Running head: SPIRITUAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL INVENTORY 1

Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

Jamie Gold

Kaplan University

HW420-01
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Spiritual and Psychological Inventory

We all want to achieve optimal well-being, but to achieve this, we must reach a balance

between mind, body, spirit, and emotions (Seaward, 2013). Most people can define emotional,

physical, and mental well-being, but spiritual well-being is not as easy to define, and often gets

neglected (Seaward, 2013). According to Seaward, spiritual well-being can be considered the

maturation of higher consciousness, through “an insightful and nurturing relationship with

oneself and others, a strong personal value system, and the fulfillment of a meaningful purpose

in one’s life”, that maturation can be developed (Seaward, 2013).

To determine one’s current state of wellness a spiritual and psychological inventory can

be used. A spiritual and psychological inventory can help someone understand their range of

spirituality and psychological self.

Spirituality and Psychological Inventory:

1. Do you have faith in a higher power (God, Inner Self, Goddess, Great Spirit, etc.)?
Having faith in a higher power brings peace, contentment, confidence and hope. The more

you recognize and nurture this connection with your higher power, the happier one tends to

be (Self Esteem Experts, 2013).

2. Do you participate in any spiritual practices? If so, what is your spiritual practice?
Spiritual practices are important to building spiritual wellness. Spiritual practices are daily,

intentional activities, that can give you a greater connection to your Divine source. These

activities can include, but are definitely not limited to, meditation, yoga, listening to music,

being in nature, etc.

3. Do you forgive yourself and/or others easily?

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If you hold onto grudges and resentment towards yourself and others, it can bring bitterness

and anger into relationships, it can make you feel at odds with your spirituality, and make

you lose connectiveness with others (Mayo Clinic, 2014). Forgiveness is not condoning bad

behavior, it is letting go of the resentment. Forgiveness is beneficial to the forgiver, it can

lead to healthier relationships, greater spiritual and psychological well-being, stronger

immune system, and fewer incidences of depression (Mayo Clinic, 2014).

4. Do you worry about the future or dwell in the past, often?

Being in the present moment is important to being in touch with ourselves, our inner essence,

which aides in the connectiveness to our spirituality (Russell, n.d.).

5. Do you feel pressured into certain belief systems?

Feeling pressured into believing what others think is “best”, can deter one from

acknowledging their own spirituality and lead to avoiding the spiritual tenor all together.

6. Do you consider yourself separate from your ego (your mind created thoughts)?
The ego can be one of the biggest roadblocks of a healthy spirit (Seaward, 2013). Identifying

with the ego gives a false sense of self, when you are able to recognize the ego in yourself

and others, inner peace is easier to attain (Oakley, 2016).

7. Do you feel a sense of belongingness? Are you able to build strong bonding
relationships with others?
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, belongingness is one of the five tiers to reaching

a person’s highest human potential of reaching self-actualization, bringing a feeling of bliss

and joy (Seaward, 2013).

8. Does your spirituality suffer if you do not know the answers to all the universes
mysteries? Or do you embrace it, looking at all possibilities?
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According to Pecks theory of human spirituality, a person eventually comes to the realization

that not all things can be answered, and that it is ok, this is Peck’s fourth stage, the mystic-

communal individual (Seaward, 2013). This question can help determine a person’s stage of

spirituality.

9. Do you avoid dealing with the things that cause you stress?
Avoidance can be a big roadblock on the spiritual path, not dealing with our stress only

prolongs it, which can cause us not to follow through with our spiritual practices, leading to

spiritual stagnation (Seaward, 2013).

10. Do you feel a connection with all that is, a oneness?

According to FinerMinds, most people move through three stages of enlightenment, the

second stage is feeling that oneness, those at level two often describe a feeling of deep and

complete love (FinerMinds, 2015).

I conducted an interview with my co-worker and dear friend, a 63-year-old, female, Debra

Fitzpatrick:

1. Do you have faith in a higher power (God, Inner Self, Goddess, Great Spirit, etc.)?
Yes, I believe in God, maybe not a man in the clouds God, but definitely a higher power
(Fitzpatrick, 2017).
2. Do you participate in any spiritual practices? If so, what is your spiritual practice?
Not that I am aware of, but I am not sure what constitutes as a spiritual practice
(Fitzpatrick, 2017).
3. Do you forgive yourself and/or others easily? Yes, I do not usually hold grudges, but it
is harder for me to forgive myself more so than others (Fitzpatrick, 2017).
4. Do you worry about the future or dwell in the past, often? Sometimes I worry about
the future, not too much about the past though (Fitzpatrick, 2017).
5. Do you feel pressured into certain belief systems? I use to, but not anymore
(Fitzpatrick, 2017).
6. Do you consider yourself separate from your ego (your mind created thoughts)? I
never really thought about the ego being separate from myself (Fitzpatrick, 2017).
7. Do you feel a sense of belongingness? Are you able to build strong bonding
relationships with others? I do and I am (Fitzpatrick, 2017).
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8. Does your spirituality suffer if you do not know the answers to all the universes
mysteries? Or do you embrace it, looking at all possibilities? I do not need to know all
the answers I have faith that whatever is, is (Fitzpatrick, 2017).
9. Do you avoid dealing with the things that cause you stress? Sometimes I’ll work
around things that cause me stress or approach them in a different manner, but I wouldn’t
say that I avoid them (Fitzpatrick, 2017).
10. Do you feel a connection with all that is, a oneness? Yes, I feel everyone and
everything is connected in one way or another (Fitzpatrick, 2017).
As a practitioner, I could use this information to help my interviewee develop their own

spiritual and psychological health development plan by discussing their answers in depth,

and helping her determine what spiritual practices (or exercises) would be beneficial and

enjoyable to her. With spiritual practice, comes spiritual growth.

Based on the results of my inventory, I would word some of the questions differently and

ask why they gave the answers they did, I would also explain some of the terms better, for

example, the term ego throws a lot of people off, most people think of ego as vanity.
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References

FinerMinds. (2015). The Three Levels of Spiritual Enlightenment. Retrieved from

http://www.finerminds.com/spirituality/three-levels-of-spiritual-enlightenment/

Fitzpatrick, D. (2017). [Personal interview]

Mayo Clinic. (2014). Forgiveness: Letting go of grudges and bitterness. Retrieved from

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/forgiveness/art-

20047692

Oakley, A. (2016). Finding Inner Peace. Retrieved from https://www.innerpeacenow.com/inner-

peace-blog/what-is-ego

Russell, P. (n.d.) On Being Present. Retrieved from

http://www.peterrussell.com/SpiritAwake/now.php

Seaward, B. L. (2013). Health of the Human Spirit, 2nd Edition. [Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved

from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284090444/

Self Esteem Experts. (2013). How to Define Spiritual Power. Retrieved from http://www.self-

esteem-experts.com/define-spiritual.html