UNIT NINE ASSIGNMENT 1

Unit Nine Assignment

Shirrell Cummings

Purdue University Global

HW420 Creating Wellness: Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Healing

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Spirituality is a life-long continuing process of changing and growing that can create an

optimistic state of well-being; however, the foundation is built off of the personal decisions of

how that person decides to live their life. People tend to think that spirituality and religion are the

same, but they are not. “Religion is a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitude,

beliefs, and practices; the service and worship of God or the supernatural (Brady, 2019).”

Spirituality is based off of practical application and experiencing a connection that is larger than

themselves as well as finding their purpose through the journey. The following spiritual

inventory was established to help someone understand their spectrum of spirituality and

psychological self.

1. What does spirituality mean to you? Like stated before, people tend to confuse

religion and spirituality, so it is important that they understand the difference

between the two. “People may describe a spiritual experience as sacred or

transcendent or simply a deep sense of aliveness and interconnectedness

(University of Minnesota, n.d.).”

2. Do you believe that your life has purpose? “Why am I here? Speaks to the heart

of finding a meaningful purpose in life, and while it may appear that the answer

changes over time, there is an underlying purpose to everything we do as well

(Seaward, n.d.).”

3. Would you describe yourself as an optimist or pessimist? Being optimistic can

help a person have a positive outlook on life and help decrease rumination.

4. Do you feel that your spiritual health is affecting your physical health? Spiritual

health can bring greater happiness, an increase feeling of gratitude, and can help

with managing stress. A person can experience physical benefits as well like, a

stronger immune system, lower blood pressure, stress reduction, and better sleep.
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5. Do you believe that spirituality can help strengthen relationships? Human

spirituality involves internal (within self) and external (friends and family)

relationships. “Internal relationship involves a relationship with a Higher power

and external relationships are comprised of how we relate to everyone and

everything outside ourselves (Seaward, n.d.).” This teaches us how to treat others

and ourselves with respect, integrity, and love.

6. Does spirituality help define your values and beliefs? Values are essential to a

person creating a strong personal value system. People tend to gravitate towards

other people who share the same values as them. “One’s value system is also

tightly integrated with a meaningful purpose in life (Seaward, n.d.).” With that

being said, some values hold great spiritual significance than others.

7. Do you believe in synchronicity? And do you think it is a message from

yourself? “To the person having an experience of synchronicity, the realization

dawns that a mysterious force is a play in the world – a kind of “cosmic clock”

whose gears operate on a more subtle pane (Seifer, 2008).”

8. Do you believe the outlook you have on life affects your physical, mental, and

spiritual health? Being optimistic can develop positive thoughts and help with

making clearer decisions. This creates healthier thoughts and behaviors and are

more self-aware. “Healthy people who are optimistic report feeling better than

equally healthy people who are pessimistic (Dholakia, 2016).”

9. Do you practice yoga, meditation, or allowing time for yourself and your

thoughts? “Spiritual practices such as meditation, yoga, silence, and

contemplation allow you to make conscious contact with more expanded states of
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consciousness, thus helping to experientially validate the teachings rather than

accepting them on faith alone. (Brady, 2019).”

10. How is your emotional well-being? Spirituality and emotional health are

connected because they both influence each other. Spirituality can result in

positive emotions and emotional health is about cultivating a positive state of

mind (University of Minnesota, n.d.).

For this spiritual inventory, I interviewed my brother. He is 27 years old and we

grew up in the same household. We were raised as Christians when we were younger and

then transitioned to Buddhism. We used to go to church every Sunday and attended bible

study when told to do so. After my parents divorced, we started going to the Temple and

did not practice Christianity. After talking to him about our religion, we switched to

talking about spirituality.

He did understand the difference between the two. The way my brother carries

himself displays a positive radiance. He is a very optimistic person and is typically the

person that I talk to for advice. He did state that he believes in God and that he does not

practice yoga or meditation. He does like being alone to gather his thoughts at the end of

the day, which I told him can be like meditation.

The information that is gathered by this questionnaire can gain a better insight on

someone’s spirituality. I do believe that I would have to tailor the language if it was

geared towards a younger crowd. I did find myself bringing up old memories and talking

out situations with my brother. I told him that the information that was gathered on him

can help give him a foundation of where he is at spiritually and see if he is working on

his purpose in life.

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This spiritual inventory opened up a conversation that me and my brother never

had. This sparked a conversation that led us on a spiritual journey that began during our

childhood. Spirituality benefits not only the psychological aspect but physically as well.

With that being said, spirituality will play a major role with taking care of patients and

benefiting a person’s overall health.

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References

Brady, A. (2019, July 10). Religion vs. spirituality: What is the difference? The Chopra

Center. https://chopra.com/articles/religion-vs-spirituality-what-is-the-difference

Dholakia, U. (2016, July 31). 4 reasons why an optimistic outlook is good for your health.

Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-behind-

behavior/201607/4-reasons-why-optimistic-outlook-is-good-your-health

Seifer, N. (2008). Synchronicity and the soul. Ageless Wisdom For A New

Era. https://whenthesoulawakens.org/synchronicity-and-the-soul_288.html

Seaward, B. L. (n.d.). The Ego and the

Soul. https://www.brianlukeseaward.com/downloads/ego_soul.pdf

University of Minnesota. (n.d.). What is spirituality? Taking Charge of Your Health &

Wellbeing. https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/what-spirituality