Spirituality
Welcome to the Family Support Group Program.
Here you can download the session PDF below by clicking on the button or continue scrolling to the online version. The videos password is craft.
Session Online Version
CHECK-IN SECTION – Maximum time 20 minutes
Mindful Minute -- take a break from what you have been doing, breathe deeply, relax and recharge.
Step 1: Find a comfortable seated position with both feet grounded on the floor. Put a hand on your stomach. Close your eyes.
Step 2: Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Notice your thoughts and feelings and any tensions in your body.
Step 3: As you inhale and exhale, breathe deeply so your belly fills and empties with air. The hand on your stomach helps you practice belly – not chest breathing.
Step 4: For the next minute make breathing in and out your only focus. Let your thoughts come and go without trying to control them. If you find an area of tension in your body, relax it and let the tension go.
Step 5: At the end the minute slowly open your eyes. Gently bring your presence back to your surroundings.
Our Purpose
CRAFT Connects’ Family Support groups are for parents, partners, families and other Concerned Significant Others (CSOs) who have a loved one that is struggling with a substance use or mental health disorder. We know from first-hand experience that loving someone with these challenges can be a difficult, lonely journey. To create a safe place for honest sharing of our lived experience we use appropriate language and behavior. We are empathetic, nonjudgmental, genuine, respectful, steer clear of confrontation and imposing our own solutions. We encourage hope and compassion for all. CRAFT Connect helps to reframe and energize connections between you, your loved one and behavioral health professionals into a “therapeutic alliance” that leads to progress and healing. There is a lot we can learn from one another.
Last week we studied the “FS11. Plan to Change” session:
A. Were you able to follow through on these commitments?
• Identify one thing you want to be different. Use the “Problem Solving Worksheet” to start planning to change.
B. What experience did you have practicing or sharing last session’s principles and skills? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
C. What did you do to purposefully take care of yourself?
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LEARN SECTION – Maximum time 30 minutes
1. Author Deepak Chopra taught, “I want to dispel the belief that practical life and spiritual life are separate, or even opposed. Instead, the more spiritual you are, if your growth is based on self-awareness and the expansion of consciousness, the more you will attain life's greatest rewards. You will become a success on your own terms, whatever they are.”
2. Spirituality can be defined as the belief that there is more to reality than what we know through our senses. Spirituality is a quality of the individual, a religion is an organized community of individuals. Religions focus on beliefs, rituals, and practices oriented to bringing individuals within the community into a closer relationship with the divine. Spirituality means being connected to something greater than yourself, an ultimate reality that can go by the name of God, Yahweh, the Great Spirit, Allah, Brahman, Atman, “higher power” or a wide variety of other names.
Discuss: How have you seen the connection between the practical and spiritual in your own life or the life of others? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Spirituality has the power and capability to help make our decisions and choices easier, ground us during periods of change and give us the resiliency or ability to survive with grace and inner peace in the face of hard times. Both spirituality and religion emphasize values and moral actions, and both can provide meaning, purpose, and hope to life. To be spiritually minded does not mandate you take up a religious practice. However, an organized faith community may be one route you choose to take to boost your spirituality.
4. Spirituality begins with a first step – believe. As Nelson Mandela, freedom fighter and first African President of South Africa, taught “I am fundamentally an optimist. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” Sometimes we feel alone but a power greater than ourselves knows us and sees us. Sometimes, we are helped through other people. Sometimes, we are inspired to know in our mind and in our heart what we need to change or do differently. Completing the “Life Experience Worksheet” may be useful in getting the help and strength you need for what you are going through today.
Discuss: When was a time when you felt you were being helped by a power greater than yourself?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Everything in the universe is interconnected is a major finding of modern physics. It is also a tenet of all major religions and spiritual paths. We cannot be separate from the universe even if we try. If everything is interconnected, then it logically follows that the universe is one with many parts. The floor touches the door to outside; the door touches the porch or sidewalk; the sidewalk touches the street; the street goes so many places; and so on and so on. Therefore, although we can feel like outsiders and we can be treated as outsiders, in reality there are no outsiders and no insiders. We are connected even if right now we don’t experience or feel that connection. (Linehan, 2015)
6. Many have written about our connection to the natural forces that exist in the universe. Poet Lord Byron taught, “Are not the mountains, waves and skies a part of me and of my soul, as I of them?” Novelist Henry Miller taught, “We invent nothing, truly. We borrow and re-create. We uncover and discover. All has been given, as the mystics say. We have only to open our eyes and hearts, to become one with that which is.” Astronomer Carl Sagan taught, “The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself”.
7. Object Constancy originates from the concept of Object Permanence — a cognitive skill we acquire at around 2 to 3 years old. It is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, touched, or sensed in some way. This is why babies love peekaboo — when you hide your face, they think you cease to exist. According to psychologist Piaget, who founded the idea, achieving Object Constancy is a developmental milestone.
OBJECT CONSTANCY ACTIVITY
Step 1: Look at (identify something in the room)
Step 2: Close your eyes for a minute
Step 3: Open your eyes
Discuss: When we closed our eyes and did not experience something right in front of us, did that mean it disappeared from the universe and was no longer connected to us? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. The spiritual may be the most personal element of connecting with others. When striving to develop and practice this quality we need to find techniques and approaches that work for us. Although people can help us along the way, the route to spirituality is something we must learn to master on our own. Spirituality emphasizes the importance of building inner resources and inner thoughts in order to give meaning to life’s experiences. Since spirituality involves one’s values, beliefs, and purpose, it can be achieved in several ways—both physically and mentally, there is no “one size fits all” approach. Your spiritual journey may involve the following:
· Spending time meditating, praying or practicing mindfulness.
· Quiet time alone pondering the meaning of life
· Building awareness through journaling
· Serving others
· Spending time in nature
· Appreciating music and the arts
· Practicing acceptance
· Being curious. If something happens that makes you even the slightest bit curious, take time to explore the experience even deeper.
Discuss: Which of the above have you found helpful? Are there other things that have helped you become more spiritually minded? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Generally, people like to live a life with meaning and purpose. When these goals are met, you will be able to develop a harmony with your inner self and the outside world. This is a lifelong journey that evolves based on unique circumstances, individual experiences and global events. Our spiritual level fluctuates throughout life. As part of these fluctuations, it is natural to experience a variety of emotions along the path – both effective (hope, forgiveness, acceptance, joy) and ineffective (doubt, fear, disappointment, conflict). Completing the “My Values, Beliefs, Purpose Worksheet” accompanying this session may help provide a quick snapshot of where you are on your spiritual journey.
Discuss: What emotions have you experienced on your spiritual journey? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Spirituality not only allows you to seek meaning and purpose in human existence, but it also allows you to appreciate your life experiences for what they are. It grants you balance. Having a spiritual element in our lives can even help us heal from physical or behavioral health conditions. As philosopher Friedrich Nietzche taught, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how”.
11. Unlike many other coping resources, spirituality is available to anyone anywhere at any time, regardless of financial, social, physical, or mental circumstances (Koenig, 2009). Studies have found that spirituality and religious involvement is related to better coping with stress and less depression, suicide, anxiety, and substance abuse (Koenig, 2009). Accessing religion can also create opportunities for building support networks, which may be helpful in dealing with the stressors individuals living with behavioral health conditions encounter (Corrigan et al., 2003).
Discuss: How have your beliefs provided meaning and purpose during challenging times? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
12. Spiritual concepts are often universal beliefs, but depending on our own experience can be described using vastly different words. When talking about your spirituality it’s important to be understanding. Others spiritual beliefs may not be in alignment with your own. Look for commonalities across various practices and cultures. There are a number of belief systems, religions, faiths and people are at different stages in their own spiritual journeys. You or your loved one may have never considered spirituality as a component of recovery from a behavioral health challenge or you or them may be following a particular faith. Be mindful and understanding of these differences. Remember, “there are no outsiders in the universe.” (Linehan, 2015)
GROUP SHARING SECTION – Maximum time 30 minutes
13. We will now begin the sharing portion of the meeting. You are invited to share from 3 to 5 minutes about your experience as it relates to your loved one’s recovery, this week’s session or what you are currently working on. Please focus your sharing on potential solutions rather than the problems. We will conclude the sharing five minutes before the end of the meeting. Who would like to begin?
MY COMMITMENTS SECTION – Maximum time 10 minutes
14. Please remember that what has been shared here is confidential and that the opinions expressed are of the individuals who shared them. These are our group commitments, we will start the next CRAFT Connect session by reporting on them. This week I will:
A. Do the in-between session assignments:
· Complete the “My Values, Beliefs, Purpose Worksheet”
· Complete the “Life Experience Worksheet”
B. Share what I am learning with my family, friends and community.
C. Show kindness for myself by self-care.
As you listen to “A Song About Connection”, please take a few minutes to quietly think about what you learned in this session. Write your thoughts and personal commitments below.
Watch: “I Came To Believe” video.
What are the most important things I learned?
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What will I do differently because of what I learned?
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MY VALUES, BELIEFS, PURPOSE WORKSHEET
Explore your inner self or spiritual core – values, beliefs, purpose -- by answering these questions.
What gives my life meaning?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What gives me hope?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
How do I get through tough times? Where do I find comfort?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Am I tolerant of other people’s views about life issues?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Do I make attempts to expand my awareness of different ethnic, racial and religious groups?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Do I make time for relaxation in my day?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Do my values guide my decisions and actions?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Summarize what you learned from the worksheet.
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