The Spiritual Connection

SUMMARY

The spiritual connection between two people in relationship can bring a new perspective to interpersonal issues. When a relationship is based on authentic, congruent communication the process of owning projections and transforming negative emotions can free both people to love more wholeheartedly and to share the healing journey of spiritual awakening. This journey is an opportunity for growth and commitment to a shared purpose shifting motivation from fear to love.     

The role of music in young adults’ spiritual development

Abstract

This article focuses on the role of spiritual music in Finnish young adults’ spirituality formation. The research data consist of interviews (2013, N = 10) and questionnaire answers (2011, N = 278). Spiritual music refers to music that the young adults themselves experienced supportive for their spirituality. The article indicates that the spiritual music enhanced young adults’ spirituality formation as the music was well related to the young adults’ current life questions and to experiences of early life span. According to the data, music offered tools for constructing personal world view and was experienced to strengthen confidence on higher power or life itself. As a mental resource, music had an important role in coping with life. As entertainment, spiritual music enhanced experiencing life as satisfying. As a part of public spiritual life, music advanced spiritual connection with other people. The role of spiritual music in spirituality formation was related to questions of spiritual well-being.     

Correlates of spirituality and well-being in a community sample of people living with HIV disease

While the past several years have witnessed an increase in the amount of research examining the spiritual perspectives of people living with HIV/AIDS, this literature is still insufficient to guide the conceptualization and development of spiritually based interventions to improve the life quality of people living with HIV illness. The present study assessed a community sample of 275 persons living with HIV disease to examine relationships among their spirituality, quality of life, perceptions of social support, and coping and adjustment efforts. This study found relationships between social support, active problem solving, life satisfaction, and gender and race with higher levels of spirituality among people living with HIV/AIDS. Mental health providers may need to routinely include assessments of spirituality and religious practices. Caregivers, faith communities, and mental health providers will need to assist in developing supportive environments that enhance the spiritual life and social well-being of people living with HIV infection. Additionally, caregiver training programs will need to focus on spiritual practices as a means of establishing a support system that increases the psychosocial well-being of people living with HIV/AIDS.     

Developing spirituality – an equal right of every child?

ABSTRACT

Children’s spiritual development is influenced by those with whom they interact and by the world around them. An important context for young children is the kindergarten, which has a high level of responsibility for their (spiritual) education. At kindergarten children encounter people with different religious and spiritual attitudes, which may be fundamental to the development of their own spirituality. Research results regarding how two kindergartens in Austria deal with this diversity and how children address it are summarized. One result of this qualitative ethnographic research project is that, depending on their religion, children have different opportunities to develop their spiritual communication and spirituality based on religious traditions and rituals. Developing kindergartens in line with the metaphor of safe spaces where diversity is recognized and discussed can contribute to the creation of equal opportunities for children’s spiritual development.     

“Queering” Spiritual Direction: Towards a Trans*-Literary Praxis

Abstract

The praxis of spiritual direction has a number of well-established orthodoxies, most notably Ignatian, Franciscan and Benedictine, each typically characterized as paths that invite us to become our “true” selves in God. This article interrogates practices of spiritual direction from a queer perspective, examining the exclusions and inclusions for trans* people implicit in traditional notions of “spiritual direction”. Concentrating on a theo-literary reading of Psalm 139 using trans* understandings of the terms “passing” and “stealth” and grounded in my experience as a trans* woman, a spiritual director and poet, this article presents critical strategies to enable trans* Christians to locate themselves in the Christian spiritual discourse.     

Spiritual Care: Recognizing Spiritual Needs of Older Adults

SUMMARY

This paper explores aspects of spiritual needs and assessment, while emphasizing the importance of aged care providers being spiritually self-aware. The context of this exploration is meaning in life, spirituality and quality of life as experienced by older adults. Depression and dementia are frequently seen among older adults in residential aged care with resultant lowered quality of life. Pastoral and spiritual care may be used effectively to help alleviate depression and support older people who have dementia. However, to be able to provide appropriate spiritual care, spiritual needs should be assessed. Ways of assessing spiritual needs are suggested.     

Exploring religious and/or spiritual identities: part 1 – assessing relationships with health

ABSTRACT

There is considerable debate about the distinction between being religious and being spiritual. It is time to move beyond this issue to an examination of the health-related implications of being religious and/or spiritual. Three health outcomes are used in this study: self-rated health, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use. The data are from a large nationwide random probability survey of adults of all ages who reside in the United States (N?=?2,876–2,883). Four self-identified categories of religiousness/spirituality are examined: religious and spiritual, spiritual only, not religious/not spiritual, and religious only. Tests are performed to see if membership in each category offsets the noxious effects of lifetime trauma on the health-related outcomes. A clear pattern emerges from the data. Lifetime trauma is associated with less favourable health ratings, more symptoms of depression, and greater alcohol consumption. However, these relationships are substantially stronger among people who say they are religious only.     

Religious education for spiritual bricoleurs? the perceptions of students in ten Christian-ethos secondary schools in England and Wales

ABSTRACT

Religious Education (RE) in England and Wales functions within a post-secular culture. In the last fifty years, approaches characterised by academic rigour, impartiality, and professionalism have been prioritised. In this post-secular culture, the notion of bricolage aptly describes how some young people seek meaning, explore the spiritual dimension of life, with fragmented understandings of, experiences and encounters with the religious traditions. This paper draws on data from an empirical research project involving 350 students, to explore why students in ten Christian-ethos secondary schools in England and Wales recognised Religious Education (RE) as a significant contributor to their spiritual development. The analysis is illuminated by employing the concept of a narthical learning space (NLS) as the lens with which to examine young people’s experiences. Three aspects of RE are explored: the debating of existential questions; opportunities to theologise and reflect; and encounters with the beliefs, practices, and opinions of others. This article argues that the concept of RE as a narthical learning space alongside the notion of young people as spiritual bricoleurs illuminates how the students in this study interpret the contribution of RE to their spiritual development.     

Spiritual Maturity and Wholeness in the Later Years

SUMMARY

Nuturing spiritual wellness is a prominent goal of most religious groups and is central to wholistic health. Although spirituality is very important to most older people and spiritual well-being and maturity are relevant to gerontological theories, consensus on criteria for evaluating them is not yet complete, and mainstream gerontology tends to ignore the subject. Two paradigmatic orientations are dominant; one extrinsically seeks self-gratification; the other is intrinsic, self-denying, and self-centered. It is important to face the divergent values about this and related topics like death and dying, the afterlife, the “new ageism” in services with and for the aging, the value-denying compromises of alleged neutrality, the danger of reification, and the tendency to ignore spirituality by meeting only empirically observable human needs.     

Spiritual and Religious Implications of Aging with HIV: A Conceptual and Methodological Review

ABSTRACT

Spirituality and religious practices can buffer people from stressful life circumstances and promote positive biopsychosocial outcomes. The beneficial effects of spirituality and religious practices have been documented in aging and HIV. Unfortunately, little is known about spirituality and religious practices in older adults with HIV. As the number of older adults with HIV increases, with an estimated 91,000 adults over 50 being diagnosed with this disease in the United States, spirituality and religious practices may help HIV-positive people to age successfully. Crisis competence and spiritual trajectories are ways of conceptualizing spiritual development when confronting aging with a life-changing event such as a being diagnosed with HIV. Methodological issues in studying spirituality in adults aging with HIV are identified including defining spirituality and religiosity, heterogeneity of the population, timing of diagnosis, mode of transmission, sexual orientation, religious and cultural stigma, and hardiness. Implications for possible interventions are also posited.     

Exploring mystery: can Christian meditation at school nurture students’ relationships with God?

ABSTRACT

While there is growing international interest in meditation and mindfulness initiatives in schools, little research has focused on exploring the impact of such practices on students’ spirituality. This paper reports data from a mixed method study involving primary school classes engaged in the regular practice of Christian meditation between Years 4 to 6 in Catholic schools in New South Wales, Australia. Student focus group data (n = 114 students) and a student survey (n = 250 students) suggest Christian meditation offers an inclusive and ‘hospitable’ space for many students, where their spiritual well-being can be nurtured, including their connection to God. However, the findings suggest that accompanying dialogue with students around the purpose and possibilities of Christian meditation may help to better situate the practice as a ‘hospitable space’ thus enabling deeper engagement with the spiritual in contemporary Catholic classrooms.     

The psychological implications of believing that everything is one

ABSTRACT

A variety of philosophical, religious, spiritual, and scientific perspectives converge on the notion that everything that exists is part of some fundamental entity, substance, or process. People differ in the degree to which they believe that everything is one, but we know little about the psychological or social implications of holding this belief. In two studies, believing in oneness was associated with having an identity that includes distal people and the natural world, feeling connected to humanity and nature, and having values that focus on other people’s welfare. However, the belief was not associated with a lower focus on oneself or one’s concerns. Participants who believed in oneness tended to view themselves as spiritual but not necessarily religious, and reported experiences in which they directly perceived everything as one. The belief in oneness is a meaningful existential belief that has numerous implications for people’s self-views, experiences, values, relationships, and behavior.     

Spiritual Inquiry and Well-Being in Life-Limiting Illness

ABSTRACT

Introduction: End of life, as a developmental phase, is accompanied by inner resources as well as losses. Spirituality is a potential inner resource for integrating illness that often occurs during this time. Despite the increase in spirituality research, how spiritual perspectives are used in life-limiting illness remains under-investigated. Better knowledge about this process may be useful for health care providers, family caregivers and patients themselves to enhance well-being at end of life. This study describes the process of how patients and family care-givers use their spiritual resources to facilitate well-being at the end of life.

Method: A qualitative study was designed, based upon the grounded theory method, that entails theoretical sampling of concepts (not sampling of people as in quantitative designs), and the analytic technique of constant comparison of the data until conceptual categories are saturated with supporting data and a theory can be identified. The sample consisted of 12 respondents: 6 dyads of elderly patients with a life-limiting illness and family caregivers. Interviews occurred over a 2-year period.

Results: Data analysis generated a theory about a process called “transcending life-limiting illness,” which derived from two related themes: spiritual inquiry and end-of-life dimensions.

Conclusion: The results expand existing knowledge about how people, either as patients or as family caregivers of persons facing end of life, live with life-limiting illness. The process of transcending life-limiting illness goes beyond merely coping to tap resources for well-being. This resource is expressed through an ongoing dialectic process of spiritual inquiry about life and death as supported by six critical life dimensions.     

A Palliative Approach to Spirituality in Residential Aged Care

SUMMARY

This paper describes how a palliative approach to care is relevant in the context of residential aged care, with specific focus on the spiritual needs of residents. Three issues are described that make attention to spirituality in residential aged care particularly challenging: effects of cognitive changes, potential threats to dignity, and uncertainties about how to provide bereavement support to the range of people who experience loss in this care context. Reflections on how residential aged care staff might better assess the spiritual needs of residents are offered with suggestions from the literature about how to sensitively respond to these needs.     

A qualitative study of the interdisciplinary approaches to adolescent spirituality in Australian government schools

Abstract

The growing body of evidence in education reveals that ‘spirituality’ as an aspect of learning is largely overlooked in government schools in Australia and consequently, there is a paucity of research investigating whether young people consider spirituality to be an important and worthwhile component of their educational experience. This paper will report on some findings of a PhD study which investigates the spiritual lived experiences of secondary school students. As an interdisciplinary approach to spirituality for adolescents, this paper represents the different ways spirituality is understood across the disciplines and whether young people view themselves to be ‘spiritual’. In sharing some of the student narratives, this paper will explore what spirituality means in the context of young peoples’ everyday lives. It will also address how schools can play a central role in students’ quest for a sense of meaning; and the important role of teachers in this process will also be explored.     

An Exploration of Spirituality and Sexuality in Men Who Identify as Gay and Were Raised in a Conservative Christian Faith

Abstract

Growing up in a conservative faith can affect the lives of gay men. The influence of early religious training can have an impact on the emotional, sexual, and even physical lives of those who belong to sexual minorities. The messages people hear from religiously employed individuals (i.e. teachers and pastors) can cause deep wounds that last a lifetime. The collision of their sexual and spiritual identities impacts their lives, and can lead to difficulty. Some struggle with their religion, and many struggle to find a community that fully embraces both identities. Researchers sought to explore the process through which seven men navigated the process of identity formation and integration for their sexual and spiritual selves specifically through the lens of being raised Seventh-day Adventist and identifying as gay men. The in-depth interviews provided the data for the study, which is aimed to improve the outcome for the education of counselors who will inevitably work with members of the LGBTQ+?community.     

Continuity,Spiritual Growth,and Coping in Later Adulthood

SUMMARY

Continuity of values, lifestyles, and relationships combines with spiritual growth in later life to provide most people a sense of direction and adequate resources for coping with changes that occur with aging. Being able to recognize threads of continuity and to perceive benefit from one's inner life are significant predictors of being able to maintain life satisfaction in the face of negative aspects of aging. Data from a 20-year longitudinal study are used to provide details.     

‘Just Because I Can't Remember …’ Religiousness in Older People with Dementia

SUMMARY

This paper reports part of a pilot study that used spiritual reminiscence techniques to explore issues of religiosity, church attendance and meaning in life of a group of older people with dementia. The study used small groups, individual interviews and participant observation to examine the experience of dementia and the search for meaning used by people with dementia. There were 22 participants from three aged care facilities involved in the project. The majority of participants had been long-term church attendees and could describe how their religion and relationship with God had impacted on their lives. They had few fears for the future and derived considerable meaning in life from their relationships with family. Participants were able to describe early memories and also remember things happening recently in their aged care facility. This would seem to be the opposite of community expectations (and sometimes staff expectations) of older people with dementia.