The spiritual counselor will find it helpful to gain a brief overview of spirituality and religion around the world. We live in a multicultural world, and the counselor must be knowledgeable about different world traditions. We will begin by examining some of the universal qualities that can be extracted from the major world religions and the perennial philosophies.

One of the more interesting differences is the perception of God or the Divine. Different religions see God differently. From a Western perspective (Hebrew, Christian, and Islamic), God is a personal figure. By personal, we mean that God is anthropomorphized and spoken of as if He (note the masculine pronoun) were a separate being, apart from ourselves. This is a dualistic view, meaning that God and humans are separate. Individuals seek a relationship with this personalized Divine figure. When the individual is cut off from that relationship, it results in existential alienation or emptiness (Fukuyama and Sevig, 2000):

Eastern traditions, by contrast, see God as an Impersonal Divine that is non-dual in nature, meaning that there is no separation of self from the Divine. The emphasis is on consciousness or an experience of oneness with the Divine and all beings. Both East and West do recognize God as immanent (personal and present) and transcendent (impersonal and beyond understanding.) What differentiates them is the emphasis. The Western view focuses on immanence, and the Eastern view focuses on transcendence. Hinduism values both equally.

Welwood (2000) merges Western and Eastern psychology to give us a new vision of wholeness. He believes that we need both paths to achieve this state. While the East focuses on the suprapersonal or Divine aspects, the West focuses on personal or earthly aspects as well as interpersonal or relationship aspects. Taken as a whole, they address the whole person. This is the perfect blending for the work of the spiritual counselor. Welwood advises meditation for the suprapersonal level, psychological work for the personal, and relationship practice for the interpersonal, much as was discussed in our section on healing.

The spiritual journey in all traditions is one that moves the individual toward growth, awakening, or expanding consciousness. Clienbell’s (as reported by Fukuyama and Sevig, 2000) pastoral perspective postulates that spiritual growth aims at enhancing our hopes, meanings, values, inner freedom, faith systems, peak experiences, and relationship with God. Clinebell suggests seven areas of spiritual needs, which include the need for:

1. A viable philosophy of life
2. Creative values
3. Relationship with a loving God
4. Development of our Higher Self
5. A sense of trust that we belong in the universe
6. Renewing moments of transcendence
7. A caring community that nurtures spiritual growth.

These are the areas that the spiritual counselor will address with the client, and they will look different depending on the different level of development as well as the different culture and background of the client.

Walsh (1999) provides us with an overview of spiritual practice that has been gleaned from the perennial wisdom of all cultures and religions. He says that the ultimate aim of any practice is to awaken to our true self and our relationship to the sacred. Both the spiritual counselor and the client need to invest in spiritual practice in order to participate in the transformation of awareness. Walsh says that four observations are at the heart of the perennial philosophy:

1. There are two realms of reality – the everyday and the subtle realm of consciousness or spirit.
2. Human beings partake of both realms – we are physical and spiritual beings. We live in a body, but we also inhabit a place of transcendent awareness.
3. Human beings can recognize their Divine spark and the sacred ground that is its source – we can directly experience and test the validity of the transcendent by engaging in spiritual practice.
4. Realizing our spiritual nature is the highest goal and greatest good of human existence – no other goal is as rewarding or beneficial.

Based on this perennial philosophy, it would appear that transformation is our birthright. We come into this world to seek and find our true self and place in the universe. All great religions offer perennial practices that are designed to help us reach this goal. Walsh (1999) has defined seven essential practices that offer a method for achieving this awareness and personal transformation:

1. Transform your motivation – reduce craving and find your Soul’s desire. The secret of happiness is to let go of grasping and relinquish attachments. We must seek that which truly brings us happiness and fulfillment.
2. Cultivate emotional wisdom – heal your heart and learn to love. Release painful emotions and foster helpful attitudes such as gratitude and generosity. Cultivate love and compassion.
3. Live ethically – feel good by doing good. Find the benefits of virtuous living, and live the ethical life. It brings about increasing inner peace, trust, honesty, openness, and joy.
4. Concentrate and calm your mind – meditate, concentrate, and still the mind.
5. Awaken your spiritual vision – see clearly and recognize the sacred in all things.
6. Cultivate spiritual intelligence – develop wisdom and understand life. It opens us to mystical experiences.
7. Express spirit in action – embrace generosity and the joy of service. It is the supreme practice, and it awakens us to spiritual vision.

Walsh (1999) also provides exercises to help the individual attain these goals. Many of the exercises and prayers in this thesis also aim at helping the individual meet these spiritual goals.

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