Seeking Wholeness

Happy New Year!

At this time, a week after the celebration of Christmas, we find ourselves gearing up for one more round of parties, celebration, and perhaps some deep reflection and quiet contemplation.   And we carry on a tradition of making , what many people call, New Year’s Resolutions.

I was pondering this word on the night of the solstice- when the light begins to return for longer periods than the darkness- and it dawned on me (no pun intended!) that the evening of the solstice felt more like “New Year’s” to me than anything.  A new year was beginning for me that night, as the darkness would be given less time to linger, and the light would be filling our days moreso.  What a great way to think about how we are moving into a new chapter in our lives.  The chapter of 2010-

But the meat of what I got to pondering, on that cold, crisp night here in Minnesota, where I live… was the word “resolution”; what’s with this making new year’s resolutions stuff?  I find there is a lack of feeling and motivation behind this word, resolution.

I wondered how many other people hear that catch-phrase and imagine the plethora of topics that are common in our country:  eating healthier, going on a diet, losing weight, getting in shape, paying off debt, quit smoking, quit drinking, quit this, quite that, stick-to-this, follow-through-on-that, etc.  These things can sound like such a CHORE!  And then it hit me:  the very word itself, resolution, implies there is something to be resolved, and if something is to be resolved, then we must first have a “problem”.

Well, I don’t like the word problem. When we take into account the Bigger Picture, I feel that here, there are no problems.  A problem is a matter of perception.  They are just a sign-post that something is simply out-of-whack in our mind and our heart, and thus is spills forth into our outer lives.  So we must bring it into the light, where it will be TRANSFORMED, brought back into alignment, and returned to us as a fresh perspective, a right outlook, a new energy that will fill us and point us in the direction of where we would like to be going.

After all, nothing can truly be destroyed, extinguished, or ended.  ALL is energy, ever changing, in a state of flux, shifting and moving and altering form as it naturally evolves or as we come along and perceive it and project our energy onto it.  So it’s not that bad habits need to be cut out of our lives- in fact, this can prove to be quite difficult!  Going “cold turkey” just usually doesn’t work that well.  But if we offer it to the Light, it will be transformed and shifted in the way that is most effective and perfect for us.

We are not here to resolve our lives or “fix” the world- WE ARE HERE TO TRANSFORM IT.

And Oh!  What a grand opportunity that is.

May you know that you,

right here, right now,

are FULLY  EQCUIPED to do just that-

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The use of the title “Dr.” means that the person has completed an advanced degree program. While it often refers to an M.D. or a Ph.D., it can legitimately be used by many others.

Generally three to four years are required beyond a bachelors degree, and an internship or residency may be required. Here are some of the U.S. and Canadian doctorate degrees:

M.D. – Medical Doctor. This one you already knew, right? Psychiatrists are usually M.D.s (although some are D.O.s).

Ph.D. – Doctor of Philosophy. This is the traditional academic doctorate. A Ph.D. is qualified to teach at a college or university. Psychologists often have this degree. In psychology a Ph.D. can be in Clinical Psychology (with a focus on research and practice), Counseling Psychology (with a focus on practice in less pathological populations), School Psychology (although many school psychologists do not get a doctorate), or just Psychology (many experimental and social psychologists at colleges have this).

You can also get a Ph.D. in Social Work, nursing, and even things like English, Mathematics, and Philosophy.

Psy.D. – Doctor of Psychology. A clinical psychology degree which places more emphasis on practice than research. Psy.D. programs developed to train practitioners who would keep up with research but might never do much research.

D.O. - Doctor of Osteopathy. Very similar to an M.D. Osteopaths generally get the same residency training as M.D. physicians. Their medical schools include additional training in physical manipulation techniques somewhat similar to chiropractic.

D.Sc. - Doctor of Science. More common in Canada than in the U.S. I’m not entirely clear on the distinction between this and a Ph.D. But this is a legitimate degree.

DCM – Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine – A chiropractor.

D.Min. – A minister. – possibly a doctoral level pastoral counselor, but not always. Th.D. or D.Div. are also used.

J.D. – Doctor of Jurisprudence – An attorney.

D.S.W. – Doctor of Social Work. An advanced social work degree, often held by educators in social work.

Ed.D. - Doctor of Education. Many Schools of Education confer this degree. A recipient can be a psychologist, an educational administrator, or someone in another education-related field.

D.C.H. – Doctorate of Clinical Hypnotherapy. Is this a real degree? It is certainly not a standard doctorate. It is offered by the American Institute of Hypnotherapy which is located at hypnosis.com (not “hypnosis.edu”?). Many say there is no such degree as DCH. This degree should not be equated with the above degrees.

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When you research migraines you will be exposed to new words. These terms are used to describe migraine, migraine management, migraine symptoms and suspected culprits behind migraines.

This article is here to serve as a glossary of migraine-related words as defined in the migraine arena. If you know of words that could be listed here please let me know.

Migraine Glossary of Terms:

angiography
an imaging technique that provides a picture, called an angiogram, of blood vessels.

aura
a symptom of classic migraine headache in which the patient sees flashing lights or zigzag lines, or may temporarily lose vision.

basilar artery migraine
migraine, occurring primarily in young women and often associated with the menstrual cycle, that involves a disturbance of a major brain artery. Symptoms include vertigo, double vision, and poor muscular coordination.

benign exertional headache
headache brought on by running, lifting, coughing, sneezing, or bending.

biofeedback
a technique in which patients are trained to gain some voluntary control over certain physiological conditions, such as blood pressure and muscle tension, to promote relaxation. Thermal biofeedback helps patients consciously raise hand temperature, which can sometimes reduce the number and intensity of migraines.

cluster headaches
intensely painful headaches — occurring suddenly and lasting between 30 and 45 minutes — named for their repeated occurrence in groups or clusters. They begin as minor pain around one eye and eventually spread to that side of the face.

computed tomography (CT)
an imaging technique that uses X-rays and computer analysis to provide a picture of body tissues and structures.

dihydroergotamine
a drug that is given by injection to treat cluster headaches. It is a form of the antimigraine drug ergotamine tartrate

electroencephalogram (EEG)
a technique for recording electrical activity in the brain.

electromyography (EMG)
a special recording technique that detects electric activity in muscle. Patients are sometimes offered a type of biofeedback called EMG training, in which they learn to control muscle tension in the face, neck, and shoulders.

endorphins
naturally occurring painkilling chemicals. Some scientists theorize that people who suffer from severe headache have lower levels of endorphins than people who are generally pain free.

ergotamine tartrate
a drug that is used to control the painful dilation stage of migraine.

hemiplegic migraine
a type of migraine causing temporary paralysis on one side of the body (hemiplegia).

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I’ve talked about migraines here before. Here’s a little about my experience with them. I believe I started to have migraines back in 2006. At first I didn’t know they were migraines, I was confused why I kept getting ill and why I had headaches. Then came the auras which made things clear, yes I had migraines, and not so clear because these auras left me almost blind.

By 2007, I was getting one every week. Initially most occurred on the weekend or early in the week.

They were accompanied by the spots of light that usually grew larger, these are the auras, if you don’t know what they’re called. I simply referred to them as bright light spots, or a single bright light spot, that sometimes had other colors mixed in, sometimes had a blank/dark spot as well. The auras often reminded me of staring straight into a flash light.

They would grow and sometimes cover enough of an area in my field of vision that I had to find a place to sit and wait it out because my vision was impaired t a degree that I couldn’t see and operate (walk, meet people or drive) safely.

Naturally other symptoms showed up. Usually after I saw the auras, and even when the auras were long gone, I would deteriorate in terms of weakness and headache intensity until by night time I find myself throwing up and feeling like I am so sick and weak that I could die.

This all became too common, too frequent. I was ‘falling apart’.

As a result of my migraines, I grew to recognize them in their early stages and to catch these early symptoms and listen to my body and start to take action steps to stop the oncoming migraine in its tracks.

After other health issues ocurred, I made a commitment towards my health, and followed through. This lead to less migrains and to my ability to stop them before they get really bad. Sometimes I forget my commitment, and that’s when I get a migraine.

I guess, now, migraines are my body’s way of reminding me to take care of my mental, emotional and physical wellness and health.

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On July 11th, you can join a “Massive Qigong Gathering: 1000’s Will Breathe as 1” event. Experts in NATURAL MEDICINE & YOGA ARE RAVING about this event. You can also start a 4-day seminar (training) on Qigong!

Over 10,000 people have attended and taken the Qigong training. With live music & the most powerful techniques you can’t go wrong.

Qigong makes your body strong and builds energy using breath & movement. Learn breathing exercises that deliver a full body vibration in 45 seconds. Also learn qigong exercises that create a highly-tangible healing energy.

PLUS, learn a proven Food-Healing system entitled Conquering Any Disease

This event is about NATURAL HEALING and positive HI-ENERGY living.

Atlanta & Orlando are the sites for the next Qi Revolution events. For $99 its the deal of a lifetime and more FUN then you can imagine.

You can register now and join hundreds of like minded individuals. Click here to find registration info on QiRevolution.com. Looks like it’s worth attending!

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MSG is harmful to many; countless people get migraine headaches after consuming MSGs, including  myself. These people are more aware of the ingredients in their food. We read food ingredient labels carefully to make sure our food doesn’t contain MSGs. We also avoid Chinese food, fast food burgers, and Lipton soups, etc..

Did you know that “MSG” is only one term used to refer to Monosodium Glutamate and that other words and numbers are used?

When you read the ingredients, if you are looking for MSGs, you should know all the terms used to identify MSG.

MSG can be referred to as:

• sodium glutamate (sodium salt of the non-essential amino glutamic acid)
• HS code 29224220
• E621
• Ajinomoto
• Vetsin,
• Accent

Are there other words used to indicate the presense of MSG in food that I missed?

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Happy Earth Day, Today And Every Day

I’m writing today to wish Earth a happy Earth day.
I’m writing to wish you a happy Earth day.
May every day be Earth Day.

If you follow this blog, you know that I have little time to write these days. But I had to write to wish you all a belated happy Earth Day Earth day was on April 22nd 2009.

I am keeping this article short and simple. I would like to briefly mention a couple words that come to mind on an occasion like this.

Are you familiar with the word Gaia? I’d guess 50% of the people reading this have heard the word Gaia before. If you know this word, congrats for your knowledge of Greek Mythology.

How about this word: Pantheism ?

If you didn’t recognize these words, no worries. I will briefly discuss what these terms mean here, in the future I will dedicate an article to each term.

Gaia

Also spelled Gaea or Ge, is a word from Greek mythology. Gaia is the goddess of the earth and mother of Cronus and the Titans in ancient mythology. In other words Gaia is the mother of all things, including the Titans, as well as Zeus and all other gods.

The term Gaia is also found in philosophy. You guessed it, Gaia philosophy or the Gaia theory was named after Gaia the Greek Goddess. There are some mystical, scientific and religious predecessors to the Gaia philosophy. Many religious mythologies had a view of Earth as being a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts (e.g. some Native American religions and various forms of shamanism).

Gaia Theory is a broadly inclusive term for related concepts that living organisms on a planet will affect the nature of their environment in order to make the environment more suitable for life.

Gaia is also the name of a hypothesis. The Gaia hypothesis is an ecological hypothesis that deals with the concept of homeostasis, and claims the resident life forms of a host planet coupled with their environment have acted and act as a single, self-regulating system. This system includes the near-surface rocks, the soil, and the atmosphere. This hypothesis proposes that the biosphere and the physical components of the Earth (atmosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere) are closely integrated to form a complex interacting system that maintains the climatic and biogeochemical conditions on Earth in a preferred homeostasis.

On to the next term,

Pantheism

Pantheism is made of off two words, ‘pan’ is Greek for ‘all’ and ‘theos’ means ‘God’. It literally means “God is All” and “All is God”.

Pantheism refers to the belief that the universe is divine and should be revered. Pantheism identifies the universe with God but denies any personality or transcendence of such a God

A pantheist is someone who believes that everything is God and God is all. Since God is everything and everything is God, everything is sacred and interconnected. In other words, God and the universe are the same.

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Have you ever wondered what that interesting tingling, goosebumps, goose bumpy, static electric, flowing energy, electrical sensation you felt within you or on your skin was?

You may have noticed this sensation while meditating, praying, doing guided imagery, relaxing, listening to music, when enjoying nature or when you stand in the wind or the sun.

I asked myself what this sensation was, could it be the life force, the Chi, or a healing energy? Luckily, I posted a blog article with exactly this question entitled “Tingling Goosebumps Equals Life Energy” (click here to read it)Posted in September 22, 2008

That blog article got a stronger response than I had anticipated, responses came from a diverse set of people mostly united by experiencing this sensation. Many shared their stories in comments others emailed me directly. I also went off and started asking people I knew especially ones that were spiritual.

I have compiled all the answers I received and below you will see a list of what most people gave as an explanation. They overlap:

1. Sensing an entity / presence in the vicinity / spirits
2. The ability to sense Life Force in you
3. The ability to sense / channel Life Force energies around you
4. Flushing / in ancient times, they called this an annointment (Saint Teresa of Avila wrote about it in her memoirs) / releasing debris
5. Cleansing of your chakras
6. Indicating the beginnings of a Kundalini awakening

What it is not:

1. It is nothing to be afraid of.
2. I asked my doctor, he said its not neuroplogical (unless it is uncontrollable, continuous and very obvious)
3. Not Anoxia

Conclusion:
Keep meditating. Keep experiencing this sensation. If the effects are positive, then continue to seek them.

Personal Experience:

Since the last article on this topic, I have noticed considerable warmth that accompanies this sensation when I mediated, in the stomach and chest. The sensation starts in the head, but sometimes it seems to start in the upper back, sometimes in the lower back. Every time, it spreads all over down to my toes and to the neck and head.

Leave a comment below or join the discussion here where people are also sharing their experience with this sensation: http://www.wholenessforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=21

Previous articles on this topic: Read more…

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Hypnosis is a state of relaxation with a state of heightened awareness all induced by nothing more than suggestion. It is perfectly normal and natural. In fact, hypnosis is a state so natural that every one of us uses it sometime every day without even realizing it.

When we daydream we are experiencing a mild hypnotic trance. ‘Motorway hypnosis’ is a term coined for those periods when we drive somewhere and cannot remember it. That’s a form of hypnotic state. This is how you tend to feel whilst in hypnosis. It is very pleasant, relaxing and extremely comfortable. It’s an altered state of awareness. Many people would liken it to a ‘mental massage’.

The theory behind hypnosis is that we have one brain but two minds – one conscious and the other unconscious. Every day after we wake up, we begin running programs stored deep in our unconscious mind – this is the mind that remembers all the automatic stuff like riding a bike/driving a car, how to make yourself feel good OR bad. This ’storage area’ is much bigger than the mind you are using to read this now.

They work together; so that when you are driving and your conscious mind suddenly switches to something bothering you [a coworker, a big presentation/fear of height]; your unconscious mind carries on driving until you arrive at your destination or your conscious mind resumes driving, not remembering how you have just driven. If something dangerous had presented itself you would have avoided it.

These running programs, once formed, have an amazing capability for producing the same results, over and over again. Whether they are good for you or bad! Hypnosis gives you the tools to make these programs work FOR YOU!

A hypnotic state is not is sleep, it is not unconsciousness. Nothing can be done to you without you allowing it; you won’t be made to bark every time you pass a dog or cat. For hypnosis to work you must want it to happen, expect it to happen and most importantly allow it to happen.

Some people question if they are in a trance because they don’t experience a mystical transcendental journey; the truth is the depth and state of trance is different for everyone.

However everyone can experience a hypnotic state, be it at varying levels, and thus everyone may benefit from hypnosis.

Hypnosis is effective in all areas of self improvement, in overcoming fears and phobias, in assisting in health and well-being as well. It can be very successful changing habits, overcoming anxiety, losing weight, defeating depression, to name a few of its applications.

Hypnosis has been used for centuries, and millions of people have been helped in many different ways. It’s also said to be an excellent way of relaxing.

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I don’t think that ADD is a disorder nor a disease. I know many parents may disagree with me, however I believe that I’ve done enough research to reach this conclusion.

I started a discussion thread here. Feel free to join the discussion and contribute your opinions/experiences.

I know a few that agree that ADD is not a disorder or a disease, one example that comes to mind is Thom Hartman an author on the subject of ADD/ADHD.

I strongly oppose drugging children that are diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, If I had kids I won’t let them go on “medication” to treat this “disorder”.

Mood altering drugs, in my opinion, are not medications, and ADD is not a disorder, simply a personality type.

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I’m trying to define what ‘wholeness’ means.

I think that seeking wholeness should be the holy grail for every intelligent human being, on this journey one will grow and experience their full potential.

No person is whole, I doubt that any person can be whole; however seeking to be whole is seeking to improve one’s abilities, and requires one to live up to one’s highest potential in all aspects of one’s being.

Dictionaries define wholeness as:

* The state of being entirely whole
* The condition of being free from defects or flaws
* The condition of being physically and mentally sound
* The quality or state of being whole, entire, or sound
* A state of robust good health
* Psychic stage in which the union of the unconscious with the conscious has been achieved.

Sources: http://www.answers.com/topic/wholeness | http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn | http://www.carl-jung.net/glossary.html

Did you notice that wholeness in itself spans over your mind, body and spirit? In the above definitions we see that wholeness means ‘robust good health’, it also means ‘physically sound’, ‘mentally sound’, ‘free from defects’, and finally it is known as a ‘psychic stage’ where your unconscious self is aware and in harmony with your conscious self.

By looking at synonyms of ‘wholeness’ we can further understand what wholeness is:

Wholeness is all encompassing; it spans the entire human experience and existence, from human spirituality, reasoning, morals, practices, to the body and physical health. It spans conventional science, traditional medicine, and includes paranormal science and alternative healing teachings and practices.

To talk about wholeness we have to talk about spirituality, health, science, logic, cultural norms, modern life, meditation, medical research, mind-body, and more.. At minimum, to seek wholeness we have to seek all the dimensions of wellness.

It’s tempting to think of wholeness (or the seeking of wholeness) as an entirely spiritual or mental process. The last definition listed above refers to wholeness as a “Psychic stage in which the union of the unconscious with the conscious has been achieved.” Words such as holy and oneness also refer to transcending the physical and the social norms.

Other spiritual definitions of wholeness refer to it as one’s union with the creation (or any higher power). Perhaps wholeness can be reached when one’s consciousness or soul rejoins the source of all consciousness or life?

Questions,

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I am in favor of the idea of having an Ethical Code of Practice for scientists, similar to the Hippocratic Oath used in the medical profession.

No one can make anyone be an ‘ethical’ person, however having an oath brings the topic up and forces scientists to think it through, it also shows that ethics are worthy enough in the eyes of the scientific community to be considered and respected via an oath.

The idea was first suggested by Sir Joseph Rotblat, a nuclear physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project, during his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995.

Following that, in 2001, in the scientific journal The Biochemical Journal, Nobel laureate Sir John Sulston proposed an oath so that scientists could declare their intention “to cause no harm and to be wholly truthful in their public pronouncements, and also to protect them from discrimination by employers who might prefer them to be economical with the truth.”

Many disagree and believe that oaths do not promote advancement.

Existing Oaths:

Sir David King

The UK government has adopted a ‘universal code of ethics’ that was proposed by Sir David King in 2007. This code included seven (7) principles. These principles are guiding principles to scientists. Here they are:

* Act with skill and care in all scientific work. Maintain up to date skills and assist their development in others.

* Take steps to prevent corrupt practices and professional misconduct. Declare conflicts of interest.

* Be alert to the ways in which research derives from and affects the work of other people, and respect the rights and reputations of others.

* Ensure that your work is lawful and justified.

* Minimise and justify any adverse effect your work may have on people, animals and the natural environment.

* Seek to discuss the issues that science raises for society. Listen to the aspirations and concerns of others.

* Do not knowingly mislead, or allow others to be misled, about scientific matters. Present and review scientific evidence, theory or interpretation honestly and accurately.

University of Toronto, Canada
In June 2008, Biomedical Scientists graduating at the University of Toronto, Canada, pledged to honor a scientific oath

This was their oath:

“I have entered the serious pursuit of new knowledge as a member of the community of graduate students at the University of Toronto. I declare the following:

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I am proposing renaming Christmas and calling it Shopathon because that is all what people do in preparation for xmas, they shop. Everybody agrees that Christmas has been highly commercialized in the U.S. Many say that it has lost its true meaning of celebrating Jesus’ birthday. I agree than Christmas has lost its meaning, the lost meaning is what I will debate here.

Christmas in the US and most the western Christian tradition does not fall on the correct date of Jesus’ birthday, so what are WE really celebrating? Are we celebrating a lie?

The fact is, no one knows for sure when Jesus was born. So where did Christmas come from? It is believed Jesus was born in the Spring, then why is Christmas in the Winter season?

Winter Celebrations

Why then does Christmas fall on Dec 25? Well, when Christianity spread in lands that practiced paganism, naturally pagan practices and traditions were not appreciated by christian leaders. Winter celebrations were major traditions that pagans would not abandon. They had to be re-named and adopted by the, then new religion, Christianity.

Winter Solstice falls on Dec 25th and was one major pagan holiday celebration.

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means “the birthday of the unconquered Sun.” The use of the title Sol Invictus allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god of Emperor Aurelian; and Mithras, a soldiers’ god of Persian origin. Emperor Elagabalus introduced the festival, and it reached the height of its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday. This day had held no significance in the Roman festive calendar until it was introduced in the third century.

The festival was placed on the date of the solstice because this was on this day that the Sun reversed its southward retreat and proved itself to be “unconquered.” Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus. “O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born

From Wikipedia

You are probably seeing where this is going now. Rather than abolish these traditions they were allowed to remain only after re-purposing and re-branding them into a Christian tradition.

Winter festivals were common in ancient times due to less agricultural work, expectations of better weather in the summer and the celebration of the rebirth of the sun as the sun lasted longer in the sky (a countdown to summer).

The Roman Pagans

Roman pagans celebrated the holiday of Saturnalia. This was a week-long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17-25. During this period, Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the week-long celebration. This holiday featured some ‘bad’ behavior to say the least like drinking to get drunk, sexual indulgence, singing naked in the streets (later morphing into the modern caroling).

In what seems to be even more horrible, each Roman community selected a victim. This person was forced to indulge in food and other physical pleasures throughout the week. On December 25th (the festival’s last day), this person was brutally murdered. Roman authorities believed they were destroying the forces of darkness by doing so.

Saturnalia festival was a major festival that pagans would not abandon. In order to convert pagans to Christianity it was decided to adopt the Sturnalia festival. As a result a large numbers of pagans became Christian after being promised to be allowed to continue celebrating the Saturnalia festival.

Since there was no significance to that date of the year, Christian leaders named Saturnalia’s concluding day, December 25th, to be Jesus’ birthday replacing the original festival’s concluding day

The Scandinavian Pagans

Pagan Scandinavians celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period. As Northern Europe was the last part to Christianize, its pagan traditions had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul. In English, the word Yule is synonymous with Christmas.

You see? We are not celebrating the real Christmas (Jesus’ b’day) on Dec 25.

Winter Festivals were very common! Here are but a few examples:

Brazilians

Brazilian archeologists have found an assembly of 127 granite blocks arranged equidistant from each other. They apparently form an ancient astronomical observatory. One of the stones marked the position of the sun at the time of the winter solstice and were probably used in religious rituals.

Egyptians

The god-man/savior Osiris died and was entombed on DEC-21. “At midnight, the priests emerged from an inner shrine crying ‘The Virgin has brought forth! The light is waxing” and showing the image of a baby to the worshipers.”

Greek

The winter solstice ritual was called Lenaea, the Festival of the Wild Women. In very ancient times, a man representing the harvest god Dionysos was torn to pieces and eaten by a gang of women on this day. Later in the ritual, Dionysos would be reborn as a baby. By classical times, the human sacrifice had been replaced by the killing of a goat. The women’s role had changed to that of funeral mourners and observers of the birth.

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Think about this:

“Enlightened humans will recognize the truth when it is presented to them, fully indoctrinated humans will first deny, then look for reasons to doubt.”

Something I read somewhere on March 2008.

I add: “Humans seeking enlightenment seek the truth with an open mind.”

It is worth it being OPEN MINDED !

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What does being healthy mean? What do you mean when you refer to yourself or someone else using the term “healthy”? Have you paused to consider the ways in which we use the word “healthy” and what “healthy” ultimately refers to?

Here, together, we will look at this word and at the idea of being healthy. We will find what being healthy really means. We will also see how the eight dimensions of wellness and the seeking of wholeness relate to health and being healthy.

Defining being healthy (having health) may be easiest when defining the lack of health. It’s simple really; when something hurts or feels abnormal in your body, you know right away that you are (or that a part of your body is) now unhealthy. So, does being healthy mean the lack of pain? Is this a good enough definition of health?

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Natural health and healing are broad terms that refer to alternative medicine, complementary medicine, holistic medicine and holistic health and can also be referred to as Naturopathy.

Natural health and healing usually refers to using the mind, body and spirit (or soul) in order to heal or enhance healing and health. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) utilizes many concepts and practices, so does holistic medicine. All these fields are intertwined so I will not confuse you and waste time defining differences.

What matters here is that all of these concepts and practices can be used alongside conventional (modern) medicine and research to better heal people and create a state of well being.

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I always believed and still do that people are intrinsically good. I also hold that people seek to evolve, that the next human evolution is a moral and spiritual one.

Sometimes we come together and create documents to embody our ethical stance on issues. The U.S. Constitution is one of these documents, another and less known document is the doctors’ Hippocratic Oath document. Upon graduation, many medical students take a modern version of the Hippocratic oath written by Louis Lasagna in 1964.

To be honest, I was surprised by how ‘good’ this oath is and how ‘real’ it is. In particular I liked how it mentions warmth, sympathy, understanding, healing a sick human being not a disease, and understanding that an “illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability.” and that it’s the doctor’s  responsibility to deal with or acknowledge these related problems.

I wonder if physicians and health care providers find these aspects challenging.

This post is here to showcase the Hippocratic Oath. Here goes,

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What is your definition of spirituality? — What a tough question.

Perhaps spirituality is so elemental that it’s hard to define. Most of the time it is hard to use words to explain things that are so innate within us.

This post aims at collecting your definitions of spirituality, I will not close the comments on this post for a very long time in order to allow as many people as possible to tell me and the world what “Spirituality” means.

So what is spirituality and what does it mean to be spiritual?

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A definition of spirituality used commonly to guide medical school teaching was provided in a report to the Association of American Medical Colleges in 1999. This is how spirituality was defined:

“Spirituality is recognized as a factor that contributes to health in many persons. The concept of spirituality is found in all cultures and societies. It is expressed in an individual’s search for ultimate meaning through participation in religion and/or belief in God, family, naturalism, rationalism, humanism and the arts. All these factors can influence how patients and health care professionals perceive health and illness and how they interact with one another.”

Another definition that is often cited was first used by Roger Walsh in his book Essential Spirituality, is that spirituality is “…a constellation of practices that awaken the heart and mind.”

Organized religion is not necessary for a person to be spiritual, organized religion however can certainly play a role in influencing a person’s spirituality if desired, yet it is but one of many influences.

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Wellness is:

• Wellness is an involved, conscious, self-directed, and evolving process of achieving full potential
• Wellness is a multidimensional and holistic, encompassing many dimensions that are all interrelated Click here for the dimensions of wellness
• Wellness is positive, affirming and empowering
• Wellness is independent of religious beliefs or lack thereof
• Wellness moves you closer to wholeness
• Wellness cannot be ignored if one is seeking wholeness

Read more on what wellness is here

Click here for the eight dimensions of wellness

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The Eight (*see comments below) Dimensions of Wellness are:

1. Emotional Wellness
2. Environmental Wellness
3. Intellectual Wellness
4. Occupational Wellness
5. Physical Wellness
6. Social Wellness
7. Spiritual Wellness
8. Vocational Wellness

Read about Wellness and the definition of wellness.

Please note that Interpersonal Wellness and Multicultural Wellness are considered the same as Social Wellness.

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Environmental Wellness has become more recognized as a great concern to the inhabitants our planet; for a good reason. This article aims at defining what Environmental Wellness is, what environment stands for, and what environmental relationships are.

What is environmental wellness? Environmental wellness refers to one’s relationship to their surroundings that affect humans’ wellness. It refers to living in harmony with earth by becoming aware of one’s interactions with nature and environment and the impact such interactions have.

What is environment? The word ‘environment’ here refers to one’s surroundings; starting at one’s immediate surroundings and expanding to the world around you, the planet as a whole, the space around our planet, and outer space.

Let’s break down the definition of environmental wellness into easily digestible points.

Environmental wellness means:

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Occupational Wellness leads us to a new dimension called the Vocational Wellness. The definition of Vocational Wellness can be viewed as being similar to Occupational Wellness but it isn’t. Vocational Wellness is one of the interconnected eight dimensions of wellness

So, what is Vocational Wellness? In a nutshell, Vocational wellness can be nurtured by matching your core values with interests, hobbies, employment and volunteer work. As you uncover your talents and passion, you express yourself to the world.

For example, the author of this article seeks to improve his vocational wellness by posting blog articles on issues and topics that align with his interests and values. Vocational wellness is easier to pursue when compared to occupational wellness because it doesn’t concern making money like occupational wellness does.

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What is Occupational Wellness? Occupational wellness refers to one’s attitude about one’s work. It refers to having an interest in your life, which may involve money. An occupationally well person is one that is involved in paid and non-paid activities that are personally rewarding and make a contribution to the well-being of the community at large.

The list below has the components of Occupational Wellness:

• The choice of profession
• Job satisfaction
• Career ambitions
• Personal performance

Occupational Wellness means:

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What is Social Wellness? Social wellness refers to having and receiving a socially friendly attitude from people and a respectful attitude from the state. It refers to external safety. Social wellness means being aware of, participating in, and feeling connected to your community. It means developing healthy relationships with those around you. Social Wellness encourages contribution to the welfare of the community.

Social Wellness is also known as Interpersonal Wellness or as Multicultural Wellness. Below you will find a list defining Social Wellness; this list contains the most commonly agreed upon items.

Social wellness means:

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