Purdue University

HW420 – Unit 9 Final Project

Amy Capps
 Spirituality can be defined as our connection with others, nature, our environment, and

with ourselves. When asked about spirituality, a lot of people automatically equate it with

religion. However, religion and spirituality do not always intertwine with the other. Determining

our own spiritual well-being can be an important aspect of achieving optimal health and

wellness. There are three pillars of spirituality that have been identified throughout time. These

three pillars include relationships, a personal value system, and a meaningful purpose in life.

“Because of the interconnectedness to mind, body, spirit and emotions, any aspect of the human

spirit effects all other components (Seaward, n.d.).” Developing and implementing a spiritual

and psychological inventory can help assess one’s personal spiritual health and wellness which

translates into psychological and physical health. This can help to identify any aspects of that

person’s life that may need more attention to achieve optimal health and wellness.

I interviewed my stepmother, Livvie, who has experienced some very emotional

difficulties in her life the past year. I wanted to assess her spiritual health as a starting point in

helping her live a more fulfilling and meaningful life. Her interview is as follows:

1. What does spirituality mean to you? “I am religious, but it’s also about

connecting with the world around me and God’s creation. It’s about nature and

religion together.”

This question is important because it will help gage a person’s own definition of

what spirituality means to them whether religious in nature or not. This can help

them to identify potential barriers in their own growth spiritually, their connection

with others, nature, and themselves.

2. How do you promote your own spirituality? “I try to always make time to be

alone, have quiet time, listening and observing what’s going on around me but
 without all the hustle and bustle of traffic, and other noises to distract me. I like to

go outside everyday to sit on my back porch to have my devotions, it’s quiet and

peaceful.”

Everyone has different ways in which they promote their own spirituality. People

that equate spirituality with religion may attend church services, or practice

prayer. Others that are not religious may practice meditation as a way to connect

with themselves and their environment or going for a hike in the mountains. It is

important to identify ways that help one to find that connection with the world

around them.

3. Would you describe yourself as spiritual? Why or why not? “Yes, because I

think it’s just a part of my make-up and it’s important to feed that for my overall

health.”

Understanding if and how you are spiritual can be an important tool in identifying

your own specific needs and learning new ways in which to promote your

spiritual growth.

4. What are some specific examples of how you can improve your spirituality?

“I can make more time to be alone and quiet, do more devotionals, exercise more

because that is where I typically search my thought and feelings.”

Knowing ways of how to improve your spirituality are important because

everyone has different spiritual needs. Understanding your own needs and

knowing ways in which to improve your own spirituality can help you grow and

develop your relationships with others and yourself.

5. How does your spirituality impact your ability to complete your goals? “It

helps improve my self-esteem, my confidence so I can get more done and be

focused.”

Understanding how your spirituality impacts your ability to complete your goals

is important because it can help you identify barriers in your life that are

preventing you from achieving those goals in your life. It can also help you

understand those aspects in your life that are helping you grow in order to achieve

those goals, what makes it easier or difficult.

6. How would you describe your relationship with others and yourself? Are

they healthy and promote balance in your life? “Yes, they are healthy because

I tend to not invest a lot of time in others that are negative and can bring me

down. I surround myself with people that are positive and encouraging.”

Understanding your relationship with others and yourself is important because

this is a defining aspect in our growth as humans. Unhealthy relationships even

with ourselves can affect our ability to achieve optimal health and wellness in all

areas of life including spiritual, psychological, physical, and social. Having a

balanced life in these areas can help us to be more productive and lead a more

meaningful life full of positivity and purpose.

7. What are 3 of your most important personal core values and why? “Trust

because your word is your binder in life, you should always do what you say,

keep your promises. Honesty because people need to be able to trust you, to be

open and dependable. Non-judgmental because I want people to feel like they can

come to me as they are without unrealistic expectations.”

 Identifying and understanding your most important core values is important in

your spiritual growth and development. The values we hold with the most

importance helps to guide us through life. When are values are conflicted or

challenged, we will face unbalance.

8. Do you feel as though you have a meaningful purpose in life, elaborate? “Yes,

absolutely, we all have a purpose, it just takes some of us longer to find ours. I am

a mom, wife, and a friend. I just haven’t figured out if that’s it or if I have another

true purpose.”

Having the sense of a meaningful purpose in life allows us to set goals and work

towards achieving them. If we feel as though we do not serve a purpose, we may

feel lost, lonely, and as if we are just existing. This can lead to depression, anxiety

and other potentially health altering conditions.

9. What are some of your stressors in life and how do you combat them? “Being

a perfectionist, I keep telling myself that life is just too short to be worried or

stressed about some lint on the floor or dirty laundry. Not being able to multi-task,

so I take notes, a lot of notes, even waking up in the middle of the night to write

notes so I don’t forget something, but I also prioritize.”

Recognizing and understanding what our stressors are can give us the knowledge

we need to make any changes in our life to manage them. Once we know what

our stressors are, we can then work on changing those and our negative thoughts

and feelings associated with them. Finding ways in which to combat our stressors

will help guide us to a more positive and healthier life.

 10. Do you feel as though your spiritual well-being is balanced? Why or why

not? “Yes, but not as much as I would like. I’m just so busy right now, but I am

working on it.”

If we can recognize the state of our spiritual well-being, we can then work on

ways in which to improve and grow. Our spirituality affects all areas of our life as

it is the foundation of our well-being.

Upon further review of my inventory after the interview with my stepmother, it has

become clear to me that some of my questions needed to be more defined or thorough. There

were 2 questions that she didn’t quite understand what I was asking. In this case I would need to

revisit those questions and reword them to make them easier to understand. The first question, I

would need to reword to ask; What does spirituality mean to you, is it about being religious? For

question 5 I may reword to ask; How does your spirituality impact your life or your ability to

complete your goals? Those questions are especially important to help gain insight into the

person’s understanding and thought process of spirituality.

As a practitioner, it is important to utilize a spiritual and psychological inventory to help

assess a patient’s well-being. This is in part because this inventory can help the patient identify

any potential barriers that may be holding them back. These barriers could be just a fleeting

thought in their everyday life. However, upon further examination with the help and guidance of

a quality inventory, the patient will become aware of anything that may be contributing to their

lack of spiritual growth and well-being. Spirituality can sometimes be difficult for people to

define because it can mean something different to everyone. Some will equate it with religion

whereas others are not religious at all but describe themselves as spiritual. Spirituality involves

our connections with everything around us from other people, nature and even ourselves. “It
appears that human spirituality encompasses so many factors, possibly everything, that to

separate anything out denies a full understanding of the phenomenon (Seaward, 2018).” Many

people today face mental health disorders, relationship issues, and chronic and often life-

threatening health conditions. Stress plays a key role in our mental, physical, social, and spiritual

health and well-being. Having a healthy, well-balanced spirituality can help strengthen and

improve our relationship with others, and our self-esteem and confidence. “No direct causal link

has been established, but research has consistently found that religious involvement is correlated

with better physical and mental health, including better sleep, lower blood pressure, and an

overall lower rate of mortality (Psychology Today, 2020).” Although spirituality does not always

include religion for some people, spirituality in itself can have a great impact on a person’s

overall health. Having a healthy and well-balanced spiritual well-being can not only improve our

connections with the world around us and to ourselves, but it can also greatly improve our

physical and mental health as well.

 References

Psychology Today. (2020). Spirituality. Retrieved from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/spirituality

Seaward, B. (n.d.). The Ego and the soul. Retrieved from:

http://www.brianlukeseaward.com/downloads/ego_soul.pdf.

Seaward, B. (2018). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being (9th

ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.