Spiritual experiences in nursing practice?

CYR · May 4, 2006

I'm not a nurse yet, still a student...but I have done plenty of medical volunteering with patient interaction and it has been all about putting my spiritual beliefs into practice.....treating each person the way I would want to be treated...being kind, respectful, caring and service oriented....these qualities stem from my core spiritual beliefs, center/source....and I believe in prayer and fasting as well...the reason that I am choosing to become a nurse is purely an outgrowth of my spiritual values...I hope this helps to answer your question somewhat.

nativehealer · May 5, 2006

Hello
I would like your opinion and experiences about how do you include spiritual care, spiritual experiences in your nursing practice?
I'm very interrested in this since I'm a Reiki master and I'm a very spiritual person.
My thesis might develop in this field: spirituality and nursing practice.
So, your opinions and replay are precious to me. :biggringi
Thank you! :balloons:

Spiritualnurse, when you treat a pt, you use the same techniques that you use as a Reiki Master. The energy transfer with prayers for healing wounds are the same as doing a Reiki massage. The principles are the same no matter what.

Native

vnurse47 · May 17, 2006

Hi!

I am a Christian and believe in praying for all people. I think most will gladly accept comfort an prayer for healing. I would just ask the individual if they mind you praying for them.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · May 17, 2006

Hello
I would like your opinion and experiences about how do you include spiritual care, spiritual experiences in your nursing practice?
I'm very interrested in this since I'm a Reiki master and I'm a very spiritual person.
My thesis might develop in this field: spirituality and nursing practice.
So, your opinions and replay are precious to me. :biggringi
Thank you! :balloons:

Just be who you are and do what you do; they'll notice.

If you don't believe me, compare the nurse who is troubled and spiritually unbalanced with the nurse who is at peace with herself.

Patients are amazingly perceptive of OUR feelings as we work and not only do they pick up on what we're feeling, they may also mirror what we're feeling.

This is why it seems that when you're having a "bad" day, it snowballs. This is why when one nurse walks onto the unit, there's almost a visible sigh of relief, while when another comes in, there's tension that you could cut with a knife.

Someone who is truly a spiritual person does not yield to those outward influences, but maintains the peaceful inner self that creates calm and order out of any situation.

indigo girl · May 21, 2006

Just be who you are and do what you do; they'll notice.
If you don't believe me, compare the nurse who is troubled and spiritually unbalanced with the nurse who is at peace with herself.
Patients are amazingly perceptive of OUR feelings as we work and not only do they pick up on what we're feeling, they may also mirror what we're feeling.
This is why it seems that when you're having a "bad" day, it snowballs. This is why when one nurse walks onto the unit, there's almost a visible sigh of relief, while when another comes in, there's tension that you could cut with a knife.
Someone who is truly a spiritual person does not yield to those outward influences, but maintains the peaceful inner self that creates calm and order out of any situation.

I agree with what you are saying.

That tension as well as the peacefulness are picked up by patients and other staff through a process called resonance. That is why they may also mirror our feelings. I was taught in my Polarity training, that our energy systems (more than just your aura) are in contact with each other. It's like tuning forks. Most of us instinctively will speak calmly to a patient who is escalating. When we do this, we are using our energy systems to entrain with theirs to calm them though we might not be aware of it.

I see this as a spiritual practice. Therapeutic touch, and healing touch are also using our own energy systems. Reiki uses another beneficial energy.

CharlieRN · May 24, 2006

If you have a technique that helps you regain your inner balance and sence of being at peace there probably will be no harm in sharing it with the patient, if they express a desire to know. It would be important to work from where the patient is at. That is, from their belief system. It is inappropriate for a nurse to seek to convert her patient to her beliefs even if she is sure her beliefs are true and the patient's spiritual beliefs are false.

CYR · May 24, 2006

If you have a technique that helps you regain your inner balance and sence of being at peace there probably will be no harm in sharing it with the patient, if they express a desire to know. It would be important to work from where the patient is at. That is, from their belief system. It is inappropriate for a nurse to seek to convert her patient to her beliefs even if she is sure her beliefs are true and the patient's spiritual beliefs are false.

While I agree in part with what you're saying I don't think a single response here has been about that. Nobody has talked about forcing their beliefs on others as a form of healing. I think we can have human empathy and understanding and love without the need to calculate how we could work from someone else's belief system which somehow implies a judgement...I think critical events in people's lives lift both healer and wounded beyond belief "systems" and it is there when we come from the heart of humility that we transcend the situation and allow healing, being greater than all of us, to happen.

Palmo · Aug 15, 2006

On those same lines...I am not a Christian but a Buddhist...

I use prayers all the time for others...I do it quietly, tho....I do not feel that it is appropriate to ask a patient if I can pray for them...

However, ...I do wear a necklace with a Buddha on it that often invokes questions...

Those who want to know about it will ask...

I work alot of Correctional and I get questions frequently...

I have never asked a patient if I could pray for them...in my practice I "pray" every morning and evening for the "benefit of all beings"...this is very therapeutic...and not intrusive.

healingtouchRN · Aug 21, 2007

Just noted that the author stated that HT & TT are also using our own energy systems, & Reiki uses another. Not so. My business partner is a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner (as am I) and Reiki Master. We have both received training in TT as well. The healer is a conduit for universal energy. It is possible for one to use one's own energy but how quickly it will deplete, leaving the healer unable to work. Grounding & intention prepare the healer to work in the "allow mode" then the energy will go where needed. Indeed it is a spiritual practice. For more info, read Dr. Barbara Brennan's works, LIGHT EMERGING, & HANDS OF LIGHT. Also, Dr. W. Brugh Joy's, JOY'S WAY. Also, HEALING TOUCH: A RESOURCE FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. All are excellent references for energy workers. It is also required reading for the Healing Touch Practitioner Program. :balloons:

I agree with what you are saying.
That tension as well as the peacefulness are picked up by patients and other staff through a process called resonance. That is why they may also mirror our feelings. I was taught in my Polarity training, that our energy systems (more than just your aura) are in contact with each other. It's like tuning forks. Most of us instinctively will speak calmly to a patient who is escalating. When we do this, we are using our energy systems to entrain with theirs to calm them though we might not be aware of it.
I see this as a spiritual practice. Therapeutic touch, and healing touch are also using our own energy systems. Reiki uses another beneficial energy.