Spiritual & Religious Care Awareness Week - Oct 16-22, 2017 ...

Spiritual health is the path to inner peace

regardless of the turmoil around you.

Anonymous

Hi Everyone!

This week is Spiritual and Religious Care Awareness (SRCWA) Week in BC. The theme for this year's observance is a timely one, Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World. (See the Canadian Multifaith Federation's SRCWA Handbook "Theme Readings" for an excellent list of resources on forgiveness.)

While a significant portion of the population professes no spiritual leanings at all, most people agree that we humans are endowed with a spirit that requires as much care and attention as our bodies and minds if we are to be fully "well".

Our research shows that those with a strong, nurturing spiritual life are more resilient to the impacts of adversity - our own and others'. Hundreds of rigorous, elegant, peer-reviewed scientific articles show spirituality as the root of wellness in children throughout the first decades of life and beyond.

In her best-selling book, The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving,  Columbia University researcher and author, Lisa Miller, PhD, says that children who have a positive, active relationship to spirituality are 40% less likely to use and abuse substances, 60% less likely to be depressed as teenagers and 80% less likely to have unprotected sex.

At the other end of the developmental spectrum, the Canadian Military Journal reports that, "Whereas religion/spirituality impacts military operations writ large, it can also play a significant part in the healing of individual warriors after those same operations." The US Department of Veteran's Affairs  also cites positive outcomes of healthy spirituality on PTSD and depression in some trauma populations and on the intensity of clinical symptoms like anger, rage and desire for revenge in trauma survivors. Healthy spirituality can also help with meaning making, the processing of guilt and moral injury and grief and bereavement after trauma and loss.

Spiritual and religious care providers are among the least well-recognized helpers in our communities. Those who support others in their spiritual development, particularly through times of crisis -  clergy, spiritual directors or guides, chaplains, pastoral care volunteers and others - may have the benefit of having spiritual resilience practices already in their toolboxes but they are still at risk for compassion fatigue and burnout.

The sheer volume of people seen by spiritual care providers, the traumatic circumstances under which these people often seek support, the need to protect confidentiality, expectations of exemplary reactions and behaviours on their part, and not infrequently, a culture of competition and judgement can all contribute to the symptoms of post traumatic stress, emotional disengagement and loss of capacity for empathy that are the hallmarks of compassion fatigue.

If others' spiritual wellness is at the centre of your helping work, (and even if it isn't) you are warmly invited to attend the next Caring On Empty: Creative Tools for Compassion Fatigue Resilience workshop on Friday October 27th at the Granville Island Hotel in Vancouver, BC. (email Jan for registration forms at caregiverwellness@shaw.ca)

And if the notion of positive spirituality is new to you, or it's been a while since you've thought about it seriously, here are a range of books with ideas you might enjoy exploring:


1.  The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving  (2015) by Lisa Miller

2.  Embers: One Ojibway's Meditations (2016) by Richard Wagamese

3.  Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life (1992) by Thomas Moore

4.  My Grandfather's Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge and Belonging (2000) by Rachel Naomi Remen, MD

5.  Soul Moments: Marvelous Stories of Synchronicity - Coincidences from a Seemingly Random World (1997) by Phil Cousineau

6.  The Spirituality of Nature (2008) by Jim Kainin


And here are a couple of great spiritually-based websites:

1.  Brain Pickings: An Inventory of the Meaningful Life 

2.  On Being: The Big Questions of Meaning


Whatever your personal spiritual leanings, perhaps this would be a good week to nurture that part of your life and to notice and show your appreciation for those who work to provide spiritual solace and support for others' spiritual growth.

A 5 Step Practice for Greeting the Morning ...

Now that spring is here, the mornings are arriving at an earlier and earlier hour. How we greet these mornings can make a significant difference to the rest of our day.

Here are some ideas for a simple morning practice that will help you to start your own day well:



1.  Open your eyes, smile and breathe:

Waking up this morning, I smile.

Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.

I vow to live fully in each moment

and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

Thich Nhat Hanh

In the Cherokee tradition, the element associated with

 the time of dawn and awakening is air or wind. As we rise

each morning we are reminded of our own call to awaken

to the needs around us. We inhale that first deep breath of the day

and remember that we are sustained moment by moment through

the gift of breath. The dawn is the time of promise,

when the world seems full of possibility.

We are invited to hope and new beginnings.

Christine Painter

If possible, wake yourself with gentle music. Smile as you return to consciousness and breathe some deep full breaths, in and out. (The word, inspiration comes from the Latin, spiritus, which means spirit or breath. Each moment of the day, we are in-spired with this sustaining breath or spirit.)

2.  S-t-r-e-t-c-h:

Stretching is easy to learn. But there is a right way and a wrong way

to stretch. The right way is a relaxed, sustained stretch with your 

attention focused on the muscles being stretched.

Bob Anderson

Now, take a satisfying, full-body stretch to increase the blood flow to sleep-cramped muscles then rise slowly from your bed. Stretch again by gently shaking out all the parts of your body you can comfortably shake. Then, holding your hands palms upward toward the sky, reach as high as you can for a count of ten. Then, let your arms and head hang down toward the floor. Finish with some waist twists, letting your arms swing, and then drink a glass of water to banish the dehydration of the night.

3.  Sit and give thanks:

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have

into enough and more.

Melodie Beattie

Sit in a quiet spot in your home, settling into a comfortable position. You might like to light a candle to welcome the coming day. Think of at least three things for which you are thankful - the beauty of the new day, the love of a partner, a roof over your head when the rain is falling, shoes for your feet, or the chair you're sitting on. Write each one in a gratitude journal or just let the thankfulness flow through you.

4.  Meditate and/or pray

Meditation brings with it inner peace.

Mayo Clinic

Prayer makes your heart bigger.

Mother Teresa

Spend a few moments in quiet meditation and/or prayer according to your faith tradition. If you haven't a regular practice, writer and teacher, Geri Larkin, suggests the following meditation in Spirituality and Health Magazine:

With your eyes slightly open, sit on the chair with your back straight, feet flat on the ground, and hands on your lap. Take a few deep belly breaths and wish the world well - allow images of the people, places, and things to randomly flit across your thoughts, and with each image simply think, Take good care of yourself.

 You'll find that there is a slight pause after the initial rush of images. When that happens all you have to do is to breathe quietly and deeply, listening to whatever sounds are filling the space around you. If you find yourself worrying or cranky about something just tell yourself, It's okay, and go back to listening.

 This is not a time for problem solving or for mentally writing that rebuttal to a tweet that nastified you. Instead, let yourself feel how good it feels to be taken care of by the world, which has given you this chair to sit on, the beauty of the light from the candle, and the energy of the sounds around you. 

Sit like this for a few minutes, or longer if you like. 

For those of you who would like to engage in a more formal practice, mindfulness meditation and centering prayer are two of many possibilities you can explore.

5.  Read something inspirational:

Man's reading should be intensely alive. The book

should be a ball of light in one's hand.

Ezra Pound

Reading a brief passage of something inspirational can help to set you off on the right foot for even the hardest day. I try to keep a number of books by my bed, and more by my meditation chair, to dip into each morning. Among my favourites are:

1. To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings by John O'Donohue

2.  Quiet Mind: One-Minite Retreats from a Busy World by David Kundtz

3.  Moments In Between: The Art of a Quiet Mind by David Kundtz

4.  A Life of Being, Having and Doing Enough by Wayne Muller

5.  Morning Mist: Thoreau and Basho Through the Seasons by Mary Kullberg

6.  A Thousand Mornings: Poems  by Mary Oliver (And most of her other works)

7.  Listening Below the Silence: A Meditation on the Practice of Silence by Anne LeClaire

8.  Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry by Katrina Kenison

9.  99 Blessings: An Invitation to Life by Br David Steindl-Rast

10. Teaching With Fire: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Teach - SM Intrator, Editor 

Now, like all other practices, this one will only help your day to go well if you actually practice it! So, may I suggest giving it a try for one week and then deciding for yourself whether the difference in your experience is worth the time (under 30 minutes)?

Six Spiritual Practices for the New Year ...

Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light-years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spirutual. So are our emotions in the presence of great art or music or literature, or acts of exemplary selfless courage such as those of Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.

Carl Sagan, American astronomer and astrophysicist

As trauma and compassion fatigue research continues, we are learning that developing our spiritual lives can actually enhance our compassion fatigue resilience and recovery.

The New Year offers us an opportunity to reassess our spiritual lives and to consider practices that can deepen our spiritual connections with ourselves, those around us, nature, and that which transcends the self - an opportunity to recognize more fully the sacredness of life and to embrace its mystery. 

Here are six spiritual practices to help you deepen these connections in 2013:

1. Breathe. The word spirituality is derived from the Latin word spirale  which means to blow or to breathe. Our breath connects us intimately with the life force that sustains us in each moment. Sit quietly for 3 minutes and allow your attention to follow each inspiration, each expiration - moment by moment, breath by breath. Savour the feeling of being alive and in-spired. Choose a cue - opening a particular cupboard, hearing a phone ring - to remind you to b-r-e-a-t-h-e  in this way several times a day. 

2.  Be silent. Create stillpoints of quiet in your life. Wake early and spend that time in deliberate stillness and silence. End the day with 20 minutes silence to bring you back to yourself and the Source of your being. Eat a meal alone, without a book or TV for company. Make a silent retreat of an hour, a day or a week. Make waiting times intentional times of silence - grocery store lineups, sitting in waiting rooms, waiting to pick up the kids at school. 

3.  Spend time in wild places. Thoreau says that the wilderness is near as well as dear. You don't have to travel to distant shores to leave your busyness behind and return to the restoring rhythms of nature. The wild places are right on your doorstep - the greenbelt, the lakeshore, the parkland beside the reservoir, the pathways in the woods, even the quiet of your garden just before sunrise and sunset. Allow the rhythms you discover there - rise and fall, summer and winter, abundance and scarcity - to teach you to embrace both life's fullness and its emptiness, knowing that there is much to be learned from each.  

4.  Release what is no longer necessary, be they possessions, thoughts, feelings, experiences, habits or expectations. Reflect upon what is essential to your life then consider letting go of anything that may be keeping you trapped or blocked.

5.  Trust in what you love.  Rather than imposing a rigid plan upon your life, try following the thread of your own unique unfolding story, step by step, attending to the synchronicities and the still small voice that can guide your path. Cultivate a deep trust in what you love. What are the things that make your heart sing, no matter how at odds they feel with your current life (and perhaps especially so?). Make some room, this year, to honour what brings you to life.

6.  Open yourself to a new word for the year.  Last year, guided by the writings of spiritual director, Christine Painter, PhD, I wrote about choosing a word (or, more correctly, allowing a word to choose you) to guide you through the year. As Christine put it,  In quiet moments, what are the desires you hear being whispered from your heart? Is there a word or phrase that shimmers forth, inviting you to dwell with it in the months ahead? Something you can grow into and don't fully understand?

I don't know if any of you chose a word last year. I did and it made such a significant impact on my life in 2012 that I encourage you to join me in giving it a try this very new year.

   

Spiritual Renewal...

Most people believe that we have a spiritual nature as well as a physical, mental and emotional one. In living through compassion fatigue and chronic sorrow, we can become spiritually spent and we need - and often yearn for - spiritual renewal as well as physical exercise and emotional support.

But how do we go about enriching our spiritual lives? Frankly, there are as many ways as there are people. The spiritual path is a highly individual one, without a rule book or standard curriculum that fits all. That said, there are some practices that have emerged through the years and across faiths, that can lead to a richer spiritual life:

1. Set aside time every week to nurture your spirit. (Eventually, you may find this time so nourishing that you want to set time aside every day.) During this established time, you might want to:

* Spend time in silence or prayer with Whom/Whatever you believe in that is greater than   yourself - God, Love, Nature, Truth, Beauty,The Universe.

* Visit different places of worship, paying attention to the music, the architecture, the difference in the sermons or teachings. Or, conversely, visit at a time when the place of worship is empty to pray or meditate alone. There is a wonderful peace to be found in sitting in a sanctuary where others have prayed before you.

 * Read inspirational writings and reflect on them. They needn't be "holy" writings, rather, anything that inspires you, be it poetry, a novel, autobiography or spiritual writings of your own or another faith.

* Write a poem or story for or about your Spirit.

* Write a prayer that celebrates your relationship to your Spirit or Higher Power.

 * Write a spiritual autobiography, noting times of spiritual insight through nature, relationships, and events. What are the stages through which your spiritual growth has progressed? Has your faith been helpful to you in times of strain and stress? Are there beliefs that frighten you or seem nonsensical and need reconsideration?

* Study an aesthetic discipline.

* Attend a meditation or prayer group.

* Begin a "Seeker's Group" to discuss spiritual issues.

* Attend a retreat.

* Spend time in contemplation of beauty, kindness, compassion, nature.

* Listen to uplifting music - dance to it.

* Create a spiritual journal for quotations, reflections, recording the spiritual happenings of your life.

2. Practice peace and reconciliation. The irritability and unmet needs that accompany both CF and CS easily lead to situations where forgiveness and/or reconciliation are needed. The topics deserve more space than I have today. Watch for more next week.

3. Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a form of meditation but, more, it is a way of life. A way of be-ing. It is a way of becoming intentionally aware of the present, in this moment and this moment and this moment... A way of living life deeply and fully.

4. Practice gratitude. Open your awareness to the gifts of this world - large and small. Becoming consciously grateful for the fact that you step on to a carpeted floor when you get out of bed, that you drink clean water, that you have someone to love, that you're surrounded by the beauty of nature, that you have eyes to see and ears to hear, can do a lot to balance the pain of compassion fatigue and chronic sorrow.

I could say much more here but this is a good start. Think about your spiritual wellness this week. If it could use a tune up, perhaps try one of these ideas - or one of your own - to begin a process of spiritual renewal.