Article archive / December 1, 2016
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 12. Source pages: 1, 8.
Psychology and Spirituality
For the holiday issue we asked some of our experts for their take on spirituality and the overlap with perspectives in psychology. Spiritual, religious, both or neither, the holidays can bring to focus the meaning of life and existence for nearly 80 percent of Americans. Here, four community experts share some ideas with us for the holidays.
[Authors’ Note: Adapted from Gregory F. A. Pierce’s Spirituality at Work: 10 Ways to Balance Your Life on the Job. (2001) Chicago, IL: Loyola Press.]
Spirituality in the workplace is a difficult topic. Many are inhibited from discussion by the cultural attitude that it is wrong to impose one’s values on another. Some professionals fear that spiritual practice in their work environment may cause undue division amongst colleagues or threaten others with different beliefs or particular biases.
Fifteen years ago, Gregory F. A. Pierce published a book on Spirituality at Work: 10 Ways to Balance your Life on the Job (2001). He made a striking claim: The holy and the transcendent can be found in the midst of the hustle and bustle of daily work. Rather than being a “grind,” our work can be “grist” for our spiritual mills. His work was timely, it was the year in which 9/11 occurred; a tragic time in which many faith traditions questioned the existence of the divine and spiritual purpose. The examination of life events and personal perceptions of such is the beginning of our spiritual actualization. Reflecting on the work of Pierce allows us to reexamine our belief systems and the reality, or lack of, the spiritual expressions in our lives.
Spiritual bankruptcy is a common problem faced by many individuals and couples seeking meaning and purpose in their lives. To be able to address this dimension, therapists must first be willing to explore their own spirituality and to define how they express their spirituality in their work settings. Finding one’s sacred space entails a willingness to be present to the signs and symbols that encompass their lives and provide meaning and purpose in their own lives. Indeed, spiritual grow requires an active discovery, recovery, and creation of one’s scared space; a process that greatly enhances our work with clients.
Over the door of Carl Jung’s office hung a sign that read: Bidden or not bidden, how can God not be present. Spirituality is not to be confused with religion or piety, in its broadest sense, it is a disciplined attempt to transcend and to align ourselves and our environment (work) with something greater than ourselves and to make the world a better place. Is that not the sum and substance of our profession and what we intend to profess as helping professionals? But how is this accomplished? How do therapists transcend and express themselves spiritually? And what questions abound regarding the ethics of all of this?
Surely, we are not to be deprived of our expressions! Gregory Pierce (2001) suggests at least ten disciplines to help us in accomplishing this task. He states the criteria for the disciplines as follows:
• We must be able to practice the discipline in the workplace • We must be able to practice the discipline without disrupting our work • We must be able to practice the discipline regularly and consistently • The discipline must be triggered by some event, task, or situation that occurs in the workplace, and • We must be able to practice the discipline without anyone in the workplace knowing that we are doing so (pp.29-30).
For the sake of brevity, several disciplines will be emphasized that will make our workplace a peace-filled environment, inviting to our clients, and good for our own mental and spiritual well-being.
Discipline # 1 Finding Our Sacred Space. Pierce suggests surrounding ourselves with “sacred objects”. This can be anything from a piece of traditional religious art to a photo of family and friends, or it can be something completely secular that carries for us a very deep and spiritual meaning. For example, pictures of family, heirlooms, art work, books, etc. There are those who will find awards, plaques, degrees, and other career-orientated recognitions to be useful aids for them to better appreciate the sanctity and purpose of their work. To practice the discipline, we start with one sacred object and each time you notice it, become aware of the deeper spiritual meaning of your work; turn a secular object in your workplace into a sacred object; and move your sacred object around every now and then reflecting on their meaning in your life.
Discipline # 2 Living with Imperfection. Part of the very nature of humanity is our imperfection. It forces us to take a step back and reconsider before we issue a complaint or reprimand. Living with our imperfections gives us perspective in our work (we call our work “practice”) not in the sense of making no mistakes or leaving nothing undone, but rather striving for perfection in purity of intention and honesty of effort. It also enhances our understanding, patience, acceptance, and overall expression of grace for our co- workers and clients as they strive to ‘perfect the imperfect’ as they perceive such in their lives. In practicing this discipline, when you are confronted with your imperfection or that of another, pause and utter a validating thought about yourself or your co- worker.
Discipline # 8 Balancing work, personal, family, church, community responsibilities. Most practitioners juggle many things simultaneously and wonder which ball we will drop. All are important, so how can this balance be accomplished? First by learning the art of saying “No” in the workplace; learn to say “No” at home and; learn to say “No” to our church and community involvement. Saying “No” is sometimes difficult because we hate to disappoint others or have others think ill of us. As we intentionally integrate this discipline into our daily lives, we can think before we say “Yes” to a new responsibility; giving us more confidence in our ability to respond to emerging opportunities. Decide which present responsibility you are willing and able to give up and make a list of the major promises in each of the spheres of your life that you want to keep and weekly decide what you need to schedule to keep those promises. And then, plan some quality time in one area of responsibility that you have been neglecting.
Discipline # 10 Engaging in ongoing personal and professional development. Ethically, this engagement is expected. But how can therapists transcend this expectation and desire an ongoing development of the self? Taking care of our physical and mental well-being, according to Pierce, can be a spiritual discipline. Maintaining our self-care plan benefits ourselves and those whom we serve. In the process of practicing, we may forget to take time to replenish ourselves and ensure our own personal, spiritual, and psychological well-being. We know that to stay current, we must grow professionally by attending workshops, seminars, conference, and collaborating with colleagues. As we practice this discipline, we will take time to read a professional article, spend time with colleagues at conferences, revisit our self- care plan and investigate a traditional spirituality. Then we will see how we may apply this discipline in our work life.
The other disciplines are well worth the look and provide many examples as to how we can incorporate them into our every life. Easier said than done? Perhaps, however, in order to manage our lives and stay in control of the controllable, we need to make choices. Spiritual connection, development, and practice are always viable choices and worthy investments for clinicians. With our clients, so desperately in need of change and empowerment, we will then provide a model for them on how to effectively take on the opportunity of spiritual actualization. After all, therapy seeks to aid the client in the actualization of their goals and activation of personal power. Spiritual practice enhances and refines our work with clients, colleagues, and within the helping profession.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.