Transforming Suffering Lesson One Individual Track Questions to consider Login or Register to save your progress or resume a saved form. If you are a human and are seeing this field, please leave it blank. Username Password Reset Password Username Email Password Re-enter password 4 + 4 = 1. Take your own "spiritual pulse" by considering the question, “What is your anxiety and emotional discomfort level today?" Record your response on a 1-5 scale. 1-High level of anxiety and discomfort/ 5- High level of balance and well-being. 1-High level of anxiety 2 3 4 5-High level of balance and well-being Record the specific factors that are contributing to your current sense of well-being or distress. 2. How does this teaching match with your caregiving experience? "When it comes to dealing with suffering—our own or of those we care for— trust the classical wisdom: 'The best way out is always through…' ―Robert Frost." Use a 1-5 scale/ 1-Does not match/5-Matches very closely 1-Does not Match 2 3 4 5-Matches Very Closely Describe a time when you experienced significant suffering. Did you avoid it or lean into it? What kind of impact did it have on you? How did it affect your ability to fill the role of caregiver? 3. How relevant is the following teaching, no matter the type of illness? "A patient’s cancer journey impacts everyone in their circle of relationships." ―Soul & Science Lesson. Use a 1-5 Scale/ 1-Not Relevant/ 5-Very Relevant 1-Not Relevant 2 3 4 5-Very Relevant How could The Spiritual Health Assessment be relevant to both the patient and the members of the patient’s circle? What specific actions or attitudes could be modified to address everyone’s level of suffering? 4. "There is an outer journey that patients take—consisting of medical tests and treatments but just as importantly, care receivers and their providers experience a profound inner journey that also needs therapeutic support." –Richard Groves Reflect on a time when you or a loved one was dealing with serious illness. How/did you find ways to honor both the inner and outer journey of the situation? 5. "Pain that is not transformed is transferred." - Richard Rohr In your experience, why do so many patients and caregivers resist the concept that emotional pain must processed instead of ignored? How does unresolved suffering transfer to others? How can the idea of “transforming” suffering and pain be presented to resistant caregivers or patients? 6. "If we could peer into people’s brains and understand that there are different kinds of pain created by very different brain systems, maybe we could do a better job in tailoring our treatments in dealing with their suffering and pain." —Soul & Science Lesson While medicine has made significant advances in addressing physical pain symptoms, allopathic medicine has often ignored the role of suffering as a factor that contributes to wellness or illness. How does the Spiritual Health Assessment “peer” into emotional pain? What are other methods to acknowledge the suffering and pain present in caregiving? 7. “Is emotional pain worse than physical pain? The simple answer to the question is yes. A study carried out in 2008 confirmed that emotional, or social, pain is more easily relived and re-experienced by individuals than physical pain. At the time that the event happened, physical pain may be equally, or even more painful than emotional pain. However, the after-effects of emotional pain are more severe than physical pain.” - (Is Emotional Pain Worse than Physical Pain? / 2016) Discuss your reactions to the new-found ability of health science to scan and objectively measure the brain in order to detect both emotional as well as physical pain. How does using The Spiritual Health Assessment compare to other pain level assessments? How is it different? How is it the same? If the brain registers both emotional and physical pain in very similar ways, how does that give credence to the Spiritual Health Assessment tool? Employer Organization Name (data is anonymous, but required to allow for specific target data collection) Completed forms may be printed out by pressing CTRL button + P (Windows) or CMD button + P (Mac). By submitting this form you are agreeing to contribute to our national research project. All information will be used anonymously.
Call us today on 1-(888) 383-4171
