Page 225 - Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring

f r o m ca ra t i v e f a c to r 10 t o C a r i t a s P r o C e s s 1 0
of universal Love (Watson 2005). This work is ultimately about trans-
lating a deep ethic, an authentic value system, along with theory and
knowledge, into living and breathing models of caring and healing in
the world and in our daily work.
Thus, in positing nursing within this evolved work and world of
healing, we are contributing to the healing of self and others, evolv-
ing toward a moral community; this evolution aligns human caring
and healing with peace. We do not do this by some grand scheme “out
there” or in a theory textbook, in some distant fantasy model. We live
it in our daily practice, our moment-to-moment encounters with self
and other. We do it through a disciplined approach to our personal
practice, which in turn becomes a more mature professional model
accessing the energetic connections of human-universe as part of our
evolution.
In this Caritas Model of Nursing as the Philosophy and Science of
Caring, we can identify at least two types of service to humanity:

1. Overt service—the outer world of clinical practice at the body-
physical, material-technological level of medical services, tasks,
procedures, and so on. This level of so-called ordinary or regular
nursing would work from a consciousness that focuses more on
the base energetic, physical body system with an unreflective
ego mind-set.
2. Subtle service—the inner world of practice at the heart level,
evolving toward a higher consciousness that cultivates an awak-
ening of the heart and mind, embracing the finest of the medi-
calized, technical outer world while consciously cultivating the
subtle inner practices of evolving our own humanity. We learn
that we are Being and Becoming the Caritas-Communitas field,
informing practices in our daily life that contribute to a collec-
tively evolving spiritual Caritas Consciousness. As nurses individu-
ally and collectively engage in Caritas Consciousness, they become
the magnetic field of attraction for others, offering a new field
of compassion and a calming, soothing, loving presence in the
midst of life threats and despair.
This view of “Being the Caritas Field” for caring and healing, which
embraces both overt and subtle practices, is transformative for self and

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