this world.

This message is carried by all religions of the world without exception. Except in those cases when political beliefs begin to interfere with the spiritual world. Politicians always try to use any means to achieve their goal. There are no barriers or moral principles for them. They manage to achieve their political ambitions, and even make good money by deceiving ordinary people.

Spirituality in Western Psychology

Western psychology, which was formed and gained recognition in the post-war years of the twentieth century, includes several areas:

• transpersonal (not denying the influence of religion on human consciousness);
• humanistic (at the center of its study is the individual, as a unique holistic system);
• existential (related to humanistic psychology, affects various aspects of human life). For her, everything matters: a person’s individual world, his personal experiences, and so on.

According to Maslow, a person who has spirituality is at a high evolutionary stage. These people are free from primitive desires, dirty thoughts and actions, they sow goodness around and show condescension to those who do not deserve it. Psychologists and psychotherapists at the beginning of the twentieth century believed that the lack of morality is a disease and needs to be gotten rid of. But many undeveloped cultures also engaged in so-called healing of the soul, performing various shamanic rituals, sacrifices, and so on.

What is spirituality for a person

What is spirituality and how can it be explained in simple words? Considering each religion where we are talking about the spiritual state of a person, we can notice that many understandings may differ from each other, and in some cases even contradict their “competitive communities”. Here, moral principles or other qualities that are considered to be the rule in a particular country or religion may differ.

It is necessary to do a lot of work on oneself so that a person’s spiritual world is strong and strong throughout his entire conscious life.

But, as mentioned above, it is necessary to select the best of all teachings and interpretations. It must be taken into account that our world is so diverse that the understanding of good and evil is relative.

All religions are determined to curb the negative feelings of humanity. Everywhere there is talk about humility and submission. But this will not make a person stronger or smarter. The fundamental canons and commandments of all religions are also aimed at ensuring that everyone can choose for themselves those basic principles and patterns that can lead us to an understanding of the higher mind.

This is not connected with material values ​​or the benefits of peoples, but with the simplest instinctive impulses that lead every person living on earth to a state of peace and bliss.

Their main task is to make this world as kind and fair as possible, so that all living beings live in harmony with each other and interact with all natural processes.

How to explain what soulfulness is to a foreigner or an ignorant Russian? Synonyms

The most suitable alternative to “spirituality” is the term from psychology – “empathy”. This is the ability to sympathize and empathize with another person. But empathy is a complex concept. In fact, in the Russian language there is no full-fledged replacement for the term “soulfulness”. No matter how we shuffle the words, there is still no complete analogue. There is something in this combination of sounds and letters... extremely sincere and at the same time remaining in the shadows all the time. Soulfulness is a mystery.

For example, if in an advertisement they say that such and such a drink is soulful, then the viewer, if he is a native Russian speaker, only understands on an intuitive level what this means. If we begin to interpret, we will immediately find ourselves in an awkward position, because the adjective “spiritual” means (if we are talking about a drink) “tasty”, “fresh”, “invigorating” and many other things that come to mind, but together Moreover, there is something else that cannot be translated into the language of symbols, but is understood only by the gut.

However, if the reader asks us sternly: “How do we understand this—“soulfulness”? Can we find synonyms for this word or not?” We will honestly provide the list:

• Sincerity.
• Openness.
• Genuine interest.
• The ability to empathize.

The reader, having grasped the general tone of the linguistic substitutions of the concept of “soulfulness,” can easily play this game himself. And it's time for us to move on.

How to achieve peace of mind

If we blindly follow everything that is stated in the scriptures, we are unlikely to be able to achieve the desired result that each of us strives for. The path to ideal spiritual enlightenment lies through overcoming your own concerns and fears. The road to independent awareness is very long, but, nevertheless, every person can go through this difficult path in a short period of time. When others will not be able to comprehend the simple truth in their entire lives.

Of all the teachings about human spirituality, choose only the most valuable information. Under no circumstances follow everything that is written thoughtlessly, because you may lose your mind.

The idea of ​​spiritual enlightenment is that every person himself must realize the seriousness and significance of righteous deeds. After all, it is much more pleasant to bring goodness, good intentions and thoughts into our beautiful world. It becomes especially pleasant in those moments when you feel the return on your efforts. Then new abilities open up in us, our soul becomes much wider.

We begin to notice all the beauty and tenderness of our nature. The main achievement in such aspirations is complete dedication and a sense of significance. When our actions bear fruit, then endless possibilities open up for us. A flame begins to “burn up” within us. There is an interest in further self-development.

Once you begin to feel that you have reached the maximum level of awareness, do not rush to stop and give up. After all, it is impossible to achieve absolute knowledge, because everyone chooses the criteria by which they begin to evaluate their actions and thoughts. However, basic knowledge is enough to get closer to self-improvement.

You shouldn't stop halfway to self-improvement. As soon as you feel that you have reached the maximum point of development of your inner world. Think a little and you will find many more errors and shortcomings that need to be corrected

To get started, all you need is a basic understanding of spirituality, as well as a little patience and perseverance. Further actions will be much more productive. Thoughts and actions will give results that until recently may have seemed unattainable to you.

However, you should not relax, since working on yourself is a long process that requires special attention. Then you need to go deeper and deeper, and there are no certain boundaries in self-development. We ourselves must choose at what stage we can stop. Or move on without stopping to get the most effective return on your efforts.

What does it mean to be a spiritually developed person?

Anyone who devotes himself to something for the benefit of his life will certainly develop and improve in this.

If we want to develop spiritually, we need to understand three golden rules:

• value your life as a great gift;
• do not encroach on someone else’s life, as well as on someone else’s experience;
• be grateful.

Through them, our three teachers teach us by creating certain life circumstances, leading us along the path of personal and spiritual growth. Development consists precisely in following these instructions to come to your original spiritual nature.

A person may become a person, or he may not. Is a person capable of following the path of spiritual growth or is the state of social realization in the awareness of what material wealth and volitional qualities she still lacks sufficient?

Society is the best platform for testing a person’s degree of spirituality.

There is a place for everyone:

• morally flawed and astray;
• advancing in development and degrading;
• simply living and socially realized;
• those beginning their first steps on a long ascent to the heights of the spirit and the spiritually enlightened.

However, no matter what stage of social or spiritual development you are at, life will always push you towards development - often with difficulties and problems. She will mirror people, their attitude towards you, and will also show something that is not at all easy to discern in yourself - the degree of your selfishness.

Hard work on yourself is precisely the most valuable because, having taken control of your egoism, curbing the beast in yourself with its passions and belligerence, you begin to develop faster in the spiritual direction.

Improving spiritually means being attentive to the world, listening to what it wants to tell you: be it the actions of people, their attitude towards you, other phenomena and events. However, it is not only your observation, but also your attitude shown in action.

To be spiritually developed means to work on character qualities that correspond to the characteristics discussed above. It is also the ability to stay at the newly discovered stage of development in yourself, becoming a wise explorer of a new ocean unknown to you.

A person has seven main energy centers, seven internal oceans of energy, located from bottom to top - from the tailbone to the crown. Each of them is responsible for the vital activity of certain organs, body systems, and the work of subtle mechanisms of consciousness and subconsciousness.

By exploring these centers, turning to certain practices, and improving in this, we move along the path of knowing not only ourselves, but also something more in ourselves. Gradually we begin to understand that there is no limit to improvement, that it has a beginning, but no end. Consequently, to be developed in this direction means to continuously improve oneself, focusing on inner harmony.

What does spirituality mean and its development

The spiritual development of a person includes several basic principles, adhering to which, a person strives for the internal evolution of his own qualities. Constantly improving the internal state of one’s own soul helps to overcome all negative feelings and emotional manifestations, such as:

• Envy;
• Anger;
• Discontent;
• Fury;
• Hatred;
• Anger;
• Oppression;
• Depression;
• Aggression;
• Fear;
• Doubt;
• Uncertainty;
• Confusion, etc.

This is not the entire list of feelings and emotions that impede a person’s spiritual development. But we should not forget that positive emotional manifestations, on the contrary, help to develop and grow above oneself.

The understanding of spirituality is different for each of us, but there is still something that unites all concepts for any society, regardless of religious beliefs

In order to gain spirituality, you need to understand a few simple truths. First of all, we must understand that spirituality is a combination of moral and ethical qualities of one person or an entire society. Finding spiritual balance, a person receives a comprehensive understanding of justice and learns self-sacrifice.

The problem of spirituality

Spirituality is a phenomenon that distinguishes human life from natural existence and introduces a social character into it. How much a person uses spirituality depends on his existence, his future and his truth. Since an individual’s awareness of his surroundings, the formation of a more graceful view and a deeper attitude towards the world, is the concept of human spirituality. Today, spirituality helps a person to know himself, his meaning in life and purpose in it.

Spirituality helps humanity on the path to survival, developing a stable society and an integrated personality. It plays a vital role in the process of forming a social society. A person’s ability to distinguish between the hostile and alien in his existence allows him to protect his habitat, himself, from erroneous actions and actions that have destructive consequences. Speaking about the problem, we should touch upon the emergence of spiritual and moral problems of society. As you know, the current stage of society’s life is experiencing a crisis of spirituality.

Spirituality and morality acquire new meanings and realization. Thus, the flourishing of cruelty, crime, disorder, speculation, the shadow economy, drug addiction, inhumanity are the consequences of the decline of human spirituality, and, accordingly, the devaluation of human life. Although the decline in the level of morality of the population does not lead to its direct death, it leads to the destruction of many institutions of society: economic, spiritual and political.

The most sensitive problem is that this destruction of society occurs unnoticed by humans. The new stage in the formation of human culture contributes to the development of liberated, free, uncomplicated individuals, open to innovation, but at the same time indifferent, aggressive and indifferent. Most people direct their actions to fill their lives with material, consumer values, rejecting the spiritual component of human existence.

A contradiction is revealed in the formation of the current community: scientific and technological progress and spiritual development follow completely different paths, while a large number of individuals lose their moral support in life, thereby complicating the spiritual life of the whole society. Against this background, in the period from the twentieth century, a complete devaluation of human life began. History shows that every century, changing the “old inhuman”, brought more and more victims among people. Despite the development of social and political living conditions, developed culture, literature, cruel atrocities were carried out against the individual. The lack of morality was considered as something conducive to such actions, assumed by the paradigm of a given society.

No matter how developed the socio-economic society, technology and resources are, it is impossible to solve the problem of life with their help. Only a change in a person’s thinking, a change in his internal worldview, and an awareness of the integrity and spirituality of society will help direct him to the true path of existence and development. Creating an ideal world of human spirituality, creating a world of values ​​and concepts will help raise the human soul high above material wealth. In order to renew society, it is necessary to act from within: to renew the spirituality and morality of subjects, to prepare a person’s consciousness for the coming changes, for realizing the importance of the integrity of society and updating the value system.

Lack of spiritual harmony

People in whom the spiritual component is poorly developed are in the sleep mode stage. Such people are not used to enjoying life; for them there are no moral boundaries. They are completely subordinate to their base instincts and suffer from their own powerlessness.

A person who lacks spirituality simply exists without any meaning; the life of such people is filled with grief and pain. They don’t want to change anything in their lives; they are closed to themselves and others. This state of mind leads humanity to the most vile actions and deeds.

It is necessary to develop your spirit and body throughout your life. Such harmony within us allows us to achieve the highest results.

To achieve a spiritual state, you need to work long and carefully on your mistakes and go through the entire path of spiritual development. This is a huge amount of work on yourself.

And what's the end result?

What can happen to us if we are diligent in mastering the lessons of our three teachers and develop ourselves comprehensively?

This should lead us to the following results:

• health promotion;
• personal growth;
• happiness;
• the emergence of meaning in life;
• reconciliation;
• self-realization.

Health promotion

Naturally, we will gain good health by learning to put ourselves in excellent physical condition, thanks to the practices and exercises that the teacher-body will tell us. He will help us learn to enjoy our body without any damage to it.

Personal growth

The second teacher will reveal to us the real wealth of the soul, the true diamonds of the inner world, and will teach us to feel more subtly about ourselves and our surroundings. After some time, we will suddenly notice obvious changes in ourselves, thanks to which our personal growth has occurred.

We, figuratively speaking, have become head and shoulders above our former selves. We learn about this from the mirror. It is our immediate environment. It will also be revealed that these changes in ourselves are important not only for us, but also for our neighbors, because their lives have also become better. This may mean that we are learning lessons.

Happiness

When we finally learn to understand our third teacher, turning to him every day - with prayer or just a word, having clearly felt the feedback, we will learn that there is always a place for happiness in this world. We are deeply aware that it can be real, independent of material enrichment: the thickness of a wallet and the brand of a car, the presence of real estate and connections in the government. That it also does not depend on our social status or ideological predisposition. After all, in reality, it is a subtle spiritual state of the presence of inner light.

Meaning of life

Our life will open up to us with other amazing meanings, and our word will become truly alive. In life, a deep understanding of its essence will appear for us, perhaps even our spiritual program of the earthly path will be revealed to us.

Reconciliation

Our heart will become open to the world, there will be no place in it for war and aggressiveness, hatred and malice in any form. We accept him as he is and find our true location with him, in other words: “we reconcile.”

Self-realization

Now we understand what we are truly capable of. The most rational and competent application of our physical and spiritual forces is revealed to us. Our self-realization is the result of painstaking hard work on ourselves. We realize ourselves not so much for our own sake, but for something greater and joyful for everyone.

A conscientious student of the school of life will be able to find his inner balance, without highlighting any of his deepest natures, finding reconciliation with everything and humility in everything. New paths of creation and co-creation will open up for him with those who walk alongside, filling the space with a single rhythm of joy, bringing joy to the One who looks at the world he created from the unknown, as well as from every awakened heart.

Afterword

A spiritual person has a large set of cultural and moral values, and his consciousness is much more developed and open, which makes other people feel uncomfortable being around an enlightened person. The manifestation of spirituality can be seen both in religious books and teachings, and in many cultural works. The main message of spiritual enlightenment is the harmony between the human soul and its bodily shell. Such people always bring only good deeds and thoughts into this world. One of the accompanying manifestations of spiritual life is the acquisition of conscience. A spiritual state helps all humanity to live in harmony with themselves and the world around them.

Ask your question to granddaughter Anna here

Is “spirituality” a purely religious term?

The answer to the question in the title: “Of course not!” Spirituality is any non-material production. Spirituality absorbs all the phenomena of human genius - from science to religion. Naturally, literature is also included in this area. Nowadays there is a term “spiritual literature,” that is, religious literature. But this is not an entirely correct option, because all literature is spiritual. The question is why does the confusion arise? Everything is very simple. Nowadays there are quite a lot of believers, and religious consciousness is somewhat different from secular consciousness. For example, the first believes that absolute truth is only his department. Also, religious people, even Christians, often sin into intolerance towards other people's opinions and expressions, which is why they believe: if literature or art are connected with God, then these forms of human activity are spiritual, and they deny this quality to others.

The point is also that the term “spirituality” is now in wide demand, because a lot of people are passionate about Orthodoxy. But, as often happens, people, when using a word, do not bother to look in the dictionary. In addition, it is human nature to make mistakes. And Francis Bacon identified four types of errors of the subject when understanding the world. There is no need to list all four here, we are only interested in the “idols of the marketplace” - the phenomenon boils down to the fact that people mindlessly use words, and everyone puts their own meaning into them. This, in turn, makes understanding very difficult. As an example, we can take the meaning of the word “spirituality”: a religious person means one thing by this term, but a non-religious person means something completely different. The sad thing is that they will never agree with each other.

Fortunately, the meaning of the word “soulfulness” does not cause such difficulties for people. It is still associated in the human mind with something kind and good. We hope that our reader will not confuse related concepts in the future. Every educated person should know the difference between the terms “spirituality” and “spirituality”, of course, if he wants to say that he truly knows the Russian language.