Spiritual Belief Systems Research Articles

Family therapy and the ecology of parallel universes

AbstractAstrophysicists and cosmologists seriously propose that our universe, with its three dimensions and local physical bylaws, is one of an infinite number of parallel universes. This paper discusses the relevance of these ideas for contemporary systemic family therapy, such as thinking about the therapist's positioning in relation to the family. Ideas such as the anthropic principle suggest each meeting of a therapist and family forms a unique systemic entity or singularity with its own universe of by‐laws peculiar to a location in time and space. We are like travellers between parallel family therapy universes where the therapist's epistemology, theory or model is less important than how therapists and clients position themselves towards each other. This ecological positioning encompasses contextual, emotional, cultural, ethical and spiritual belief systems.

The Intricate Tapestry of Toraja Spirituality: An Exploration of Animism, Ancestor Veneration, and Symbolic Rituals

This study aims to explore the complex spiritual belief system and ritual practices of the Toraja people through a qualitative research design. Aligned with the study's objective of unraveling the multifaceted layers of ritual and understanding the connections between tradition and modernity, an ethnographic approach is employed. Researchers immerse themselves in the Toraja community to gain a deep understanding of cultural practices, beliefs, and values. This immersive experience involves participant observation and engagement with community members. In-depth interviews with key informants, such as elders or individuals knowledgeable about the ma’nene’ or corpse preservation tradition, provide insights into cultural nuances, symbolism, and changes over time. Audio-visual documentation, including recording rituals, interviews, and cultural events, enriches the study's depth and authenticity. Thematic analysis identifies and analyzes themes related to the ma’nene’ tradition, such as cultural preservation and the role of ritual in shaping collective identity. The discourse surrounding the ma’nene’ tradition reflects a complex spiritual belief system and ritual practices of the Toraja people, blending elements of animism, ancestor veneration, and a deep connection to the natural landscape. Specific items in offerings and their ritualistic consumption highlight the importance of symbolic actions in religious ceremonies. These findings extend beyond academic curiosity, impacting cultural appreciation, academic research, interfaith relations, and cultural heritage preservation positively. Through this comprehensive exploration, the study contributes to a deeper understanding and appreciation of Toraja spirituality and culture.

A Symbolic and Ritualistic Exposition of Purification Rites in the Old Testament

This article explores the intricate tapestry of symbolic and ritualistic elements interwoven in the purification rites of the Old Testament. Elucidating the ancient religious practises of the Israelites, this scholarly exposition unravels the profound significance and ethnological underpinnings of purification rituals as documented in sacred or biblical narratives. The Old Testament, a cornerstone of Judeo-Christian tradition, provides a rich repository of symbolic expressions and rituals designed to purify individuals and communities from impurities and sins. Through a meticulous scrutinisation of biblical references and historical context, this article unmasks the multifaceted interplay between symbolism and ritual in the Old Testament. To do this, symbolic and ritualistic theoretical frameworks are applied to the discourse. The findings and discussion show that the performative dimensions of purification rites highlight the importance of collective participation in spiritual purification, bolstering the communal responsibility for maintaining ritual purity. By navigating through the layers of symbolism and ritual, this scholarly discourse endeavours to offer a comprehensive understanding of how purification rituals serve as a profound expression of the Israelite religious philosophy, configuring their cultural identity and spiritual belief systems.

Spirituality and Mental Health: A Chinese Perspective

Although spirituality and mental health were considered two separate worlds in the past, it is becoming increasingly apparent that spirituality is an important aspect of mental health. The concept of spirituality continues to evolve and now encompasses personal quests and non-materialistic values, one's core belief systems, the pursuit of peace and purpose in life, connection to self and others, and self-transcendence. These spiritual values are deeply influenced by one's culture. To be able to provide culturally sensitive care to people from diverse cultures, it is necessary to better understand and appreciate their spiritual belief systems. This understanding can provide valuable insights into the factors contributing to patients' psychological imbalance and help-seeking behaviors and inform treatment plans that are coherent with their world-views and preferences. [ Psychiatr Ann . 2023;53(12):535–539.]

Religiosity, Spirituality, Healthcare, and Aphasia Rehabilitation.

Awareness of the intersectionality of a person's religious and spiritual belief system with their mental and physical health is slowly being elevated within the Western healthcare system. There are many opportunities for better understanding and incorporation of religious and spiritual beliefs into aphasia rehabilitation. To extend the recognition of religion and spirituality's importance in healthcare to persons living with post-stroke aphasia while emphasizing the diversity of beliefs, the current article seeks to provide a brief overview of the global religions; explain the intersection of religion, spirituality, and health; review the existing literature in the area of aphasia and religion, spirituality, and spiritual care; discuss the clinical importance and implications of religion and spirituality; and finally, lay out a forward view of the direction this area of exploration may take within aphasiology.

Role of palliative care in fetal neurological consultations: Guiding through uncertainty and hope.

Fetal neurology is a rapidly evolving and expanding field. Discussions about diagnosis, prognosis, treatment options, and goals of care often begin in the antenatal period. However, there are inherent challenges to fetal counseling of neurological diagnoses due to limitations of fetal imaging, prognostic uncertainty, and variability in neurodevelopmental outcomes. In the midst of uncertainty, families are challenged with preparing a care plan for their baby while simultaneously experiencing profound grief. The paradigms of perinatal palliative care can assist with the grieving process and help frame diagnostic testing and complex decision-making within the context of a family's spiritual, cultural, and social belief system. This ultimately leads to a shared decision-making process and value driven medical care. While perinatal palliative care programs have expanded, many families faced with such diagnoses never meet with a palliative care team prior to delivery. Moreover, there is significant variability in the availability of palliative care services throughout the country. Using an illustrative vignette of a patient with a prenatally diagnosed encephalocele, this review aims to provide a basic framework of perinatal palliative care for fetal neurology diagnoses that emphasizes 1) importance of clear, consistent, and transparent communication among all subspecialists and families, 2) creation of a palliative care birth plan, 3) importance of consistent care providers and longitudinal points of contact prenatally and post-delivery, 4) close communication between the prenatal and post-natal providers to allow for optimal continuity of care, and 5) recognize that information, care plans, and goals of care often evolve over time.

Spiritual Wounds and Injuries (Part 1)

Moral injury (MI) has become a significant area of study and debate with regard to veterans’ mental health and general well-being. Due to the nature and intensity of coalition operations in Iraq and Afghanistan over a prolonged period, MI has become one of the “signature wounds” of these conflicts. Spiritual damage is a critical aspect of the MI paradigm. For some people, exposure to complex and demanding environments and situations creates threats to their spiritual understanding and belief systems. These threats may be expressed through doubt about their beliefs surrounding the concept of an omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent divine creator. Such doubt, uncertainty and distress can negatively affect an individual’s overall mental health and well-being. This article seeks to achieve two objectives. The first is to introduce some of the history, language and concepts regarding MI, in order to enable spiritual care practitioners to participate in this crucial area of veterans’ health and well-being. This participation may include, but is not limited to, definitional research, language analysis, treatment and management. This study also serves as a starting point for a deeper discussion on whether spiritual damage is best described in a MI context, or whether a deeper analysis is needed independent of MI syndrome.

Spirituality, Religion and Breastfeeding: A Scoping Review

IntroductionSpirituality and religion are often used as coping mechanisms during times of struggle or change. A clear understanding of the impact of spirituality and religious beliefs on breastfeeding is essential to providing culturally appropriate care to breastfeeding mothers of diverse religious backgrounds.MethodsA scoping review of evidence-based literature was conducted. A total of 45 studies published globally were reviewed and analyzed.ResultsGlobally, religion as a socio-demographic factor has direct and indirect associations with breastfeeding. Spiritual/religious aspects that serve as motivators for breastfeeding include its emphasis in religious texts; spiritual qualities of breastmilk; prayer; and the influence of faith communities. Spiritual/religious barriers to breastfeeding include milk sharing concerns; pre-lacteal feeds and colostrum beliefs, sexual abstinence during breastfeeding; fasting; modesty concerns; and belief in the evil eye.ConclusionConsidering the diversity in maternal spiritual belief systems, providing patient-centred support and counselling to breastfeeding mothers is vital.

Haq Allah Hu: tourists' phenomenological experiences of visiting shrines as Islamic spiritual destinations

PurposeOver the years, shrines have been ignored as a destination by islamic marketing scholars. However, shrines can be classified as Islamic spiritual destinations which are visited by people to serve various purposes. Moreover, in the country context of Pakistan with its beautiful cultural traditions and the religiousness among people, the visit to a shrine as a destination experience is scantly examined. This study fills this void and aims at exploring Muslim tourists' spiritual experiences of visiting shrines as Islamic spiritual destinations.Design/methodology/approachAn interpretive qualitative inquiry is used based on phenomenology as the leading methodology for this exploration. Following a purposive sampling technique, researchers interviewed 10 informants who regularly visit shrines. The collected data are analyzed based on thematic analysis.FindingsThe results of a thematic analysis reveal six themes that emerged from tourists' experiences of Islamic spiritual destinations. These include: religious and spiritual values, spiritual belief system, commercial experience, hospitality and support experience, socialization experience and obstruction experience.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study can be used by policymakers managing Islamic tourist destinations. It will help them to improve tourist experiences.Originality/valueThe findings contribute to both theory and practice of destination marketing by exploring the factors influencing tourists' perceptions about their experience of Islamic spiritual destinations.

Primates and birds of "sabulungan"; Roles of animals in sculptures, shamanic songs and dances, and the belief system of traditional Mentawaians

Mentawaians sing ritual songs enshrined in archaic texts referring to particular primates and birds, while ritual and traditional dances imitate how gibbons, sea eagles, and other animals live in the natural world. Mentawaians craft sculptures of endemic primates and unique birds. The bilou gibbon ape and various other animals also symbolize specific sacred knowledge within the sabulungan spiritual belief system and traditional cosmology of Mentawai society. Although some do succeed in surviving, many older traditions have faded away. Among the traditions which continue intact, this report aims to examine the roles of primates and birds across the arts and in the Mentawai belief system to reveal the profound depth of connection between humanity and the natural world throughout Mentawai traditional culture.

Seeking and maintaining connections: A grounded theory study of maintaining spirituality in residential aged care facilities

Moving to a residential aged care facility involves living far from family and a familiar environment, and leaving behind the social support system of relatives, friends, and society. The pressure to find and develop new and meaningful connections in a residential aged care facility can be significant for older adults. To provide a theoretical explanation of how older adults seek and maintain connections in a residential aged care facility. A grounded theory study was conducted. A total of 17 residents were recruited from two Nepalese residential aged care facilities using theoretical sampling. Face to face in-depth, semi-structured interviews and observation within interviews were conducted. Data analysis included the process of open, axial, selective coding, and constant comparative analysis as per Corbin and Strauss' variant of grounded theory. This study identified that the process of seeking connections in a residential aged care facility was forward-moving, and involved "identifying sources," "developing connections," and "appraising responses." By seeking connections, residents built new connections. Similarly, the study found that maintaining connections was a continuous process of "sustaining connections with co-residents," "preserving connections with nurses/caregivers," and "continuing connections with inner-self and higher being/s." Maintaining connections led residents to balance shifting connections. Furthermore, it was found that the process of seeking and maintaining connections was conditional on facility arrangement i.e. the way residents were placed, rules, regulations, co-residents' language, gender, religious affiliation, attitudes, the attitudes and practices of nurses/caregivers, decreasing physical abilities of residents, increasing illness of residents, illness or death of co-residents, and retirement or resignation of nurses/caregivers. The current study provides unique insights into the process of seeking and maintaining connections in a residential aged care facility. Facility arrangement, rules, regulations, and caregiving practices should resonate with residents' socio-cultural expectations and spiritual belief system to support their process of seeking and maintaining connections. The findings can be beneficial for managers, nurses, caregivers, and spiritual advisors in developing interventions that promote the development of meaningful connections in a residential aged care facility.

Social Status Retention in the Beyond: the Phobia of Man

Religions include the participation of a community of people who have a common spiritual belief system. It is possible to connect one's own spiritual views with those of others via different religious activities. As a result of social interaction, personal ideas may be shaped and deepened. Both religious ideas and human transpersonal experiences may convey the core of human existence. Religious ideas about life after death may affect how individuals conduct their lives in the here and now. This paper argues that human beings have the inborn drive for statuses. All religions of the world placed serious priority on them, so much: in the ranking of adherents and in the hereafter. Other social institutions see the necessity in statuses placements to enhance productivity, efficiency, proficiency, and profitability. Man in his imagination and realization of this, concludes that the right place to acquire the status is here on earth as the springboard to that of the beyond. He gets it first and this will be maintained in the beyond. By the beyond here we mean abodes after the earthly life. Christianity calls them paradise and hell, likewise Islam and Buddhism describe it as Nirvana. African Traditional Religion mentioned it as the home of the ancestors and the dead. Hinduism has its own as the several reincarnations where the individual soul strives to unite with the supreme Reality also called Brahman. This paper investigates Social Status in the Beyond.

Cultural Humility: Retraining and Retooling Nurses to Provide Equitable Cancer Care.

Cancer outcome disparities exist among Black, Indigenous, and people of color despite advancements in screening, detection, and treatment. In addition to racial and ethnic diversity, the U.S. population is experiencing shifts in sociodemographics, including a growing aging population, sex and gender identities, spiritual and religious belief systems, and divides between high- and low-income households. This article provides a foundation for cultural humility as a clinical competency in nursing to improve the quality of cancer care. CINAHL®, PubMed®, Google Scholar, and grey literature were searched using keywords, including cultural humility, cultural competence, nursing, nursing pipeline, nursing workforce, and health. Retraining and retooling the nursing workforce promotes multiculturalism in oncology care and increases opportunities to provide more appropriate, patient-centered care to those living with cancer. Increasing the diversity of nursing faculty and staff, enhancing nursing curricula and education, and creating equitable relationships to support patient-centered care are initiatives to ensure high-quality care.

Unravelling the Queer Space: Understanding Sexuality through the Works of Janice Pariat

The project entitled “Unravelling the queer space: Understanding sexuality through the works of Janice Pariat” to examine the elements of sexual being from a queer perspective. There is always a politics that happens within the space of one’s sexual and spiritual prominence. Thereby, a binary construction always happens and a stereotypical connotation happens for the same. Homosexuality is always subjected to suppression and non-normative within the society that upholds homophobia, heteronormativity and hetero-centrism. These are the results of the culturally imposed norms on the society. Understanding the deviance that happens in one’s sexuality is an important area of concern. Talking about these aspects free from bias and prejudice is the freedom that can be gained. Society always has a violent approach towards people who deviate from the accepted norms leading to marginalization. One of the important factors that sideline with this idea is the impact of religion on an individual. Spiritual space and belief system are induced right from the childhood. Religious texts clearly define sexualities that deviate from the expected norms as abnormal or a taboo. The study is to break down the binary existence of one’s sexual and spiritual space and how the deviance in sexualities pave way to attain a new spiritual growth.

Psychotic-like experiences? Trajectories and typologies of hallucinations and delusions from early adolescence to early adulthood in a population-based sample of Irish youth.

Hallucinations and delusions that occur in the absence of a psychotic disorder are common in children and adolescents. Longitudinal phenomenological studies exploring these experiences are notably lacking. The objective of the current paper was to explore the phenomenology and characteristics of hallucinations and delusions from early adolescence to early adulthood. Participants were 17 young people aged 18-21 years from the general population, all of whom had a history of childhood hallucinations and/or delusions. Longitudinal data on the phenomenological characteristics and attributions of reported hallucinatory and delusional phenomena spanning nine years were explored using content analysis. Hallucinatory and delusional phenomena were transient for two-thirds of the sample. The remaining one-third reported reoccurring hallucinatory and delusional phenomena into early adulthood. In those, two typologies were identified: (1) Paranormal typology and (2) Pathological typology. The former was characterised by hallucinatory and delusional phenomena that were exclusively grounded in subcultural paranormal or spiritual belief systems and not a source of distress. The latter was characterised by delusion-like beliefs that were enmeshed with individuals' mood states and a source of distress. The perceived source, the subcultural context and how young people appraised and integrated their experiences differentiated the Paranormal and Pathological typologies. Not all hallucinatory and delusion-like experiences are psychotic-like in nature. To reliably differentiate between pathological and non-pathological hallucinations and delusions, assessments need to explore factors including the phenomenology of individuals' experiences, how people make sense and appraise them, and the subcultural contexts within which they are experienced.

The Historic Importance of the Koala in Aboriginal Society in New South Wales, Australia: An Exploration of the Archival Record

AbstractThe principal aim of this study is to provide a detailed examination of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century archival records that relate to New South Wales Aboriginal peoples' associations with koalas and gain a greater understanding of the utilitarian and symbolic significance of koalas for Aboriginal communities as recorded by colonists during the early period of colonization. Anthropological discussions about the role and significance of koalas in Australian Aboriginal society have been limited, some sources are unreliable and interpretation is at times divisive. Many scholars have previously highlighted how using only historical sources as its reference point it is difficult to discern with great specificity that Aboriginal peoples in other regions of New South Wales commonly ate the koala and used its skin. Through a critique of historical sources, we demonstrate that the ethno-historical evidence is inconclusive as to whether they were an integral food source for much of the time period covered by this paper in the area now called the state of New South Wales. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the extent of their use varied across regions and between tribal groups and was likely to have been traditionally associated with lore specific to certain cultural groups, and may have involved dreaming stories, and gendered roles in hunting and resource use, and other aspects of spiritual belief systems.

The Historic Importance of the Koala in Aboriginal Society in New South Wales, Australia: An Exploration of the Archival Record

Abstract The principal aim of this study is to provide a detailed examination of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century archival records that relate to New South Wales Aboriginal peoples' associations with koalas and gain a greater understanding of the utilitarian and symbolic significance of koalas for Aboriginal communities as recorded by colonists during the early period of colonization. Anthropological discussions about the role and significance of koalas in Australian Aboriginal society have been limited, some sources are unreliable and interpretation is at times divisive. Many scholars have previously highlighted how using only historical sources as its reference point it is difficult to discern with great specificity that Aboriginal peoples in other regions of New South Wales commonly ate the koala and used its skin. Through a critique of historical sources, we demonstrate that the ethno-historical evidence is inconclusive as to whether they were an integral food source for much of the time period covered by this paper in the area now called the state of New South Wales. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the extent of their use varied across regions and between tribal groups and was likely to have been traditionally associated with lore specific to certain cultural groups, and may have involved dreaming stories, and gendered roles in hunting and resource use, and other aspects of spiritual belief systems.

Finding God in the intuitive: Reclaiming the therapist’s spirituality

This article presents a selection of case studies exploring the theme of music and spirituality and offers a theoretical frame for clinical practice. I intend to draw a direct link between my own spirituality (Christian) and the role of the intuitive in the therapeutic process, inviting the reader to re-frame the article within their own world view. Recent research has highlighted the relative sparsity of published material related to the role of a therapist’s spirituality in the therapeutic relationship. This may be due to a number of factors, not least that most therapists are operating within secular contexts and theoretical frameworks, and are likely to experience resistance or even dismissal if their personal spiritual beliefs are explicitly expressed within their practice. Similarly, a definition of intuition within a robust theoretical framework has proven to be evasive. The very nature of intuition (and indeed spirituality) creates a bias away from the evidence-based practice that is held in such high esteem through most therapeutic disciplines. In this article, I propose a framework for therapeutic practice that gives permission for the therapist to embrace their spiritual belief system as an essential core of their clinical work. I build my discussion on a definition of spirituality that implies an external divine being (God) who can be in relationship with the therapist and client. From this basis I suggest that moments of intuition need not be seen as mysterious and inexplicable, but rather as the influence of the divine.

Positive aspects of voice-hearing: a qualitative metasynthesis

ABSTRACTVoice-hearing occurs in clinical and non-clinical samples, and the role of spiritual and cultural frameworks of understanding for percipients has received increased attention. This review aimed to identify and synthesise the existing qualitative literature relating to positive aspects of voice-hearing experiences, and to make recommendations based on these findings for clinical practice and future research. Qualitative papers that included positive aspects of voice-hearing were identified by undertaking a systematic search of six electronic databases, resulting in 22 papers. The quality of each paper was assessed and the meta-ethnographic approach was used to extract and synthesise the data. Six themes were identified relating to voices providing safety and protection, guidance, creating psychological and emotional well-being, providing companionship, facilitating personal growth and development, and connecting hearers to religious or spiritual belief systems. The findings suggest positive aspects of voice-hearing that may have clinical and research implications.

PROSES LITERASI HUKUM ADAT KAMPUNG TARUNG NUSA TENGGARA TIMUR : UPAYA PENGAKUAN EKSISTENSI

Legal means to obtain the recognition of indigenous communities in Indonesia are still scattered in a number of different regulations. Law on Village 2014 also obligates the government to arrange the system to conduct legal acknowledgements for Adat Villages. Tarung Village is a traditional village which situated in West Sumba Regency. The Members are still living in their own customary laws and embracing their local spiritual belief system as a living culture. Until recently, their village haven’t yet enjoyed the formal ackonwledgement they deserve as a united indigenous community nor as Adat Village. A number of mechanisms to obtain the acknowledgment require particular processes of identification and validation. This research is an initial effort to undertake the processes. In addition, it also aims to conduct a defensive legal protection by documenting the customary laws with interview method. The result displays the legal means to gain the existential acknowledgement which had been undertaken by the custodians of The Village and the Local Government.