Spiritual well-being is the awareness and practice in honoring the meaning and purpose of our existence. It involves the adoption or development of a personal belief system around the wonders of life and sharing it in community with others, nature, the universe, or a higher power.1
5 Tips for Spiritual Well-Being
- Practice gratitude by expressing thankfulness with yourself and others.
- Take time to reflect through meditation, relaxation, or sitting in silence or listening to nature.
- Engage in community. Participate in fellowship and share and listen to others with similar and diverse worldviews.
- Read diverse texts about your worldview and diverse worldviews.
- Visit and explore your own and diverse places of worship.
Campus Resources for Spiritual Well-Being
- Cross Cultural and Leadership Development
-
The Office of Cross Cultural and Leadership Development (CCLD) is located on the 6th floor of the William Pitt Union and is a hub of campus activity. CCLD advises some of the most active student organizations on campus, provides leadership development opportunities, and offers dynamic programming in the areas of diversity and culture, social justice, and Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Opportunities and Groups Within CCLD
- Religious and Spiritual Communities
-
The University is home to numerous independent student groups focusing on religion. These individual student run organizations are open to any student at the University. View independent student religious groups.
Many religious places of worship surround the University of Pittsburgh. Some include: Anglican Church, Greek Orthodox, Jewish, Non-Denominational, Presbyterian, and more. Find local places of worship.
- Interfaith Dialogue and Engagement
-
The Office of Interfaith Dialogue and Engagement aims to engage and understand people, not win arguments. We are not here to find all the right answers to age old debates, rather, ask better questions that help us appreciate and better connect with the person who hold the belief. Community is made out of a variety of real individuals, not merely ideologies. Because we are people before anything else, we aim to learn how to engage each other as people who want to be understood, seen, heard, and acknowledged where we are. Getting to know each other means getting past our surfaces, fear, and stereotypes, and sharing/learning our stories, perspectives, beliefs, and experiences.
- Reaching Inside your Soul for Excellence (RISE)
-
The Reaching Inside Your Soul for Excellence (RISE) program helps students get acclimated to the campus and help develop necessary skills needed to succeed at the University of Pittsburgh. Students in the program receive a mentor that will work with them to take responsibility of their future, make meaningful connections, and much more during their time at Pitt.
- Reflection Room and Stress Free Zone
-
The Stress Free Zone (SFZ) is a space where students can learn and regularly practice evidence-based, mind/body stress reduction skills. These skills are primarily taught through mindfulness meditation, a form of attention training which involves an intentional, non-judgmental observation of the present moment.
Stress manifests in many ways. In the body, stress can be experienced as tight muscles, headaches, increased heart rate, and heat. In the mind, stress can be experienced as racing thoughts, worrying, sadness, irritability, even anger.
SFZ mindfulness services teach skills for working with the mind/body system in ways that not only help us feel better in the moment but also help increase awareness of mental habits that keep us locked into reactive, unhelpful behaviors. With increased awareness we can begin to break those habits and experience some freedom from them.
Visit the Stress Free Zone or the Reflection Room on the 3rd floor of the William Pitt Union.
- Religious Resources
-
The University respects and values religious and spiritual diversity. This page provides Pitt students, faculty, and staff with information pertaining to religious groups and organizations both on and off campus.
View religious resources from the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
- University Holidays and Religious Observances
-
Consistent with our commitment to diversity and inclusion, the University has a tradition of recognizing the religious holidays members of the University community may observe.
At the beginning of each academic year, the Provost advises faculty that students shall not be penalized for absences resulting from a religious observance that conflicts with a University activity. For graduate and professional students, conflicts may arise with a class they are taking, a class they are teaching, or a meeting related to their training. If you anticipate a conflict, please contact the faculty member or instructor as soon as possible, but no later than three weeks prior to the conflict, in order to allow for adequate accommodations to be arranged. Faculty are expected to make a reasonable effort to reach mutually agreeable arrangements with you. If you experience any issues with this request, please reach out directly to your department chair, dean, or Vice Provost Amanda Godley.
The University of Pittsburgh is closed in observance of some holidays. You can also view the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion holiday calendar.
- University of Pittsburgh Association of Chaplains
-
The University of Pittsburgh Association of Chaplains (UPAC) seeks to encourage and connect students and help them practice and explore faith during their time at University of Pittsburgh. UPAC provides a link to local religious organizations that serve the University community.
Explore Spiritual Well-Being Resources at Pitt-Bradford
Explore Spiritual Well-Being Resources at Pitt-Greensburg
Explore Spiritual Well-Being Resources at Pitt-Johnstown
View more resources
Sources:
1Hettler (1976), Mayol (2012), Mayol et al. (2017), Roscoe (2009), and Swarbrick (2012).