Abstract
As an African Canadian on the path to re-education from the oppressive learning of Eurocentric lifelong teachings, I initially envisioned spirituality as a desirable component within this re-educational project. This understanding of spirituality stemmed from my religious upbringing, as well as a Christian lens through which my family looked, analysed and understood the world. In this chapter, the term African refers to all Black individuals born on the continent as well as in the Diasporas. During my Christian upbringing, my set of beliefs tied spirituality solely to religion and, although I was aware of the unseen aspect of our lives, I mostly comprehended it through the lens of emotions. Though they are intrinsically tied, I recognise the emotional self as the one who reacts to daily stimuli (joy, sadness, anger, fear, love, etc) that are expressed physically while the spiritual self is unseen and encompasses mind, body and soul. In due course, I moved away from the church, recognising that it had stopped responding to who I was becoming and what I aspired to - an unrestrained spirituality. The blind obedience to authority structures did not reflect love in a way that was authentic to me.
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Brunal, A. (2011). Spirituality. In: Wane, N.N., Manyimo, E.L., Ritskes, E.J. (eds) Spirituality, Education & Society. SensePublishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-603-8_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-603-8_12
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