A Breath of Fresh Air: Absence and the Structure of Olfactory Perception

The question of whether we can perceive absences, in addition to ‘positives’, has received recent attention in the literature on the nature of vision and audition. The aim is to demonstrate that there can be objectless forms of perceptual consciousness; specifically, to show that such episodes can be distinguished from those in which there is merely no perception at all. The current article explores this question for the domain of olfaction, and argues that there can be experiences of the absence of odours, in addition to positive smell perception. Doing so sheds light upon the structure and spatial content of olfaction.     

A Search for Spirituality

A mixture of African, European, and Native Puerto Rican (Tahino) religions form a historical foundation for the beliefs to which Puerto Ricans adhere. This article follows the search for spirituality of a mother and daughter. Although both born in Puerto Rico, mother was raised in the rural mountains of Puerto Rico and daughter was raised among the majority culture of the United States. Their search follows different paths, but the influence of their country is apparent in the rituals they perform and in the integration of their internal processes. More and more women turn to female spirituality and to rituals that honor the power with which all women are born. These rituals honor the earth as mother, the natural cycles women experience instinctively, and reliance upon their own inner voice as guidance. The building of faith and the reclamation of inner strength helps to peel away the layers, to face the truth of the past and present, and gives courage to health and transform the pain.     

Measuring Spirituality as a Universal Human Experience: A Review of Spirituality Questionnaires

Spirituality is an important theme in health research, since a spiritual orientation can help people to cope with the consequences of a serious disease. Knowledge on the role of spirituality is, however, limited, as most research is based on measures of religiosity rather than spirituality. A questionnaire that transcends specific beliefs is a prerequisite for quantifying the importance of spirituality among people who adhere to a religion or none at all. In this review, we discuss ten questionnaires that address spirituality as a universal human experience. Questionnaires are evaluated with regard to psychometric properties, item formulation and confusion with well-being and distress. Although none of the questionnaires fulfilled all the criteria, the multidimensional Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire is promising.     

Spirituality in Counselor Training: A Content Analysis of Syllabi From Introductory Spirituality Courses

The authors discuss the results of a content analysis of 14 syllabi of introductory courses on spirituality in counseling. Course syllabi were examined to determine trends in the content of these courses and to determine if the instruction is consistent with 9 competencies developed at the Summit on Spirituality. Results suggested that there was substantial variance in the extent to which the competencies were covered in the syllabi. The authors discuss implications for teaching courses on spirituality in counseling.     

Spirituality and Multimodal Therapy: A Practical Approach to Incorporating Spirituality in Counseling

The purpose of this article is to describe how the dimension of spirituality can be added to an existing counseling theory, multimodal therapy (MMT; A. A. Lazarus, 1984), to provide counselors with a practical approach to incorporating clients' religious and spiritual beliefs in the counseling process. An explanation of MMT is given, as well as its supporting research. The context of spirituality in counseling is discussed, and the process by which it can be integrated into the MMT model is explained. Two case studies are described to demonstrate how spiritual issues can be assessed and used to strengthen the counseling process. Finally, implications for counseling are discussed.     

Marital Spirituality: A Quantitative Study

This study examines marital satisfaction as a multi-dimensional reality in relation to marital spirituality. Individual and couple scores are reported. While couple and husband scores presented a generally direct relationship to spirituality measures, wives' scores presented a more complex picture. Within couple differences, spiritual measures also presented a complex picture. When husbands scored higher than wives (one third of the cases), couple-satisfaction scores remained high. However when wives scored higher (two-thirds of the cases) couple-satisfaction scores dropped. Spirituality is discussed as a multi-dimensional, overarching component of marital functioning. A qualitative study is planned to follow the quantitative one.     

A Model of Spirituality for Ageing Muslims

Spirituality’s influence on general well-being and its association with healthy ageing has been studied extensively. However, a different perspective has to be brought in when dealing with spirituality issues of ageing Muslims. Central to this perspective is the intertwining of religion and spirituality in Islam. This article will contribute to the understanding of the nature of Islamic spirituality and its immense importance in the life of a practicing ageing Muslim. Consequently, it will help care providers to include appropriate spiritual care in the care repertoire of a Muslim care recipient. It is assumed that the framework for a model of spirituality based on Islamic religious beliefs would help contextualise the relationship between spirituality and ageing Muslims. Not only challenges, but also the opportunities that old age provides for charting the spiritual journey have underpinned this model.     

工作场所精神性的研究概况

作场所精神性是指个体在工作背景下的一种超越性体验,它是通过工作过程提升工作的意义与目的、培养与他人之间的联系感来丰富个体的内心生活体验,从而提升个体的心灵层次,实现个体的成长与进步。从工作场所精神性的概念形成、研究方法和研究热点等三个方面,对工作场所精神性的研究现状进行了介绍和评述。工作场所精神性在未来研究中主要包括：提出明确统一的定义和结构,运用新的研究范式注重对精神性作用机制的探讨等,并指出了在中国文化背景下开展工作场所精神性研究可能的方向     

Spirituality Reconsidered

Counseling and the helping arts in general have been hesitant to openly embrace the concept of spirituality as part of their working knowledge base. Part of the dilemma centers on sometimes confusing a religious view with a more secular conception of the term. Another potentially confounding element is the existing variety of ways the term is actually being used by both. In this investigation of the roots of the problem I hope to catalyze a more inviting and open dialogue as the profession considers the possibilities associated with an expansion or consolidation of definition(s).     

Sexuality and Spirituality: A Humanist Account

Typical accounts of spirituality define it by association with religious faith and especially one's relationship with God. Without impugning the validity of theological considerations, this humanist account treats spirituality apart from them. Whereas the standard model of the human being is bipartite (body and mind), this paper distinguishes two dimensions within the human mind—psyche and spirit—and thus proposes a tripartite model (organism, psyche, and spirit). Attention to human spirit grounds an account of spirituality, and attention to organism and psyche introduces sexuality into the picture. Then, the reconciliation of sexuality and spirituality is nothing other than the integration of the human being: organism, psyche, and spirit. Granted that human spirit entails its own criteria for unbounded unfolding, such integration would generally express the ideals of spirituality proposed by the various religions. Psychotherapist and educator at     

Ontology and Spirituality: A Jungian Perspective

Rationality is very seductive. With our cognitive ability we are tempted to explore the world and reality. We hypothesize and theorize and we acquire the confidence that through this avenue we can capture reality. Nature however ignores our attempt and moves on leaving us in the despair of alienation. Jung invites us to move beyond our desire to capture reality. Jung invites us to the art of listening because nature seeks to direct. And the direction seems to point, suggests Jung, toward the path of spirituality.     

Re-Membering Spirituality

Ritual has been used as a therapeutic tool within family therapy for nearly two decades. Our understanding of ritual has been drawn from studies of cultures in which all life was viewed as sacred. However, common use of ritual in therapy lifts ritual out of its sacred context and secularizes it. Blending some of the key thinking in feminist theology with feminist psychology can help women reconnect with a perspective on the sacred that is empowering. Reimbuing ritual with the sacred and expanding its use in therapy make it a powerful healing process for women.     

Counseling and Spirituality: A Historical Review

Evolution of the relationship between counseling and spirituality since 1840 is examined in terms of the number of publications that have appeared over time that include these terms. The author retrieved the data using the American Psychological Association's PsycINFO database. A similar search was done adding the term training. The rise of behaviorism and cognitive psychology is discussed as possible explanations for the absence of a discussion of spirituality in the early psychological literature. A. H. Maslow's (1969a, 1969b; Association for Transpersonal Psychology, n.d.) work; the evolution of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling; and multiculturalism are suggested as possible influences on the growth in the number of publications on spiritual and counseling issues over the last 30 years.     

Spirituality in Counseling: A Faith Development Perspective

This article describes the use of Fowler's (1981) faith development theory (FDT) in counseling. FDT is a stage model of spiritual and religious development that allows counselors to identify both adaptive qualities and potential encumbrances in spiritual or religious expression. FDT offers a nonsectarian model of spiritual growth that permits assessment of spiritual development apart from the specific contents of various faith traditions. This article summarizes Fowler's faith stages and demonstrates their clinical utility through composite vignettes.