An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

when I felt empathetic and at „ease‟ with the subjects (the respondents and the researchenvironments) but these times were very short and very few. There are, however, twodistinct difficult aspects, one writing as a critical observer and the other adjusting to theperiodic and short times when I felt „at home.‟ The research processes has also involveda spiritual journey which is not easily described because this journey has been sporadicwith times when an understanding of the world around me has been elusive.My inquisitive nature as a child has continued and will continue throughout all aspectsof my life. Giving my research an ethnographic label and placing it in an academicsetting has not altered my life‟s purpose and journey; it has been enhanced with animproved body of knowledge. I can see much of Hammersley‟s (1993) and Brewer‟s(2000) exposition of the principles and practice of ethnography reflected in my researchexperience. Although the environment was familiar, the role of ethnographic researcherwas unfamiliar and required re-socialisation into the practices and values of the group(c.f. Brewer 2000). Prior to this understanding, these principles were unsubstantiatedreadings and feelings. Now I can relate Hammersley‟s and Brewer‟s writings to myresearch journey and life experiences.After seven years, of concentrated thought about matters of health promotion and theirdesirable relatedness to spiritual healing, I have only begun to scratch the surface.There is a desperate need for further research in the areas that have been highlightedsuch as prayer, laying of hands, music and the cultural background and theology, inparticular of black majority Pentecostal churches.309