N0018921QQ0169_Attachment6.pdf

PWS PDTC Enclosure (1)

PDTC - “Building Spiritual Readiness” - Approved by RDML Todd, Dec 2019

Assumptions: RDML Todd’s guidance: Discuss spirituality from a Mental Health Perspective (Consult

Dr. Lisa Miller), Discuss spirituality from a Philosophy Perspective (Focus on Stoic Philosophy), Discuss

Spirituality from a Religious Perspective (Spirituality from other disciplines).

Goal: To provide RMTs with a common lexicon for terminology regarding spirituality and enable them to develop programs to support the spiritual readiness of warriors and their commands.

Learning Objectives:

a. Discuss and Critically Evaluate Spirituality from a Mental Health Perspective

b. Discuss and Critically Evaluate Spirituality from a Stoic Philosophy Perspective

c. Discuss and Critically Evaluate Spirituality from a Religious Perspective

d. Define and distinguish between the terms: Religion, Spirituality, and Spiritual Readiness

e. Develop a common lexicon for spiritual readiness

f. Develop professional skills that enable service members to develop Spiritual Readiness.

Day One – Spirituality from a Mental Health Perspective

1. Introduction to Mental Health Spirituality – Lisa Miller, author of The Spiritual Child, states her approach to Spirituality derives from moral and intellectual principles and practices drawn from Buddhist meditation and philosophy, the work of Carl Jung, Judeo-Christian traditions, and quantum physics.

2. Key Issues in Mental Health Spirituality: Contemplative Traditions and Meditation; Spirituality, Science and the Human Body; Spirituality, Emotions, and Physical Health; Eastern Traditions, Consciousness, and Spirituality; Translation of Eastern Meditative Disciplines into Western Psychology,

3. Examples of Mental Health Spiritual Practices: Shift from meditation as a spiritual discipline to mindfulness as a secular practice; mindfulness-based stress reduction; dialectical behavior therapy;

acceptance and commitment therapy; mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

4. Critical Evaluation of Mental Health Spirituality - Small group discussions: Strengths and weaknesses of MH Spirituality; Helpful and Unhelpful aspects of MH spirituality and spiritual practices; Value to

RMTs and commands; Contribution to RMT Spirituality Lexicon.

Day Two – Spirituality from a Stoic Philosophy Perspective

1. Stoic Philosophers: Zeno of Citium, Epictetus, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and their philosophy. Modern military Stoics and their views: VADM Stockdale and Secretary Mattis.

2. Tenets of Stoic Philosophers: Nature is rational; The universe is governed by the law of reason; A life led according to rational nature is virtuous; Wisdom is the root virtue and from it spring the cardinal virtues: insight, bravery, self-control, and justice; Since passion is irrational, Intense feeling should be avoided; Pleasure is neither good nor bad. It is only acceptable if it doesn't interfere with the quest for virtue; Poverty, illness, and death are not evil; Virtue should be sought, not for pleasure, but for duty.

3. Stoic Agenda: “To avoid unhappiness, frustration, and disappointment, we, therefore, need to do two things: control those things that are within our power (our beliefs, judgments, desires, and attitudes) and be indifferent or apathetic to those things which are not in our power (namely, things external to us).”

4. Critical Evaluation of Stoic Philosophy - Small group discussions: Strengths and weaknesses of Stoic

Philosophy; Helpful and Unhelpful aspects of Stoic Philosophy and Stoic practices; Value to RMTs and

Commands; Contribution to RMT Spirituality Lexicon.

Day Three – Spirituality from a Religious Perspective

1. Examples of Religious Spirituality - East Asian Religions: Confucianism, Shinto, Taoism; Indic

Religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism; Middle Eastern Religions: Eastern Christianity, Western Christianity, Islam, Judaism

2. Examples of Religious Spiritual Practices and Disciplines – Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, Fellowship, Journaling, Stewardship, Study, Contemplation, Confession, Solitude, Gratitude, Self-Examination, Silence, and Celebration.

3. Critical Evaluation of Religious Spirituality - Small group discussions: Strengths and weaknesses of

Religious Spirituality; Helpful and Unhelpful aspects of Religious Spirituality, Spiritual Practices and

Disciplines; Value to RMTs and Commands; Contribution to RMT Spirituality Lexicon.

4. Capstone: Develop Spirituality Lexicon and Spiritual Readiness Toolbox for RMTs.

PDTC – “Building Spiritual Readiness” (Expanded Outline)

Assumptions:

(1) Many of our sea service members practice religious faith as their highest and most sacred duty. The free exercise of religion is protected by the Constitution as an end in and of itself.

Chaplains represent religion and are crucial in furthering this end in the lives of their people.

(2) A strong religious faith is also known to positively impact the resilience and spiritual readiness of warfighters and commands. While the concept of religion is not synonymous with spirituality, the two are related. Therefore chaplains ought to be knowledgeable about various approaches to spirituality and how these approaches interact to produce tough, resilient, and spiritually ready Sailors and Marines.

(3) We are on firmer ground when we describe rather than precisely define spirituality. Some basic elements typically associated with healthy spirituality are:

a. Belief in and dialogue with a transcendent being or higher power

b. A felt connection to something greater than oneself – nature, the universe, humanity, the human spirit, one’s nation, a cherished way of life, ideals

c. An inner-belief system of values that gives one meaning and direction, clarifies, warns, anchors character, and rewards virtue.

d. A set of practices or disciplines which help nourish and cultivate the inner life and strengthen one’s capacity to serve others

e. Membership in a community of persons who share similar beliefs, hopes, and practices related to faith, religion, and/or larger transcendent purposes

(4) An effective introduction of spirituality to warfighters must have currency. Warfighters typically accept the findings of mental health science and empirical data. They prize philosophical traditions which have sustained warriors during combat and crisis. And they are often open to religious sources of wisdom which have been practiced by peoples and cultures throughout the world.

(5) To build spiritual readiness among warriors then, SMEs will need to help RMTs understand, evaluate, and where possible, commend these three approaches: (a) Mental health and what clinicians in psychology have discovered about the measurable protective factors associated with a healthy spirituality (b) Philosophy and how Stoicism, among other schools of thought, has strengthened the human spirit and connected people to transcendent purposes, and (c)

Religion and how various religious narratives, practices, and disciplines have provided people meaning, purpose, healing and wholeness.

Goal: To provide RMTs with a shared language for spirituality, enabling them to develop programs to support the spiritual readiness of warfighters and commands at every echelon.

Learning Objectives:

(1) Discuss and critically evaluate spirituality from a mental health perspective

(2) Discuss and critically evaluate spirituality from a Stoic philosophy perspective

(3) Discuss and critically evaluate spirituality from a religious perspective

(4) Describe, define, and distinguish religion, spirituality, and spiritual readiness

(5) Develop a common lexicon for spiritual readiness

(6) Develop skills in RMTs to enable service members to develop spiritual readiness

(7) Develop skills in RMTs to integrate spiritual readiness within their command life-cycles

Day One – Introduction and Spirituality from a Mental Health Perspective

(1) Introduction to Spiritual Readiness – Keeping the end state in mind. What are we hoping to produce in RMTs and the warfighters we serve?

a. Chaplain Wyeth Willard’s story preceding the Battle of Tarawa. His recollection of time aboard the ship days before the beach landings (Nov ’43).

- “And to think during those days preceding the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history, I might’ve frittered away my time and done nothing for the spiritual welfare of the men. But as I look back on the hours of toil, when in our officers’ quarters the temperature read 101o in the shade, when loafing would’ve been easier than working, somehow peace of heart and soul fill me with gladness, for I did my best.”

Chaplain (LT) Wyeth Willard, 1944

- *Chaplain Willard’s family, children and grandchildren live an hour from

Newport, RI, where they still run a Christian camp. We’ve been in touch with them and have an abundance of materials. Potential interview for PDTC.

b. This year’s PDTC seeks to inspire RMTs with the same spirit demonstrated by

Chaplain Willard. When our men and women cross from safety into danger, will they be spiritually ready? Will we as RMTs be able to say with Willard that we did everything we could for the spiritual welfare of our people? Will we be able to say to generations of chaplains and RPs who come after us, “we did our best?” Failure to build the spirit of our people is not an option. Lives are on the line, now. Willard did his greatest work before the battle so that his men were ready during the battle, and fruit was born after the battle. What about us?

c. Although Willard didn’t use the same language we do, he operationalized his approach to religious ministry. Spiritual readiness rises or falls to the degree to which we operationalize our approach as well. Embracing our responsibility to develop a coherent lexicon of spiritualty now, will translate into pivotal conversations with our people, crucial moments of advisement, and dynamic programs that will prepare warfighters and commands for whatever challenges may come.

d. Let’s begin with an overview of the three approaches that will best enable us to speak about spirituality in a way warriors and the sea service institution can appreciate.

While these three approaches share some characteristics with each other and are sometimes compatible, they are distinct from one another, and at times, in competition with one another. As a corps, we advocate primarily for the religious perspective, but want to know more about the other two because they are influential in the lives of our people.

i. Mental Health – The clinical evidence is there. Healthy spirituality yields protective factors against depression, destructive behavior, and suicide with greater success than any other single resource available to Sailors and Marines.

Institutions have a moral obligation to present the life-saving and life-enriching merits of spirituality to their young. Failure to do so constitutes what Dr. Lisa

Miller calls iatrogenic harm.

ii. Stoic Philosophy – “Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.” Stockdale found his philosophical training in Stoicism to be a spiritual refuge during his seven year ordeal as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton. His captors could rob him of everything but his spirit and the will to overcome.

Philosophers from Epictetus to Boethius to Stockdale to James Mattis have relied on these deeper loyalties to higher purposes, enabling them to lead and persevere during the greatest trials.

iii. Religion – Religion suggests an organized belief system built upon a sacred history, and sustained by certain beliefs, rituals, disciplines, and practices that give meaning, strength, and hope to its adherents. These practices and disciplines offered by religious traditions ought to be presented to our people.

They form the fabric of peoples and cultures around the world, and have demonstrated a proven ability to strengthen and sustain.

- “Public schools [and we might add institutions] often given short shrift to spirituality for fear that they would be accused of proselytizing religion.

But it should be possible to teach the whole range of spiritual disciplines, in order to familiarize students [Sailor and Marines] with the options, without endorsing any one…Ignoring spiritual development in the public square is like ignoring intellectual, physical, or social development. It is to amputate people in a fundamental way, leading to more depression, drug abuse, alienation, and misery.”

David Brooks, “Building Spiritual Capital”

The New York Times, May 2015

(2) Overview of Mental Health Spirituality

a. Lisa Miller, author of The Spiritual Child, states her approach to spirituality derives from moral/intellectual principles and practices drawn from Buddhist meditation and philosophy, the work of Carl Jung, Judeo-Christian traditions, and quantum physics.

b. The breakthrough in clinical sciences from measurable data on the protective effects of healthy spirituality is irrefutable. However, most leaders within the DOD and other societal institutions are unaware of the science.

(3) Key Issues in Mental Health Spirituality

a. Spirituality, Science and the Human Body

b. Spirituality, Emotions, and Physical Health

c. Contemplative Traditions and Meditation

d. Eastern Traditions, Consciousness, and Spirituality

e. Translation of Eastern Meditative Disciplines into Western Psychology

(4) Examples of Mental Health Spiritual Practices:

a. Shift from meditation as a spiritual discipline to mindfulness as a secular practice

b. Mindfulness-based stress reduction

c. Dialectical behavior therapy

d. Acceptance and commitment therapy

e. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy

(5) Critical Evaluation of Mental Health Spirituality

a. Small group discussions:

i. Strengths and weaknesses of MH Spirituality

ii. Helpful and Unhelpful aspects of MH spirituality and spiritual practices

iii. Value to RMTs and commands

iv. Contribution to RMT Spirituality Lexicon.

Day Two – Spiritualty from a Stoic Philosophy Perspective

(1) Stoic Philosophers

a. Zeno of Citium, Epictetus, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and their philosophy.

b. Modern military Stoics and their views – the appeal to the military audience

c. VADM Stockdale: his story

d. James Mattis

(2) Tenets of Stoic Philosophers

a. Nature is rational, the universe is governed by the law of reason, a life led according to rational nature is virtuous

b. Wisdom is the root virtue and from it spring the cardinal virtues: insight, bravery, self-control, and justice. Virtue should be sought, not for pleasure, but for duty.

c. Passion is irrational, intense feeling should be avoided

d. Pleasure is neither good nor bad. It is only acceptable if it doesn't interfere with the quest for virtue.

e. Hardship, poverty, illness, and death are not evil

(3) Stoic Agenda

a. “To avoid unhappiness, frustration, and disappointment, we, therefore, need to do two things: control those things that are within our power (our beliefs, judgments, desires, and attitudes) and be indifferent or apathetic to those things which are not in our power (namely, things external to us).”

b. The Enchiridion of Epictetus – then and now

(4) Critical Evaluation of Stoic Philosophy

a. Small group discussions

i. Strengths and weaknesses of Stoic Philosophy

ii. Helpful and Unhelpful aspects of Stoic Philosophy and Stoic practices

iii. Value to RMTs and Commands

Day Three – Spirituality from a Religious Perspective

(1) As we prepare to consider the religious approach, we might consider how the first two approaches might lead someone to consider the third. This admittedly Aristotelian-Thomist position is not held by all, but one about which chaplains ought to be aware.

a. Spirituality from a Mental Health Perspective is descriptive. It shows us the evidence of spiritual practices. We can see and describe the benefits, which leads us to ask deeper questions

b. Spirituality from a Philosophical Perspective is dialectic. It views the evidence of the empirical sciences and begs deeper questions that push and pull on our understanding of the world we live in and the transcendent purposes which give us meaning.

c. Spirituality from a Religious Perspective is declarative. It attempts to answer these questions by declaring certain truths based on celebrated events and insights into a transcendent being or reality with whom we relate and to which we are accountable.

(2) What Religious Traditions Offer:

a. Histories or narratives that provide meaning and belonging

i. A. MacIntyre’s After Virtue – concept of a tradition, narrative, overarching story. (Chapter 15)

b. Practices

c. Spiritual Disciplines

d. Community and life together

(3) Examples of Religious Spirituality

a. East Asian Religions: Confucianism, Shinto, Taoism

b. India Religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism

c. Middle Eastern Religions: Eastern Christianity, Western Christianity, Islam, Judaism

(4) Examples of Religious-Spiritual Practices and Disciplines

a. Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, Fellowship, Journaling, Stewardship, Study, Contemplation, Confession, Solitude, Gratitude, Self-Examination, Silence, and

Celebration.

b. Case Study: CAPT Steve Murphy, “Murphy’s Law” Proceedings, Spring, 2021

(5) Critical Evaluation of Religious Spirituality

a. Small group discussions

i. Strengths and weaknesses of Religious Spirituality

ii. Helpful and Unhelpful aspects of Religious Spirituality, Spiritual Practices and Disciplines

iii. Value to RMTs and Commands

(6) Capstone

a. Develop Spirituality Lexicon and Spiritual Readiness Toolbox for RMTs.

(7) Conclusion

a. Refrain: Chaplain Willard’s example and inspiration as the pattern for the way forward. We leave here with the question put to us. Will we be able to say

“…peace of heart and soul fill me with gladness, for I did my best.”