Edwards celebrates July as Spiritual Wellness Month Published July 14, 2008 By Chaplain (Maj.) Philip Llanos Base Chapel EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- We live with an everyday faith in the world around us. We trust that when we turn on a light switch or appliance, there is electricity and the power is there. Recently, we had this faith shaken when the base and some surrounding communities had a power outage. On July 8, people living at Edwards came home from work and found they had no lights, air conditioners, televisions, computers or kitchen appliances for cooking dinner, . For many, power was out for most of the night. The night was spent in the dark with candles and flashlights. We take electricity for granted. We don't really think about it until there is a problem and it is not there. July is Spiritual Wellness Month. Spiritual wellness is one of the Four Dimensions of Wellness along with social, emotional and physical wellness. Problems in three of these areas are easily recognizable, and we can see them in ourselves or the people around us. Spiritual wellness is something that we can take for granted. However, like electricity, there might be an emergency or crisis when we need it and it is not there. A sudden death of someone we know, serious illness, or an unexpected family or personal problem can make us reach for a spiritual strength that may not be there. We constantly work at physical fitness and wellness. How hard do we work at spiritual fitness or wellness? When was the last time we did a spiritual wellness self-assessment? For me, spiritual wellness involves a high level of faith, hope and commitment to a personal set of guiding beliefs in a higher power. Principles or values -- when integrated in one's daily routines -- produce action and bring hope, meaning and purpose to one's life. The following yes-or-no questions aim to assess your spiritual wellness: Spiritually-well people have an internal belief system that brings meaning and order to their lives. Do I have a belief system? Spiritually-well people are not internally isolated from others. Do I have like-minded friends who I can go to when I need help? Spiritually-well people have resiliency or ability to bounce back and hope. Does my belief system offer me hope and help when my life "crashes in" on me? Spiritually-well people are not externally isolated from people. Do my beliefs motivate me to help others? Spiritually-well people have an internal strength to face difficult times. Am I spiritually ready to do my job at home or at war? If you answered NO to any question, please feel free to contact your squadron chaplain for more information and discussion.