From Death Defiers, 1998, Men's Health imprint, (c) Rodale Press, Inc.
Spirituality
Dr. God's Prescription
by Ken Winston CaineWant to live forever? Get religion.
The world’s major religions promise eternal life. They don’t all agree, though, on exactly how we get from here to eternity. But in a nice little cosmic twist, it turns out that spiritual beliefs may well delay our journey to the unknown, allowing us to shuffle along this mortal coil longer. Numerous studies have suggested that aspects of spirituality contribute to better health, better quality of life, and yes, even longer years.
Just what is this spirituality thing? It is not the same as religiosity.
True, religious people are spiritual, but spiritual people are not all religious, notes Krista Kurth, Ph.D., a management consultant in Potomac, Maryland, who specializes in spirituality in the workplace.
Dr. Kurth's preferred definition of spirituality is, “The Divine influence working in the human heart.” For those uncomfortable with the concept of “the Divine,” she offers this definition:
“The sense that something more than us is out there and connects us all.”
Spirituality, she says, is “our recognition of our connection with the Divine,” or with that something greater, be it greater consciousness or greater sense of being.
Let's say that you cultivate a sense of connectedness with the Divine. What is it going to do for you? Scientists who've tried to isolate God in the laboratory have some answers.
INSERT SIDEBAR 1 HERE (what is spirituality)
Any science behind this?
Religiously active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as the Mormons) live longer and have half the the death rate from heart disease, cancer and other debilitating diseases compared to the general population, says epidemiologist James E. Enstrom, Ph.D., associate research professor in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Enstrom knows. He has tracked 10,000 Mormons for 14 years.
Active Mormons do not drink, do not smoke and attend church regularly. Abstaining from drink and smoke helps. But it’s not the whole story.
No matter how Dr. Enstrom jiggers his data, church attendance surfaces as a positive health factor. He’s not sure how church attendance works its magic. However, he says, Mormon or not, people who attend church regularly generally are healthier than those who do not.
Dr. Enstrom is pretty sure of this because he also followed a large general-population sample of non-drinking, non-smoking people (in an effort to replicate the Mormon lifestyle in a non-Mormon population).
What happened? “The non-smoker who attended church regularly was healthier than the non-smoker who didn’t attend church regularly,” he says. Research by other investigators has supported these findings.
But what of the spiritual folks who don’t attend church? Do they enjoy better health and a better sense of well-being?
Yes, says Dr. Kurth. Studies at the UCLA Program of Psychoneuroimmunology and elsewhere have shown that attitude clearly plays a role in health and that a “spiritual” attitude is one of the healthiest.
Beyond that, the "relaxation response" linked with meditation--a practice with multifarious spiritual origins--provides a plethora of health benefits, says Herbert Benson, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston and author of Timeless Healing.
And many non-religious spiritual practices involve healthier lifestyles and increased social support, both of which have been shown to help you deal with stress and improve your coping skills.
It's All Good
We'll examine ways to “inform our lives with spirituality,” as Dr. Kurth puts it. But first, let's consider the other benefits of integrating spirituality into our daily lives or of increasing its presence and effect. People whom Dr. Kurth has studied report:
• A sense of deeper meaning and purpose and direction in life.
• A sense of fulfillment. Maintaining a sense of connectedness and direction is hard work but worth it, people tell Dr. Kurth, because the process of doing it brings a sense of peace and fulfillment.
• Renewed energy. “People are so burned out in their work-lives and in their lives in general,” says Dr. Kurth. “Somehow when one taps into that sense of connecting with the Divine, there is a renewed sense of energy. It’s like tapping into a well of energy. It can be very restful, very peaceful, very renewing.”
• Increased feeling of well-being. Psychologists Anne Colby, Ph.D., director of the Henry A. Murray Research Center at Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and her husband, William Damon. Ph.D., professor of education and director of the Center on Adolescence at Stanford University in California, conducted a study of people involved in "spiritual work."
These were “people who are highly morally committed, people who are devoting their lives to something they really, deeply believe in,” explains Dr. Colby. “Like, helping the poverty stricken, fighting for civil rights, things like that.”
Dr. Colby and Dr. Damon found that "those who do such work for a long period of time tend to be religious and deeply spiritual and they have a very optimistic, resourceful, undiscouraged approach to their life.”
They radiate a sense of well-being, says Dr. Colby. These factors, she says, all fit together, all play off each other.
Interestingly, they also found that sometimes people can begin doing spiritual work for the wrong reasons--perhaps hoping to eke out personal material gain--and end up transforming their outlook and adopting a more selfless spiritual perspective simply from the process of doing the work. This spiritual stuff can grow on you.
What about the benefits of meditation we mentioned earlier?
As the body and mind relax in meditation, the brain begins pumping calming chemicals and sending soothing signals that cause our bodies to relax even more and which stave off or even repair the ravages of stress--a known life-threatener and life shortner, says Dr. Larry J. Feldman of the Pain and Stress Rehabilitation Center.
Our blood is less likely to get clumpy and sticky; less likely to gum up artery walls. That translates into heart health. More than that, studies have shown that in the long term people who regularly practice meditation--or some other effective relaxation ritual--develop a much greater tolerance of all sorts of stressors, says Dr. Feldman.
Catching the Spirit
Of course, there's always a catch. In this case, two manly traits interfere with spiritual development: First, we are raised to ignore and discount intuition—our inner voice. Second, we are taught to suppress our emotions.
On both counts we need to do some unlearning, says Dr. Kurth. Here's how:
Pause and listen. Don’t listen only to your reasoning mind. Listen to your inner urges, nudges, leanings, voices. And give yourself permission to act on them, says Dr. Kurth.
Also, make time to just stop and pause, she says. “We get very caught up with all the events of our lives. And in order to have an intimate connection with some transcendent reality, we have to take time to stop and listen."
Get emotional. “Listen to your emotions and let your emotions and passions inform what you do,” says Dr. Kurth. One definition of enthusiasm is “being infused with the spirit of God,” she says. Often when we are enthused and impassioned we are connecting with our spiritual essence, she says.
Meditate: The simplest, most basic meditation, says Dr. Kurth, is simply to pause for five minutes and focus attention on nothing but your breathing. Breathe comfortably, deeply, naturally. Don’t force it. Just relax and watch your breathing for a few moments.
Meet Mother Nature. Take quiet walks in natural settings outdoors, says Dr. Kurth. The beauty, vastness, complexity and seeming omnipresence of nature can be both awe-inspiring and relaxing.
Pray tell. Talking over problems in prayer, turning them over to a higher power, taking decisions into prayerful consideration, is obviously an effort to connect with the Divine. Throughout history many people have found this a helpful spiritual practice, says Dr. Kurth. You might, too.
Explore various spiritual paths. You’ll gain understanding of others, and sooner or later, you’ll find a path that’s right for you.
Make beautiful music. Singing, playing, listening to inspirational music opens doors to greater spiritual realization, says Dr. Kurth.
Be creative. Working in any of the creative arts can help us discover and develop our spiritual nature. The key here is work that involves inspiration. Spirit, says Dr. Kurth, comes from the Latin word meaning "breath," as in "the breath of life." And the word inspire comes from the words "in spirit."
SIDEBARS:
What is spirituality?
Spirituality deals with the big questions. What is spirituality? That is one of the big questions.
Todd A. Maugans, M.D. defines spirituality as a belief system focused on intangible elements that bring vitality and meaning to things that happen in life.
A review of 250 articles and studies dealing with spirituality in holistic health care literature revealed that 75% defined spirituality as a personal philosophy of meaning, say the creators of a course in health-care spirituality at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Nursing. But this is only part of the story, reported the course creators, Maureen W. Groer, Ph.D., Bernard O’Connor, STD, and Patricia G. Droppleman, Ph.D.
Spirituality, they said, comprises your total belief system, what you value and why, and it may or may not involve belief in a higher force or diety.
How do you know if you are being spiritual?
Management consultant Dr. Krista Kurth says that spiritually inspired actions share the following six traits:
1. They are motivated by an internal attitude of love.
2. They involve giving--or serving others--with no expectation of any personal gain. Simple, whole-hearted service for others’ sake.
3. The elements of compassion and humility are present.
4. The effort involves some degree of difficulty because it requires that we transcend our own narrow self interest.
5. A conscious, ongoing process of growth and learning must take place in order for us to more fully embody and express the spiritual aspects.
6. The actions involve spiritual practices or other consciously performed rituals that require commitment, discipline and effort.
How to renew or increase spirituality in your life
Dr. Krista Kurst views spirituality on four levels:
1. Holy, where the focus is on the Divine. This is increased by consciously inviting more spiritual awareness into our daily lives.
2. Personal, where the focus is on ourselves. Here we become more spiritual through intentional, directed personal growth that lets us live with more integrity, authenticity and balance.
3. Relationships. Here the focus is on how we relate to others. We increase spirituality by increasing the quality of our relationships, by injecting more caring.
4. Communal, where the focus is on the world, the organization, the community, the environment. Spirituality is increased by “building community in, and caring for, the environments in which we live and work,” says Dr. Kurth.
Are you spiritual?
Management Consultant Dr. Kurth teaches that we have opportunities to grow spiritually on four levels: by focusing on the Divine (by inviting more spiritual awareness into our lives); on ourselves (living with integrity); on others (building caring relationships); and on creating constructive communities.
Rate yourself (- Weak, 0 Average, + Strong) on the practices below. You might wish to devote more attention to those on which you rate yourself as weak.
Do you focus on the Divine by:
1. Engaging in spiritual practices at work, by yourself or with others? Examples? Being in silence together, praying, meditating, being aware of the higher presence. - 0 +
2. Recognizing and focusing on the divine in others? Focusing on the connectedness of life? - 0 +
3. Talking about spiritual values and issues with others? Encouraging openness to the “movement of Spirit?” ? - 0 +
4. Choosing work that is in accordance with your spiritual values? - 0 +
Do you live with integrity by:
5. Maintaining a positive and accepting attitude toward life and others? Seeing situations as opportunities to learn? - 0 +
6. Engaging in personal reflection and self-improvement? - 0 +
7. Acting with integrity; behaving ethically? - 0 +
8. Maintaining awareness and vigilance over your actions and emotions? - 0 +
Do you build caring relationships by:
9. Actively supporting others’ growth and work by encouraging them to explore and live their personal visions? - 0 +
10. Accepting others, having empathy for them, and treating them with love and respect? - 0 +
11. Being present, listening receptively, responding to the needs of others and to the situation at hand? - 0 +
13. Speaking and encouraging the truth by communicating openly and honestly with others, and confronting others in a caring, non-denigrating way? - 0 +
13. Supporting others’ creativity? - 0 +
Do you create constructive communities by:
14. Structuring groups and organizations and developing policies and procedures based on spiritual values? - 0 +
15. Building shared visions and encouraging participation and collaboration? - 0 +
16. Creating an organizational culture that embraces diversity, allows for others’ self-expression and encourages open communication? - 0 +
17. Establishing a sense of community and belonging through celebrations, rituals and fun events? - 0 +
18. Supporting and serving the broader community by providing for organizational participation in community needs? - 0 +
19. Protecting the natural environment by being environmentally conscious and using resources well? - 0 +
