"Higher power" involves a sense of spirituality, as well as a sense of meaning and purpose in life (often inter-related; and although often related to religion, not necessarily equivalent). "Spirituality" can be defined as a search for something grander than me. Religion, on the other hand, involves both the search for something grander and the means and methods (rituals, prescribed behaviors, etc.) of the search stemming from within an identifiable group of people.
A number of recent surveys point to the changing nature of religion and spirituality. For example, the "American Religious Identification Survey" revealed that an increasing number of Americans indicated that they were not affiliated with any specific religion. Roughly 15% claimed no religious affiliation at all in 2008 (up from 8% in 1990). Recent surveys of college students indicate an increase sense of spirituality and meaning/purpose. Further, in a recent poll by Parade magazine of over 1000 American respondents, 24% indicated that they were "spiritual but not religious" (a "new category" for the survey). Only 12% of respondents said that their religion was the only true faith, while 59% said all religions are valid. Interestingly, 51% said they pray daily, and the majority of those who do (67%) said they do so because it brings them comfort and hope. Although 59% said faith can help solve the world's problems and offer hope to the suffering, 41% said religion has too often lead to war and suffering. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reported late in 2009 that many Americans "mix and match" religions, with one quarter saying they sometimes attend services of a faith different that their own. Wills (2010) presented evidence from Bogota, Columbia indicating that satisfaction with religion and spirituality was closely related to the Personal Well-Being Index (a composite of satisfaction with standard of living, health, achieving in life, personal relationships, safety, community connectedness, and future security). The terms ecumenical and equifinality come to mind here. Ecumenical implies a spirituality that is not anchored in a particular religion or culture. Equifinality assumes that the same ultimate goal may be reached from different paths. There is probably as much variation within a specific religious group about opinions on key issues as there is variation between the different religions concerning the same issues.
More than anything, spirituality (or appreciation of a higher power) for me means being an integral part of the larger circle of humanity ("human connectedness" or "God is Love"). It means appreciating others, enjoying their company, and doing good deeds. It means benevolence and prosocial behavior (the "golden rule", if you will, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you"). In addition, spirituality means compassion--- the desire to separate someone, even if that person might be unappealing, from his suffering. It's not enough to feel another's pain, but we must also do something about it, and without necessarily expecting something tangible in return. Elgin (1993) refers to compassion as the "common sense" of humanity, and notes that the Golden Rule (benevolence and compassion) is widely recognized by Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, and Confucianism (among others). You can't get much more ecumenical and supportive of equifinality than that… "Compassion" is a term that appears regularly in various contexts, but it doesn't appear to have been studied directly by psychologists in much detail, perhaps because there isn't much agreement about what it really means. According to my trusty dictionary, compassion involves sympathy, pity, and/or concern for the suffering or misfortunes of others. Peterson & Seligman (2004) include indications of compassion within assessment of the character strength "kindness", which according to them contains such disparate behaviors as generosity, nurturance, care, altruistic love, and "niceness". Goetz, Keltner & Simon-Thomas (2010) reviewed the compassion literature from an evolutionary perspective, and it is clear that there are significant definitional problems ("compassion" is often used interchangeably with empathy, sympathy, pity, kindness, caring, etc.). They conclude that compassion evolved as a unique affective/emotional experience which functions to facilitate cooperation and protection of the weak and those who suffer (especially those who suffer undeservedly). According to a recent survey of 1008 Americans by Parade Magazine (March 7, 2010), compassion "now counts more than ever". Fully 94% believe it is important to be involved "in a cause we believe in", and many emphasize it with their children and by leading by example.
At a Buddhist gathering a couple of years ago during my early search for serenity, the topic of discussion involved balancing compassion with wisdom (apparently a strong Buddhist emphasis). They discussed the dilemma of being asked for money to buy food by an apparently starving chronic alcoholic, and realizing that the money would in reality be used to purchase more alcohol. I had been in comparable situations, but only once gave a sum of money to an alcoholic (supposedly to buy clothes to facilitate his job search), only to find out a couple of days later that he spent the entire amount on alcohol. That seriously messed with my serenity for a few days (didn't help his any either). Since then, in similar situations, it seems wise to accompany an alcoholic to the clothing store (or restaurant, or whatever) and give the money directly to the proprietor. Balance compassion with wisdom.
Remember the Beatle's song "All You Need is Love"? To take a more ecumenical approach to lovingness, consider the following:
Christianity ("God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him", John 4:16). Judaism ("Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself", Leviticus) Hinduism ("He whose love is alike to friend and foe is dear to Me (God)", Bhagavad Gita). Islamic ("No one is a believer until he loves for his neighbor, and for his brother, what he loves for himself", Hadith). Buddhism ("Full of love for all things in the world, practicing virtue to benefit others, this man alone is happy", Dhammapada). Order of Interbeing ("nourishing seeds of joy, peace, love and understanding in myself", Mindfulness Trainings).
Most well-known spiritual programs agree with the key points discussed above. When one considers spirituality in this light, it's easier to see how one can live with the conviction that a Higher Power "determines my actions", and also to see how one can differentiate between religion and spirituality. If you help someone or promote the welfare of another because it's important for you to do so, and that desire to help another directs your behaviors, then you are being spiritual and your actions are influenced by a Higher Power.
Truly spiritual programs also seem to involve some sort of daily worship, contemplation, reflection, or prayer. Some folks get down on their knees and pray, some read daily reflections, some review their recent behavior and reflect on whether they've harmed anyone and need to make amends, some simply reflect upon the day ahead. Each selects the way to have a quiet time, to retreat into themselves for a few minutes and to "center" in a nourishing way. There doesn't seem to be one superior way to go about having this period of tranquility, the point is that you do it in the way that works for you.
Spirituality also promotes the belief that there is a reason for bad things happening, and the ability (in spite of what may be happening right now) to imagine a realistic, positive future. It is the belief that a Higher Power will never give you more than you can handle, and that it's all part of some a larger plan ("there's a reason for everything" and "God wants it that way"). The question of why "bad things happen to good people" has spawned any number of thoughts, discussion, and even several books. Some people take the "no pain, no gain" approach, which is similar to a common theme in ancient Greek mythology --- the hero must somehow die and then be reborn a better person. This perspective was common in encounter groups in the 1970s, as well as in earlier chemical dependency treatment programs, but most people now are not fans of confrontational therapy, and it's rarely practiced today. It's the very rare person who goes through life without any bad things happening to them. If we can respond to these things without judgment and set out to find ways of constructively dealing with them (and I know it's not easy), we'll be much better off for it.
Furthermore, spirituality promotes a belief that my experience can benefit others. This is perhaps especially apparent in Alcoholics Anonymous. One of the AA Promises states "No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others". The 12th step of the AA 12-step program states "Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs". A belief that my experience can benefit others is also apparent in religious community support ("others in my congregation make me feel loved and cared for") and in support in other spiritual programs. Spirituality and sense of meaning are also associated with having a variety of effective coping strategies within a supportive community (discussed later in the section concerning positivity).
Spirituality also involves a strong sense of forgiveness. Forgiveness means letting go of resentments, giving up the need for retaliation, and abandoning indifferent behavior toward another who has unjustly injured us. Further, and equally important, it meansexperiencing compassion, generosity and even love toward that person or people. Many wars have been fought and people have been killed in the name of religion, but not in the spirit of spirituality.
Finally, spirituality involves at least occasionally a sense of awe or the experience of mystical illumination, long evident to Plains Indians and Australian Aboriginals. The sense of awe is often rooted in relationships and in appreciation of the unity of humanity. Many years ago, I was driving through Toronto on a fairly stressful trip, focused on the traffic and the myriad stresses of everyday living. Suddenly (and it seemed to come out of nowhere) I was acutely aware that I was surrounded by millions of people, some of whom were working or getting ready for work, driving in their cars, arguing with their significant others, making love, suffering illnesses, recovering from a bout with alcohol, watching TV, preparing a meal, in general dealing with everyday life. And I was just one of many individuals going about their lives, and one felt relatively insignificant in a much greater picture. It was an awesome experience, and it moved me for the next several days.
Elgin, D. (1993) Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life that is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich, Revised. New York: Harper.
Floody, D.R. (2011) Serenity and Inner Peace: Simplicity One Day at a Time, Revised. Charleston, S.C.: CreateSpace. (available at www.createspace.com/3423505 or on Amazon)
Goetz, J.L., Keltner, D. & Simon-Thomas, E. (2010) Compassion: An evolutionary analysis and empirical review. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 351-374.
Peterson, C. & Seligman, M.E.P. (2004) Character Strengths and Virtues.: A Handbook and Classification. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wills, E. (2010) Spirituality and subjective well-being: Evidences for a new domain in the personal well-being index. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 49-69.
Dale R. Floody received his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Rutgers University in 1977, and subsequently completed 27 additional credits in clinical and counseling Psychology at Wichita State University. He's been teaching a variety of psychology and related classes for roughly 35 years, and also served in a wide range of administrative and community service positions related to psychology. He is a retired professor emeritus with the University of Wisconsin Colleges, and currently teaches part-time at Viterbo University. He really enjoys teaching balanced positive psychology and statistics and research design
