What is a spirit? Why is tending to this part of you beneficial for your well-being? How do you tend to it? We’ll cover these questions in the final installment of our 10-part Wellness Series.
Defining a Spirit
Regarding the questions above, the answers depend on who you ask.
A spirit relating to anthropology and psychology is defined as a force - a non-physical power or strength - that can produce sensory events in human beings from human-human and human-non-physical being engagement.
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Tending to the Spirit Within Us for Wellness
As we’re busy living and tending to our never-ending to-do lists, I wonder, is there room for spirit?
Sensing the intangible ways of how we are all connected, engaging with others to boost this connection, and discussing why it all matters can help tend to this part of who we are.
After all, there are proven benefits to doing so.
Luhrmann et al. explain in their 2020 research paper “...why sensory experiences of gods and spirits are reported more frequently in some cultural-religious settings than in others and more frequently by some individuals within a given setting than by others…[with even the power] to shape something as basic as what feels real to the senses”: porosity and absorption.
Porosity (openness to experience) and absorption (immersion of attention) were scientifically proven as factors across and within global cultures and religions that “invite people to interpret and engage with their own inner lives as more vivid, material, and potent”. These topics are not the same as experiences of psychosis or religion. Instead, they offer a foundation for religion to build where in an oversimplification, spirituality refers more to beliefs (e.g., ideas on what happens after death) and religion refers to activity (e.g., attending a church service) (Luhrmann et al., 2020; Gilbertson et al., 2022).
Practices That Promote and Limit Being Spiritually Well
Being spiritual is engaging with the spirit within and between people and the spirit between humans and the sacred to experience vivid sensory events as a result.
For example, the porosity of one’s mind causes a greater likelihood of hearing “God’s voice” in one’s mind or experiencing “sensations, emotions, thoughts, [and] mental images”. Absorption causes a greater likelihood for one to feel “anomalous sensory events” autonomously prompted by spiritual beings. These events extend beyond the here-and-now resulting in someone having less concern for practical concerns. Ways a person can intentionally activate this are to “immerse themselves in their inner lives through prayer or meditation” (Luhrmann et al., 2020).
Contemplating spirit-related topics is another way to promote spiritual wellness (like this blog you’re reading). Some ideas include asking yourself and discussing with others what non-materialistic parts of life matter regardless of ability, location, and various other cultural memberships, and learning about spirit-related beliefs and practices across cultures and religions.
This can help you to develop cultural wellness and explore what theory(ies) you believe explains spiritual beings, supernatural forces, and the human relationship to them in a way(s) that make(s) sense (Brownell, 2014). Start at a pace, in a format that works for you. Building consistency in this practice over time can minimize the harm caused by hindrances to being spiritually well.
Some examples of spiritual struggles in our attempts to be spiritually well include "anxiety, depression, negative outlooks on life, suicidality, and negative outcomes in stressful situations...It is important to note that spiritual struggles ae not always detrimental. Rather, ins some cases, spiritual struggles can promote wellbeing through their effect on meaning making, spiritual growth, and experiences of sacredness: (Gilbertson et al;, 2022). |
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Spiritual Wellness as a Part of Overall Well-Being
Like other aspects of wellness, spiritual wellness requires the proactive and retroactive promotion of healthy internal and external conditions to limit peaks and valleys over time.
We are spiritually well when we practice maintaining conditions that support the health of our spirit while reducing conditions that cause a hindrance. Be it between ourselves and the divine, each other, animals, or even nature.
Closing Thoughts
A spirit, and even what equates to spiritual wellness is defined and tended to by the complex, and inseparable interweave between a person and their environment. Like other traditions, people practice spiritual activities in ways that make sense to them, and conversely, their culture influences the degree and manner of individual expression (e.g., porosity and absorption).
Developing wellness for your spirit is accepting an invitation to physically sense, imagine, and engage with the immaterial in material ways. Beyond our daily responsibilities, wellness in this life area can help us to cope amidst stressors through the meaning-making process of life events, experience sacredness, and immerse ourselves in things everlasting.
Journal Prompt
What is one specific action you will engage in this week to practice being spiritually well?
Call to Action
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