Urban Spirituality: Need for Connectedness and Communication

Abstract

Modern urban planning seems to neglect taking into account the inner resources of individuals while designing a sustainable urban life. In rethinking urbanisation, spirituality must be seen as an integral part of the human connectedness in the context of urban lifestyles. Current study considers spirituality as part of our individual wellbeing- and questions whether argues that the concept of spirituality and the need for human connectedness should be taken into account while planning a more sustainable urban life. Here we focus on the issue of human connectedness and explore how urban lifestyle redefines our communication and spiritual needs.

Though the material aspects of urban life cannot be underestimated, we argue that a more holistic approach is needed to achieve inner and outer sustainability in creating more harmonized lives. Our findings show that spirituality not only encompasses human connectedness but also reveals such human needs as belonging, safety, transcendence and communication, which are by nature intertwined. In this study, we take a bottom-up approach in exploring the spiritual needs of urban dwellers and how those needs present challenges in their daily lives, and in discussing the significance of means of communication in creating connected lives. We then suggest that urban spirituality is mediated through a number of innate needs, and challenged in the urban context via materialistic, relational, moral and transcendental means.

Designing a qualitative approach, semi-structured in-depth face-to-face and telephone interviews were held with 47 participants who were government officers employed by the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey. All participants fulfilled the criteria of receiving early training in spiritual care and counselling. 

Keywords

• Urban,Spirituality,Connectedness,Wellbeing,Mental Health

Kentli Maneviyat: Bağlanmışlık ve İletişim İhtiyacı

Abstract

Modern şehir planlaması sürdürülebilir bir kent hayatı tasarlarken bireylerin içsel kaynaklarını hesaba katmaktan kaçınmaktadır. Kentleşmeyi yeniden düşündüğümüzde, maneviyat, modern hayat tarzında insan bağlanmışlığının içsel bir parçası olarak görülmelidir. Mevcut çalışmada maneviyat insanın iyi olma hali olarak ele alınmakta, ve insanın bağlanmışlık ve iletişim ihtiyacının sürdürülebilir bir şehir planlarken hesaba katılması gerekliliği vurgulanmaktadır. Ayrıca bu çalışmada insan bağlanmışlığı ve kent hayatının, iletişim ve manevi ihtiyaçlarımızın yeniden tanımlanması gerektiği konu edinilmiştir.

Nitel araştırma yöntemlerinin kullanıldığı çalışmada 47 Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı din görevlisi ile yüz yüze ve telefon yolu ile yarı yapılandırılmış, derinlemesine görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Katılımcıların tümü daha önceden manevi bakım ve danışmanlık eğitiminden geçmiştir.

Çalışmanın bulguları maneviyatın insan bağlanmışlığını kapsadığını ve aidiyet, güvenlik, aşkınlık ve iletişim gibi doğası gereği iç içe olan insan ihtiyaçlarını ortaya çıkardığını göstermektedir. Bu çalışmada kent sakinlerinin manevi ihtiyaçları, bu ihtiyaçların günlük hayatlarında ortaya çıkardığı zorluklar, iletişim ve bağlanmışlık ihtiyacı tümevarım yaklaşımı ile ele alınmıştır. Kentlerin maddi ihtiyaçlarının karşılanması önemli olmakla birlikte, sürdürülebilirlik için içsel ve dışsal bir harmoni oluşturabilmek adına daha bütüncül bir yaklaşımın önemi vurgulanmaktadır.

Keywords

• Kent,Maneviyat,Bağlanmışlık,İyilik Hali,Ruh Sağlığı

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