his recent book Restless Gods, Reginald
InBibby
noted that 75 per cent of
Canadians had spiritual needs, 70 per cent
said that spirituality was important to them
and 60 per cent saw themselves as "a spiritual
person." Bibby observed that 53 per cent of
Canadians have conventional spiritual ideas
(praying, relationship with Jesus) and 47 per
cent have less conventional understandings
(inner awareness, belief in a universal force).
Classical Leisure
The English word "spirituality" comes
from the Latin, spiritus, meaning "breath of
life" and can be traced to the Greek word pneuma used in the New Testament to describe a
person's spirit guided by God's Spirit.
Today, spirituality is often broadly
defined as: "a way of being and experiencing
that comes about through awareness of a
transcendent dimension and that is characterized by certain identifiable values in regard
to self, others, nature, life and whatever one
considers to be Ultimate" (Elkins, Hughes,
Saunders, Leaf & Hedstrom, 1988, p. 10).
30
During the last decade there has been
increasing discussion of spirituality within
leisure studies and services. Perusal of a community's recreation programs often reveals
activities that have spiritual elements. In
Leisure and Leisure Services in the 21st century, Geoffrey Godbey predicted, "The development of spiritual life will become more
central to leisure expression".
However, the relationship between
leisure and spirituality is not a recent development. Augustine (A.D. 345-430) and
Aquinas (A.D. 1225-1274) saw the contemplative life or the life of leisure (otium) as
important and essential to spiritual life. In
medieval monastic culture, otium was fused
with the contemplative life.
This spiritual understanding of leisure
was summarized by Roman Catholic theologian Josef Pieper in Leisure: The Basis of
Culture: "Leisure.. .is not simply the result of
external factors, it is not the inevitable result
of spare time, a holiday, a week-end or a
vacation. It is in the first place, an attitude of
mind, a condition of the soul.. .a contempla-
W I N T E R
2003
tive attitude, and it is not only the occasion
but also the capacity for steeping oneself in
the world of creation."
Even when classical leisure is defined
within secular contexts it has spiritual overtones, "a spiritual and mental attitude, a state
of inward calm, contemplation, serenity and
openness" (Kraus, 1990, p. 49).
Other Forms of Leisure
While the classical definition of leisure
has had spiritual overtones for centuries,
other conceptualizations of leisure are also
associated with spirituality.
When leisure is defined as free time, the
free time can be used for spiritual growth.
When leisure is defined as activity, spiritual
activities may be included. Peak experience,
optimal experience and flow, which are associated with the state-of-mind view of leisure,
also describe spiritual experiences.
Today, spirituality is important in various
leisure contexts. Therapeutic recreationists
increasingly recognize the need for spirituality within their practice and are adopting
holistic definitions of health that include
spiritual health.
Organized camping has long been concerned with spiritual development. Today, in
both religious and secular camps, spirituality
is addressed explicitly or implicitly. Managers
of parks and protected areas are interested in
a better understanding of the relationships
between the human spirit and the natural
world that could help them enhance opportunities for spiritual experiences.
Experiential and adventure education provide opportunities for personal development
related to the spiritual as well as the social,
physical and mental dimensions of life.
As spirituality is often seen as including
our connectedness to nature, its role in environmental and outdoor education is increasingly recognized. Spiritual and religious
tourism may be the oldest type of travel.
Typologies of tourists include the seeker who
is in search of spiritual and personal knowledge to better understand oneself and the
meaning of life.
Spiritual wellness is also an important outcome in community recreation. For example,
YM/YWCAs have stressed recreation in terms
of the body, mind and spirit.
H I V E R
2003
Benefits of Spiritual Leisure
In recent years the benefits of leisure has
been a popular approach to the study and
delivery of leisure services. While much
attention has been given to the physical,
emotional, intellectual and social benefits of
leisure, only recently have the spiritual benefits of leisure been explored. However religious writers have long recognized the role of
leisure in spiritual development.
Doohan in his book Leisure, A Spiritual
Need stated that "A leisured approach to life
is a basic element in the first stages of spiritual growth".
Research studies conducted by the author
have confirmed the traditional wisdom that
leisure can foster spiritual growth. However,
some forms of leisure can also be detrimental
to spiritual well-being. Leisure can sensitize
one to spiritual well-being, but leisure can
also repress a person's spiritual tendency.
Research suggests that leisure can provide
time and space for spiritual development.
Balance in life and leisure, an attitude of
openness and receptivity in leisure, nature
settings and settings related to personal and
human history, solitude and quiet settings,
and "true to self" activities all tend to
enhance spiritual well-being.
Busyness in life and leisure, artificial
leisure settings, noisy activities and settings,
and activities incongruent with an individual's personality usually detract from spiritual well-being.
Spirituality as a Leisure
Component
Should recreation programmers provide
spirituality-related activities and programs?
The answer probably depends on the mandate of the organization.
A religious or spiritual organization is
more likely to offer spirituality-related programs. A community organization such as
the YM/YWCA that is concerned with body,
mind and spirit would probably include
some spirituality-related activities.
Municipal programmers might be more
likely to refer persons interested in spiritual
outcomes to spiritually-oriented organizations. Nevertheless there is a place for developing an awareness of the spiritual dimension of
leisure within municipal recreation programs.
In his recent book, Financing and
Acquiring Park, Recreation and Open Space
Resources, John Crompton wrote:
"Healthy...involves a holistic integration of
the physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual,
and social dimensions of people's lives. If any
of them are unbalanced, then it can lead to
individuals seeking help from the health-care
system. Frequently, the popular view of the
contribution of park and recreation agencies
to health is limited to their potential for
improving physical fitness through exercise.
This is a myopic perspective."
An important element when planning
leisure experiences is the opportunity for the
awareness and expression of a person's spirituality. Practitioners may want to set aside time
for individuals to reflect upon the spiritual
dimension of the leisure experience.
Techniques that may be used are journal writing, meditation, time alone or inspirational
readings. Group discussions may be focused on
the spiritual nature of these experiences so that
participants grasp their potential significance.
As spirituality may be related to a person's
attempt to understand his or her place in the
universe, practitioners may encourage activities that help people explore and develop their
connections with the environment, with each
other and with their higher power or God, as
well as opportunities to talk about personal
development, expression and creativity.
Since varieties of spiritual belief and
expression exist, recreation practitioners need
to facilitate spiritual expression within a comfort zone where participants are encouraged
to express themselves without critical judgement. In addition people may be at different
stages of spiritual development. Each person
is unique and practitioners must recognize
individual differences when designing programs that have spiritual objectives. •
Paul Heintzman is an Assistant Professor and
also Co-ordinator of the Outdoor Recreation and
Environmental Education specialization in the
Recreation Management Program at Acadia
University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Paul held a
variety of positions in the recreation, environmental
and social services field before completing bis PhD in
Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of
Waterloo. He is co-editor of the book Christianity
and Leisure: Issues in a Pluralistic Society.