‘Doing’ reflective practice and understanding spirituality as a way of being: Implications for professional and transformative practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article is based on the keynote lecture which the author gave at the Seventh International Biennial Conference of the International Network for the Study of Spirituality (INSS) at the South East Technological University (SETU) in Waterford, Ireland, on 16 May 2023. The conference title was Spirituality, Critical Reflection and Professional Practice in an Uncertain World. The article addresses the question of what it means to ‘do’ reflective practice, and what makes reflective practice ‘critical’. It then explores different ways of knowing, drawing on John Heron’s (1996) ‘pyramid of fourfold knowing’, and points to a possible relationship between these ways of knowing, spirituality and professional practice. The article concludes with some thoughts on the transformative potential of understanding spirituality in the context of both reflective and professional practice, and how this relates to the concept of authenticity.