Transpersonal Caring

The term Transpersonal refers to the qualities and values of profound connectedness, of
relationship, subjective sense, and collective humanity. The term goes beyond the mere human
ego, and thus encompasses the spiritual dimensions every human being shares with a greater self,
others, nature, and the entire universe. Transpersonal caring, therefore, means the set of
relationships that are spiritually connected to embrace the spirit or soul of the other person
through the process of full, authentic, healing/caring attention in the moment.
Dr. Jean Watson, a nursing’s living legend for over 35 years, commenced on the
advancement of the Theory of Human Caring/Caring Science. Subsequently, then, the theory has
developed and engrossed the perception of the creation of a transpersonal caring moment, that
persisted to be the core concept of both sanctioning and understanding the theory in nursing
practice. The concept of this theory was to emerge as the quest that brings new meaning,
understanding, and dignity to the nursing practice and patient care, and to the inner subjective life
experiences of self and others.
In his theory, Watson points out various key concepts that tend to define the human caring
science. One of his key concept he stated is, deliberating internationality and transpersonal
positions in the quest for distinguishing intentionality and setting an intention. According to
Watson, intentionality tends to define human being from the aspects of how we struggle to be
with and liaise with the evolving field before us, instead of trying to change it and to align one’s
consciousness toward caring/healing existence with the patient. Setting an intention on the other
side involves the creation of a transpersonal caring consciousness through a mind-body-spirit
obligation towards entering into a transpersonal space with the other in a manner that credits
them, expresses compassion, love, and authenticity. It emerges when both the nurse and the

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patient encounter in the intentional transpersonal caring space, and forms a greater integral
awareness of oneself.
Another key concept emerges from the essence of supporting and teaching transpersonal
caring. Watson points out that there exist two sets of nurses – those struggling to build and work
in the caring environment, and those under pressure and evolves to skills-task attentive. These
two sets of nurses are more probable to suffer from pressure and fatigue syndromes and
eventually leave the profession. According to Watson, as the nurses may carry on studying how
nursing interests the wounded healer in the quest of healing, so do they need to support their
skills development with the capability of developing caring-healing environments. Watson’s
theory applicable through transpersonal caring dictates that the application of the ten Caritas
processes provides both patients and nurses the chance to incline contentment in a meaningful
approach.
The other Watson’s concepts embrace the essence that for transpersonal caring to be in
effect, both the nurse and the patient need to recognize and experience the certainty of
interdependence and the bottomless degree of interconnectedness. Through interconnectedness, a
basis for reaching out to the other’s (patients) life experience is developed – the reaching out
needs the nurse to be conscious of their existential-ontological fundamentals. The level to reach
out to the other life experiences during transpersonal caring moment needs an exclusive
significance of consciousness – this is because consciousness is regarded to back up the
knowledge of self and other, as the knowledge of common humanity. The connectedness with the
other, assist us to remain connected with the human spirit, preventing us from reducing the
human being to an object, distinct from the spirit of self and from the spirit of the broader world.