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Self-Development as a Spiritual Process: The Role of Empathy and Imagination in Finding Spiritual Orientation

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Abstract

According to a dialogical view on self, self-development is characterized by integrating different perspectives in the internal dialogue that constitutes the self. This article explores the spiritual dimension of this process, referring to exchanging and integrating perspectives on what makes one’s life meaningful or fulfilling. It is argued that empathy and imagination are basic capacities for self-development and spiritual orientation, and that art and religion can contribute to this process by functioning as languages of personal resonance.

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Acknowledgements

The author of this article would like to express her appreciation to professor Adri Smaling for his contribution to the research underlying this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology and Meanings of Life, University for Humanistics, P.O. Box 797, 3500, Utrecht, AT, The Netherlands

    Hans A. Alma

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  1. Hans A. Alma
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Correspondence to Hans A. Alma.

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Alma, H.A. Self-Development as a Spiritual Process: The Role of Empathy and Imagination in Finding Spiritual Orientation. Pastoral Psychol 57, 59–63 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-008-0168-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-008-0168-4

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