Letter from Acting President September 2023

"Compared with what we ought to be, we are half awake."

— William James,"The Energies of Men" (1907)

* * * * *

Dear Reader,

In my March 2023 letter, I wrote about the “What” of the Institute, briefly covering our history, where we are now, and where we are going. I focused on our four Centers of Excellence, providing a description of our major programs and a vision for growth as we meet the evolving needs of those we serve. In other words, in that letter, I answered the question, “What does the Institute do?”

For this letter, I would like to focus on a related, although perhaps deeper, question: the question of “Why?” That is, “Why does the Institute for Spirituality and Health do what it does?"

One one hand, the answer is simple and contained within our mission statement: The Institute’s mission is to enhance well-being by exploring the relationship between spirituality and health. Teasing this apart, the “what” is “exploring the relationship between spirituality and health” - that is what we do. Our activities and initiatives are all examples of this exploration, whether in the context of end of life care, medical education, health promotion, or inner work.

The “why” in our mission statement comes at the beginning - “to enhance well-being.” Across our initiatives, that is why we do what we do - to bring an optimal sense of well-being to those we serve, be they someone near the end of life, a stressed out healthcare professional, someone who is bereaved or dealing with a chronic disease, or anyone else who participates in one of our programs. That simple answer, though, only gets us part of the way there. Like a curious (but characteristically annoying!) kid, we can continue down this path, chaining “why” questions together.

Why is it important to enhance well-being? Why do you choose to enhance well-being in the way that you do? Why do you choose the programs you choose? Why the Institute and not another organization? Why not focus on some other area that conceivably relates to spirituality and health? Why, why, why?!? Down the rabbit hole we go.

Ultimately, all of these questions speak to a more fundamental one, which is what I’d like to focus on. That is, why even pay attention to the relationship between spirituality and health at all, especially when there are a host of other ways to enhance well-being?

To answer this question, it is important to recognize that, in the words of our Adjunct Faculty member, Dr. Lisa Miller, spirituality is our birthright. From a religious studies perspective, spirituality and associated aspects of human experience have been present across times and cultures from the beginning of recorded history. We have always yearned to make meaning, to seek the sacred, to connect, to engage with something greater than ourselves. The reality that humans are spiritual beings is a fact that we, as an institution, recognize. From a scientific perspective, we are hardwired for spirituality, and a rapidly growing body of research is shedding light on the ways in which spirituality develops over the life course. From the perspective of faith traditions, the spiritual dimension of life and reality is rich and undeniable. “Spirituality” provides a language for us to reckon with the deepest aspects of being human - those parts of our experience that are so fundamental, so omnipresent, that sometimes they are easy to overlook and take for granted, like a fish not seeing the water they are swimming in.

So, why pay attention to the relationship between spirituality and health? We do this work because spirituality is a fundamental aspect of existence. Spirituality is a connective tissue that touches all aspects of life, and it transcends generations, cultures, philosophical paradigms, religious traditions, socioeconomic boundaries, and geographies. It would be naive not to reckon with these matters, especially in the context of health and healing, because a better understanding of them is potentially transformative.

Why do you care about the relationship between spirituality and health? How do you frame this relationship?

With Peace,

Stuart

Stuart C. Nelson

Acting President