Unit 9 Final Project Spiritual Inventory Meagan Harrill

Spiritual Inventory

By: Meagan Harrill

Kaplan University

November 21, 2017

Unit 9 Final Project Spiritual Inventory Meagan Harrill

Spirituality will vary from person to person. Though it is difficult to define spirituality, a

general definition is “The quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to

material or physical things.” (Dictionary, 2017). Spirituality is unique to the individual, but has

proven benefits to our health. I will make a questionnaire of 10 questions used to assess a

person’s spiritual and psychological inventory. I will discuss why each question is important to

the assessment. I will finally go over the results given by my husband of this questionnaire.

First the contents of the questionnaire are as follows:

1. What is spirituality to you?

This question will establish the patients current understanding of spirituality. As

spirituality vastly differs from person to person, as the practitioner I need a starting point

to understand this individual’s personal definition. This will set the tone for the rest of the

questionnaire.
2. Do you consider yourself to be spiritual?
This question will get the patient to start thinking about their level of spirituality. Most

will say “Yes, I am spiritual,” but to what degree? Hopefully, by asking this question they

will begin to open their mind to the broader aspects of spirituality compared to their

current standings.
3. What do you do to promote your spirituality?
This question is asked to determine if the patient acts upon their beliefs. Do they take the

time to sharpen their spirituality or let it grow? It will also let the practitioner know how

they project their spirituality out into the world. It will give an idea on what activities

they enjoy in practicing their spirituality.

4. Do you look upon your spiritual beliefs in times of trouble or distress?
Many people know what they should do when they are in distress, but don’t. It is easy to

read of ways to aid in depression or stress, but it takes a conscious effort to utilize our
Unit 9 Final Project Spiritual Inventory Meagan Harrill

spiritual beliefs to get us out of such situations. This question should invoke an

awakening as to how the patient can put their spirituality to work when needed the most.
5. Do you utilize your spirituality in the work environment?
Aside from sleeping, people spend most of their day at work. It can also be the cause of

the majority of a person’s stressors. If the patient can utilize their spirituality in the

environment where they not only spend the most time, but also causes the most distress;

they are optimizing their spiritual practices.

6. What are some specific examples of how you can improve your spirituality?
As growing, receptive human beings we can always expand upon our knowledge.

Spirituality is something that needs to continuously develop and adapt. One person may

need to spend more time in meditation to grow spiritually. Another may need to go to

church or practice with others of the same spiritual beliefs. Regardless of how, spirituality

needs to grow and progress.

7. Have you ever experienced an enlightened moment regarding your spirituality?
Some of the most spiritual people in history are said to be enlightened. As everyday

people, we too can experience moments of enlightenment when it comes to our

spirituality. Synchronistic moments, intuition, clairvoyance are all examples of

enlightenment. If the patient can recognize when these moments occur, they could

strengthen their spiritual wellbeing.

8. Do you have spiritual mentor, or someone you look up to spiritually? Why?
In our current state, social media is so powerful. People can find anything they need to

know at the click of a button. It is also so easy to look at persons life from the outside

through website like Instagram and Facebook. People begin to make role models out of

these people. It is important to have a mentor to ensure you are headed in the right

direction. Spiritually we must seek mentors or role models to progress our own path.
9. Has your spirituality aided you in stress relief?
Unit 9 Final Project Spiritual Inventory Meagan Harrill

One of the most detrimental aspects to our wellbeing is stress. If stress is not recognized

and treated, it will cause long term illnesses and even disease. To treat stress with a

spiritual approach, will prevent and can even cure illnesses.

10. Do you feel your spirituality has ever hindered you? If so, how did you overcome?
Many times, people lean on spirituality as a save all from bad. Spirituality is not

something that can be measured or even proven to exist. It is often the first thing people

resort to, or the last in times of trouble. If their outcome is not what they hoped for,

spirituality can be the first thing they blame.

Now, I will ask these 10 questions to my husband, Tyler, and analyze his spiritual

inventory. His answers are as follows:

1. What is spirituality to you?
- “Understanding that I exist in a system where my daily actions are for a greater

cause than myself.”

2. Do you consider yourself to be spiritual?
- “Yes.”
3. What do you do to promote your spirituality?
- “Prayer, continuous daily self-reflection.”
4. Do you look upon your spiritual beliefs in times of trouble or distress?
- “Yes.”
5. Do you utilize your spirituality in the work environment?
- “Yes, but not as often as I should.”
6. What are some specific examples of how you can improve your spirituality?
- “Make more time for devotional reading in the mornings.”
7. Have you ever experienced an enlightened moment regarding your spirituality?
- “Yes, the birth of my children was amazing.”
8. Do you have spiritual mentor, or someone you look up to spiritually? Why?
- “No, but I should think about it a bit more. Maybe my grandparents. I looked up

to them as I was growing up.”

9. Has your spirituality aided you in stress relief?
- “No, honestly never think to tap into it when I am stressed.”
10. Do you feel your spirituality has ever hindered you? If so, how did you overcome?
- “No, if ever hindered or challenged spiritually, he would probably walk away

from the situation and avoid confrontation.”

Next, after reviewing the answers to his questionnaire, I would make some recommends

on how he can strengthen or hone in on his spirituality more often. He does consider
Unit 9 Final Project Spiritual Inventory Meagan Harrill

himself a spiritual person, so he has a basis to start on. He does not seem to turn to his

spirituality in times of trouble or distress. He admitted that he can utilize his spirituality

more in his work environment. I would recommend he finds some friends or co-workers

to share his spiritual beliefs with. This can form strong relationships amongst his co-

workers, which in turn, can make a better work environment. As far as his personal

growth in spirituality, I would recommend he find a mentor. Someone that shares his

same beliefs and can guide him along his journey. He also needs to take more personal

time to develop his spirituality. He mentioned taking time in the mornings for devotional

reading, this is a great start. He does have room for improvement in spiritual wellbeing.

In conclusion, spirituality is hard to define. It is so very unique to everyone, that

one cannot determine the level of spirituality of another. These 10 questions can start as a

base line for a practitioner to assess the spiritual inventory of their patient. Additions and

subtractions will be made based on some of the answers to the first question.
Unit 9 Final Project Spiritual Inventory Meagan Harrill

References:

Seaward, B. L. (2013). Health of the Human Spirit, 2nd Edition. [Kaplan]. Retrieved

from https://kaplan.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284090444/

Spirituality. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2017, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/spirituality

What Is Spirituality? (n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2017, from

https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/what-spirituality