Questions:

1. What does Medicine for the soul mean to you?

Medicine for the soul is a prescription for inner peace (Seaward, 2013). I felt the value of this question
was the correlation between the soul and medicine. Most of the time people take medicine to relieve
pain or ailment. I think that asking a person what the concept means opens up their thoughts to how
their soul may have dis-ease.

Response:

Medicine to the soul means that I would partake in some activity or indulge in my favorite food, pastime
and it would bring me comfort which in turn would make my soul at ease. I often find that I relate this
saying to comfort foods or drinks that bring me joy.

2. What is an example of how you set spiritual boundaries for you and those around you?

This question could be valuable because most people live very fast paced lives and in their haste may
overlook time associated with facilitating their spiritual needs. Although people may attend religious
activities, they may perform the action without the focus of being spiritual.

Response:

In my busy life I have no spiritual boundaries that bring me a sense of calm. I am constantly surrounded
by kids or other people and have no time to create space for mindfulness.

3. What is one way you show acceptance of things you can and cannot control?

This could be valuable because some people have a difficult time relating to things they cannot control.
There are times where the uncontrollable things in life damage our wellbeing. By bring clarity to this,
one may find a way to accept the things we can’t change.

Response:

I use a several tools that help me in situations that I have difficulty in relating to. I use congruence to
identify what I want and unconditional positive regard if I decide I want to maintain a difference but
continue to relate to a situation or person.

4. How do you show love?

This question is valuable because not everyone acknowledges the fact that they can show love. There
are also some people who show love and don’t recognize that they do. There are still others, that
mistake love for co-dependence. So I feel it is a very important question to review.

Response:

My love language tends to be acts of service. So I tend to show love in that way, which means that I tend
to want to care-take others by doing things to care for them.

5. When challenged with time constraints how do you make time to balance your spiritual well
being.

This question is valuable because it helps to establish a time to practice spirituality. Although we may set
time aside to read, go to the gym, or work on the computer, there are those of us who do not set time
aside for the practice of spirituality.

Response:

I don’t. The other activity tends to win out.

6. What is a method of calming yourself while involved in a disagreement?

With the pressures of everyday life and the push to do everything now, we live in a very stressful
environment. Poor diets and lack of exercise also contribute to higher stress levels leaving us frustrated
and aggressive. I feel that by asking this question it helps to come up with a plan for relieving some of
the tension before having disagreement, therefore leaving us with clear emotions that we let flow and
then let go.

Congruence and listening. Congruence means recognizing and saying what I am feeling in each moment;
to find my river of emotions that is constantly flowing inside and listen to it. It changes moment to
moment and speaking my feelings is being congruent.

7. How do you show empathy towards a person that has hurt your feelings?

I feel this question would be valuable in gaining an understanding of how to navigate empathy even
when you have been hurt. Sometimes it requires a deeper spiritual view to rise above our own ego to
gain an empathetic approach to resolution.

Response:
 8. Give an example of a spiritual practice looks like to you.

I feel this question is important because it helps you reflect on how you would create a practice that is
not yet in place.

Response:

Practicing congruence- doing what I chose to do in the moment I am choosing to do it.

9. Why is it important to practice spiritual well being?

There have been studies that confirm that the overall levels of self-actualization, meaning in life, and
personal growth initiative have all been increased through spiritual practice (Ivtzan, I., Chan, C., Gardner,
H., & Prashar, K., 2013). I feel this question helps others define why they value spiritual practice. It may
also bring to light a need to practice and even perhaps create a plan to include practice in their everyday
lives.

Response:

To stay centered, to trust myself, to grow and continually evolve.

10. How do you stay congruent when you encounter negative behavior?

I feel this is an important question because it helps establish a behavior to utilize when faced with
negative behavior from others. It is sometimes hard to let go of the ego when you feel slighted or
wronged. By developing a behavior to respond to negativity, you may feel less threatened and therefore
act in a more positive way.

Response:

Congruence. Ask myself what do I want, speak what I want. Ask the other person what they want and
then determine what now.

Congruence is used in person centered therapy which was created by a psychologist named Carl Rogers.
The practice of congruence is focused on a person truly being themselves and value themselves both, at
all times, in the present moment (Simply Psychology, 2015).

As a practitioner I feel I could use this information to help the interviewee develop their own spiritual
plan by receiving their answers and discussing ways to promote more positive results in spiritual well-
being. I feel, by creating a time to have a spiritual practice would then flow to creating activities of
spirituality. With these two components, a person can maintain a routine for spiritual well-being.

I thought my questions were very on point and established the why, the when, the where, and
the value that brings it all together. I don’t think I would subtract anything, but It may be good to
add a time frame to monitor progress and development. This would give the interviewee more
confidence and purpose to keep practicing spirituality for the overall wellbeing.
 References

Seaward, B. L. (2013). Health of the Human Spirit: Spiritual dimensions for Personal
Health. Retrieved from https ://Kaplan.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284090444/cf
i/6!/4/2/20/16/2@0:100

Simply Psychology. (2015). Person Centered Therapy. Retrieved from:

https://www.simplypsychology.org/client-centred-therapy.html

Ivtzan, I., Chan, C., Gardner, H., & Prashar, K., (2013). Journal of Religion and Health. Linking
religion and spirituality with psychological well-being: examining self-actualisation, meaning in
life, and personal growth initiative.Vol. 52 (3), pp. 915-29 Retrieved from:
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.lib.kaplan.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=d9b463db-0bd3-417c-
a20f-
73a10946129c%40sessionmgr101&hid=111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=219
68697&db=mdc