Holistic health isn't really holistic unless it considers every aspect of your being - not just your physical health. In today's post, I will discuss the importance of finding a healthy and balanced mindset - an often neglected area, but perhaps the most important element of enjoying holistic health in all areas of your life.
Ask yourself - are you happy and content with your life? Are you mentally and emotionally happy as well as physically? And if the answer is no, what is holding you back?
Until you can answer in the affirmative, you have not achieved true holistic health.
Ask yourself - are you happy and content with your life? Are you mentally and emotionally happy as well as physically? And if the answer is no, what is holding you back?
Until you can answer in the affirmative, you have not achieved true holistic health.
Unfortunately, our modern Western culture focuses on external happiness, rather than internal. This obsession with external and material things leads many people to believe that the cause of their happiness (or unhappiness) is something outside of themselves which they cannot control. People go their whole lives chasing fulfillment through accumulation of external things, physical pleasures, or relationships, but even when they find it, it is hollow and temporary.
In truth, the only true, deep, and lasting happiness and contentment can only be found within yourself. It is no one else's responsibility, and no amount of physical pleasure or treasure can ever give it to you. This ancient truth has been known by mystics since the beginning of time. Even the Bible says "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19). Yet so many of us still look outside ourselves for fulfillment.
There are many different approaches to finding your internal source of happiness and peace. Some new-age philosophers talk about dismantling or quieting the "ego-mind," blaming this aspect of our minds for all of our negative hangups and discontentment. Others suggest positive thinking techniques such as affirmations or avoiding complaining. Still others recommend various methods of "mind reprogramming" to remove negative mental constructs learned from external programming from a young age that taught us that we are "sinful," "dirty," or otherwise unworthy of love and happiness.
Any and all of these approaches have some merit, and many people have experienced excellent results through each of them. Meditation (or prayer - to me they are one and the same) is one tool that has been used for centuries to help with all of these approaches.
Meditation can help you to center yourself, rid yourself of external influences, and find the calm, peaceful, loving being at the center of who you are. Best of all, meditation and prayer are FREE and require no props of any kind.
You can start simply by sitting in a quiet place and allowing your mind to become still. Focus on deep, slow, steady breathing, and allow your mind to work through whatever it needs to. I like to start off with thoughts of gratitude for all of the wonderful things in my life, to put me in a positive frame of mind, but you can also focus on one word, a phrase, or simply the cycle of your breath. You can start with just a few minutes at a time, and as you become more practiced with the technique, you may wish to lengthen your sessions and perform more complex meditations.
If you have trouble quieting your mind at first, you may wish to start off with a guided meditation. I have found these very helpful in learning to allow my mind to relax and let go. There are literally hundreds of different recordings with meditations on general and specific topics, but some of the best, in my opinion are those from the Learning Strategies Corporation, and the hypnotic sessions by Steve G. Jones and Joe Vitale.
Whatever method(s) you choose, mastering your physical health and your everyday life depends on first mastering your mind. Allowing external circumstances and emotions to dictate your mood and your perception of life is a recipe for unhappiness and dis-ease. Only once you learn to stop seeking fulfillment outside of yourself and find the answers within will you truly live a holistically healthy life on all levels.
Be happy, be healthy!
Rose.
In truth, the only true, deep, and lasting happiness and contentment can only be found within yourself. It is no one else's responsibility, and no amount of physical pleasure or treasure can ever give it to you. This ancient truth has been known by mystics since the beginning of time. Even the Bible says "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19). Yet so many of us still look outside ourselves for fulfillment.
There are many different approaches to finding your internal source of happiness and peace. Some new-age philosophers talk about dismantling or quieting the "ego-mind," blaming this aspect of our minds for all of our negative hangups and discontentment. Others suggest positive thinking techniques such as affirmations or avoiding complaining. Still others recommend various methods of "mind reprogramming" to remove negative mental constructs learned from external programming from a young age that taught us that we are "sinful," "dirty," or otherwise unworthy of love and happiness.
Any and all of these approaches have some merit, and many people have experienced excellent results through each of them. Meditation (or prayer - to me they are one and the same) is one tool that has been used for centuries to help with all of these approaches.
Meditation can help you to center yourself, rid yourself of external influences, and find the calm, peaceful, loving being at the center of who you are. Best of all, meditation and prayer are FREE and require no props of any kind.
You can start simply by sitting in a quiet place and allowing your mind to become still. Focus on deep, slow, steady breathing, and allow your mind to work through whatever it needs to. I like to start off with thoughts of gratitude for all of the wonderful things in my life, to put me in a positive frame of mind, but you can also focus on one word, a phrase, or simply the cycle of your breath. You can start with just a few minutes at a time, and as you become more practiced with the technique, you may wish to lengthen your sessions and perform more complex meditations.
If you have trouble quieting your mind at first, you may wish to start off with a guided meditation. I have found these very helpful in learning to allow my mind to relax and let go. There are literally hundreds of different recordings with meditations on general and specific topics, but some of the best, in my opinion are those from the Learning Strategies Corporation, and the hypnotic sessions by Steve G. Jones and Joe Vitale.
Whatever method(s) you choose, mastering your physical health and your everyday life depends on first mastering your mind. Allowing external circumstances and emotions to dictate your mood and your perception of life is a recipe for unhappiness and dis-ease. Only once you learn to stop seeking fulfillment outside of yourself and find the answers within will you truly live a holistically healthy life on all levels.
Be happy, be healthy!
Rose.
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