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HW420 Unit 9 Final Project

Maria Long

Purdue University Global

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Questionnaire

1. What does spirituality mean to you?

2. Would you describe yourself as spiritual? Why or why not?

3. What do you do to promote your spirituality?

4. What are some specific examples of how you can improve your spirituality?

5. In what ways does your spirituality impact your ability to complete daily tasks?

6. Do you pray? Why or why not?

7. How would you describe your relationships and connection with other people?

8. How would you describe your relationship with nature?

9. Do you feel as though your life serves a purpose? Why or why not?

10. Do you make time to reflect about how you are feeling emotionally, physically and spiritually?

Why or why not?

11. How much attention do you place on the vision you have for your life and how?

Descriptions of Pertinence of Questions

Asking an individual what spirituality means to them can help to establish their

individual values and definition of spirituality. We can gain understanding around whether they

feel spirituality is tied to their religious believes, culture or if spirituality is something all around

them. Spirituality represents our connection with self, others, our environment and our ultimate

meaning (Leonard & Carlson, 2013). Feedback from an interviewee on this question can help

provide an indication of where they are on their journey to self-actualization and if they believe

that spirituality is an important contributor to this.

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Asking an individual if they would describe themselves as spiritual is a significant

indication of whether they believe spirituality is important, and what their measure of

participating in spiritualty is. This can indicate a broad view on overall wellness, specifically if

spirituality is absent from their life. This can also lead to insights on experiences with

spirituality, whether positive or negative. Perhaps they are unsure about what it means to be

spiritual and lead them on the path to desire more clarity about this, which would contribute to a

better understanding of the importance of spirituality as it relates to mind-body-spirit wellness.

Also, they might be participating in spirituality without evening know it. For example, our

connections with other people are a component to spirituality (Leonard & Carlson, 2013).

Asking an individual what they do to promote their spirituality allows them to think about

their practices and evaluate whether they are focused on spirituality or if this hasn’t made it onto

to the priorities list as it relates to their wellness. It could serve as a reminder that they should

engage in spiritual practices more. This is a good time to understand whether the interview ties

spirituality solely to religious practice, which is not true of spirituality as it has no religious

confinement. This question can clarify if someone is engaging in activities that contribute to

spirituality and wellness or they have a misunderstanding of what it might mean to promote

spirituality to reap the mind-body positive health effects. Promoting spirituality can help to

satisfy spiritual hungers such as, awareness of ourselves, values and inner wisdom (Leonard &

Carlson, 2013).

Asking an individual about some specific examples of how they can improve their

spirituality allows them to reflect on their practices further and perhaps motivate them to

implement more spiritual practices. Barriers to practice can be discovered through thought and

contemplation. This could also be a good opportunity for the practitioner to identify whether the
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interviewee’s responses are in sync with proper spiritual practice or if their idea of improving

their spirituality it tied to spiritual materialism. This is where a person may focus too strongly on

rituals and ideologies instead of allowing their spirituality to be free (Heller, 2016). Also, some

practices might be egocentric, and the interviewee may be striving to measure what they feel

their level of spirituality is (Heller, 2016). These egocentric practices are the opposite of what

spirituality is and will not improve wellness.

Asking an individual what ways their spirituality impacts their ability to complete daily

tasks allows the interviewee an opportunity to discuss whether spirituality enhances or

diminishes their ability to attend life. I would project that those who feel that spirituality helps

them complete daily tasks understand that connecting with something greater improves their

feelings of purpose and meaning and contribute to productivity. Spirituality can improve the

meaningfulness we find in daily tasks and improve productivity (Kumar, 2016). On the other

hand, those who feel hindered by spirituality may have had a bad experience with religion. The

answer to this question can provide clarity about the interviewee’s mindset about spirituality.

Asking and individual if they pray is important to the inventory because this is a direct

indication of whether they believe in a higher connection, interconnection and how they might

handle life’s adversity. Through prayer, we can achieve the relaxation response and feel

connected (Duncan, 2012). This directly contributes to mind-body wellness.

Asking and individual how they would describe their relationships and connection with

other people is important because it describes how interconnected we feel and if we have a

feeling of belonging and how we relate to others (Seaward, n.d.). This includes friends, family,

strangers and acquaintances (Seaward, n.d.). This is an important measurement of wellness

because our sense of connection and belonging influences mental health.

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Asking and individual how they would describe their relationship with nature is equally

important and related to the previous question about our relationship with others. It is also an

opportunity to gain insight into whether the interviewee finds nature to be an integral part of their

spirituality. A person who has a strong relationship with nature is likely to often be in nature or

at the minimum, find it valuable to be in nature. Ecotherapy, which is a form of therapy engaged

in by being in nature, can help improve mental and physical health (Hamblin, 2015).

Asking and individual if they feel as though their life serves a purpose is an important

indicator around where they are within their hierarchy of needs and having their mind-body-

spirit needs met in terms of overall wellness (Cherry, 2019). Those with purpose are geared

toward personal growth, and aim to fulfil their potential (Cherry, 2019). The answer to this

question helps set the stage for the practitioner as it relates to where an individual’s spiritual

wellness rests and sets the stage for how much work may need to be done in terms of their basic

needs first. From here we can attempt to uncover what is holding the interviewee back. It is food,

safety, love, etc.?

Asking and individual if they make time to reflect about how they are feeling

emotionally, physically and spiritually is important for a practitioner to understand whether the

interviewee looks inward to identify where they are and where they would like to be. Reflection

can help someone to savor what is going right and recognize where adjustments can be made

(The Lafourche Gazette, 2016). This is a check-in to ensure we are in tune with ourselves, our

emotions and how we physically feel. This can bring to light that the interviewee has the power

to monitor their wellness in order to make shifts to their life and achieve wellness.

Asking someone how much attention they place on the vision they have for their life and

how helps the practitioner understand the interviewee’s feelings of hope and where they envision
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their destination in life. This helps the practitioner understand what motivates the interviewee

and can lend to insights about what makes them happy. The practitioner can examine this to

identify it is in alignment with what is best for mind-body-spirit or if the vision may not lead to

fulfillment and purpose. Perhaps the vision is skewed by materialism. This can help the

practitioner sculpt the interviewees outlook in a spiritual wellness plan or help keep the

interviewee on track.

Interviewee Results

Captured below are the interview questions with the interview answers. The subject is a

single, female, age 31 with chronic fatigue syndrome. She is on medical disability due to her

condition.

1. What does spirituality mean to you? Spirituality means believing in something outside of the

physical realm. Feeling deeply toward other people and things.

2. Would you describe yourself as spiritual? Yes.

Why or why not? I believe there is more to life than the physical realm. There is a lot more to

everything. I don’t believe that after death you don’t go anywhere. Even if that were the case, I

have had experiences and feelings inside of me that kind of tell me that there is something more

to this world that we might not fully understand.

3. What do you do to promote your spirituality? I pray every night. I started that because when I

began chronically ill, I felt like nobody else could help me and by praying it helped me release

my worries and also made me feel safe. Also, for some reason, after I kept doing that, I felt more

and more spirituality connected. My illness has subsided, and I feel like my prayers have been

answered and I felt like this helped me get through some of this. Like someone is watching over
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me. I also try to do things for other people and connect with other people. Whether I am out at

the store or see someone who looks like they need someone to talk to. I feel like I can connect

with people on a spiritual level and that it is for a reason. I feel I can be spiritual by doing things

for others. I feel more spiritual intensity. I also meditate independently and practice guided

meditation.

4. What are some specific examples of how you can improve your spirituality? I don’t know. I

kind of fight with myself on this answer because I question myself. I haven’t read the bible and I

am more spiritual than religious. I pray toward “Father God” so I do not pray to the wrong being.

I fight with myself because I do not know if the things I do are right or wrong. Sometimes I

question music that talks about the devil. I do kind of limit certain negative things that symbolize

the devil. Does that make me more spiritual? I think so. The conclusion I come to is I cannot be

perfect. I try to limit myself from things I don’t feel right with. I limit negative things.

5. In what ways does your spirituality impact your ability to complete daily tasks? It helps me

to complete tasks. Makes me feel connected like I am not alone. I was able to get through hard

times. I feel more at ease. I feel comforted and it helps me deal with worries and anxieties about

my chronic illness. It motivates me to do positive things and crafts, art.

6. Do you pray? Yes.

Why or why not? I get all the worry I have about things I am going through off of me and into

the hands of someone who can help me. I give things to God because I cannot handle it all by

myself. I really feel as thought my prayers are being answered. People say that when something

bad happen, “Why would God let that happen?”. But that is not God. It is that we are on Earth.

7. How would you describe your relationships and connection with other people? It has been

challenging. It has always been challenging. My anxiety, drinking too much alcohol in the past
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has had an effect on my relationships. Not being with family and not caring about anything else

except my drinking. Nothing could compete with that feeling. Now, I feel like there is always a

challenge because I had my friends until I became chronically ill. They don’t understand me or

reach out to me. If I had cancer, I am sure they would all come running. My view about

relationships has changed a bit. I try to be careful about what I say because I push people away

when I repeat my griefs to others when I talk about chronic illness. I try to seek a connection

with other people by asking about them instead of focusing on myself.

8. How would you describe your relationship with nature? I love nature. I think when you are in

nature you feel more connection with spirituality because of the living things are around you. I

feel that the soil and animals are all connected. So, when you are out in it you are more in touch

with spirituality. Being in nature is very healthy for me. When I am away from nature, there are

negative psychological effects. I think people are meant to be in nature more than indoors. It also

clears my mind.

9. Do you feel as though your life serves a purpose? Yes, I do. I didn’t before.

Why or why not? I do now because lately within the last 6 months I feel like I have more of a

purpose. I feel this way because I keep running into random people that seem to need my

connection. I try to spread positivity. I compliment people and take time to talk to people. That is

my purpose, to care about people. I had gained a new perspective about caring for people after

going through chronic illnesses. I want to help other people in anyway I can and that is my

purpose.

10. Do you make time to reflect about how you are feeling emotionally, physically and

spiritually? Not as much as I should. Why or why not? I get distracted with social media and my
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phone or YouTube videos. I really think that gets in the way of me reflecting. Every once in a

while, I come to the realization that I need to break that cycle.

11. How much attention do you place on the vision you have for your life and how? I don’t

think I put too much attention on my vision because I don’t really have a vision. There are things

I would like to do like move to California. This is something I have been thinking about. I feel

this would give me a better chance at a better life because of the atmosphere. I do put some

attention on it lately. It is a new thing. I don’t want to waste my life away here. I want to be

where people and things I want to do are. I feel it would give me a change to have a relationship

or go places I would like.

Interview Findings

The questionnaire appears to be successful in allowing myself as a practitioner an

opportunity to understand the interviewee’s involvement in spirituality relative to physical and

mental health. As a practitioner, I could use this information to help the interviewee develop

their own spiritual and psychological health development plan. I was able to identify the

elements that make the interviewee connect with their spirituality. They need to feel connected to

other people. Selfless kindness toward other people makes them feel that they have purpose.

They also need to feel connected to nature and indicated that this connection promotes their

mental health. The details that they shared about prayer where very impactful and insightful

because I was able to understand that prayer has worked to heal her, in her opinion. The

suffering she experienced from chronic illness has subsided from her constant prayer and overall

spirituality.

A couple of interesting notes would be that she could benefit from relationships where

she feels safe talking about her illness without fearing she will lose a friend. This should be an
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important area of focus. She will need to practice trusting others and reengaging in relationships

with friends and family. Her relationships appear to primarily be with strangers, which could

take away from rich, deeper relationships. This is an important area of focus as it relates to

wellness. Another interesting note would be that after getting her chronic fatigue into remission

she did not return to old, unhealthy habits, such as alcohol abuse. Her engagement in prayer,

kindness and ecotherapy could be supporting this improved lifestyle. It has been demonstrated in

scientific studies that spirituality can help to reduce the likelihood of drug abuse and mental

illness (Leonard & Carlson, 2013). As a practitioner, I would encourage her to continue her

regimen of selfless kindness, prayer and then ask her to focus on quality relationships.

Additions or Subtractions to The Inventory

I feel that this questionnaire would not need any modifications. The questions were high

level enough that the interviewee could contemplate and provide an expanded answer that did

not box them in or limit them in their answers. I noticed that the interviewee discussed their

engagement in prayer prior to me specifically asking about prayer. Although this redundancy

occurred, I do not think I would take the question out because prayer is such an important

indicator about spiritual health because there is so much evidence showing it connects us and

creates positive force. The questionnaire did not seem too long and kept the interviewee engaged.

She did not look offended or humored by the questions. She appeared to be in deep thought and

took time to answer each question.

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References

Cherry, K. (2019). The 5 Levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. Retrieved from:

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4136760

Duncan, C. (2012). Prayer. Retrieved from: https://www.csh.umn.edu/education/online-

modules-and-resources/learning-modules-healthcare-professionals
Hamblin, J. (2015). The Nature Cure. Retrieved from:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/the-nature-cure/403210/

Heller, R. (2016). What is spiritual materialism? Retrieved from:

https://pro.psychcentral.com/what-is-spiritual-materialism/
Kumar, S. (2016). Productivity Through Spirituality. Retrieved from:
http://www.businessworld.in/article/Productivity-Through-Spirituality/12-09-2016-
105530/
Leonard, B. and Carlson, D. (2013). Spirituality in Healthcare. Retrieved from:
https://www.csh.umn.edu/education/online-modules-and-resources/learning-modules-
healthcare-professionals
Seaward, B. (n.d.). The Ego and the soul. Retrieved from:
http://www.brianlukeseaward.com/downloads/ego_soul.pdf.
The Lafourche Gazette. (2016). Awareness and self-reflection are important keys to spiritual
growth. Retrieved from: https://www.lafourchegazette.com/opinion/columnists/awareness-
and-self-reflection-are-important-keys-to-spiritual-growth/article_e08c23a6-ab3b-5817-845a-
09f56acf6e50.html