Spirituality is an important concept in philosophical counseling. It has strong religious overtones, and especially under the influence of Western Christianity, it generally means a life of believing in and following Christ.
Spirituality, a modern translation of the Latin word 'spiritualitas' is rooted in the ancient Greek word pneuma (πνεύμα), and initially meant breath, breathing, and spirit. In the Old Testament (creation story), humans are described as beings who come from the earth, receive God's breath (spirit), and gain life. According to this, humans can be considered special beings imbued with God's spirit from birth.
Spirituality is a profound concept with multilayered meanings encompassing transcendence and immanence and is one of the core concepts of human nature that requires deep insight, especially in philosophy.
As can be guessed from its etymology, spirituality basically means the principle of life unique to humans. As human nature, spirituality is based on the human spirit above all else. Human life goes beyond simple organic activities and performs the unique function of the spirit. At this time, its core principle is the principle of Logos according to reason and, further, the principle of transcendence that pursues the ultimate and absolute truth. Here, the characteristics of emotion-life, reason-logos, and spirituality-transcendence are revealed as unique functions and principles of the human spirit.
Humans are beings who ask questions by nature. Questions belong to the essence of the spirit. The unique characteristic of the human spirit is that humans do not follow instincts but maintain a distance from nature and objectify things; through this, they become conscious of themselves and grasp the essence of things. We call this kind of human mental activity thinking and cognition.
Questions seek knowledge. All things that become the object of knowledge are ultimately questions of existence. People often use the expression ‘not in the right mind’ to mean being very busy or unable to discern reason. Still, this expression implies that we lack spirituality to the point of avoiding the question of existence, which is the ultimate meaning of life. In fact, we live our lives so immersed in our daily lives that we forget philosophical questions. However, when a crisis comes, we ask serious philosophical questions again.
What triggers questions is our emotions, which are activated by external stimuli. When the familiarity and comfort of daily life change into unfamiliarity and discomfort, specifically in a limiting situation where we are driven into pain, hurt, frustration, and fear, we finally ask serious questions to find the reason and solution. However, questions triggered by emotions like this do not yet have their meanings clearly and distinctly thematicized, so we need the help of reason rather than emotion to understand them. This is because understanding the state of the anxious mind and grasping its meaning is not passive emotion but active reason.
However, the problem is that reason alone does not explain everything rationally. In the abyss of uncertainty and absurdity of life and existence, which are the stark reality, we recognize the limits of reason and constantly ask questions to transcend the sublime absolute values and meanings that reason alone cannot understand. This is precisely the power of spirituality.
