Page 101 - Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring

t heoret ica l Fra m ew or k F or C ar it as/car i ng rel at i on s h i p
presence and choice, in that the nurse can choose how to be in a car-
ing moment. That decision can affect the relationship, for better or
for worse. The transpersonal nature of the caring relationship occurs
when the nurse is able to connect with the spirit of the other, that
which is behind the patient, thus opening to a spirit-to-spirit connec-
tion that goes beyond the moment and becomes part of the universal,
complex pattern of both their lives. The nurse and the patient carry
those moments into their future, which informs their next experi-
ences, perceptions, and so forth. Thus, both the nurse and the patient
are changed as a result of the relationship and the nature of the expe-
rience (Watson 1985).
The transpersonal nature of the experience is connected with the
nurse’s ability to be authentically present in a way that reaches out to
the other, transcending ego. This is the source of compassion, when
one is able to connect transpersonally. The concepts of transpersonal
and compassion are captured by Jack Kornfield: “Compassion arises
naturally as ‘quivering of the heart’ in the face of pain, ours and anoth-
er’s. True compassion is not limited by the separateness of pity, nor by
the fear of being overwhelmed. When we come to rest in the great
heart of compassion, we discover a capacity to bear witness to, suffer
with, and hold dear with our own vulnerable heart the sorrow and
beauties of the world” (2002:103).

TRANSPERSONAL CARING RELATIONSHIP*
This section develops the theoretical views on the Transpersonal Caring
Relationship, consistent with the emphasis on Caritas Consciousness as
part of the fourth Caritas Process (CP), while making connections with
other extant nursing theory.
Other contemporary nursing theories provide a view consistent
with transpersonal, Caritas/Caring Consciousness notions discussed
here. Newman and colleagues (1991) posited a unitary, transformative
paradigm to contain nursing practice and research. In such a paradigm
a phenomenon is viewed as a unitary, self-organizing field embedded
in a larger, self-organizing field. Knowledge is personal and involves

* Parts of this section are extracted from Watson 2004a.

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