What Is Spiritual Health?

What is Spiritual Health?

Spiritual health is about coping and inner strength. Athletes have a pep talk prior to a game. We had pep rallies in high school, the whole assembly would show support and give our team energy for the game. Statistics show a correlation between how well a child does in school, and how much family support they receive. I was told as I was getting married not to forget my girlfriends, when life gets tough they will be there for you. Life doesn’t come with a guide book, babies aren’t born with an instruction manual. Life is designed to be a team sport, we turn to our mothers, grandmothers, girlfriends, sisters, brothers, fathers and friends. No two lives are the same, but challenges are similar and sometimes having someone tell you, “you are strong, you can do this”, is just what you need to get you to the next level, around that next corner. Each challenge won brings new strength and understanding. I admire multi-generational households where the grandparents can provide mental support and say “I’ve been there, done that, you have the strength and ability to get through this”. Children provide physical work and receive the satisfaction that they are valuable, important, and needed.  Having a co-worker say “nice job”, a pat on the back, a hug- can be priceless. Spiritual health is having someone to talk to for strength or guidance when faced with an overwhelming situation, external support from nature or creation. Where do you go to find strength?

Dr. Masaru Emoto in his book “The Hidden Messages in Water,” demonstrates how water molecules respond brilliantly to positive messages.  The human body is composed mostly of water; we should also demonstrate a positive physical response to supportive messages.

What if we don’t have any family, we don’t fit the part, we aren’t pretty, we aren’t good at sports. We don’t have friends, we lost the game, or we lost our job. We were born with a skin condition, we would rather be forgotten by society and ourselves.  What happens when high school is over, we move away, we trying to juggle work, marriage, children, home responsibilities and life. We don’t have time to take care of ourselves and the pressure is on.  Where do we derive spiritual support? 

My co-worker, a medical provider, doesn’t like prescribing narcotics for chronic pain. She’s made the observation that many of her chronic pain patients are lacking external support. They have multiple diagnoses, always come alone,  have many psychosocial complaints. They are consumed by their internal pain and obsessed with the workings of their body. They don’t know how to get outside of themselves. How many times is a pill used to treat a symptom of a bigger problem? What is really the best treatment? I wonder how much of our health care problem is related to treating symptoms and not finding more appropriate solutions. Are we over relying on medication to treat societal problems? 

John Kretzmann and John McKnight, from Northwestern University wrote a  fantastic workbook, “Building Communities From the Inside Out”. It is an excellent workbook. They suggest that “communities cannot be rebuilt by focusing on their needs, problems, and deficiencies. Rather, community building starts with locating the assets, skills, and capacities of residents, citizens, citizens’ associations, and local institutions.” Their workbook is packed with ideas for making connections within a community. They have a Capacity Inventory (pg 19) for helping individuals to identify their skills and talents. If you can walk, talk, hear, or see there is something you can do to support your community and give yourself feelings of self- worth and belonging. Everyone is valuable, sometimes we need to get outside of ourselves to realize that. If you want to build a playground, you find a group of passionate workers, citizens of the community, who will be invested in the project. Not only will they give the project their best effort to complete, but they will take care of it for years to come.

 Rob Bell, a motivational speaker, said the best job for a shy introvert, or someone lacking in feelings of self-worth, is to be a greeter or a bagger in a grocery store. You have to smile and say “Welcome”, people will inadvertently smile and say “Thank You” back. You have people smiling and saying “Thank You” all day long! He also gave me a business card, that says, “ I’m Alive, I’m Awake, and I Feel Great!” he said read this card when you wake up in the morning and you won’t go  back to sleep. 

Hospice does a Spiritual Assessment. They want to provide comprehensive care to meet all of your needs. They ask questions on spiritual awareness: feelings of abandonment, anger, faith, fear/anxiety, forgiveness issues, gratitude, grief, guilt/shame, hope, inner peace, joy, love, preparedness for death, questioning and trust. They want to know where you derive support, they understand that relationships are huge and life is a team sport. They encourage healing relationships.  

I visualize in our future, nurse case managers evaluating all the needs of our clients. Assessing their physical, mental and spiritual needs and providing direction on how to best meet those needs. It might include conventional medicine and pharmaceuticals but it might also include a deeper investigation into the underlying causes of the body’s dysfunction.  It might include skilled practitioners who know how to listen to the body to help it heal itself. Life is a team sport, health involves the whole community.