Despite the significant secularization of today’s society, the tendency towards spirituality continues to increase during later adulthood. Many believe spirituality to be an essential feature of the personal aging process. Senescence or the process of aging is often considered as a spiritual journey. A significant amount of research provides evidence of positive health outcomes as linked to spirituality and religious participation.
Aging is an intricate web of interrelated and interdependent processes. Included within these dynamics of aging are elements of genetic, biological, physiological, socioeconomic, physical, and psychological factors. Spirituality can serve as anchor for understanding and coping with these synergistic, interrelated components especially as some life components begin to fail or not function as well as we would like or expect.
Spirituality as a life resource with internal and external elements can enrich and give perspective and meaning to lives. Your spiritual perspective becomes increasingly important, when facing the issues of the loss of loved ones, physical illness, disability and your future mortality, confronting you in old age. Spirituality increases life satisfaction, psychosocial wellbeing, moderates positive relationships, and is supportive of our quest for meaning and purpose in life
Increasingly, a distinction is made between religion and spirituality or being religious versus being spiritual. Religion or religiosities are beliefs and specifically oriented rituals and practices that are associated as being spiritual within the context of a specific faith. Religion is corporate in that it is group or community based in observances and practices. Spirituality is individually focused as a personal relationship between the individual and the transcendence or between an individual and God. It is the personal time you set aside to be alone with God, to study, pray, and meditate on His Word. It is how you personally, individually, find meaning and purpose, and experience a connectedness that goes beyond your ego-driven existence.
Spirituality is also viewed as a broader concept within which religion may or may not fall depending on individual beliefs and predilection. Spirituality may be used to address both personal and shared aspects of worship. Religion and spirituality can be mutually exclusive or connected. Spirituality can include religious faith and practices, but can also be experienced and understood in non-religious ways. For example, profound experiences of connectedness or oneness with nature, a moving event or even a poignant piece of music, can provide moments of intensely sacred feelings of being connected to something much greater than ourselves.
Aging is an intricate web of interrelated and interdependent processes. Included within these dynamics of aging are elements of genetic, biological, physiological, socioeconomic, physical, and psychological factors. Spirituality can serve as anchor for understanding and coping with these synergistic, interrelated components especially as some life components begin to fail or not function as well as we would like or expect.
Spirituality as a life resource with internal and external elements can enrich and give perspective and meaning to lives. Your spiritual perspective becomes increasingly important, when facing the issues of the loss of loved ones, physical illness, disability and your future mortality, confronting you in old age. Spirituality increases life satisfaction, psychosocial wellbeing, moderates positive relationships, and is supportive of our quest for meaning and purpose in life
Increasingly, a distinction is made between religion and spirituality or being religious versus being spiritual. Religion or religiosities are beliefs and specifically oriented rituals and practices that are associated as being spiritual within the context of a specific faith. Religion is corporate in that it is group or community based in observances and practices. Spirituality is individually focused as a personal relationship between the individual and the transcendence or between an individual and God. It is the personal time you set aside to be alone with God, to study, pray, and meditate on His Word. It is how you personally, individually, find meaning and purpose, and experience a connectedness that goes beyond your ego-driven existence.
Spirituality is also viewed as a broader concept within which religion may or may not fall depending on individual beliefs and predilection. Spirituality may be used to address both personal and shared aspects of worship. Religion and spirituality can be mutually exclusive or connected. Spirituality can include religious faith and practices, but can also be experienced and understood in non-religious ways. For example, profound experiences of connectedness or oneness with nature, a moving event or even a poignant piece of music, can provide moments of intensely sacred feelings of being connected to something much greater than ourselves.
Spirituality and AgingSpirituality is the feeling, belief, trust, confidence, faith and acceptance of a higher power than what is seen or heard. It is an intuitive sense of a power greater than human imagination or human construction. It is the ultimate source of life and all existence. Spirituality is a wonderful phenomenon that provides an elevated meaning to life for so many elderly. Spirituality is considered to be not only life-enhancing but also life-sustaining to many adherents. |
Dimensions of Faith and Spirituality in the ElderlyComing soon!
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Spirituality and Grief Coming soon! |