From Mad in the Netherlands:Ā In my workspace we talk about how difficult life events affect us and what allows us to cope with our suffering. But we also talk about what made it possible to survive and face a future of severe suffering. Half (or more) of the people I meet say in such a conversation that they have an inner relationship with a spirituality that they find helpful and supportive in various ways. This is despite the fact that approximately 80 percent of Swedes distance themselves from religion (Stiernstedt, 2020). The Swedes, on the other hand, answer ‘yes’ to the question whether they believe in a higher life force (which puts them higher than other Europeans). For many Swedes there is a difference between religion and spirituality and how that manifests itself in their daily lives (Stiernstedt, 2020).
Read the full article here and the English translation here.Ā
The translation function does not work properly, at least not in my browser (Firefox).
But yes, there is a movement among “non-religious” people to acknowledge the existence of something they call Spirit or “being spiritual.” Though technically this is a “religious” attitude, the willingness of many individuals to participate in any group that requires a bit of faith is so low that they are unwilling to think of themselves as “religious.”
As far as I am concerned, most “spiritual” people are still confused about what Spirit really is. You ask them and they can’t tell you. There are people who believe in psychic abilities yet also believe that the brain is the same as the mind.
If more people can ever be properly educated in this subject, it would mean a lot to the sciences in general, to medicine in particular, and especially to the field of mental health (which should not be part of medicine).
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