Spiritual health is the capacity and ability to seek, experience, and express meaning and purpose in our lives often through love, hope, gratitude, forgiveness, peace, and community in order to enjoy a sense of the Sacred (as you understand it). Spiritual health provides the sense that life is meaningful and has a purpose and is defined by the ethics, morals and values that guide you and give meaning and direction to your life.
Certain spiritual practices can help us care for our spiritual health. Our spiritual health needs attention and intention just as much as our physical and social and mental health. There are varieties of spiritual practices geared towards different strengths, preferences, and our own personalities. Often times, we find these practices in spirituality and/or religious experience. No one practice or discipline is better than another. How can you tell which one is right for you? If you find yourself experiencing more peace, more life satisfaction, and more meaning and purpose in your life, more than likely those particular spiritual practices are right for you.
It is often helpful to approach these disciplines or practices in terms of your entire body experience of sight, touch, sound, and even taste. If you are a visual person, you may wish to try meditating or even praying with art or specifically, religious icons. Simply behold the artwork and allow it to "speak" to you. What details do you notice? What does the artwork signify? What does this artwork say to you regarding your Higher Power?
If you tend to "hold things inside," you may want to try journaling as a way to express yourself, your thoughts, and your feelings. It can provide a creative release of your interior life that can lead to great...
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... certain elements of breathing, chanting, meditation, and exercises.
Your personal path to spiritual health may involve any or all of the things shared above. Seek to find a harmony between what which lies within you and with the external forces of your physical and social well-being. One way to begin to engage in the process of spiritual wellness is to do an assessment. Here are a few possible questions to ask yourself: 1) Do I make time for relaxation in my day? 2) Do I make time for some form of meditation and/or prayer? 3) Do my internal values guide my life, including my actions and decisions? 4) Do I accept the views and opinions of others?
How2connect.com is here to help provide the tools, resources, and support you need to improve your spiritual health. Consider seeking counsel from our Interfaith Chaplains as well as our Health and Wellness Team!
Cunningham, M. (2012). Integrating Spirituality in Clinical Social Work Practice: Walking the Labyrinth (1 ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc.
With this in mind whatever method is chosen, modern medicine or alternative, spiritual healing is a crucial part of the whole process of healing.
The notion of Holistic Medicine has been around for many years. But why now, has interest in this area skyrocketed? People are starting to prefer a more natural approach when it comes to healthcare. Holistic Health is actually an approach to life. Rather than focusing on illness or specific parts of the body, this ancient approach to health considers the whole person and how he or she interacts with his or her environment. It emphasizes the connection of mind, body, and spirit. The goal is to achieve maximum well-being, where everything is functioning at its best.
Throughout history, it seems that medicine and spirituality have been linked in many circumstances. In a study looking at the use of complementary and alternative therapies in cardiac patients, spiritual healing was one of many practices patient sought to utilize. In another study, 29% of participants chose to use prayer or premeditation as a way to cope with their chronic illness. In both studies, prayer or meditation was more likely to be used by individuals who had a large social network, as well as support from another person in the same health situation. Based on these studies, it seems that many individuals (not just cardiovascular patients) turn to their spirituality in times of health distress.
Historically, the concept of caring for the afflicted was founded on biblical principles, especially morality. On a personal level, an individual’s spirituality also influences how one copes with stressors in life, such as illness. When addressing an individual’s emotional and spiritual needs, health benefits such as decreased pain, decreased stress and anxiety, improved rates of insomnia, as well as decreased cardiac and respiratory rates have been realized (Puchalski, 2001). More broadly stated, “Spiritual practices have been shown to improve health outcomes” (Puchalski, 2001, p.
Health is described as physical and mental well-being and freedom from disease, pain or defect. However, such descriptions only superficially define the actual meaning of health. There may be many occasions when individuals are not necessarily ill or in pain but may be overweight, stressed or emotionally unstable. Health is a quality of life involving dynamic interaction and interdependence among the individual’s physical state, their mental and emotional reactions, and the social context in which the individual exists. There are many factors that influence your health, but three major components contribute to general well-being: Self-awareness, a balanced diet and, regular physical activity.
Religion and spirituality is a major essential part of one’s’ health. They have included things such as prayer in healing, counseling, and the use of meditation. Spiritual issues make a difference in an individual’s experience of illness and health. With spirituality, the health care providers can learn to support the values for the art of healing. The health care provider must have respect for their patient’s religion. (Larry Dossey. Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine. Harper Collins, San Francisco. 1993.)
They emphasize admirable yearnings of the human spirit to be in touch with God. Certain things touch different people more, like doing yoga may be more spiritual for some than others thus the use of multiple styles of spirituality.
A spiritual individual does the good works because they are a changed human who wants to benefit others. The downfall to only being spiritual is the idea of not having a community to hold you accountable to doing these deeds, and to have others, that have the same faith and trust in the same supernatural world. To not have spiritual guidance or the help from others to assist in another's internal development with the spiritual
Most people question the purpose of writing a journal. People who write a journal keep it to fulfill a basic human need – “self expression and reflection” (Sagan 1). Writing is known as one of the easiest ways to express your personality and who you truly are. You can write in a journal without having anyone judging you – unless you chose to have someone else read it of course. You may reflect on your writing while you are writing your journal/diary entries. Then, once you have expressed your thoughts, you can even go back to your past entries to reflect on what you have said before. Reflecting on your writing can help you develop as a person. It helps you think through a situation and possibly solve it. Reflections help generate ideas for how to improve as an individual. But really, it’s entertaining to re-read past memories and see how much...
Spirituality is not restricted to any religious denomination nor is it limited to the pursuit of knowledge. It is however, the fundamentals of Eastern and Western medicine in their approach towards health and wellbeing.
A spirit is something that may be felt in the essence of the world but ultimately guides understanding into the meaning of life. Spirituality is often perceived in different ways by different cultures, religions, families, or even the individual. Often, the common theme that spirituality focuses on something greater than the physical world and allows people to feel connected to what it truly means to be a human on earth.
A spiritual individual does the good works because they are a changed human who wants to benefit others. The downfall to only being spiritual is the idea of not having a community to hold you accountable to doing these deeds, and to have others, that have the same faith and trust in the same supernatural world. To not have spiritual guidance or the help from others to assist in another's internal development with the spiritual
Spiritual wellness greatly concerns our connection to God. It involves our attitudes, actions, behaviors, and values. It exists to give purpose and meaning to our lives. It provides the core for all other aspects of wellness. From a Judeo-Christian perspective, spiritual health involves being restored in our relationship with Christ Jesus. This means believing in Him as Savior and accepting His salvation. To take it a step further and be spiritually well, a person needs to live for God every day. One should be continuously submitting themselves to God’s will and living a life like Christ. Spiritual wellness is absolutely essential to our overall health. When a person is spiritually well they can easily define their basic purpose and express the values that they hold dear. The ability to do this contributes to our satisfaction with life. This then leads to our ability to demonstrate spiritual wellness effectively. To exhibit spiritual wellness a person must learn to forgive. When we can give forgiveness to others it provides peace for ...
The concept of health introduces multiple complexities further deepening the meaning of what it is to be healthy. The definition of health is arbitrary and can differ from individual to individual. Otherwise, my basic perception of health is experienced through the things I learned at school and from the people around me. Growing up, I was taught practices such as coughing into my sleeve and washing my hands to prevent the spread of germs. What I always understood about health is just to simply avoid sickness. However, my perspective gradually changed as I experience events involving my well-being and those around me. I began to realize that health has a plethora of definitions which helped create my own idea of that concept. Health, to me,