We all have certain basic needs, demanded by our mind/body/spirit vehicle. The body needs water, food, and sometimes shelter. The mind needs information, stimulation, expression and feedback.
What does the spirit need? Consider this a spiritual “basic food group” list. Regardless of religious affiliation (or lack thereof) we all need:
- Love and belonging
- Meaning and purpose
- Freedom from guilt and shame
Looking at your own experience, you may remember times when you had all these in abundance. What filled your cup? Where did the supply come from? How did you get what you needed? What resources (individuals, groups, systems, organizations, belief systems, world views, habits/disciplines) helped feed these things to you? Have there been other times when one or more of these were in scarce supply? What emptied your cup? What blocked your access to, or appreciation of, what you needed? Or what experience accentuated one of these needs? With these questions you are doing a spiritual self-assessment.
Listening to another person’s story, keeping these questions in mind, you can explore their experience to discover where their needs are greatest at the moment. Then you can compare the needs with the resources they know about. Are there gaps? What additional resources are needed to return to a state of spiritual well-being?
I adapted this three need list from Nurses Christian Fellowship. I like it because it’s easy to remember and to teach. I also use several other lists, some more complex, some even simpler. Each is a map, a simplified representation of reality, the spiritual territory of a person’s life experience. Like exploring outdoors, a map can be quite helpful in finding one’s way around unknown territory.
What does the spirit need? Consider this a spiritual “basic food group” list. Regardless of religious affiliation (or lack thereof) we all need:
- Love and belonging
- Meaning and purpose
- Freedom from guilt and shame
Looking at your own experience, you may remember times when you had all these in abundance. What filled your cup? Where did the supply come from? How did you get what you needed? What resources (individuals, groups, systems, organizations, belief systems, world views, habits/disciplines) helped feed these things to you? Have there been other times when one or more of these were in scarce supply? What emptied your cup? What blocked your access to, or appreciation of, what you needed? Or what experience accentuated one of these needs? With these questions you are doing a spiritual self-assessment.
Listening to another person’s story, keeping these questions in mind, you can explore their experience to discover where their needs are greatest at the moment. Then you can compare the needs with the resources they know about. Are there gaps? What additional resources are needed to return to a state of spiritual well-being?
I adapted this three need list from Nurses Christian Fellowship. I like it because it’s easy to remember and to teach. I also use several other lists, some more complex, some even simpler. Each is a map, a simplified representation of reality, the spiritual territory of a person’s life experience. Like exploring outdoors, a map can be quite helpful in finding one’s way around unknown territory.
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1 comment:
Glenn:
Thanks for the site! It looks great, and is an inspiring, helpful resources.
Regarding what our spirit needs: I think your brief list captures most of it. I would just add one more thing, under the third dash, and that's freedom from fear. (Thus, making this 'freedom from shame, fear and guilt.') Around the world, cultures tend to be rooted primarily in one of these three - shame, fear or guilt. And we all certainly need to be set free from all of these.
For a helpful discussion, check out Section Two of Roland Muller's book, The Messenger, The Message and The Community (at http://rmuller.com).
Blessings,
John Hannah
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