The role of spiritual values

Lotus FM talk
The need for spiritual values in today’s world

What are spiritual values?

• Values are sets of guidelines which we use to govern our thinking, feeling and behaviour
• Spiritual values relate to a belief in God and His laws and how we should behave towards God and our fellow-man- usually based on sacred scriptures
• Spiritual values may not be only limited to traditional religious beliefs- some people and families are not ‘churchgoing’ but still share a spiritual awareness and values relating to their own thoughts on God and their relationship with others
• Some people may not even believe in God and still have values which influence their thinking and behavior towards other people in a positive way, based on moral values and universal principles of love and brotherhood

Looking at society today
Recent research suggests that the proper practice of one’s religious or spiritual beliefs (not only belonging to a church or religion) do reduce delinquency and crime, especially violent crime, but this does not apply to all categories, for example, white collar crime (Pettersson 1991, Evans et al 1995)

The role of religion and spiritual values
• Spiritual beliefs and values are an important component of mental heath, especially in emotional healing (Corey, 2001).
 They can help people to find purpose and meaning in their lives
 Can help people to accept responsibility in their lives
 Can provide strength and support during difficult times and traumatic events
 Encourages one to love, to care and to accept and forgive others ( and self)
(letting go of hurts, resentments, guilt and shame)
 Can improve one’s behaviour towards others ( teaches tolerance and compassion)
 Provides guidelines for letting go of self-destructive thoughts, feelings and actions (Risk behaviour)

How do we acquire spiritual values?
• Usually acquired form parents (oral tradition) but can be learnt by attending church, temple or mosque classes
• Socialisation –should be naturally included in parent’s or care-givers rearing of children
• Can also be learnt form reading or studying scriptures, books, articles and by attending religious or spiritual events and festivals.
• Importance of thinking for oneself, as persons can be attracted to a religion or spiritual practices and later find that they are dissatisfied
• People should ideally be allowed to complement traditional teachings with their own experiences (grow their faith or expand their set of spiritual values)
• Even without a formal religion, it is still possible to acquire spiritual values
For example,
 The benefit of an enquiring mind –reading spiritual books and articles and asking questions of spiritual friends or acquaintances
 In all cases, the exercise of spiritual faculties should be encouraged by means of meditation and conscious inner work (imagery)
• This could involve training by spiritual mentors as well as courses suited to their emerging understanding
• In all cases, the aim should be to cultivate a workable set of spiritual and ethical values, mind, self-awareness and a love of God, Spirit, nature and people

Raising children with spiritual values

• If one wishes to raise children in a spiritual environment, there would therefore be two questions to first consider
 Does one wish to raise children in a traditional religion in which the spiritual practices involve regular church, temple or mosque attendance and prescribed training in the scriptures?
 Or do we wish to offer them a more open and holistic view of the world and of spirituality in general
 In other words, formulating our own spiritual programmme designed to fit the specific needs and development of our children (home-schooling in spiritual values)

• If we are already part of an organised religion and find that our spiritual needs are completely satisfied by the doctrines presented, and are quite willing to have our children raised in this framework, then much of our responsibility for the spiritual upbringing of the child can be handed over to the church, temple or mosque, which usually has a formalised scriptural study programme for children from pre-school to early adulthood

• This would merely have to be supplemented at home with instruction in meditation or prayer and dealing with any questions that the child may raise with regard to the religious instruction being presented
• However, some parents are not involved in traditional religious practices and there is another approach which involves a more personal involvement in the spiritual life of the child

Home-schooling in spiritual values
• Even if one already belongs to an organised religion, it is still a good practice to apply this approach in order to supplement the religious tradition
 For this approach, the parents role would be that of facilitators, exposing the children to a framework of spiritual concepts and ideas, providing encouragement and support in their own search for spirituality but allowing them to unfold naturally at their own pace
 When working with small children under the age of 5, a good start to this framework would be talking about the meaning of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and the positive reinforcement (encouragement) of actions and ideas in line with the universal laws of love and compassion
 Children are naturally curious and will ask questions about everything. And if we wish to consciously direct them towards spirituality, our answers should be related to the spiritual values that we would wish them to incorporate
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 This should, in any case, be part of the normal socialisation process for any child
 Appropriate to the child’s age, new ideas could be introduced such as soul and spirit, consciousness, the concept of a Supreme Being, divine Intelligence or guiding principle, as well as universal concepts such as tolerance, respect, brotherhood and love
 At this time, the parents personal example to the child will be very important, as children use their parents as role models
 As the child matures (as for adults starting out), they should be exposed to a variety of spiritual ideas from scriptures, books, articles and be encouraged to attend spiritual events and festivals
 If required, any knowledge gained in this way can be related back to sacred scriptures, as this approach does not necessarily include a break with traditional religious practices, unless they are exclusive
 Exposing the older child or even an adult to deeper spiritual issues would be based on their asking questions (Guideline**a child/person is ready for an answer when he /she asks the appropriate question)
 It is also a good idea to expose them to spiritual practices such as ritual, prayer and meditation
 Finally, they should be encouraged to formulate their own framework of spiritual values and ideas based on their own personal experiences

• In conclusion, I wish to appeal to you as an enlightened parent in modern times, to assume a more flexible view of spirituality and not try to force your child into a mould which does not fit his or her particular personality and spiritual gifts

Sources
Corey, G. (2001).Theory and Practice of Counselling and Psychotherapy. USA: Brookes /Cole
Thorlief Pettersson (1991) at www.jstor.org/pss/1386973
Evans et al (1995) at www.heinonline.org.