Creating Wellness – Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

Unit 9 Assignment Final Project

HW420

Sarah Jackson
 Creating Wellness – Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

In preparation for this assignment, I found that there is a large spectrum of views

on spirituality. Some do not believe in God per say but believe in a higher power of

some kind be it nature or energy. On the opposite plain there are those that have spiritual

beliefs deeply connected with their religious faith. In conducting this work, I spoke to

several different people just to hear their view on the subject. I will say that the person I

finally interviewed has an extremely different view than my own. At times I found it

difficult however because my belief that there is no right or wrong answer when someone

shares their spirituality acceptance became much easier for me. It also helped me to think

of it as a saying I once heard, “We are not humans having a spiritual experience, but

rather we are spirits having a human experience”[ CITATION Wei12 \l 1033 ]. This can be

true of those with faith/religious beliefs and also of those with more mystic beliefs of

spiritualism.

To be able to help or understand someone that is seeking guidance it is helpful to

know where they stand. By asking them some basic questions we can gain a better

understanding of how we can meet them with their spiritual needs and help them to foster

or grow a more robust mental, emotional, and spiritual strength.

1. What is your description of spirituality?

By asking this question we can ascertain their understanding of spirituality and

where their belief system may lie. By having them defining the thing we may then hope

to help them seek a better understanding of how to grow their spirituality.

2. Would you consider yourself a spiritual person?

 Creating Wellness – Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

Many people never consider this question until they are asked. However, a key look into

the spirituality of a person is to ask them about their values. Asking people to consider

their own spirituality leads to a further examination of their belief and value

system[ CITATION Sea \l 1033 ].

3. Do you believe that having strong spiritual beliefs could make a person more resilient?

Why or why not?

Asking a person about their belief in spirituality as a tool to increase their resiliency helps

them to understand how their key value system helps them to build those muscles of the

soul and by default creating a more resilient person. These traits help a person to cope

with overwhelming stress and still come out on the other side of a challenge victorious

over their situation[ CITATION Sea \l 1033 ].

4. How do you think that your spirituality influences your relationships?

In the view of many people spirituality is the connectedness of all things. To create

stronger bonds with others how we enhance our spirituality can certainly affect our

relationships. One universally connected aspect of spirituality is judged by acts of

kindness which only helps to enhance intimacy and connection with others[ CITATION

5Wa21 \l 1033 ].

5. Do you share your spirituality with others?

Sharing spirituality can be a way for people to share their life experiences. It can help

others to get to know or understand you better as well as make connections with

similarities you may share. Sharing your spiritual experiences may also help to give

others new coping mechanisms to deal with stress or improve quality of life[ CITATION

McC21 \l 1033 ]. Sharing spiritual experiences can also help develop the seasons of the
 Creating Wellness – Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

soul in beginning, nurturing, and maintaining relationships through the connecting

process. This process also helps us to form attachments with those around us through our

experiences[ CITATION Sea \l 1033 ].

6. Do you feel like you have a purpose in life, and do you feel like you are fulfilling it?

This question seems like maybe the most contemplative questions of all time.

Viktor Frankl thought that this was one of the most profound and important aspects of

spirituality. Through finding purpose and meaning in our lives we essentially give

ourselves a reason to live. We connect ourselves with a greater purpose in life that

ultimately gives us a sense of fulfillment. When we can find meaning we can reduce

suffering[ CITATION Sea \l 1033 ].

7. Many people turn to spirituality in times of stress. Do you feel like your spirituality helps

you to relieve or reduce stress?

Cultivating personal spirituality is a well-known form of stress management.

Self-reflection and meditation allows people to more freely accept circumstances and

look at situations more objectively. Many also find themselves part of spiritual groups

be it a religious or other spiritual group that gives people a sense of community and

connectedness to others. These connects provide support mechanism for people when

they are going through trying times. Many forms of spirituality also help individuals to

relinquish control around situations they have power over. Many find that their

spirituality gives them a sense of purpose that creates more meaning to their lives even

when times are stressful making the suffering more meaningful as well. These times

prove to strengthen us into more resilient individuals and collectives[ CITATION Spi21 \l

1033 ].
 Creating Wellness – Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

8. A large part of mental and emotional healing can be to give and receive forgiveness. Do

you feel like your spirituality has helped you practice forgiveness?

Whether religious or more secular forms of spirituality they all seem to practice

the premise of forgiveness. This act is both in giving and receiving forgiveness.

Practicing forgiveness helps to free us from pain in many forms and acts to give peace.

Once we can start the process of forgiving, we can start to heal from all kinds of

trauma[ CITATION For18 \l 1033 ].

9. Do you have specific activities to center yourself and clear your mind? What are they?

It is important to have activities that help to clear your way for spiritual growth.

Whether is be listening to music, walking in nature, meditating, or just spending time

alone in the quiet it is important to have these times to center ourselves. These are times

we take for quiet reflection to allow us to practice acceptance, creativity, compassion,

patience, and optimism just to start[ CITATION Sea \l 1033 ].

10. Are there any particular goals you would like to achieve in regard to your spirituality?

Just like goals we set for any other purpose it is just as important to set SMART

goals for growing our spirituality as well. This act creates an intentionality for what we

want our spirituality to look like. It gives you specific acts for both yourself and others to

increase activities that grow your spirituality[ CITATION How21 \l 1033 ]. This can look

like:

I want to spend at least 30 minutes every day meditating and I want to accomplish at least

one act of kindness every week for 52 weeks.

In understanding why these questions are important we can start to look at how

we can help those connect with whatever spirituality they identify with. It can help us
 Creating Wellness – Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

give insight to those on how they can grow in their spirituality or help them to develop

behaviors that can assist them with finding what can help lead them to spiritual purpose

they are looking for. I asked Linda Holdahl these questions to find out more about what

she thought about her spirituality[ CITATION Lin21 \l 1033 ].

1. What is your description of spirituality?

I believe in a higher power, but I believe that the higher power is in the people,

nature, and animals, and the planet and how all of that interacts with each other.

2. Would you consider yourself a spiritual person?

Yes, I consider myself to be a spiritual person. I do not believe in God but I do

believe in the connectedness of other life forms and energies.

3. Do you believe that having strong spiritual beliefs could make a person more resilient?

Why or why not?

Yes, to me being spiritual means you’re a kinder better person so when dark times

come in your life you know how to realize that you can make it through it.

4. How do you think that your spirituality influences your relationships?

Because by being kind you can be understanding and accepting of people and it

makes your relationships stronger even when things are troubled.

5. Do you share your spirituality with others?

I try to by accept everything and trying to treat others like I want to be treated.

6. Do you feel like you have a purpose in life, and do you feel like you are fulfilling it?

Yes, I absolutely have a purpose in life. I think that I am fulfilling it by treating

others well and doing good in the world.

 Creating Wellness – Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

7. Many people turn to spirituality in times of stress. Do you feel like your spirituality helps

you to relieve or reduce stress?

Yes, because what I try to do is when I get negative feelings about someone, I try

to get those negative feelings out. Specifically, when people are hurtful to me, I try not to

focus on the negative all the time.

8. A large part of mental and emotional healing can be to give and receive forgiveness. Do

you feel like your spirituality has helped you practice forgiveness?

Yes, like I just said you must forgive people. I believe that organized religion is

too judgmental, and I do not believe that anyone has the right to judge each other.

9. Do you have specific activities to center yourself and clear your mind? What are they?

For me it is being quiet and for me it is hard to be quiet because I talk a lot. So,

what helps me is to have complete quiet and focus on breathing better. It also helps me

to be out in nature to center myself.

10. Are there any particular goals you would like to achieve in regard to your spirituality?

I would like to listen more and talk less. I’d like to be more accepting than I am

right now so that when I die that I am fully accepting of everyone.

She said that this interview forced her to think about where she really stood on her

spirituality. She said that some of the questions were difficult for her to answer but really

made her think and be intentional about how she felt. She thought that taking this time to

really focus on what her beliefs were would help her to focus on developing a stronger

spiritual sense in the future[ CITATION Lin21 \l 1033 ].

 Creating Wellness – Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

Works Cited
5 Ways Spirituality Can Enhance a Relationship. (2021, Jan 10). Retrieved from Power of Positivity:
https://www.powerofpositivity.com/5-ways-spirituality-can-save-your-relationship/

Forgiveness from a Spiritual Perspective. (2018, Feb 11). Retrieved from thymewood.com:
https://www.thymewood.com/forgiveness-from-a-spiritual-perspective/

Holdahl, L. (2021, Jan 9). Spirituality Exploration Questionaire. (S. Steele, Interviewer)

How to Use Smart Goals. (2021, Jan 10). Retrieved from Flourishing Today:
https://flourishingtoday.com/how-to-use-smart-goals/

McClean, S. (2021, Jan 10). Sharing Your Spiritual Experience. Retrieved from SloanMcClean.com:
https://www.solanmcclean.com/single-post/2018/05/08/sharing-your-spiritual-experience

Seaward, B. L. (n.d.). The Ego and the Soul. Retrieved from Brian Luke Seaward:
http://www.brianlukeseaward.com/downloads/ego_soul.pdf

Spirituality and stress relief: Make the connection. (2021, Jan 10). Retrieved from Mayo Clinic:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-
20044464

Weiss, B. L., & Weiss, A. E. (2012). Miracles Happen: The Transformational Healing Power of Past-Life
Memories. San Francisco: HarperOne.