Watchman Nee, a Chinese preacher, theologian, and author who wrote significantly in the subjects of psychology and spirituality, lived from 1903 to 1972. The Spiritual Man1 is a book on human nature and the psychology of spiritual experience, and it is considered his greatest literary achievement. Nee emphasizes mankind's physical, intellectual, and spiritual abilities, implying that humans are an oneness of body, soul, and spirit as an organizing principle.
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The body is the organ of “world-consciousness,” according to Nee. Through its bodily senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, it informs the individual of pleasures found in the external world. Bodily sensation, according to Nee, is the lowest kind of consciousness and should be subordinated to spiritual desires. This order is disturbed in unstable people: the body persuades the higher faculties to accede to the satisfaction of its urges. The body may eventually imprison the soul if conscience is not questioned.
The organ of “self-consciousness” is characterized as the soul. It is the repository of a person's personality and identity. Mind, will, and emotion are the soul's faculties. The mind is thought to be a psychological entity that arises from the brain. The instrument of cognition manifests the individual's intellectual powers within the mind. The soul is structured in such a way that the intellectual and emotional capabilities compete for control of the will, which is the decision-making entity. Behavior is ultimately determined by the will. The will of a “soulical” man is tuned to self-satisfaction. The will of a “spiritual” man is tailored to the spirit's satisfaction.
The organ of “God-consciousness” is characterized as the spirit. It has three primary functions: discernment through conscience (i.e., a spontaneous judgment of right and wrong); intuition (i.e., sensing divine revelation); and communion (relating to God directly-posited as the highest form of consciousness). The spiritual man is one who is controlled by the spirit in his thoughts, feelings, and actions. One of the supposed benefits of genuine spirituality is mental peace. Spiritual errors, on the other hand, may be accompanied by mental distress, such as racing thoughts, bewilderment, and “disturbance to the point of agony.” Theoretically, recovery from such a situation entails resolving spiritual distortions by realigning with divine truth.
In the realm of psychiatry, Nee's idea of a possible relationship between spirituality and mental health is no longer controversial. Spiritual beliefs, according to recent research, may have a favorable impact on mental health. 2 New practice guidelines have been released in response, encouraging health care practitioners to include a patient's spiritual/religious aspirations during normal psychiatric exams. 3 Psychiatric trainees are now required to be capable of recognizing and treating spiritual, social, and cultural concerns that may affect treatment. 4
The fact that there is no universally accepted method for taking a spiritual history is still a problem. Furthermore, determining what is clinically meaningful in a patient's experience might be difficult (eg, church attendance versus private meditation). It has been argued that therapists should at the very least inquire about a patient's religious affiliation. 5
Nee might advise asking patients open-ended questions on the importance of God/spirituality in their lives when taking a spiritual history. Toward the end of an intake interview, I usually question about a patient's spiritual history. “Do you have any spiritual or religious beliefs that are important to you?” I might ask. This is an open-ended question that tends to include persons who do not identify with a certain religion but respect spiritual values anyway. It also does not appear to alienate individuals who are uninterested in spirituality or religion.
If a patient's response to my query is affirmative, I usually follow up with a question regarding whether or not his or her spiritual participation has had an impact on his or her symptoms. As a result, many patients have felt at ease discussing how spirituality has helped them cope with the effects of mental illness. Others have revealed that they are experiencing spiritual struggle, which is exacerbating their mental distress.
Understanding the level of spiritual discomfort in patients, particularly those with strong religious backgrounds, might aid therapy planning. Several measures have been developed to aid in the assessment of spirituality and, if necessary, intervention. 6 The RCOPE7 is a widely used self-assessment tool that can be used to estimate the psychological consequences of spiritual activity. It includes a seven-item negative religious coping subscale that can be used to estimate spiritual distress and is simple to use. Clinicians should also consider delivering a chaplaincy consultation to all patients who identify as religious or spiritual on a regular basis.
The clinical case for addressing spirituality in psychiatric settings may be strengthened by Nee's tri-partite description of human nature as a unity of body, mind, and spirit. Knowing how to engage patients in discussions about their spiritual views should no longer be a problem. Validated assessment tools are available to aid the clinician in this procedure.
Who is considered a spiritual person?
Being spiritual entails prioritizing self- and other-love as a top priority. Spiritual individuals are concerned about people, animals, and the environment. A spiritual person recognizes that we are all One and makes conscious efforts to honor that unity.
What are the characteristics of a spiritual person?
The Latin words “spiritus” (meaning breath, courage, strength, or soul) and “spirare” (meaning to breathe) are combined to get the term “spirit” (1). Meaning, worth, transcendence, connecting (with oneself, others, God/supreme power, and the environment), and becoming (life's growth and progress) are five qualities of spirituality (2).
Since the inception of spiritual health and its different definitions, it has been five decades. Spiritual health is concerned with one's relationship with one's own self (personal dimension), people (social dimension), nature (environment), and God (transcendental dimension) (3). The following are the main qualities of spiritual health: a healthy lifestyle, social connections, inquiring about the meaning and purpose of life, and transcendence (4). For many academics, spiritual health is so crucial that it is considered one of the most significant components of health (5). Spiritual health leads to improved mental health (6) and is favorably associated to physical health, for example, it may assist patients experience less pain, according to multiple research conducted on diverse patients (7).
Scientists and academics have looked at spiritual health from numerous perspectives and presented several definitions, but they have yet to come up with a comprehensive description. Providing a complete definition for spiritual health, identifying the components and markers of spiritual health, and its impact on other areas of health are all major obstacles in treating spiritual health issues. Despite the fact that a number of studies have been undertaken in Iran on the subject of spiritual health (5, 7), experts believe there are not enough studies on the definition of the term. Because of the relevance of the topic, the paucity of literature, and the necessity to include multiple perspectives on spiritual health, this study was undertaken in Iran to investigate the definition, components, and indicators of spiritual health from the perspective of specialists.
What is a spiritual person in the Bible?
We can deduce from this that to be a spiritual person means to be a person who lives and walks, that is, acts and does things, in accordance with the Spirit in our spirit. We could talk and ponder about God, but our dead spirit couldn't do anything. Order a free study Bible to assist you in comprehending God's Word.
What exactly is spirituality?
Spirituality is defined as the awareness of a feeling, sense, or belief that there is something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater total of which we are a part is cosmic or divine in nature. True spirituality necessitates the opening of one's heart.
How do you know if you're a spiritual person?
The first evidence of a spiritual person is their lack of fear. When you have a fear or a chronic worry, that fear takes over your life and you are unable to be in the present moment. Fear of public speaking, fear of heights, and fear of bugs are the three most common fears among Americans. Many people, however, are terrified of death, rejection, loneliness, failure, illness, or making poor judgments. Spiritual people understand how to yield to forces beyond their control. In this way, they are similar to children in that they know how to ignore their minds and live fearlessly.
What are the 3 elements of spirituality?
In their eternal wisdom, all shamans, healers, sages, and wisdom keepers of all centuries, continents, and peoples claim that human spirituality is made up of three aspects: connections, values, and life purpose. These three components are so strongly linked that it may be difficult to tell them apart. Take a minute to ponder on each facet of human spirituality to determine the state of your spiritual well-being if this is possible. This will be a three-part monthly series, starting with relationships.
Internal (your domestic policy)how you deal with yourself, how you nurture the relationship with yourself and your higher selfand external (your foreign policy)how you relate, support, and interact with those people (and all living entities) in your environmentare the two categories of relationships.
What criteria would you use to assess your internal relationship, and what steps could you take to improve it?
How would you assess your external relationships, shifting from the perspective of domestic policy to international policy?