Paul Wishart, PhD, MA
Phone: (403) 208-3431
Email: pmwishart@shaw.ca

Research interest in Spirituality and Health; and his PhD is in molecular chemistry.

Spirituality Research Institute (Sri) Inc. is about:

Spirituality

Spirituality is about “Being” where we are rather than where we “Think” we should be, or where we “Think others Think” we should be. Spirituality is a way and means of opening to life, responding to life, and the practices, experiences, beliefs, wisdom, compassion, and love that contribute to healthy spirituality and relationships.

Research

Paul's PhD is in molecular biology; his MA is in pastoral psychology and counseling. His research interest is in the application of Grounded Theory to the exploration of Spirituality, Health and Prayer. Exploration is a means of developing programming to connect research and practice, in the service of improving quality of life and cultivating wholeness.

Institute

Institute is about Connecting. We are connecting research theory and clinical practice, lived experiences, theory and practice which support quality of life and well-being. As an Institute, we provide programming which supports and nurtures the healthy expression and nurture of spirituality as it relates to quality of life and well-being.

Being grounded is an important awareness, empowering us in our responsibility and agency for cultivating acceptance, trust, empathy, compassion, and love for ourselves and others. Cultivating and Nurturing the practice of loving-kindness for all.  I am interested in providing some support and direction through the various programs I am offering. All of life is like a seeds that are nurtured in the silence of our hearts through the compassion and love that we share with ourselves and with those around us, seen and unseen, felt and unfelt. Through acceptance, patience, trust grounded in compassion and love, the fruits of the spirit will emerge for the good of all.

Spirituality Research Institute (Sri) Inc.

Spirituality Research Institute (Sri) Inc. as an entity is thus directed to the facilitation and mediation of healing and growth. This direction is through practice, “a way” that contributes to clear and direct thought, speech, and action as process that is continually practiced, continually refined. The practice and refinement occur through the purification and openness to listening and accepting feedback as to our motives, the intentions guiding our lives, the grounding of our being. I connect this purification of our motives, the intentions in our lives to TS Eliot and Julian of Norwich’s collaborative observation and exhortation:

All shall be well,
and all manner of thing shall be well
by the purification of the motive
in the ground of our beseeching.

I have a PhD in Chemistry.  My background in science is as a molecular biologist and molecular endocrinologist. I also have an MA in Pastoral Psychology and Counselling.

I have completed an Internship in Family Therapy and a Residency in Clinical Pastoral Education. I have a black belt in karate and trained in Japan under the master of our style for Karate.

I facilitate meditation (Qi Gong) and contemplation (Centering Prayer) groups in the context of healing relationships. Qi Gong is a practice of attention, cultivating our spirit or energy through an awareness of our breath. Centering Prayer is the practice of the intention of the heart through the use of a sacred word to indicate one’s openness to being present “alone”.

My goal is to integrate this knowledge in the service of exploring and bridging gaps in relationship between the body, mind and spirit.

Exploring Spirituality

This is a workshop to explore and share our beliefs about spirituality and religion; similarities, complementarities, and differences. This discussion will provide the platform from which we will explore spirituality. Practicing meditation will facilitate the actual exploration of spirituality. The basic mechanics of meditation will be presented and then reinforced through their practice. Dialogue about the experiences of meditation, responding to thoughts and memories, benefits of implementing and stabilizing a meditative practice will be presented.  

Programs

Healing Our Relationships One Breath At A Time

This program provides the following:

• Philosophy and practice of prayer (meditation and contemplation) as a contributor to quality of life and well-being.
• Benefits of a prayer practice.
• Research from the area of spirituality, health and wellness.
• Guidelines for developing and stabilizing an on-going prayer practice.
• Clinical relevance of breathing and thought patterns as they relate to good health and wellness, ill health and dis-ease.
• Practical evidence and examples of the relevance of prayer practice contributing to health and wellness.
• Opportunity for a Holistic Assessment of your health and wellness; body, mind, and spirit using the Self-Perception and Relationship Tool (S-PRT).

To view the Self-Perception and Relationship Tool (S-PRT), visit http://www.s-prt.com

Healing Our Relationships One Story At A Time

When working with individuals and families, it is essential to externalize (make explicit or name) not only our problems, but also our perceptions within the context of relationships. Patterns of seeing only problems in our lives can actually contribute to problematic and impoverished life stories.

Keeping our problems and perceptions buried inside us may actually strengthen and reinforce the very problems we wish to mend or heal. Through externalizing our problems as perceptions within relationships, resources and opportunities emerge to enrich our life stories. Space is created for solutions and resources, for responses that empower individual, family, and community stories. Faith, hope, and love are cultivated.

The externalizing process minimizes the propensity of making an individual a problem. Opportunities are provided for responsibility to be taken by each member in the family system to contribute to its health. Empowering personal agency in this manner within family relationships leads to the development of self-esteem, as well as healthy relationships and responses to family circumstances.

A systemic narrative process and program contributes to the incorporation of “healing patterns of relationship” through the following:

• Building relationships based upon acceptance and trust
• Modeling by example
• Externalization of problems into relationship
• Grounding relationships in empathy and compassion
• Listening and responding
• Clarification

“Healing Patterns of Relationship” are seeds to be planted within the family. Empathy and compassion are the healthy ground in which to plant these seeds. Acceptance and trust are the nutrients that enable the germination and rooting of the seeds. As the family relationships become healthier, healing and growth are the outcomes. Healing Patterns of Relationship may be planted individually as well as within the family system. Healthy relationships can be established by maximizing healthy patterns of relationship and minimizing unhealthy patterns of relationship. The therapeutic process is determined through constant consultation, evaluation and dialogue as part of enabling feedback and response within the therapeutic process.

Testimonials

Healing Our Relationships One Breath At A Time:
Qi Gong
“When I started Qi Gong, my breathing was labored, and not smooth. I was breathing into my lungs and then into my stomach. I switched to breathing with my stomach and my lungs would automatically fill. I found that I could walk a block without breathing difficulties, and it has improved from there. Now I can concentrate on practicing Qi Gong.” V. B., Calgary, AB, Canada.
 
“Learning to breath more deeply is helping in some of my activities. When showshoeing recently, I found that my recovery from strenuous exercise was much quicker.” S. M., Calgary, AB, Canada.

Healing Our Relationships One Word At A Time:
Exploring Spirituality
“Paul Wishart of the Spirituality Research Institute is truly a rare jewel of guidance through listening with both heart and soul. This was apparent right from the moment that Paul sat down with my partner and I to listen to what we were truly requesting guidance on, versus what the corporate mind thought we wanted to establish. Now, even today, our company is enjoying the open-minded growth and inspiration that Paul has taught us.” S. G., Calgary, AB, Canada

“I felt like my mind could stop racing because I was able to express myself in a way that was coherent. Telling my story helped me recognize where I was, and where I could go from there. I recognized that I was still in the midst of dealing with change, but that I was okay. It was powerful for me to hear myself say that I was okay. Thanks again for the valuable experience of speaking with you; you are a great listener.” S. A., Calgary, AB, Canada.