A Theory for Indigenous Australian Health and Human Service Work by Lorraine Muller

Author:Lorraine Muller [Muller, Lorraine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Indigenous Studies, Social Work
ISBN: 9781000248159
Google: t2LyDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00JO7VWRK
Barnesnoble: B00JO7VWRK
Goodreads: 22441670
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2014-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality is something that was always there, it is not something that is talked about freely like Christianity; it is part of who you are.

(Trindle, 2007)

Spirituality does not need a religion attached to it.

(Drahm-Butler, 2006)

Spirituality is what makes a person.

(Fischer, 2006)

In earlier discussion, I drew on the literature surrounding our philosophy and spirituality. While Karen Martin uses ‘relatedness’ to describe the many layers and facets of the link between Country, entities and peoples (2008, pp. 63–87), in this study I refer primarily to experiences of spirituality as they were shared in interviews, as a form of everyday occurrences. Spirituality featured strongly in my discussions, often used in the beginning of the interview, as a form of connection, and in some cases was the sole reason for an opportunistic interview.

Defining what is meant by spirituality is not an easy task, suggesting that there is no simple explanation for a complex subject, as the following examples demonstrate. Our spirituality has been used ‘in a broad, non-denominational sense … linked to emotions’ (McEwan & Tsey, 2009, p. 11), and can be used interchangeably to mean our philosophy (Grieves, 2009). Spirituality is described as being ‘about connecting with all living beings/organisms in the world in harmonic ways … it is about tapping into the still places I go to when I am on Country … about finding the calmness in the busy spaces of my life’, according to Senimelia Kingsburra (cited in McEwan & Tsey, 2009, p. vi). Spirituality is sometimes erroneously used to refer to ‘culture’, which Tileah Drahm-Butler says is ‘a risky word that is poorly defined … more political and divisive, as is religion’ (2006). Tileah explains that ‘shops sell didgeridoos purely as an artistic representative of culture, but with no history or explanation of the inherent spirituality of the instrument’ (Drahm-Butler, 2006).

In discussing spirituality, I am mindful that the people who shared their knowledge in this research cautioned that there might be similarities with other non-Indigenous peoples’ stories of spiritual experiences, so I reiterate that this is not a comparative study with other peoples—it is our story. Another caution I received was about the danger of enabling the creation of an illusion that our spirituality is some form of religion, to be used by the so-called ‘New Agers’ or by people who seek to define our identity.

With these cautions firmly in mind, I focus on the experiences as shared with me in relation to the theory that informs practice. Names are omitted in dealing with sensitive issues. I do not discuss knowledge that is considered sacred or what is sometimes called ‘esoteric’ knowledge, meaning knowledge that can only be understood by holders of special knowledge. I am not a ‘Clever’ person. The role of the ‘expert panel’ was crucial in this section to ensure that only knowledge that is appropriate to share is included.

A ‘Clever Man’ or ‘Clever Woman’—also known as Aboriginal doctor/healer, medicine man or woman, sorcerer, amongst other specific names—is a holder of sacred and specialist knowledge.

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