Wellness at Work: What if We Include the Spirit?

As a former career counselor and then private practice therapist utilizing Acceptance and Commitment and various forms of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, I often jumped to analysis and mental processes. I would ask about the quality and content of thoughts and spend a lot of time reframing or rewriting them with clients. I would ask questions like: What was the antecedent to those thoughts? What is your strategic plan? How do we set SMART goals that resonate and keep you motivated? In my experience, this type of therapy can be very effective for a few sessions but felt incomplete and I found myself having some of the same conversations with clients over again.

After working in private practice with populations ranging from age 5 to 72, I recognized that focusing only on the brain was not as helpful as incorporating the body into healing work. Emotions are produced and reside in the body. If over time we do not address them, or if we create narratives around their meaning, the emotions will push forward in unplanned ways later. I noticed that many clients could not identify their emotions so I began to teach them to name and allow their feelings. That helped a lot, but some clients would still experience emotional outbursts, flashbacks, burn out and bouts of exhaustion that hit them very unexpectedly. Are you taking care of yourself, I would ask. We began to focus on regulating the nervous system so they could find their Window of Tolerance, or a person's optimal level of arousal in order to learn, play and relate to others effectively. (See Dr Dan Siegel's website and books on this topic.) I studied mindfulness, grounding techniques, and somatic or body focused practices to help clients expand their windows and maintain them.

Inevitably, some clients became well and went out into the world to use their skills. But for others, questions remained unanswered and healing was still a mystery. During this time, I was diagnosed with a third Autoimmune Disease, was in a car accident, became Patient Advocate for my father who spent 21 days in a hospital before passing, and lost one of my clients who was killed by her former partner. I felt lost and all of the emotions related to grief. I was uncertain as to how to proceed and what it meant for me as a helper to feel as if what I was doing was not meaningful. What do I do now? Does anything I am doing matter? I began to wonder what I was missing.

I don't give up on interesting questions so I got myself a therapist and then began to do my own research, which started with reading. Energy Healing for Empaths by Lisa Campion was one of the first books I reached for in order to assess what energy and my sensitivity was about. Do I need to protect myself? Why do things feel so emotional to me? Will it be like this from now on? Does anyone else feel drained? What can I do about any of it? This was my first exploration into the concept that everything is energy, frequency and vibration. The Universe, our thoughts, our emotions, our relationships, and situations are all energy. When energy is blocked, stuck or stagnant, it can cause mental, emotional or even physical issues.

It was at that point that I began to study the energy of the body, which is comprised of energy wheels or chakras. You can see in the chart on the cover of this article that there are 7 main energy wheels that progress from the base of the spine up through the crown of the head. Each chakra corresponds to a different frequency and can be attuned to various sounds and healing techniques. One of my favorite things to do is to help people connect to their energy in order to explore what they need on an energetic level. Maybe you can think of your spirit like a garden. Seeds have been planted, perhaps without your awareness due to the subconscious mind picking up on messages that are out of your awareness. This could lead to repeating patterns in your thinking, habits and relationships. Once you become aware of these core beliefs, you can pull them up, till them and plant new seeds, effectively shifting out of old unworkable loops.

I found a mentor and began learning Reiki, a Japanese energy technique that uses healing energy to promote wellness, alleviate stress and work with the natural rhythms of the spirit. With Reiki, people felt comforted, calm and relaxed. I watch people walk into my office feeling scattered, rushed, stressed and pressured. After working with their intuition and tuning into the healing energy, clients leave feeling like a different person. Reiki feels like a warm hug, clients say. Reiki feels like love. Reiki feels like connection to myself and to everything. Reiki has been helpful for people who are going into or have had surgery, accidents of any kind, life transitions, relationship conflict, chronic stress and complex emotions. It helps alleviate fear and can create more space between action and reaction. For me, Reiki helped me to let go of wanting to control outcomes. I am more flexible and trust myself more to act in any situation with integrity. Whatever the result of my efforts, I have more confidence that I can figure it out.

I concluded that healing is not just about addressing symptoms; it’s about creating harmony within ourselves. When we balance our mental, physical, and spiritual energy, we can achieve lasting wellness. I’ve seen firsthand how addressing spiritual energy can lead to profound transformations. When clients engage with their spiritual selves, they often experience deeper healing that impacts their mental and physical health. Sometimes we need to move old energy out because we have outgrown the person we were and are ready to transition to the new. My goal is always to guide people to feel empowered and to trust their inner compass. When we know how to connect to who we truly are, we make decisions that align with our values and that feel satisfying. We then become more flexible, loving and able to listen to one another and work or play together. Connecting to our spirits can help us with all of it.

Healing is a journey that encompasses the mind, body, and the spirit. Just as we recognize the importance of caring for our physical health and mental well-being, we must also nurture our spirit. Our energy plays a crucial role in how we feel and function. When our energy is out of balance, it can lead to emotional and physical challenges. By incorporating spiritual healing practices, we can restore this balance, allowing us to thrive as whole beings.

I wonder how we all might function if we created a space for spiritual wellness at work as well. What could it look like to provide exploration into spiritual practices or energy work a few minutes one afternoon a week for employees who might wish to explore their inner guidance further? What if that helped employees show up with more integrity, passion and creativity? I feel hopeful. If we all move towards inner harmony, we could remember that we are all connected. Remembering that what is good for one of us is good for us all could change the world. I would love to see that world.