Summer 2024
Four spiritual readiness practices for service members
Spiritual readiness is the ability to endure and overcome times of stress, hardship, and tragedy by making meaning of life experiences.
According to the Army’s FM 7-22 document, individuals find meaning as they exercise beliefs, principles, ethics, and morals arising from religious, philosophical, and human values.
Soldiers who successfully develop, sustain, and repair their state of being while facing adversity demonstrate spiritual readiness. Leaders who understand spiritual readiness can encourage personal spiritual readiness by creating a climate of mutual respect and dignity that promotes dialogue, fosters team cohesion, and enables healthy free exercise of religion or no religion. This approach enables collective and individual readiness.
Informed leaders understand the requirements for time, space, materials, and other conditions required to support spiritual readiness practices within particular organizations. Individual spiritual readiness obligations can vary widely. Leaders consult with a chaplain or unit ministry team (UMT) regarding these practices.
Below are some general spiritual readiness practices courtesy of the Army’s FM 7-22 document.
SERVICE AND CHARITY
Most spiritual traditions emphasize service to others for the sake of both charity and understanding one’s relationship to other human beings and the transcendent. This might involve serving in a homeless shelter, conducting work projects in the local community, visiting the hospital, donating funds or material goods, or helping people in the unit in need.
HOSPITALITY
Hospitality refers to generously receiving and providing a sustaining environment for family, neighbors, and strangers. It is a spiritual readiness practice in many traditions. In practicing hospitality, a guest receives anything from water and shade to lodging, clothing, and food. Closely related to service and charity, this spiritual readiness practice is more intimate since providing hospitality is in person and generally involves engaged social interaction between the host and guest. Many traditions view the practice as a mark of heightened spiritual maturity as it involves the vulnerability of the host and investment in another’s well-being and basic sustenance. The practice of hospitality towards those considered the most vulnerable in society includes the orphaned, widowed, homeless, injured, physically handicapped, and prisoners.
JOURNALING
Many people use journaling as a spiritual readiness practice. Journaling often involves an individual maintaining a written record of thoughts, prayers, feelings, beliefs, and reflections on life, philosophy, or other matters. The journal is either handwritten or digitally recorded. Usually, the journal is a private document not intended for disclosure. Journals might also have recorded thoughts and words with no particular association or logic, often referred to as free journaling. Free journaling releases one’s mind to enable focused reflection. Journaling is a means of incorporating cognitive, spiritual, and physical activities as part of an integrated approach to
spiritual readiness. Authors might review their journals to gain perspective on life.
MEDITATION
Meditation is the practice of contemplation and reflection by an individual or group. It generally requires few external distractions. For this reason, ensuring a dedicated space away from ongoing training or operations is preferable to facilitate individuals’ ability to practice this spiritual readiness activity.
Spiritual readiness is a vital domain in the H2F system, and it directly impacts the resiliency of individuals and organizations. Encouraging soldiers to connect and reflect on the worldview or value system that informs their core beliefs, principles, ethics, and morals can empower them to endure and overcome stress, hardship, and tragedy.
» ALSO SEE: The Recovery Standard Project
Leaders have a responsibility to support spiritual readiness practices and create a climate where dignity and respect guide the process. Understanding common spiritual readiness practices enables leaders to support individual spiritual readiness development, sustainment, maintenance, and repair.
