Eva Yang

Volition in the CWF Framework and Counseling Practice

By Jenny Oh

According to the Christian Wholeness Framework (CWF), volition resides within the Mind Circle, alongside thought, cognition, mood, and perception. Rather than being a singular faculty, volition represents an integrative function encompassing cognitive, motivational, emotional, and temperamental processes. It reflects a complex interplay of inner dynamics that shape an individual’s capacity for self-directed action.

In the context of counseling, volition refers to a client’s intrinsic ability and willingness to make decisions and act upon them. It signifies more than mere motivation; it embodies the transition from intention to sustained action. While motivation may initiate the desire for change, volition enables that desire to be transformed into consistent, purposeful behavior. It plays a pivotal role in therapy, influencing client engagement, goal adherence, and long-term transformation.

Clients exhibiting volitional behavior often experience a heightened sense of agency—they perceive themselves as active participants in shaping their own lives. Conversely, individuals with diminished volition may be acutely aware of their goals yet feel paralyzed in their ability to pursue them. This condition can be likened to functioning with a depleted fuel tank—possessing knowledge and intent, yet lacking the emotional or psychological energy to act. Several factors within the CWF’s circles, such as physical illness or poor sleep, can reduce volitional capacity.

In clinical psychology, extreme forms of diminished volition are observed in conditions such as avolition, a core symptom of disorders like schizophrenia and major depression. This profound lack of initiative or motivation can severely hinder daily functioning. Consequently, a central goal of therapy is to support clients in cultivating their volitional strength. Therapeutic techniques may include structured goal-setting, mindfulness practices, cognitive-behavioral strategies, and the development of self-efficacy—each aiming to reignite a client’s ability to choose and act.

Theological Reflections on Volition

Theologically, volition is rooted in the doctrine of free will—the God-given capacity to discern and choose between right and wrong. According to Dr. Steven R. Cook, “Volition tends the gate of our soul, determining what enters, its level of activity once inside, and the duration of its stay.” He argues that human consciousness is not passive but is actively shaped by our volitional decisions. Even subconscious acceptance of contradictory ideas may lead to cognitive dissonance and inner fragmentation, underscoring the vital role of volitional discernment.

In Christian anthropology, volition is not autonomous but influenced by reason (whether sound or flawed), emotion, life circumstances, and external coercion. While these forces shape the will, the Christian ideal is that volition be governed by the divine perspective, where God’s truth supersedes fluctuating human desires. This theological conviction affirms that all individuals—regardless of their psychological or emotional state—retain a fundamental ability to choose. Such an understanding is especially significant in counseling contexts, where clients often feel trapped in despair or helplessness. The belief that each person is created with inherent volitional capacity offers both hope and a pathway forward.

Augustine of Hippo, one of Christianity’s foundational theologians, regarded the will as the soul’s command center. He emphasized that God intended for the will and intellect to work in harmony, akin to a hand within a glove. For Augustine, the source of all human dysfunction lies in disordered will, and healing comes through the reordering of volition in alignment with divine love and truth. Restoration, then, involves not just intellectual assent but the transformation of the will—learning to desire rightly.

Biblical Insights into Volition

A compelling biblical example of impaired volition is found in the account of the man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:5–8). Afflicted for 38 years, the man is asked by Jesus, “Do you want to be made well?” Instead of answering directly, he offers an explanation rooted in helplessness: “I have no one to put me into the pool… another steps down before me.” This response reflects a perceived lack of agency—a resignation to circumstances beyond his control.

Jesus’ response is telling: “Take up your bed and walk.” The act of rising, initiated by the man’s will in obedience to Christ’s command, precedes the miracle. This passage illustrates that even the smallest volitional act—rooted in faith—can trigger profound transformation. Scripture frequently affirms that incremental steps of faith, even as small as a mustard seed, can lead to significant change. This biblical insight aligns with therapeutic principles that emphasize gradual progress, resilience, and the cumulative effect of small, intentional actions. The biblical narrative reinforces a central theological claim: human beings are created with the ability to choose. Even amid suffering, uncertainty, or psychological distress, volition remains a vital faculty. It empowers individuals to persevere, to engage in transformative processes, and to align their lives with truth and purpose. In both therapeutic and theological domains, the cultivation of volition is foundational to healing, growth, and spiritual maturity.

Everyday Weather of the Heart – The Mood

By Karen Grace Paul

You’re sipping your morning coffee, feeling happy. The sun is out; the day feels full of promise. Then the phone buzzes—a message that stings, maybe from someone who’s been distant. Suddenly, the heart sinks. The lightness from earlier fades, and the whole perspective shifts. What just happened? That’s a mood shift.

It’s not dramatic or unusual—it’s just part of being human. Moods are like the emotional weather inside us. They come and go, often without warning. They color how we see the world, how we relate to others, and how we care for ourselves.

Mood is a sustained emotional state that lingers under the surface, unlike quick flashes of emotion that rise and fall. When moods become persistent and intense—like in depression or bipolar disorder—they may need clinical attention. But even outside of diagnosis, our everyday mood shifts are still deeply important. They tell us something. They carry meaning.

Moods change for all sorts of reasons—our biology, our thoughts, past wounds, daily stress, lack of sleep, even just hunger. But they’re not random. A mood can be a way of getting our attention. That’s why learning to listen to our moods instead of fighting or ignoring them is such a powerful step toward emotional and spiritual health.

For us as counsellors, or simply wanting to be more present with others, learning to hold space for someone else’s mood is sacred work. Holding space means creating a room—emotionally, spiritually, even physically—where someone can be real, without fear of judgment or being fixed too quickly. It’s letting them say, “I’m not okay today,” and answering not with advice, but with empathy. It’s silence when needed, presence when words fall short.

It’s not in having all the answers, but in offering safety. When someone knows they can fall apart in your presence and still be met with kindness, that’s when healing begins.

Jesus Himself modelled this so beautifully. Think of how He wept with Mary and Martha before raising Lazarus (John 11:35). He didn’t rush to solve the pain—He noticed moods. He cared about hearts, He Connected and Understood and then responded. In Psalms, we see David pour out every kind of feeling—from joy to rage to despair—and God never shames him for it. God meets us where we are.

As counsellors and caregivers, we get to do the same. Ask simple questions like, “Where are you today on a scale of 1 to 10?” and then follow that with curiosity and compassion. Help clients connect the dots—what happened before the shift? What’s the body saying? What truth or comfort might they need in this moment?

Moods aren’t the enemy. They are the messages of the inner self. They don’t always need fixing—sometimes they just need a safe place to be heard. And in that safety, little by little, hearts begin to trust again.

And that—more than any theory or technique—is the true work of a healer.

What is Soma?

By JP

Soma simplistically put refers to our physical body. Now we know what it is, how can we look after our soma?  

There are many different ways we can look after our physical bodies. I think the main ways that come to mind are nutrition and exercise. These are the most basic and simplest things to know and the hardest to do or maintain. We all know we should eat healthy and exercise, which will go a long way to look after our bodies. However, our busy lifestyles, lack of prioritizing, changing weather, getting sick, injuries and the money involved all contribute to the barriers of realistically maintaining a healthy life style regarding our physical bodies. 

Nowadays, with the internet and AI, there is so much information about how we can eat healthy and what that means for different people in their stage of life. The same can be said for exercise too! There’s so much information and how do you know what will work for you and how can you maintain it?

To make things easier, I asked our trusted Chatgpt for the most minimalist routine for maximum benefit and below is the summary it spat out. It won’t be anything new for most people, however I would like to highlight some possible methods.

Movement

I am not sure about your situation but a 30 minute daily walk can seem a bit long. I don’t know many people who have 30minutes to spare in one slot to for a walk. So one idea instead of doing this walk in one shot, another idea would be to break it up. Some options are 15 minutes in the morning and 15minutes in the afternoon or after dinner, or 10minutes after breakfast, lunch and dinner or even doing 20minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night, some might prefer to do it outside or if weather is a problem, walk at the gym or on a treadmill. In that way, you could watch your favourite TV show whilst walking and that way kill 2 birds with one stone. Another idea people have is to do walking meetings if that is a viable option for you.  

Strength

Regarding this, the research does that for people over 35 years old, who do strength training, regardless if it is body weight or heavier weights, some of the benefits include helping to preserve muscle, boosting metabolism, helping with daily life functioning, burns fat and decreases chances of injury. As I turned 36 this year, I’m actually looking more into this so that when I get older, my body will be stronger and hopefully able to stay independent longer.

Food

This is the hardest one I think by far. The recommended plate of food includes: ½ vegetables, ¼ protein (ie chicken/tofu/eggs) and ¼ whole grains or starch (brown rice, oats, sweet potato). There are just so many barriers and temptations to keep eating healthy. There’s the mental aspect and your relationship with food. When it is an unhealthy relationship hinders many people from maintaining a healthy diet. I think the most important step is to have a positive relationship with food and acknowledging when ‘you are not eating healthily’ to be able to reframe it in a positive way and to get back to eating the healthy foods as soon as you can. It’s also important to remember to encourage yourself in eating health foods. You will have a better chance at maintaining a healthy diet.  

Drink/Hydrate

This is the easiest one for me at least. Make sure you fill up a drink bottle of water. Keep hydrated throughout the day with water. You can enjoy your sugary drinks and alcohol every now and then, although personally I find it easier to drink water in Asian countries because the temptation of cheap drinks in the west makes it easier to enjoy drinking sugary drinks. I recognize for some people this might be difficult for people to reduce their intake of their favourite drink that might be sugary or an alcohol drink. Again, like with food, the relationship with your favourite drink is important in moderation.

Sleep

The recommended amount hours of sleep for an adult is between 7-9 hours a night which I would say for the average person is difficult for many various reasons. Some might be young kids, others might have to work overtime, most people would stay up scrolling social media or watching Netflix/TV or some might have health issues causing them to find it difficult to sleep for that long. It’s important if this is a problem for you to make sure you take the time to address this. Sleep is a superpower in terms of health for our bodies. With a rested body we are more patient, kinder and more optimistic in addition to be more energetic.

Others

Sunlight is an important way for us to look after our bodies. I think Covid really taught me that. Sunlight helps our bodies, our minds and also helps us to sleep better at night! Other ways to help our bodies include to stretch if you can and stand more. I know of a few people investing in a standing table and they boast about how much it has helped them. Other things to consider is for those who are injured or sick to really take the time to recover and your body will thank you for it. Your physical body is important as we only get one in this life. Let’s look after it so we can love God, love others and love ourselves. Let’s honor God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Which one of these is the hardest/easiest for you to maintain a healthy body?   

What’s one thing you can do today to look after your soma?

How we honour God with our soma? What is soma?

Looking after our bodies which are the temple of the Holy Spirit What are some ways we can do this?

Communication

By JP

Communication is something we do every day even without thinking about it. Each day we communicate with ourselves, our family members, our work colleagues, the people we help and the people serving us whether in the supermarket or delivery person.

The way we communicate is so interesting to me. God has created so many different ways for us to communicate. We can communicate verbally, speaking fast or slow or loud or soft. We can use our non-verbal, our body language, we can tell someone is angry or upset just by looking at someone’s face or body positioning. One fascinating thing to me is we cannot NOT communicate. Even if we do not want to communicate, we show it through our body language, it could include: crossing our arms, being silent, avoiding eye contact, turning away, having earphones in, not smiling or looking approachable.

Some of the aspects I have learned about communication include: 

Clarifying and paraphrasing

A lot of times, people say things and it can be interpreted many different ways and so we need to clarify and not assume. Paraphrasing helps both parties to make sure the communication is clear and both parties are talking about the same thing. 

Open attitude and stating facts

This one I learned from the book ‘Non-violent Communication’. A parent can say ‘I see three shirts on the floor’ in a neutral tone instead of saying ‘your room is so messy’ and the teenager receiving this message can react very differently. Likewise, being curious and stating facts can help the communication seem more neutral and easier to receive.

Staying calm and using an appropriate tone

I remember a pastor mentioning people will remember our tone and calmness. When we are able to use the right tone and be calm, it can help avoid many quarrels and misunderstandings. We can use our tone to be a non-anxious presence to bring calmness along with safety and sense of security too.

Timing conversations

This refers to making conversations are done at appropriate times. Trying to do hard conversation at night time when both parties are tired is not ideal or appropriate for the best outcome. I have found that making a time when both parties are rested and ready to listen to each other helps makes communication much smoother especially when both parties are coming in with the intent to listen to each other and to see each other’s points of views. 

Validating feelings

This one is a big one in terms of helping validate people’s experience. I think in the last 5-10 years, it has become very common in terms of trying to teach this but it can still be hard to do all the time. Helping validate people’s feelings helps people feel heard, valued and important. This encourages people to share more as along as it is done respectfully and with a caring attitude. It’s not just a skill so you can get your own way

I think about the way God the father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit communicate with us. He communicates with each of us in his personal way. God is not some distant God who leaves us to guess what he is saying to us (Acts 17:27). He relates to us. I think of when Adam and Eve first sinned, the first two questions God asks in verses (Genesis 2:9,11), ‘Where are you?’ and ‘Who told you that you were naked?’. God knows what we’ve done, but my interpretation of this is God wants to connect with us. In my mind, he is curious and loving in these questions, not accusing them. God lovingly reaches out to Adam and Eve relationally, asking questions. We see the heart God, Adam and Eve messed up and they wanted to hide and avoid God, God is the one who came seeking after them.

In many ways, our mission as Christians is to communicate the love of God, the gospel, the good news of the kingdom to those who haven’t heard or even those who have heard that they might see and experience the heart of God and turn back to him.  

In the bible, God the father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit all communicate in many different ways and with different emotions. Sometimes God was angry with the Israelites and other times he was patiently talking with them. Other times Jesus has compassion (Matthew 15:32) and other times he communicated angrily (Matthew 21:13). The Holy Spirit communicates with people in so many different ways, sometimes it is through prayer and the bible, to Muslims in the Middle East through dreams and visions, to other people through movies and music, to others, God communicates through audible voice or other people and in some cases, the Holy Spirit talks to us directly.

What are the ways you feel easiest to hear God the father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit communicating with you? What are the ways that you feel God the father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit inviting you to commune with him?

Letting Our Light Shine through our Behaviour

By JP

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16

When I think about behaviour, I naturally think about actions—what a person is doing. But beyond the visible, behaviour is a window into the unseen: our thoughts, emotions, motivations, and beliefs. In psychology and counselling, we often explore behaviour-6 by asking questions like:

• What is the reason behind this behaviour?
• What need does it fulfil?
• What does this action help someone achieve?

These questions help us move beyond surface-level observations and into deeper understanding. Why do people do what they do? And even more importantly, why do we do what we do?

The Power of Habits and Intentional Living

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on habits—how to cultivate good ones and replace unhealthy ones. Sometimes, I catch myself engaging in behaviours I know are unhelpful or even detrimental. Why do I keep doing them? Are they simply automatic? Or is there a deeper longing behind them?

Recently, I considered doing a social media fast because I realized I was spending far too much time mindlessly scrolling. A friend, however, suggested a different approach: instead of just abstaining, I should reflect—What am I seeking when I reach for my phone?

• Is it boredom?
• A dopamine hit?
• A form of escape?

This simple shift in perspective changed my approach. It wasn’t just about breaking a habit but about understanding its root cause. Often, our behaviours serve as symptoms of something deeper—perhaps unmet emotional needs, stress, or even a misplaced longing for connection.

I realise not all behaviours carry moral significance. Some are simply neutral—like how we fold our clothes or how we arrange books on a shelf. These actions don’t necessarily reveal much about our character. However, other behaviours—such as how we treat others, how we react under pressure, or the choices we make in difficult situations—can reveal what is truly in our hearts.

Jesus made this clear when He said, “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Our actions, words, and even habits are often an expression of what is happening internally. This is why true transformation isn’t just about behaviour modification—it’s about heart renewal.

Jesus: The Perfect Example of Purposeful Living

When we look at Jesus, we see that His behaviours were never random or impulsive. Everything He did—whether forgiving sins, healing the sick, or challenging the Pharisees—was intentional and reflected the heart of the Father.

• His actions were rooted in love. Even when correcting or rebuking, He did so with compassion.
• He lived in obedience to God’s will. He didn’t act based on emotions or convenience but in alignment with divine purpose**e.
• He remained consistent in His character. Whether in times of celebration or suffering, His behaviour reflected the same grace and truth.

As followers of Christ, we are called to mirror this intentionality. Our actions should not be driven by habit alone but by a deep desire to glorify God in all we do.

Identity First, Behaviour Second

There’s a common belief that behaviour shapes identity. For example, someone who wants to be fit and healthy may start exercising regularly, and over time, their actions reinforce their identity as a disciplined and health-conscious person.

However, from a Christian perspective, transformation begins the other way around—from the inside out. Instead of merely adjusting our behaviour to fit a new identity, we need to allow God to transform our hearts, and from that transformation, our behaviour naturally changes and with long lasting effect showing a deep transformation.

Romans 12:2 reminds us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Our identity in Christ—being children of God, redeemed and made new—should be the foundation from which our actions flow. Rather than striving to behave in a certain way to become more Christian, we let God work within us, and our behaviours begin to reflect His love, grace, and righteousness.

A Challenge to Reflect

Perhaps the challenge for us today is not just to examine what we do but to ask ourselves why we do it.

• Do our behaviours bring us closer to God, or do they distract us?
• Are we living in a way that allows others to see Christ through us?
• Do our habits reflect intentional choices, or are they just mindless routines?

Let us strive to live with purpose, allowing our actions to shine as a testimony of God’s love and grace. May we be intentional in our0 choices, mindful of our habits, and always seeking to glorify God in everything we do.