Although many people confuse religion with spirituality and they have been analytically used by both the church and scientists interchangeably, there is a fundamental difference between them. In fact, much of today’s literature argues that religion is the conventional institution and spirituality is the subjective experience of individuals that is often associated with conventional religious rituals and other practices. Due to their relationship however, the distinction between the two is still a bit obscure or “fuzzy.”
Nevertheless, if one accepts spirituality as the concept of individuals subjectively understanding themselves in relation to both physical and meta-physical concepts such as self, others, the planet, the cosmos, GOD, and the like, then one must also accept that this understanding is a result of porcess or a journey upon which individuals embark to reach that understanding. Some call this journey The Spiritual Journey, The Spiritual Path, or The Path to Enlightenment.
Whatever the name given to this journey of understanding or quest for truth, it seems that many people, if not all, are on one. Recent studies show that many people identify themselves as spiritual even without identifying as religious or with the conventional religious institution (Roof 1993; Hout & Fischer 2002; Marler & Hadaway 2002). While writing my dissertation, I also found a fair number of cases that fit the “spiritual but not religious” category.
Studies such as these support that an overwhelming number of people are in some way shape or form understanding themselves in a spiritual way, which then indicates they either have undertaken or are in the process of undertaking a journey of understanding.
In his book Man In Search of Meaning (1946) Victor Frankl argues that humans are always in search of the meaning life holds. He concludes that the meaning of life is found in every moment of living; life never ceases to have meaning, even in suffering and death. He also concludes that faith is important not just for the prisoners he monitored but for all people in terms of maintaining the spiritual self.
Social scientists, particularly those who embrace post-modernism, have identified at least three dimensional qualities that are reflective of the understanding of self that is related to the spiritual journey. They argue that values and beliefs, transcendence, and connectedness, are all qualities that grow out of seeking understanding of self and meaning in one’s life. First, the term spirituality refers to values and beliefs, often connected to a formalized religious set of doctrines (Prest & Keller, 1993) but can also refer to simply contemplating or holding existential values and beliefs (Kilpatrick & Holland, 1990). In other words, this cognitive dimension of spirituality can involve beliefs about the meaning of life, the nature of reality, the experience of death and dying, or a number of others beliefs.
Second, there exists a metaphysical, mystical, or transcendent element (D. A. Anderson & Worthen, 1997; Prest & Keller, 1993; West, 1997) that moves beyond cognitive or rational explanations for the occurrence of spiritual phenomena to the experiential realm where faith is often the only viable explanation for a given phenomenon. In other words, there is an element of spirituality that is “beyond the human capacity to analyze or explain” (D. A. Anderson & Worthen, 1997, p. 4). Faith or trust, as a way of knowing, is an act of the will and consists of believing something to be true or of believing that something happened or will and can happen despite a lack of objective evidence. Thus, the metaphysical element of spirituality refers to the distinctively personal experience and exercise of faith.
Finally, the term spirituality involves an experience of connection (Walsh, 1998). Spirituality can be experienced as a sense of connectedness with another person or persons, nature, and/or God. Buber (as cited in West, 1997) explained the sense of connection inherent in spirituality by contrasting the “I/It” relationship with the “I/Thou” relationship. The “I/It” relationship is the experience of “the other as different from oneself, as something of an object” (p. 293). In contrast, the “I/Thou” relationship involves the experience of “one-ness” with the other. The “one-ness” emerges out of the relationship, forming something greater than the sum of its parts (Murr, 2001). Murr referred to this experience of “one-ness” as “spiritual communion” (p. 42).
It seems apparent from the literature that spirituality can be conceptualized as a multidimensional construct consisting of cognitive, metaphysical, and relational dimensions. Spirituality, found to result in the experience of resilience or the ability to overcome and succeed during times of distress and challenge (Walsh, 1998), consists of the same three dimensions. Spirituality that results in resilience involves finding meaning in adherence to a set of larger beliefs and values, as well as the exercise of faith as a way of knowing (Walsh, 1998). Furthermore, Aponte (1998) suggested that it is the experience of connectedness that promotes healing and change in people’s lives. Thus, resilient spirituality comprises cognitive, metaphysical, and relational dimensions.
It is the understanding that the spiritual journey is the avenue by which people develop their subjective version of these dimensions that has brought the L.I.F.E. Support Program into being. The program is dedicated to assisting individuals in their spiritual journey in a way that will help them reach their fullest potential along that journey by providing them tools that have been utilized for thousands of years by ancient civilizations and mystics.
Contact the Ministry of Limitless Ideas for a Free Environment (L.I.F.E.) at www.theminitryoflife.org for more information.

