The English word “spirit” originated in the Latin spiritus, which means breath. Firefighters have a unique understanding the importance of breath in life, and perhaps this relates to why the cultivation of spiritual practice in life is key to many firefighters’ personal prescription for balance. Spirituality is defined as one’s personal concern with matters of the spirit.
Spirituality can be confined to one person’s individual faith, or it can be integrated into a community of other similar believers, as in the case of an organized religion.
Science has demonstrated that spiritual practice has multiple benefits for many individuals, especially in the areas of defining meaning, values, connection to others and to a greater world view, and in physical health. Consider these statistics:
■ Church attendees live longer. The more one attends church, the less one smokes, drinks and the more one exercises.4
■ People who endorse higher levels of spiritual beliefs endorse lower levels of depression and anxiety.5
■ Spiritual and religious practice is linked to recovery from severe and chronic illness.6,7,8
■ Prisoners that attend church and practice prayer or meditation have lower recidivism than prisoners who do not endorse any spiritual practice.
Firefighters interested in the science of spiritual practice are referred to the Center for Disease Control’s website (www.cdc.gov).
Building a Spiritual Home/Community
To build a spiritual home, the place to start is inside you. Many people interested in developing a spiritual practice have had some exposure to organized religion. Think about what your own experiences have been so far, and ask yourself some questions:
What about my spiritual and religious practice do I want to preserve?
What about my spiritual and religious practice do I want to increase?
What about my spiritual and religious practice do I want to leave behind me?
When you think about these questions, you may find that you want to explore organized religions again, or you may find that you are more interested in cultivating your spiritual practice outside of organized religion. In any case, you can use the skills taught in the Behavioral Skills module to help you create a plan to approach building a spiritual prescription for your overall wellness.
If you are inclined to practice a faith based ritual on your own, then a personal spirituality is for you. If you prefer to rely on the structure and the community of an organized religion, there are multiple faith-based organizations that can help you find the correct community in which to practice your spirituality.
Keep in mind that getting an adequate sample a spiritual
practice is imperative. Often times, people try only one congregation,
or one service, and reject the whole religion on that one small experience.
Similarly, an individual may attempt a new meditative practice just a
few times, and reject it because the benefits are not immediately discernable.
Chaplain Roster Chaplains play a key part in the functioning of professional and volunteer fire organizations; at the end of this module, links to the IAFF Chaplain roster are available. In addition, the organization of Fire Service Chaplains has their own web resources, which are listed below.
References
1. Martsolf, D.S. & Mickley, J.R. (1998). The concept of spirituality in nursing theories: Differing world-views and extent of focus. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 27, 294-303.
2. Kutz, I., Borysenko, J. Z., & Benson, H. (1985). Meditation and psychotherapy: A rationale for the integration of dynamic psychotherapy, the relaxation response, and mindfulness meditation. American Journal of Psychiatry,142,1, 1-8.
3. Koenig, H.G., Larson, D.B., & Larson, S.S. (2001). Religion and coping with serious medical illness. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 35, 3, 352-359.
4. Strawbridge, W.J., et al. (1997). Frequent attendance at religious services and mortality over 28 years. American Journal of Public Health, 87, 6, 957-961.
5. Larson, D.B. The faith factor: An annotated bibliography of systematic reviews and clinical research on spiritual subjects (Vol. II) Rockville, MD: National Institute for Healthcare Research. 1993; 37.
6. Koenig, H.R., et al. (1992). Religious coping and depression among elderly hospitalized medically ill men. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 12, 1693- 1700.
7. Saudia, T.L., et al. (1991).Health locus of control and helpfulness with prayer. Heart and Lung, 20, 1, 60-65.
8. Roberts, J.A., et al. (1997). Factors influencing views of patients with gynecologic cancer about end-of-life decisions. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 176, 1, 166-172.
9. Johnson, B.R., et al., (1997). Religious programs, institutional adjustment, and recidivism among former inmates in prison fellowship programs. Justice Quarterly, 14, 1, 145-166.