Western civilization is
pounding at the doors of contemporary medicine, and pleading for something
more. Patients look for answers that go
beyond the temporary solution, invasive procedure, or pharmaceutical
drugs. Society has begun to embrace the
various methods of complementary and alternative medicine. Yet, there is still more. Integral health moves beyond remedies or
procedures, and therapies or nutrition.
Integral health encompasses all that there ever was. Integral health includes the innate source of
self-healing each of us possesses.
A health and wellness professional, to encourage optimal
health, must be able to assist the patient in drawing this innate ability to
their consciousness. The healing
experience is individual in every way.
It is necessary the professional have his or her own experience in an
effort to understand the process and the many paths toward optimal wellness.
As I initiate my calling as a health and wellness mentor,
I also shall continue down the path of integral health. On this path, I will continue to learn. This phase of my life focuses on commitment. I have always been a great starter, full of
ideas, and very organized. However, I become
aloof once things are running smoothly, and either pass it to someone else or
drop it completely. My relationships
have suffered greatly for this. I am a
great person to have on your side in an emergency, but otherwise, I am often
reluctant to open my life. I am on the
edge of this phase. I believe this
aspect of my life is at its end. I am
and will continue to be committed to my loving husband. There surely is no greater commitment than
having children. In addition, within the
next year, I will finally have my degree, after three attempts. I am finally feeling comfortable in a stable
environment. I believe the next phase of
my life is the deepening of relationships, allowing others to know me and be
present in my life. As I allow myself to
be free, I believe I will flourish.
The discovery of
integral health and the implementation of its practices have affected me
greatly in a short time. When I began
this path, I was simply getting through the day. I put my spirituality and psychological mind on
the back burner. They provided me the
ability to avoid unhappiness, but actually stood in my way of true happiness
and optimal health. Over the course of
the last six weeks, through meditation, intention, and daily action, I have
moved closer to knowing my true self and the happiness born from within. The physical body is also a component of
integral health. Without effort, I have
begun to lose weight. I believe this is
partly because of the reduced feeling of stress. Although I still have many responsibilities
and time restraints, my point of view has changed. I also believe I have fewer cravings than I
had before. Living with intention allows
me to acknowledge cravings, and then assess whether it comes from hunger, stress,
or some other emotional need.
I am still working on each area – spirituality, the
physical, and the psychological mind. I
think it is important to incorporate exercise to address the physical needs of
the body. My goal is to have a physical
body that operates in a refined way. I will reintroduce the practice of yoga
into my daily life. This will help to
meet many of my needs, but will certainly address my physical needs. I can practice yoga easily in my home or in a
gym and with or without my children. I will also continue to be vigilant about
the nourishment I provide my body.
Processed foods laden with chemicals often provide unbalanced nutrition.
Such foods also create disturbances in the activity within the body.
I
will continue to work on the psychological aspect of my health through my
relationships with others. My goal is to
be more open in my relationships. I need
to allow others to have a role in my life.
I will stop being afraid to ask for help. When friends or family offers help, I shall
graciously accept. I will begin to
accept favors in return for my help. I
fear I have lost a few friends because I always turn down their favors. It is only with contemplation that I have
realized that this may be off-putting. I know I feel uneasy when I am unable to
return a good deed. I shall continue to
practice loving-kindness, and be thankful when it is bestowed upon me.
I
shall continue regular meditation to address my spiritual work. Various meditation practices can strengthen
the connection I feel to the energy that flows around me. One meditation I have found to encourage this
connection actually comes from the practice of theta energy healing. I imagine myself as a white light that
travels across various planes of reality to meet with God. I also do pray each day. I pray for those who are suffering. I pray in thanks for all the blessings I have
in my life. I pray in thanks for every
lesson I have learned.
As
I addressed earlier, I have always had a tumultuous relationship with commitment. I have learned the joy and rewards of
commitment. I plan to search out further
study in integral health as introduced by Elliott Dacher and Ken Wilber
(Dacher, 2006). Within six months, I
believe my path to be significantly closer to its destination of integral
health and wellness, but still be very wide. I have already begun strategies
for making lifestyle changes to achieve optimal health and wellness. I have been discussing these practices with
my husband in detail. We have begun
meditating together. We are adjusting
our life with purpose and goals in mind.
I have also begun to discuss these changes with people who surround me. I believe to follow this path one cannot be
shy.
I
shared with my husband a couple of nights ago that my vision is my husband, our
two sons, and I am sitting, legs crossed, knee to knee in meditation. We are radiating beautiful, rich colors that
flow around and in between each of us, and then swirls together in the midst of
us. I envisioned our children growing up
knowing the always-existent undercurrent of happiness. I can imagine nothing greater than bestowing
the gift of optimal wellbeing upon my children.
References
Dacher, E.
(2006). Integral health: The path to human flourishing. Basic
Health Publications, Inc.: Laguna Beach, CA.
I am so proud and amazed at all the areas of your life you were able to truly assess and to be able to provide that information freely on the internet. I truly feel encouraged by reading your post. Keep up the great work with your family and your practices of meditation. I have been trying to get my family to meditate with me. My son tried yoga with me yesterday, it is amazing how stiff people start out. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteLauri
Laura,
ReplyDeleteI think it is very important that you maintain your prayer life and I like how you emphasize how important prayer is to you. This is a key component to maintaining integral health. Second, you stressed the importance of exercise and nutrition. Again, great insight to what it means to be healthy, exercise and nutrition for yourself and your family is another critical component to striving for integral health. To summarize your post, this class has changed the course of your life forever. You have been given the gift and the tools to become a healer, using all the necessary ingredients to show others the path. Good luck in all that you do and never forget the life lessons that this class has revealed. Keep God and your family as the focal point and you will always have a purpose and the direction needed to stay on the path.
Ed Busche